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<br />ground water resources in the basin, we do not believe that these <br />resources will be of any long-range benefit to the industry. The <br /> <br />ground water contained in the deeper formations is of such poor <br /> <br />quality as to present a serious disposal problem. If a major industry <br /> <br />is to develop in the Piceance Basin, it seems to us a foregone con- <br /> <br />clusion that significant amounts of surface water must be imported <br /> <br />into the area. <br /> <br />The White River in Colorado produces about 610,000 acre- <br /> <br />feet of water annually. Of that amount, a little less than 50,000 <br /> <br />acre-feet is presently being consumed. On arithmetic alone, it <br /> <br />would seem that the White River would be more than adequate for a <br /> <br />major oil shale industry within the basin. However, such is not the <br /> <br />case. The state of Utah contends that it is entitled to a portion <br /> <br />of the White River and the federal government claims an unspecified <br /> <br />quantity of water for use in the Northern Ute Indian reservation <br /> <br />through which the river flows. There also remains the thorny problem <br /> <br />of prior appropriations in other parts of the Colorado River system <br /> <br />in Colorado, which leave little, if any, uncommitted water for use <br /> <br />from the White River. This does not mean that the situation on the <br /> <br />White River is hopeless. Depletions now committed to other parts of <br /> <br />the Colorado River system can be transferred to the White River Basin. <br /> <br />This possibility has been under consideration for a number of years <br /> <br />and has awaited resolution pending the development of the oil shale <br /> <br />-10- <br /> <br />0210 <br />