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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />;, <br /> <br />,. <br /> <br />and basin utilization is a result of rediversion and reuse of "losses" <br /> <br />from upstream irrigators. <br /> <br />Within the basin, many of the senior water rights are held <br /> <br /> <br />by downstream users. This creates legal restrictions on upstream <br /> <br />water use. For example, the installation of sprinkler irrigation <br /> <br />systems, which can irrigate more land withdrawing the same amount <br /> <br /> <br />of water, is opposed by senior appropriators because consumptive <br /> <br />use would increase. Return flows would be reduced and evaporation <br /> <br />increased, thereby reducing downstream flows which serVe senior. <br /> <br />rights. Legal suits have been threatened. <br /> <br />The Sevier River is one of the most completely consumed rivers <br /> <br />in the United States. Fifty-one percent of the available water <br /> <br />is beneficially consumed by irrigated crops. Approximately another <br /> <br /> <br />one-fourth is consumed on non~irrigated wet meadows, also benefiting <br /> <br />agriculture. Phreatophytes and evaporation from reservoir surfaces <br /> <br />consume the remaining one-fourth of the irrigation water supply. <br /> <br /> <br />Reservoirs are necessary to store water for dry years and to provide <br /> <br />seasonal distribution. Therefore, the evaporative loss is necessarily <br /> <br />unavoidable. Agriculture might be benefited by the elimination <br /> <br />of phreatophytes, which now consume 14.4% of the supply. However, <br /> <br />such action would be detrimental to wildlife habitat. Further, <br /> <br />the trees and shrubs provide aesthetic benefits in an arid environment. <br /> <br />In any basin a careful cost/benefit analysis of improving <br />irrigation practices is necessary in order to determine whether <br />or not they are physically, economically, environmentally, and <br />legally justifiable. <br /> <br />if <br />