WSP07510

• File Number: 8200.760
• Description: Yampa River General
• State: CO
• Basin: Yampa/White
• Water Division: 6
• Date: 1/1/1981
• Author: USGS
• Title: Assessments of Impacts of Proposed Coal-Resource and Related Economic Development on Water Resources - Yampa River Basin - Colorado and Wyoming - A Summary - 1981
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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T ABLr. 3.-Comparison of the impact offour altermltiue coal-use processes on selected aspects of the envirullment, Colorado part
of the Yampa River basin

Item

Process us I n9
12.5 mi 11 ion tons of coal
Existing
(1975) Electric Coal- Slurry- Unit-
power- gasifi- pipel ine train
cation
plant plant export export
17.897 23.203 27.505 20.058 19.806
~06.785 ~6~.227 ~~2.550 ~2~. 28~ ~15.021
1~2.267 197.999 175.518 158.598 1~9.392

Population----------------------------

Water withdrawals (acre-ft per year)--

Water consumption (acre-ft per year)--

Residuals discharged (tons per year):
Sol id:
Ash-------------------------------
Other solids----------------------

73.926
25.666

723.036
178.210

73.926
27.059

733.725
1~2.009

73.926
27.2~3

Ai rborne:
Total suspended particulates------ 122.225 135.810 130.529 128.852 131.721
Hydrocarbons---------------------- 5.682 7.371 6.518 5.756 5.875
Nitrogen oxides------------------- 22.193 1~7.366 ~7,78~ 22.310 22. ~90
Sulfur oxides--------------------- 11.635 55,~79 17.559 11.665 11.827
Ca rbon monoxide------------------- 7.790 12.983 9.227 7.880 8.05~
Wate rborne:
Biochemical oxygen demand--------- 2.152 2.180 2.202 2.163 2.162
Chemical oxygen demand------------ 7. 1~5 7.152 7.158 7. 1~8 7. 1~7
Nitrogen-------------------------- 130 1~1 151 13~ 13~
Phosphorus------------------------ 199 203 206 200 200
Suspended solids------------------ 13.276 38.312 38.3~0 38.291 38.289
Dissolved solids------------------ 62.790 63.026 63.220 62.888 62.876

estimates of water use and certain process-related-
residuals discharge (ash. other solids, total
suspended particulates, hydrocarbons, nitrogen ox-
ides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, and
suspended solids) as the input-output model.
However, plant-process models used without the
input-output model would greatly underestimate
the change in population-related (indirect)
residuals discharge (biochemical oxygen demand,
chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen. phosphorus,
and dissolved solids).
The second set of scenarios encompass the seven
coal-resource development alternatives of table 1.
Table 5 lists the estimates of population, water use,
and residuals discharge under each of these seven
scenarios, or coal-resource development alter-
natives. As these aiternatives are intended to en-
compass the range of coal-resource development in

the basin, both the rate of coal extraction and the
method of utilizing the coal varies between
scenarios. As a consequence, the estimates
presented in table 5. though largely self-
explanatory, do not easily yield generalizatIons as
to relative impacts of different rates of mining or
uses of the coal. They should be considered to be
only conditional, if.then, predictions of the impact
of coal-resource development.
In summary, the ranges of projected economic
activity in coal-resource development for the
Yampa River basin were used to estimate future
water demands and discharged waste residuals.
While considerable uncertainty is inherent in any
one of these projections, this technique does
provide some estimate of relative magnitudes and
types of stresses on the basin's environment. The
estimates of the quantity of different types of

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