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Show HUNGRY HORSE PREDICTION 61 this is a matter of very serious consequence. Such lost water cannot be replaced at any cost and the ultimate regional economy would have to be reduced accordingly. There would be substantial loss in electric-generating capacity if any one of the alternate sites were selected. The quantity of water available under the 1922 compact falls very substantially short of meeting the potential needs of agriculture, industry, municipal supply and other pur- poses. In order to make the greatest possible use of the erratic flow of this great river system, storage control must be provided. There is no practicable way to avoid some evaporation losses from the surface of such reservoirs. It is possible, however, to select reservoir sites where such evaporation would naturally be at a minimum. Echo Park Reservoir is such a site. The deep, cool, shaded canyons, are also very favorable. None of the alter- nate sites which have been suggested can compare from this standpoint. Studies of alternate plans reveal that the increased evaporation losses could amount to several hundred thousand acre-feet yearly. The magnitude of these quantities is made especially clear when compared with the total use of water by the homes, places of busi- ness and industries of the city of approximately 600,000 people - roughly 100,000 acre-feet. The Department's estimates of evaporation losses from potential reservoirs are based upon the most modern and dependable methods of calculation, and involve appli- cation of all available climatic, topographic, and hydro- logic data. In the final analysis, the increased losses of water by evaporation from the alternative sites is the fundamental issue upon which the Department has felt it necessary to give any consideration to the Echo Park Dam and Reser- voir. In making this recommendation on behalf of the Echo Park Dam and Reservoir, the Department is, of course, on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, there is a fundamental desire to preserve the natural beauty of the Dinosaur National Monument. The Department does not |
