OCR Text |
Show PART XI PROJECTED WATER USE Study of projections as published by the Office of Business Economics - Economic Research Service, "OBERS As Published," revealed a substantial departure from historical agricultural production in the region, especially that large feed crop imports were shown with an increasing surplus of pasture, range, and irrigated land. For these and other reasons, the basic level of development used for these studies in the Framework Plan, based on the Regionally Interpreted OBERS requirements which will be discussed in this chapter. Alterna- tive levels of development are discussed in Part XII. It should be noted that these studies were made to demonstrate certain levels of water development and are not to be construed as depletions charged to the various states under the provisions of the Colorado River Compact and Upper Colorado River Compact, nor to pre- judice or jeopardize the positions of the several states therein. In particular, the depletions are site-located and do not necessarily reflect direct relationships to streamflow diminishment at Lee Ferry, Arizona. Water shortages at the site of use for projects which may be developed to make the programmed at-site depletions shown in these plans have not been taken into account in this preliminary study. Framework Plan (Regionally Interpreted OBERS Level of Development) The regional needs and corresponding water demands are based on an interpretation of the OBERS projections for the time frames of 1980, 2000, and 2020. Principal indices include population projections, pro- duction of assigned agricultural and industrial commodities within the region, and development of resources to meet demands generated in adjacent areas. Major items to respond to demands from outside the region include the production of meat animals, mining and processing of minerals, generation of hydro and thermoelectric power, and further development of the scenic and recreational resources to accommodate the large numbers of visitors who look to the Upper Colorado Region as a desirable vacation area. A major demand also exists outside the region for water produced in the region. Large amounts of the water produced in the region are committed to downstream delivery and assigned to use in other basins of the Upper Colorado River Division States. 48 |