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Show WATER FOR UTAH TABLE 9 PRESENT ANNUAL REQUIREMENTS AND USE OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION IN THE BEAR RIVER DRAINAGE BASIN, UTAH Item Total Area Water Required for Adequate Supply Present Supply Present Shortage Per cent of Adequate Supply Land with adequate supply^ Land with inadequate supply Total land irrigated Total arable land 1,000 acres 77.0 163.0 240.0 532.2 1,000 A.- Ft. 276.0 459.0 735.0 1,862.7 1,000 A.- Ft. 276.0 309.0 585.0 585.0 1,000 A.- Fr. 150.0 150.0 1,277.7 Per cent 100.0 67.31 79.6' 31.4 lOften the effective supply is less than this because the shortage is concentrated in the latter part of the growing season. these operate only seasonally, and their water requirements are not large. Some of this water may be later used for irrigation purposes. Records show that for over a period of 24 years, an average of 900,000 acre- feet of water flowed into Great Salt Lake annually from the Bear River. The amount, however, varies considerably from year to year. In some years it has been as little as 200,000 and other years as much as 2,000,000 acre- feet. Some of this water is available for further irrigation development. The exact amount, however, is limited, and the way it can be developed is complicated by existing rights and power, and by the bird refuge at the river's mouth, and also by lack of a compact between three states having claims to Bear River water. It is estimated that the amount may approximate 300,000 acre- feet each year, or about one- third of the total that may be available for irrigation development. Storage would have to be provided for this. Small amounts of water are also discharged directly into the lake by small streams. Over- all planning of the water resources of the entire river system is necessary to obtain the maximum benefits for power, wild life and agriculture. i.. Present Hydroelectric Power Development... ( n this b< located > asin are located numerous power plants which include Cove, Grace, Oneida, Malad City and Soda Springs in Idaho, and Cutler, Hy- rum, Logan, Brigham and Logan College in Utah. These plants have a total installed capacity of 134,220 kilowatts, which in 1945 produced a total of 128,000,000 kilowatt- hours. . . . Potential Irrigation Development... In order to increase the productivity of the present irrigated lands and farms and also to enlarge the farm business as a whole, considerable study has been given the possibility of increasing the water supply available for irrigation in this drainage basin. These studies constitute the basis of tentative plans for the development within the basin each year of 378,000 acre- feet of additional water and 410,000 acre- feet to be diverted from the Colorado River System, or a total of 788,000 acre- feet of water. Of this total it is proposed that 40,000 acre- feet would be used to supplement the now deficient supply on 50,000 acres of land now irrigated; the remainder of 748,000 acre- feet is proposed for use on 185,000 acres of land now not irrigated. This would benefit 235,000 acres of land and would result in providing a full water supply for 312,000 acres, or about three- fourths of the total land ultimately irrigated. When this proposed development is accomplished, 93% of the requirements for a full water supply on the irrigated land will be available, and there will be adequate water, if properly distributed, for nearly three- fourths of the total arable land. ( See Table 10.) However, there would still be 113,000 acres of land that would have only two- thirds of a full supply. Supplemental water is not proposed for this area because it is so disadvantageously located with respect to possible sources of supplemental water that it is not feasible at present [ 113] |