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Show Basin, then into the Devils Lake region and thence of the Sheyenne River, a tributary of the Red River of the North which flows into Hudson Bay. This over-all diversion plan may also return water from the Devils Lake area to the Missouri River by the James River. It is likewise proposed to divert water from the Missouri River at Oahe Reservoir for the Oahe irrigation unit in the James River Basin. Several diversions from one river valley to another are planned in the Lower Platte drainage. The future needs of an increased population and anticipated industrial growth are of considerable importance. For example, there is a potential for synthetic liquid fuel plants, using lignite coals and oil shales, which occur in vast quantity in the basin. Large amounts of water will be required to process liquid fuels, some of which will be consumed, and some used but returned to the stream. Important considerations in planning for these plants will be the availabilty of water and the need for waste treatment. The use of water in producing liquid fuels inso- far as presently foreseeable is indicated in the fol- lowing figures, which show the average water re- quirements for a 10,000-barrel-per-day gas synthesis plant using evaporation cooling.8 Acre-feet per day Acre-feet per year Percent Total water requirement...... Consumed.................. Returned to stream.......... 29.06 22.69 6.37 10, 606 8,282 2,324 100 78 22 Source: Department of the Interior. The water requirement for the hydrogenation process is somewhat less than that for the gas syn- thesis process. On this basis, were it as feasible economically, about 500 million barrels of synthetic fuel could be produced with a water consumption of about 1.5 million acre-feet a year. Modest ad- ditional amounts would be required for domestic supply in communities dependent on the plants. This is cited as but one of the several industrial expansions which may materialize in the future, and directly influence the over-all problem of 8 The data given do not cover water requirements for domestic use by the employees and their families and other persons who would reside near the plant and be employed in service industries and trades. 202 water supply, water use, sm.nd water conservation Another new aspect in competitive water use will be introduced as part of the watershed treat- ment program. It is estimated that over 400,000 stock ponds will need to t>e installed in the basin as a part of the program. Xhese will be in addition to the approximately 250,0>OO already constructed. These ponds will have a storage capacity estimated conservatively at more thai* 4 million acre-feet. It is estimated that over 1 million acre-feet will be required annually to refill them. About one-third of this storage will be in watersheds above areas now irrigated or approved for irrigation. Evapo- ration losses from them may be a significant fea- ture of water disappearance. Other phases of the watershed treatment pro- gram will also reduce the water flowing into the streams of the basin. Water spreading and flood irrigation are essential practices to attain the best use of the land resources. According to the De- partment of Agriculture these practices will be employed on some 2 million acres of private and 1 million of public land, and may involve the use of 3 million acre-feet of water annually. The De- partment is now computing the effects of this water spreading, including the expected return flow. Some conflicts will arise as a result of additional consumptive uses of water in the watershed man- agement program, thus reducing by that amount the water available for downstream purposes. In planning the measures to be applied to specific areas of land, care must be exercised to hold in- creased consumptive use of water to a minimum and still attain watershed management objectives. A third major feature to be taken into account during the years ahead will be increasing use of irrigation in the eastern part of the basin. Sup- plemental irrigation water during drought pe- riods will take on added importance, along with hybrid crop varieties and greater use of fertilizers, as part of the trend to maximize per acre yields! It is contended that a given quantity of irrigation water will provide greater returns in more humid sections than in arid areas, where sole dependence is put on artificial water supplies. Thus conflicts may arise to the extent that development in the eastern part of the basin is limited by prior use of water in the western part. The projects now authorized or under con- struction will resolve some of the problems which arise. Water releases for navigation coincide very |