http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/08/shell-stakes-claim-on-yampa-river/Shell stakes claim on Yampa River
Oil company seeking water to develop shale
The race to secure water for oil shale has moved to the Yampa River, one of the last few streams in the West with liquid to spare.
Shell Oil Co. has staked a new claim on the scenic waterway, seeking millions of gallons of H20 to support future plans for oil shale, said spokesman Tracy Boyd.
"This would be one of the more substantial water rights we're accumulating," Boyd said. The company has a wide array of water rights in the Colorado Basin, which includes the Yampa and White rivers.
The Yampa has come under close scrutiny in recent years not only because it lies close to West Slope oil shale deposits but also because it's viewed as an important source of new water for Colorado's Front Range.
Shell's claim to the river is for 375 cubic feet per second, or about 750 acre-feet per day. One acre foot is enough to serve two urban homes for one year.
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the fight is getting under way - river water for the people or river water for oil
will the oil Barons get their way?