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<br />III. Salinity <br />A major concern both in the United States and in <br />Mexico is the threat of salinity. The impact of the ever <br />increasing levels of salinity in the waters of the <br />Colorado River is felt to a varying degree by all users - <br />agricul tural, municipal, and industrial. It is generally <br />assumed that a relatively high salinity level lowers crop <br />yields, intensifies the need for special on-farm drainage <br />facilities, increases water treatment costs, damages <br />plumbing and fixtures, and increases maintenance on pumps <br />and distribution systems. The federal government has <br />invested millions of dollars in salinity control although <br />the exact magnitude of the benefits of this effort is <br />uncertain, raising policy questions for lawmakers, water <br />managers, and basin residents. <br />A. Historical Information <br />The Colorado River, like many of the rivers of <br />the west, had a relatively high salinity content due to <br />natural sources even prior to any use of the waters by <br />man. The Colorado River Basin is a former sea bed. When <br />the sea dried up, the salt deposits remained. as a <br />result, much of the basin is underlain by highly saline <br />shales. High salinity concentrations in the water <br />result from two general processes: salt loading, or the <br /> <br />-25- <br />