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<br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />water for municipal, industrial, agricultural, thermal power <br /> <br />o <br />,"~} <br />~ <br />.... <br />c:) <br />~ <br /> <br />generation, export, recreation, fish and wildlife, and other <br /> <br />purposes, along with the associated losses incidental to these <br /> <br />uses. Reservoir evaporation loss is a consumptive use associated <br /> <br />with the beneficial use of water for other purposes. <br /> <br />Qualitatively, what constitutes beneficial consumptive use <br /> <br />is fairly well understood; however, an inability to exactly <br /> <br />quantify these uses has led to various differences of <br /> <br />opinion. The practical necessi~y of administering the <br /> <br />various water rights, apportionments, etc., of the Colorado <br /> <br />River has led to definitions of consumptiv~ use generally in <br /> <br />terms of "how it shal1 be measured." The Upper Colorado River <br /> <br />Compact provides that the Upper Colorado River Commission is <br /> <br />to determine the quantity of the consumptive use of water for <br /> <br />the Upper Basin and for each State of the Upper Basin by the <br /> <br />inflow-outflow method in terms of manmade depletions of the <br /> <br />virgin flow at Lee Ferry. There is further provision that the <br /> <br />measurement method can be changed by unanimous action of the <br /> <br />Commission. In contrast, Article l(A) of the decree of the <br /> <br />Supreme Court of the United States in Arizona v. California <br /> <br />defines, for the purpose of the decree, "Consumptive use <br /> <br />means diversions from the stream less such return flows <br /> <br />thereto as are available for consumptive use in the United <br /> <br />States or in satisfaction of the Mexican Treaty obligation." <br /> <br />Nearly all the water e~ported from the Upper Colorado River <br /> <br />system is measured; however, the remaining beneficial <br /> <br />5 <br />