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<br />"He dialed 8-4941 and asked for the Water Department. 'This is
<br />Joe Blevins, and I'd like to have 100 inches of water in the morI1-ing
<br />through Meter No. 8352, to run until Thursday.' The District Zanjero
<br />turned the water on as scheduled, then on Thursday morning, he turned
<br />it off. ... But... that's not the whole story by any means! ...
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<br />"From an elevation of 14,000 feet above sea level at the source, a
<br />drairtage area of 244, 000 sq~are miles empties into the Colorado River,
<br />whi.cl1 flows 1,750 miles before entering the Gulf of Lower CalHo.rnia.
<br />Dams constructed along the river store this water for fla-ad protection,
<br />dome.stic use, irrigation and electric power. The regulation of the river
<br />for these purposes is a tremendous undertaking, influenced as it is by sO"
<br />many. varying and unrelated conditions. ... Thelargest dam on .the River
<br />is Hoover Dam, which holds over 30 million acre feet of water. Down-
<br />stream are Davis Dam with a capacity of 1,800,000 acre feet, built under
<br />a trea.ty with Mexico to assure that country. .. 1,500,000 acre feet of
<br />water annually; Headgate (Rock) Dam for diversion of irrigation water
<br />for use in the rich agricultural areas near the River and below Parker
<br />Dam; Parker Dam, from which domestic water is transported hundreds
<br />of miles for use in the metropolitan areas arl;lund Los Angeles and San
<br />Diego; and Imperial Dam 18 miles east of Yuma, Arizona, the diversion
<br />point for . .. the Gila and Yuma prO"jects in Arizona, ... fO"r,.. MexicO",
<br />. .. Imperial Irrigation District and. .. Coachella Valley County Water
<br />District. Branching from the 85-mile long All-American Canal is the
<br />123-mile Coachella Canal,. which brings us our share of the water, '"
<br />up to I, 500 cubic feet per second. ...
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<br />"Not later than Tuesday of each week, the Watermaster at Coachella,
<br />without benefit of crystal ball, must send in a written order fQr water to
<br />the Imperial Irrigation District for the following week,. '" Monday through
<br />. .. S~d",'Y' For a period 7 to 13 days in the future, he must estimate his
<br />daily r~quirements on the basis of how hot or coo.).. it will be, how much
<br />water will be ordered, whether it win rain, how much water might evapo-
<br />rate on; its way down, and what will be required for contingencies. This
<br />estimate is made even more difficult by lack of large water storage
<br />facilities, ... possibility of a cut back at the Dam due to some unforeseen
<br />circumstance, or . .. of human error. .. Any errors in estimating require-
<br />ments liased, as they are, on conditions l;lver which there is little or no
<br />cl;lntrol result in either a drastic shortage of water, or so much water
<br />that some must necessarily be disposed of as regul..atory waste into the
<br />Salton Sea. ... Any unforeseen happening such as a canal break, heavy
<br />storm, or structure failure, can cause a break in the chain of operations.
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<br />"The Imperial Irrigation District is likewise required on each
<br />Wednesday to supply a notice of requirements for a period of from 6 to 12
<br />days in advance, including the requirements oithe Coachella Valley. This
<br />forecast, together with like estimates from Mexico, (and) the Yuma and
<br />Gila irrigation projects forms the basis for a Master Schedule prepared
<br />at Imperial Dam. It is then transmitted to HO"over Dam by radio where
<br />the requirements at Imperial Dam are consolidated with those 9f the other
<br />Districts up the river. ... Water losses from seepage, evaporation and
<br />transpir*ion must also be considered. .. Time now begins t9operate, for
<br />it takes a full 24 hours for the water released at Davi!ll to get to Parker
<br />Dam; then 72 hour s elapse before that water reaches Imperial Dam. It
<br />takes another 24 hours for the water to go from Imperial Dam thi-ough the
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