WSP09412

• File Number: 8210.140.20
• Description: Colorado River Basin Organizations and Entities - Colorado River Basin States Forum California
• State: CA
• Basin: Western Slope
• Date: 1/1/1972
• Author: Myron B Holburt
• Title: Annual Report for the Calendar Year 1971
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

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Huntington Canyon Generating Stotion

The Board's staff reviewed the Bureau of
Reclamation's "Draft of Environmental
Statement, Huntington Canyon Generating
Station and Transmission Line" dated
March 197!. The proposed generating sta-
tion is being constructed by Utah Power &
Light Company and is located about 30 miles
from Price, Utah, An initial 430 megawatt
unit is planned to be on the line by 1974, and
a second unit will be needed by 1978, The
station may have an ultimate installed capaci-
ty of 2,000 megawatts. Cooling water for the
first unit, 6,000-8,000 acre-feet per year,
would be diverted from Huntington Creek, a
tributary of San Rafael River,
The Board's comments were in regard to
the disposal of cooling water blowdown and
the effect on the salinity ofthe Colorado Riv-
er. By letter of May 19, 1971, to the Bureau
of Reclamation, Region 4, the Board com-
mented that "due to the major Colorado Riv-
er salinity problem, both the Mohave
GllBllratiBg StatiGB iB Nll"ada and the Naw-
jo Generating Station in Arizona will not
discharge their cooling water blowdown to
the Colorado System, The Huntington Can-
yon Generating Station should follow the
same procedure with regard to blowdown
water as did the above two plants."
By letter of August 18, 1971, the Bureau of
Reclamation notified the Board that there
will be no return of blowdown or waste wa-
ter to the river from the project.

Interagency Programming Committee

The Interagency Programming Commit-
te~, consisting o.f the water quality represent-
atives of the varIOUS California state agencies,
has the responsibility to evaluate and coordi-
nate water quality related activities by Cali-
fornia's state agencies. The Principal
Hydraulic Engineer represented the Board
on the Committee in 197!.

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The State Water Resources Control Board
(SWRCB) is required to review each state
agency's water quality related activities in
order to detect any overlaps, or duplication
of efforts. The Interagency Programming
Committee provides the information re-
quired for the analysis. In a report dated No-
vember 1971, the SWRCB found no obvious
duplications in the state's proposed 1972-73
budget for water quality related programs.
Three specific recommendations were made
for improving the State's water quality pro-
gram; however, none directly affected the
Colorado River Board.

Water Quality Monitoring Network

The Board's 1970 annual report discusses
the development of an effective coordinated
water quality surveillance program for the
Lower Colorado River. During 1971, a specif-
ic sampling and testing schedule was imple-
mented at 57 water quality monitoring
stations operated by the Bureau of Reclama-
tion, Geological Survey, Environmemal Pro-
tection Agency, and International Boundary
and Water Commission.
Sampling at a number of stations in 1971
was more frequent than will normally be the
case. The intensive sampling was performed
to determine the cause of short-term salinity
fluctuations in the lower river, Under the
normal testing schedule, the Bureau of Recla-
~atio~ anticipates that salt loads of all major
dIVersIOns and returns can be determined to
95 percent accuracy most of the time, At the
close of the year the data from the intensive,
short-term sampling program was being edit-
ed.
During 1971, the Geological Survey began
providing monthly provisional water quality
data to the Board for six stations on the Low-
er Colorado River between Hoover Dam and
the northerly international boundary with
Mexico,