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<br />000782 <br /> <br />CHAPTER 1 <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Since the turn of the century, the Pederal Govern~ent, <br />prinarily through the Bureau of Reclanation, has spent <br />hundreds of millions of dollars in planning, constructing, <br />operating, and maintaining \Vater facilities in the Colorado <br />River Basin. Originally, facilities were constructed to <br />reclaim arid and semiarid lands in the seven basin States <br />through irrigation. (The basin States are California, <br />Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.) <br />Later, these facilities were expanded to include power <br />generation; flood control; municipal and industrial uses; <br />recreational activities; providing water to Mexico; and fish, <br />wildlife, and enVirOnI,lental protection. Although 1977 was <br />one of the driest years on record, the basin States were <br />able to receive their normal, or close to normal, amount <br />of Colorado River water because of these facilities. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation has planned water projects <br />for irrigation, power, and other beneficial uses. Existing <br />water facilities make available for consumptive use between <br />70 and 80 percent of the river water available to the <br />United States in the basin. Other projects are currently <br />being planned to develop the remaining water resources. <br /> <br />DESCRIPTION OF THE BASIN <br /> <br />The ColoradO River originates in the Rocky Mountains <br />of Colorado and Wyoming, flows southwest about 1,400 miles, <br />and empties into the Gulf of California. It drains an area <br />of 242,000 square ~iles in seven States, which represents <br />one-twelfth of the area of the United States, excluding <br />Alaska. The basin has climatic extrenes of year-round <br />snow cover and heavy precipitation on the high peaks of <br />the Rockies and desert conditions with very low precipita- <br />tion in southeast California and southwest Arizona. The <br />Colorado River is controlled by several dans and reservoirs. <br />The Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell store most of the Upper <br />Basin's water and control releases to the Lower Basin. The <br />Hoover Dan and Lake Mead store most of the Lower Basin's <br />supply and control the amount of water released to Lower <br />Basin users. <br /> <br />Most land in the river basin belongs to the Pederal <br />Government, as shown in the following table. <br /> <br />I <br />