WSP10809

• File Number: 8273.500
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control - Federal Agency Reports - EPA
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 4/1/1978
• Title: Integrating Desalination and Agricultural Salinity Control Alternatives
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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To identify the saline water flows in the region as
to quality characteristics, flow magnitude and vari- ,
ation, location with regards to power and labor
supplies, brine disposal, and environmental impact,
and requirements for collection and conveyance;
To determine the costs of desalting a fraction or
all of these flows to achieve a range of salinity
control in the river system;
To formulate an analytical procedure for selecting
an optimal level of desalination in an area where
other methods of control could also be used. This
procedure requires that the cost-effectiveness of
desalination be compared with similar relationships
describing the other alternatives, subject to a
salinity control potential, an agricultural, urban,
or industrial water development plan, and a policy
for maintaining or reducing salinity concentrations
basin-wide; and
4. To determine the specific data requirements, research
needs, and system parameters most influential on
the structure of a regional salinity control tech-
nology in order to insure reliability in its eventual
implementation and provide the basis for applying
these results to other salinity affected river systems.

The Upper Colorado River Basin contains vast reserves of
oil shale and coal essential to the future energy needs of the
nation. The rapidly growing urban centers of Denver, Salt
Lake City, and Albuquerque will require substantial interbasin
transfers to meet their water resource needs. These developments
will compound the already serious salinity problem in the basin
and steps must be taken to offset the expected damages. Because
of the serious nature of the salinity problem in the Lower
Colorado River Basin, the most binding constraints on future
water resource developments in the Upper Basin might very well
be salinity rather than each state's entitlement under the
Colorado River Compact of 1922. The specific recommendations
for resolving this problem are still being investigated with
the exception of possibly the decision to construct the desalting
facilities on the We1lton-Mohawk Drain. There has, however,
been a statement of policy by the basin states and the U. S.
E~vironmental Protection Agency to the effect that salinity
concentrations should be maintained at or below existing levels.
The EPA has supported salinity related investigations in the
basin for a number of years to identify alternative control
measures and their feasibility. The Bureau of Reclamation
through a Congressional mandate has been given the responsi-
bility of planning for and implementing salinity controls in
the basin. Both agencies will necessarily rely on previous
investigations in coordinating their policy and instigating

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