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<br /> <br />w::-. <br />o <br />N <br />00 <br /> <br />A portion of the concrete-lined San Luis Drain near Firebaugh, CA, showing the flow of subsurface irriga- <br />tion return flows, Water is presently stored at Kesterson Reservoir, <br /> <br />Originally the Bureau of Reclamation considered <br />the San Luis Drain to be a drain which would be used <br />by all of the land along its route. Under the Carter <br />administration Westlands, in an effort to settle its dis- <br />putes with the federal government, offered to pay for <br />80 percent of the drain construction to the Delta. <br />Westlands constitutes about 80 percent of the federal <br />drain service area, If a valley-wide drain is eventually <br />built, Westlands will still account for about half the <br />entire service area, The Carter administration had <br />claimed that the San Luis Drain through Westlands <br /> <br />was not a main project feature of the federally-author- <br />ized San Luis Unit hut was Westlands' responsibility <br />as part of its internal drainage and collection system. <br />Westlands disputes this contention, claiming the drain <br />is a main Central Valley Project feature which the U,S, <br />is obligated to construct, Whether the Reagan admin- <br />istration will continue to support the Carter adminis- <br />tration's position is still unknown, although in a pend- <br />ing lawsuit by Westlands against the U,S" the govern- <br />ment continues to uphold the prior administration's <br />position, according to Johnston. <br /> <br /> <br />Concrete lining of San Luis Drain, If completed, the drain, part of the San Luis Unit built by the Bureau <br />of Reclamation, will extend 188 miles from Kettieman City to the lower San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. <br /> <br />9 <br />