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<br />. <br /> <br />ty. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. },," <br /> <br />~~,..~ c~~"t~f\l <br />1)'1 . 'I .. tho '1 <br />~ 1... ; 11.... !, <br /> <br />':r;::1~955 <br /> <br />r~'; <br />cr ". <br /> <br />, <br />/ <br />, <br />, <br />:,/ <br />SOI-ill ENGINEERING ASPECTS OF 'lliE UPPER COLORi,rO RIVER BASIN PLAN <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />A stateillent by E. O. Larson, Regional Director, P~g~on 4, <br />Bureau of Reclomation, Salt Ldce City, Utah, bei'ore the <br />annual meeting of the hnerican Society of Civil Engineers, <br />San Diego, California, February 10, 1955. <br /> <br />The Upper Colorado River Basin plan, of Which the Colorado <br />River Storage project now be:ore ~le Congress is a part, is a comprehen- <br />sive plan to harness and utilize tile erratic waters of tne Upper Colorado <br />River. TIle ?roblems involved in this plan are manifold and have been <br />highly puoUcized during the past year. As a result of the hearings <br />before the 83rd Congress the spotlight has been on the political, finan- <br />cial, and emotional questions that have been raised by this proposal. <br />In the controversy that has flourished the engineering proble~s involved <br />in the plan have become secondar;;' in the public mine.. It is on this phase <br />of the pIcon that I vish to talk. I do not want to underestimate the <br />llilportance of otb.er problems, but I do believe that as a group of engineers <br />your interests lie in t1le intriguinr engineering aspects of t:lis underta]cing. <br /> <br />If I emphasize hydl'ology in this present~ticn, it is because it <br />is of primary il'lpo:::'tunce to a solution of the problems created 'cJy the nature <br />of the Colorudo River. In simplest tel"lllS, ~le challenge bef0re tJ1e engineers <br />is to discipline tJle unr~ly and undependable flow of tile river and to make <br />water available for man's use during dry periods. This is difficult enough <br />in itself, and is further complicated by tho leg~ restrictions imposed on <br />the Upper Colorado River Das~n by ir.terstate compact end international <br />treaty. For tJ10se of you ~1ho are not fomiliar \-lith tJ1e bscl:ground of the <br />Colorado Storage I ~nll very brie~ly Give you the essential facts. <br /> <br />The Colorado River drains parts of seven large ',"estern States. <br />Its 242,OOO-square-mile basin cc.mprises one-tt~elfth of the area of con- <br />tinental United States. The average annual precipitation of less than 15 <br />inches for the entire drainage area is the lowest for tile major river <br />basins of America. Tne Colorado River is in the heart of the arid West <br />where wcter, because of scarcity, is especially precious. The high value <br />of the water provides un ~ncentive for further co~servation and utiliza- <br />tion, and at the same time it has caused each segment of the basin to become <br />particluarly alert to its Otnl interest in the Colorado River. Two inter- <br />state compacts, ce~tain congressional enactments, the treaty bet~leen the <br />United States and 11exico, and other important documents have not fully <br />resolved the various claims to the water. <br /> <br />About 85 percent of the virgin flow of the Colorado River at the <br />Mexican border is derived f~om contributions of tributaries in the upper <br />half 00: t..'<e river's drainage area, above Lee Ferr,r in northern Arizona. <br /> <br />\,1 \. '1 <br />