BOARD00179 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 5/23/2007
• Description: Director's Report - CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Development of a framework of tasks needed for a sustainable watershed plan. The
flood protection section provided $4,500 to an ecological consulting firm to produce a
deliverable, and a draft report is expected for distribution in early June 2007.

Colorado River Water Use: As of April 1, 2007, storage in the four major Upper Basin
reservoirs increased by 226,500 acre-feet and storage in the Lower Basin reservoirs
decreased by 290,900 acre-feet during March 2007. Total system active storage as of
April 4 was 33.327 million acre-feet (MAF), or 56 percent of capacity, which is 0.230 MAF
less than one year ago. (Upper Basin reservoirs increased by 1.167 MAF, and Lower Basin
reservoirs decreased by 1.397 MAF.)

The end-of-year measure for 2005 California agricultural consumptive use of Colorado River
water under the first three priorities and the sixth priority of the 1931 California Seven
Party Agreement was reported as 3.524 MAF; and for 2005, the end-of-year measure was
3.581 MAF. The target under the Interim Surplus Guidelines (ISG) for the end of 2003
was 3.740 MAF, and the target for 2006 is 3.640 MAF, thus California was in compliance
with the ISG through 2005. 2006 end-of-year use was reported as 3.680 MAF. Tracking
of use in 2007 is shown below, with forecasted uses at the end of 2007 of approximately
3.746 MAF.

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program: The spring 2007 Forum meeting
will be held in Jackson Wyoming on June 5-6, 2007. The issue USDA producer cost-share
rates means a major focus since it may impact farmer participation in the salinity
program due to the ability of farmers to pay. USBR has provided an outline of the
process they will use for the Basinwide Salinity Program Review and the Work Group
has provided comments to the study leaders. Steve Miller from our staff will represent
us on the Independent Review Team. The review will allow the Work Group and
Forum to make recommendations for changes that will improve project development,
comparison, and implementation. Reclamation has also provided a Plan of Study for an
update of the Paradox deep well brine injection project.

Permanent drought predicted for Southwest: Study says global warming threatens
to create a Dust Bowl-like period. Water politics could also get heated.

The driest periods of the last century - the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and the droughts of
the 1950s - may become the norm in the Southwest United States within decades
because of global warming, according to a study released Thursday. The research
suggests that the transformation may already be underway. Much of the region has been
in a severe drought since 2000, which the study's analysis of computer climate models
shows as the beginning of a long dry period.

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