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<br />hUp://wire,ap.org/APne..Ac,1323a&FRONTlD=SEARCH <br /> <br />http://wire,ap,org/APnews/center?STORYO ID=204c, 1323a&FRONTlD=SEARCH <br /> <br />002748 <br /> <br />-";,,$lUC. <br /> <br />12/19/199709:45 EST <br /> <br />Western Officials Praise Water Plan <br /> <br />By ANGIE WAGNER <br />Associated Press Writer <br /> <br />LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Officials who manage valuable water supplies in the West praised a federal plan <br />that would let them transfer water between states, enabling fast-growing areas to take full advantage of <br />precious allotments from the Colorado River. <br /> <br />Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt unveiled the plan Thursday at the annual meeting of the Colorado River <br />Water Users Association. <br /> <br />The plan would have a major impact on booming southern Nevada, which currently uses about 215,000 <br />acre-feet of its annual 300,000-acre-foot allocation from the Colorado. <br /> <br />An acre-foot of water -- meaning enough water to cover an acre at a depth of 1 foot -- can serve one or <br />two families for a year. <br /> <br />The new rules would allow Nevada to store its leftover water in aquifers -- underground areas containing <br />water -- in Arizona. Nevada could then draw against those reserves after the turn of the century, as growth <br />requires more water. Las Vegas is one of the nation's fastest-growing cities. <br /> <br />"I think this is one of the most significant steps that has happened on the Colorado River in decades," <br />said Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. "It is the first time two states <br />in the lower basin have worked this cooperatively on water management issues." <br /> <br />Storing water in Arizona is a money-saving step that would "take us through comfortably to year 2030, <br />even with the most aggressive growth," Mulroy said. <br /> <br />Babbitt also told delegates Thursday that California must work harder to live within its Colorado River <br />allocation of 4.4 million acre-feet of water. The state currently draws more than 5.2 million acre-feet from <br />the river annually, tapping water unused by Arizona, Nevada and other states. <br /> <br />California water authorities in October drafted a plan to reduce the state's demand for water from the <br />nver. <br /> <br />The Colorado River Water Users Association's meeting involves water officials and representatives of <br />Indian tribes from the seven Colorado River states -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New <br />Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. <br /> <br />Home I US News I World News I Business I Snorts I Index I Weather I Help <br /> <br />lof2 <br /> <br />12/22/9712:00:36 <br />