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<br />OOJ3!6 <br /> <br />water that can have a negative effect on crop production. To avoid waterlogging, <br />drainage facilities have been installed and are used extensively. Drainage <br />facilities are in the form of both open channel drains and wells which pump water <br />into drain channels. Drainage and waterlogging are chronic problems. <br /> <br />At the present time, the Yuma area irrigation districts believe that <br />additional drainage pumpage is required to alleviate mounding problems. The <br />irrigation districts, along with several government entities, formed an organization <br />called the Yuma Area Water Resources Management Group (Y A WRMAG) to see <br />if water management issues can be addressed collectively. The Preliminary <br />Report of the Y A WRMAG effort recommended implementation of programs that <br />would result in an increased amount of drainage pumpage in the Yuma <br />agricultural areas to 90,000 acre feet per year. <br /> <br />In 2003 the Arizona legislature enacted Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) <br />945-547 and 945-107.01 which contain provisions that would facilitate a <br />cooperative program to aid the local water users in solving the waterlogging <br />problem. The statutes create an opportunity for the United States to obtain a <br />permit to pump the surplus groundwater in the Yuma Basin. Ifthe United States <br />uses the water in a manner which either offsets the Wellton Mohawk bypass flow <br />or as a replacement supply for the YDP brine stream, Arizona would agree to <br />waive return flow credits it otherwise would be entitled to claim. <br /> <br />III. Planning Objectives <br /> <br />A statement of objectives helps provide a focus for the formulation and <br />evaluation of plans. Issues related to the Colorado River have many inter-related <br />parts and it is often difficult to isolate issues. For example, it is hard to develop a <br />plan to maintain and protect the Cienega without being cognizant of issues related <br />to the ecosystem ofthe Colorado River delta as a whole. However, experience <br />has shown that it is not usually possible to deal with too many issues <br />simultaneously and that solving a more discreet set of issues will lead to <br />incremental progress. <br /> <br />The YDP/Cienega Workgroup focused its work by defining a set of <br />objectives with which its solutions must be consistent in order to be acceptable. <br />These include fundamental objectives, which must be met by all solutions, and <br />multi-functional objectives, which, ifmet, should result in a more broadly <br />supported proposal. <br /> <br />A. Fundamental objectives <br /> <br />1. Solutions must reduce or eliminate the risks of shortage to Lower Basin water <br />users associated with the continued bypass ofWMIDD drainage water to <br />Mexico. <br /> <br />2. Solutions must maintain the wildlife habitat and ecosystem values of the <br />Cienega de Santa Clara. <br /> <br />Recommendations of the YDP/Cienega Workgroup <br /> <br />9 <br />