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<br />Oil0311 <br /> <br />B. Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District <br /> <br />WMIDD is located in southwestern Arizona along the Gila River just east <br />of the Colorado River. WMIDD diverts Colorado River water from Imperial <br />Dam through the Gila Gravity Main Canal. Water is then turned out into the <br />Wellton-Mohawk Canal. WMIDD was originally envisioned to serve 75,000 <br />acres, but following reductions it now serves approximately 58,200 irrigable acres <br />in the valley and 4,550 acres on the mesa. The District's contract for Colorado <br />River water was originally for a consumptive use of300,000 af/yr but has been <br />reduced to 278,000 af/yr as a result of transfers that were associated with an <br />Indian water rights settlement. <br /> <br />WMIDD operates a drainage system made up of 90 wells with a nominal <br />spacing of 1 mile. The average depth of the wells is 100 feet. Drainage water is <br />pumped into a concrete lined collector system. Collected water is conveyed <br />westward to the Main Outlet Drain (MOD). The quality of the drainage <br />discharge has averaged about 2,689 mg/l for the years 1999-2003. The volume of <br />the drainage discharge for the same period averaged approximately 113,000 af/yr. <br /> <br />Legislation (P.L. 106-221) has been enacted to transfer the title to major <br />project facilities from the United States to WMIDD. WMIDD has entered into a <br />Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) to <br />complete this transfer. The MOA contains a provision in which the WMIDD has <br />agreed to accept the Bureau's goal of limiting delivery of agricultural return flows <br />to the Yuma Desalting Plant's design capacity, and that WMIDD's water <br />management activities will reflect this goal to the extent the goal remains <br />relevant, regardless of whether the United States operates the YDP or not. <br /> <br />e. Cienega de Santa Clara <br /> <br />The Cienega de Santa Clara (Cienega) is the largest wetland remaining in <br />the Colorado River delta in Mexico. The Cienega was historically a large <br />overflow arm of the <br />Rio Colorado, but <br />was desiccated over <br />time with extensive <br />development of <br />Colorado River water <br />upstream. It is in a <br />natural depression <br />formed by the Cerro <br />Prieto fault, a branch <br />of the San Andreas <br />fault line that enters <br />the Gulf of California <br />near the town of <br />Santa Clara. The <br />Cienega lies within a <br />geologic basin <br /> <br /> <br />Recommendations of the YDP/Cienega Workgroup <br /> <br />4 <br />