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<br />001574 <br /> <br />930 <br /> <br />ECOLOGY lAW QUARTERLY <br /> <br />[Vol. 28:903 <br /> <br />i>- <br /> <br />C. The Growing Salinity Problem <br /> <br />The growing salinity problem on the Colorado is a direct <br />result of the increasing pressure on Colorado River water <br />resources, and is likely to playa critical role in shaping the <br />future use of the Colorado. At its source in the Wind River Range <br />in Wyoming, the river's salinity is less than 50 parts per million <br />(ppm); 167 by the time this water reaches Imperial Dam, however, <br />salinity levels can exceed' 879 ppm.168 These concentrations of <br />salt damage waterworks, cause corrosion in plumbing and <br />municipal delivery systems, increase construction and <br />maintenance costs, compromise water quality, and complicate <br />attempts to conseIVe water through the reuse of effluent and <br />agricultural wastewater.169 Salinity also progressively decreases <br />crop yields and affects soil structure. 170 To prevent salt buildup, <br />farmers must apply excess amounts of water to leach out <br />accumulated salts, creating yet another pressure on already <br />scarce water resources.171 This additional water usage in turn <br />requires increased fertilizer use, which further increases the cost <br />of farming.l72 High salinity levels may force farmers to switch to <br />lower value, salt-tolerant crops.173 According to a BOR study, a 1 <br /> <br />.. <br />~ . <br />t) <br />" <br />~ <br /> <br />government (even though the project is already enormously subsidized). See Glennon, <br />supra note 104, at 743-55. By providing almost half of all CAP water to the tribes, the <br />federal government (as tribal trustee) will be responsible for the entire cost of this <br />water. If the tribes chose to sell or lease their rights to CAP water to Arizona's <br />municipal interests (and ~ 206(e) of the Settlements Act precludes the Gila River <br />Indian Community from transferring its CAP water for use outside Arizona), the shell <br />game will be complete. The federal government will have built the State of Arizona a <br />$4 billion project, but demaI)ded less than $2 billion in repayment. Then, the federal <br />government will purchase almost one half of the water that flows through the CAP for <br />Indian tribes in Arizona. In so doing, much of the repayment money will be given <br />back to CAWCD (through the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund). In the <br />end, Arizona cities are likely to contract with the tribes for a large quantity of low- <br />cost, heavily subsidized CAP water. <br />167. See ALAN P. KLEINMAN & F. BRUCE BROWN, COLORADO RIvER SALlNl1Y: <br />EcONOMIC IMPAcr8 ON AGRICULTURAL, MUNICIPAL. AND INDustRIAL USERS, UNITED STATES <br />DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,. WATER AND POWER REsOURCES SERVICE 1 (1980). Salt <br />concentrations are typically measured in parts per million. A salinity increase of one <br />part per million is equivalent to adding 1 milligram of salts to 1 liter of water. <br />168. See PONTIUS. supra note 3, at 63. In contrast, the salt concentration of <br />"typical" seawater is around 34.420 ppm. See Key Desalination Facts, in SUSAN E. <br />PANTELL, SEAWATER DESALINATION IN CALIFORNIA (California Coastal Commission 1993), <br />available athttp://www.coastal.ca.gov. <br />169. See PONTIUS, supra note 3, at 67. <br />170. See KLEINMAN & BROWN. supra note 167, at 3. <br />171. See generaUy James P. Law & Arthur G. Hornsby,1he Colorado River Salinity <br />Problem. 6 WATER SUPPLY & MGMT. 87, 91-99 (1982). <br />172. See KLEINMAN, supra note 167. at 3. <br />173. See PONTIUS, supra note 3, at 67. <br />