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<br />fJJ1595 <br /> <br />2002] <br /> <br />THE lAST GREEN lAGOON <br /> <br />951 <br /> <br />significant implications for the future of the Delta.296 Most <br />importantly, the new Criteria will result in an inevitable <br />reduction of "excess" flows (i.e., flows not utilized in the Lower <br />Basin or Mexico). Unfortunately, those same excess flows were <br />also responsible for the Delta's partial restoration in recent <br />years. <br /> <br />IV <br />PROPOSALS FOR SECURING WATER FOR THE DELTA <br /> <br />The municipalities have won the latest round of the Colorado <br />River water wars, increasing both the size and reliability of their <br />water supplies; Southern California's Metropolitan Water District <br />now has a larger, more secure source of water, and options on <br />even more. San Diego County Water Authority has its precious <br />transfer agreement, and Phoenix. Tucson, and Las Vegas have <br />increased the relative amount and reliability of their supplies via <br />the Arizona Water Bank. By contrast, agriculture was the clear <br />loser, and now faces the accelerating erosion of its water rights <br />throughout the Lower Basin (although individual users are often <br />well-paid for those rights). However, the biggest loser may prove <br />to .. be the environment. Ironically, these first steps towards <br />rationalizing water distribution on the Colorado have only <br />exacerbated the problems facing the Delta. <br />If the Delta is to survive, it will need a permanent supply of <br />water, despite the fact that virtually every drop of Colorado River <br />water has. been claimed and what little remains has been <br />aggressively targeted for development. Reservoir drawdowns <br />under the new Surplus Criteria and the storage of excess water <br />in the Arizona Water Bank will increase the volume of Lower <br />Basin use of Colorado River water, reducing both the frequency <br />and volume of flood flows that reach the Delta. When combined <br />with a growing population. and increases in Upper Basin use, <br />this development guarantees that even the occasional surplus <br />flows on which the Delta has survived will soon disappear. <br />The inescapable conclusion is that water for the Delta must <br />come from existing users in the Upper Basin, the Lower Basin, or <br />Mexico. Getting this water to the Delta will not be an easy task. <br /> <br />296. This is not a criticism of BOR's failure to adopt one of the other two likely <br />alternatives; the primary difference between the alternatives was merely the speed at <br />which this reduction would occur. Either the "California" alternative or the "Six <br />States" alternative would have had a similar impact on surplus flows, with the former <br />reducing flows substantially more sharply, the latter reducing flows somewhat less <br />than the preferred altemative. Id <br />