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<br />UUUIJU
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<br />The Colorado River
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<br />Also in 1999, the U.~. and Canad~ made the propos.ed. referral to the DC, which reques~e~,thetiq;,i';.
<br />study water co~sun:~tlOn, water wIthdrawals .and theIr Impacts, and current law.s and POhCH~$ ~that~)l#i.)t
<br />affect the sustamabIhty of the water resource 10 boundary and transbound.ary baslOS. In March:2000,Jhe
<br />HC issued its final report. The report recommends that the governments 10 the U.S. and Can~da,;vvOti(.
<br />develop a common standard for regulating water removals based on not endangering the integriiyo,f"
<br />ecosystern of the Great Lakes Basin, and that the states further strengthen conservation, data ahdreSeaff
<br />efforts. ' .
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<br />In June 2000, Governor Engler of Michigan announced that the Great Lakes Governors and Premiei~~had:
<br />agreed on a new standard for protection of the Great Lakes. No new or increased withdrawalsqf\v~tf~{
<br />would be allowed from the Great Lakes Basin unless the proponent can establish that there wil1be'ili~;
<br />improvement to the waters and water-dependent natural resources of the Basin, that withdrawals Wilht "
<br />cause significant adverse impacts to resource quantity or quality, that an reasonable conseii:
<br />measures have been implemented, and that the projec,;t complies with all other applicable laws. . GQY~.
<br />Engler also announced that the Governors planned to enter into "Annex 2000," which would adQphtltis
<br />standard, along with a decision support initiative, into the Great Lakes Charter. 'XJit
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<br />Finally, at the end of the 106th Congress, in 2000, Congress passed an amendment to the 1986 W~e~.
<br />Resources Development Act that encourages the Great LakesStates, in consultation with the ProVincesX"
<br />Ontario aild Quebec, to develop and implement a mechanism that provides a common conservap.
<br />standard embodying the principles of water conservation and resource improvement for making decisi<1n~:
<br />concerning the withdrawal and use of water from the Great Lakes Basin.' The legislation also asksfu(;:
<br />Secretary of State to work with the Canadian Government to encourage and support developmentari.it
<br />implementation by the Provinces of a sirnilar standard. .
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<br />General Background
<br />The Colorado River flows from its headwaters in Colorado and Wyoming, through the states of Utah,
<br />New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California, and the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora, to
<br />the Gulf of California. The River flows 1,450 miles and drops 10,000 feet in elevation. The Basin
<br />comprises about 250 rnillion acres, 56 percent of which is owned by the federal government, 19 percent
<br />of which is privately owned, 8.5 percent of which is owned by the states, and 16.5 percent of which is
<br />occupied by 34 Indian reservations. In the United States, water from the River provides a water supply to
<br />over 20 million people, irrigates three million acres of land, and supplies 11.5 billion kilowatt-hours of
<br />hydroelectric power. About two percent of the basin is in Mexico, where the River' irrigates about
<br />500,000 acres and supplies the cities of Me xi cali, Tecate and Tijuana.
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<br />Before its development, flows in the River fluctuated wildly, both within the year and from year-to-year.
<br />In the last 100 years, annual flows ranged from over 23 million acre feet to as little as 7 million acre feet.
<br />Most of that flow occurred in the spring runoff, peaking at over 86,000 c.f.s. Along with the, water, the
<br />River pushed approximately 85 million tons per year .of sediment in and over its banks, carving the Grand
<br />Canyon and providing substrate for riparian vegetation. At its Delta, the River's deposits created almost 2
<br />million acres of riparian, freshwater, brackish and tidal wetlands. The Delta once supported 200-400
<br />species of plants, and gallery forests and lagoons that were home to jaguars, beavers, deer and coyotes,
<br />waterfowl, fish and crustaceans. .
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<br />Following the negotiation of the Colorado River Compact in 1922, Congress in 1928 authorized the
<br />construction of the first major works on the River, Hoover Dam and the All-American Canal. In the
<br />United States today, there are some ten major dams on the River and its tributaries, capable of storing
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