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<br />000824 <br /> <br />I will return to these questions in a moment. However, let me first summarize where we <br />are today. In recent months there has been substantial public awareness of the prolonged <br />drought in the Colorado River Basin. At the Department, we have been closely monitoring the <br />drought conditions in the Basin. We have actively sought to inform the public about the severity <br />of the drought and Secretary Norton has highlighted her concern with the worsening drought <br />conditions in her formal remarks to the Colorado River Water Users Association over the past <br />two years.1l <br /> <br />Here are some of the key statistics that we are focusing on regarding the drought in the <br />Colorado. <br /> <br />Flows in the Colorado have been abnormally low since 1999. In water year 2000, inflow <br />to Lake Powell was 62 percent of average; in WY 2001, it was 59 percent of average; in WY <br />2002, it was only 25 percent of average, the lowest on record; and in WY 2003, it was 53 percent <br />of average. <br /> <br />The month of March 2004 brought the reality of the drought into sharp relief. Basin <br />snowpack on March 1, 2004 was 96% of average. Extremely warm and dry conditions over the <br />month of March caused basin snowpack to drop over 30 percentage points. As of May 5th, <br />unregulated inflow to Lake Powell this water year is expected to be only 53 percent of average. <br />Thus, we are clearly not yet coming out of the drought. <br /> <br />This is the fifth consecutive dry year in the Basin. Since record-keeping began 100 years <br />ago, there have never been six consecutive years of below average runoff (as measured at Lees <br />Ferry). <br /> <br />I See Sec. Norton's Remarks to Colorado River Water Users Association: <br /> <br />Our common future is shaped by record drought and population growth within the Basin. These <br />factors herald a new era of limits on Colorado River water use. These limits are shaping the <br />decisions that will guide the future course of river management. <br /> <br />Remarks of Secretary Gale A. Norton, at 1 (Dec. 16,2002). <br /> <br />To accommodate these new arrivals, we need to make the smartest and most efficient use of the limited <br />supplies of the River. Innovative arrangements will need to be developed. For such arrangements to <br />succeed, they must be mutually-agreed-upon transactions within each respective Basin, and fully consistent <br />with the Law of the River. <br /> <br />Remarks of Secretary Gale A. Norton, at 7 (Dec. 16,2002). <br /> <br />Although we do not know how long or severe the drought will be, we have a responsibility to plan <br />for the possibility that surplus water may not be available in the Lower Basin for an extended <br />period of time. We may also need to accelerate the development of procedures for the <br />administration of shortages on the Lower Colorado. <br /> <br />Remarks of Secretary Gale A. Norton, at 4 (Dec. 11,2003). <br /> <br />Prepared Remarks - Keynote Address <br />Law of the Colorado River <br /> <br />Page 2 of 8 <br />