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<br />The changes would go beyond the Colorado River's winter months. A seven year drought <br />began in 1931 in the American Plains.76 A series of storms and record high temperatures during this <br />period would be referred to as the "Dust Bowl." Water surface temperatures in the North Atlantic <br />Ocean, as measured by the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation Index (AMO) would shift to a positive <br />(or elevated temperature) phase. The 1930s would see an increase in tropical storms and hurricanes <br />in the Gulf of Mexico.77 <br /> <br />The combined effects of drought and economic depression would provide new energy for the <br />construction and development of water infrastructure throughout the West. It would also fuel a great <br />migration from the Midwest to Southern California and eventually to the Colorado Front Range and <br />Arizona <br /> <br />While W odd War II would end the Great Depression, the general dry conditions in the <br />Colorado River Basin would continue until some time in the mid to late 1960s when nature would <br />again make a change. <br /> <br />Developments on the Lower River <br /> <br />On July 3, 1930 President Hoover signed legislation providing an initial appropriation of <br />$10.66 million for the construction of Hoover Dam. By 1935 the dam was completed and the first <br />water stored. Hoover Dam was actually constructed in Black Canyon, not Boulder Canyon. It <br />impounds Lake Mead. Lake Mead had an initial storage capacity of 32.5 million acre feet. 78 Hoover <br />Dam is a major hydroelectric resource with an installed capacity of 1,500 megawatts. <br /> <br />In 1933, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) and Reclamation entered into a cooperative <br />agreement for the construction of Parker Dam. Parker Dam is the pumping forebay for MWD' s <br />Colorado River Aqueduct. Under the cooperative agreement, MWD provided the funding and <br />Reclamation constructed the project. Used as a pumping forebay, Parker Dam impounds Lake <br />Havasue which has a capacity of approximately 700,000 af Its power plant has a capacity of 118 <br />megawatts. <br /> <br />The construction of Parker Dam triggered a November 10, 1934 proclamation by the <br />Governor of Arizona declaring martial law and ordering the Arizona National Guard to take <br />possession of the land in Arizona needed for the east abutment of the dam to prevent construction. <br />While it seems comical today, it caused the Secretary ofthe Interior to issue a stop work order until <br />the issue could be resolved by Congress and the U.S. Supreme COurt.79 <br /> <br />76 Gregory McCabe, Michael Palecki and Julio Betancourt, "Pacific and Atlantic Ocean Influences on Multidecadal Drought <br />Frequency in the United States." PNAS, March 23, 2004 <br /> <br />77id. <br /> <br />78 In 1964, Reclamation downiszed the capacity of Lake Mead to 28.5 million acre feet. See www.usbr.gov/Ic. The website has a great <br />deal of information on Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. <br /> <br />79 House Document 717, Eightieth Congress, Second Session pages A701-A705. Congress ultimately had to authorize the <br />construction of Parker Dam. It did so on August 30, 1935, 49 Stat 1039. <br /> <br />Page -27- <br />