PUB00155

• Year: 2007
• Title: The Colorado River The Story of a Quest for Certainty on a Diminishing River
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Author: Eric Kuhn
• Description: The Colorado River The Story of a Quest for Certainty on a Diminishing River
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

,\,c

',I'

The Upper Colorado River Basin Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Colorado River Storage Project and Participating Projects Act ............. 37
Arizona v. California - A Fourth Time ................................38
Upper Basin Development During the 1950s and 1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Colorado River Basin Project Act .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

CHAPTER V

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLORADO RIVER AND
THE LAW OF THE RIVER 1969 TO PRESENT ........................... 50

Introduction ..................................................... 50

The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act ......................... 50
Endangered Species Recovery Efforts and Other Environmental Programs . . . . 51
Growth and Water Use in the Colorado River Basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Operation of Glen Canyon Dam ..................................... 59
The California 4.4 Plan and the Development of the Interim Surplus Guidelines 61
Shortage Criteria for the Operation of Hoover Dam ...................... 62

CHAPTER VI

HYDROLOGY OF THE COLORADO
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING RIVER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
The Paleohydrologic Record ........................................ 68
Global Warming, Climate Change and the Colorado River Future Hydrology. . 70
Increasing Temperatures ...........................................70
Precipitation Changes ............................................. 71
Stream Flow Changes ............................................. 72
Transition to a More Arid Climate in Southwestern North America. . . . . . . . . . 74
Climate Change Summary. . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

CHAPTER VII

DISPUTES, DIFFERENCES OF OPINION AND UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
COLORADO RIVER INTERSTATE ISSUES ............................. 76
Implication of Climate Change on the Mexican Treaty Obligation Issues ..... 80
Impacts of Climate Change on Proposed Shortage Criteria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The Importance of the 602 (a) Storage Level Trigger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
How Will Climate Change Impact the Calculation of 602 (a)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Environmental Issues and Disputes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Impact of Climate Change on the Environmental Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Remedies - What Options do States or Other Parties Have to Make Changes? .91

11