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<br />.r. <br /> <br />a conjunctive management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, a study of long-term river <br />"augmentation" strategies, and proposed efficiency measures and projects that would save or better <br />utilize existing supplies on the Colorado River below Lake Mead. The Shortage Crieteria DEIS <br />includes the States alternative as one of the shortage proposal as one of the alternative shortage <br />criteria. <br /> <br />From the Upper Basin's perspective, the hydrology benefits from the States proposal are <br />relatively small. The proposed conjunctive or coordinated operation of Lake Mead and Lake Powell <br />will slightly reduce the risk of Lake Powell dropping below the minimum elevation necessary to <br />generate hydroelectric power (minimum power head). This slight reduction in the risk of Powell <br />dropping below minimum power head is offset by a slight increase in the amount of water the Upper <br />Basin delivers from Lake Powell over the period of the agreement. The States' proposed shortage <br />criteria and conjunctive management plan would be on an interim basis. They are intended to be <br />effective only through 2025. <br /> <br />The primary benefits of the States proposal are political. In theory, the proposal addresses <br />a number of salient political problems on the Colorado River system and reduces the risk of inter- <br />state litigation during the life of the agreement. <br /> <br />On both the intrastate and interstate fronts, the common denominator is certainty. <br /> <br />The Water Community and It's Ouest for Certainty <br /> <br />Perhaps from the days of Roman Empire, the common quest of water providers is certainty <br />of supply. Within the State of Colorado and within the Colorado River Basin, the concept of <br />certainty underlies much of the federal and state water law. <br /> <br />The motivation for the 1922 Colorado River Compact in the Upper Basin was a recognition <br />that the Lower Basin was growing faster than the Upper Basin. The Upper Basin States wanted a <br />compact in order to avoid the application of the prior appropriation doctrine on an interstate basin <br />basis. The Upper Basin States wanted certainty that a water supply would exist for their projects <br />when they had the demand and the resources to build projects. In the Lower Basin, nature provided <br />a very erratic and unruly river. There were both periods of great floods and extremely low flows. <br />The Lower Basin, primarily California, wanted the certainty provided by the construction of a large <br />reservoir to regulate the flows of the Colorado River.3 Thus, both basin needed each other's support <br />to accomplish their goals. <br /> <br />The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) had a particular problem with water supply certainty. <br />Prior to the construction of the All-American Canal, the IID supply canal went through Old Mexico <br /> <br />3 House Document 419, "The Colorado River," Eightieth Congress, First Session. Chapter III - "Forces Activating Interstate <br />Agreement. " <br /> <br />Page -2- <br />