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COLORADO RIVER LONG-TERM AUGMENTATION STUDY REPORT -The 7- <br />Colorado River Basin States, as part of the 7-state proposal concerning Coordinated Operations of <br />Colorado River Reservoirs and the development of Lower Basin Shortage Criteria, agreed to undertake a <br />study of possible ways to augment the water supply of the Colorado River as a whole. The Southern <br />Nevada Water Authority agreed to be the lead for this study effort. Colorado River Water Consultants, a <br />joint venture between CH2MHi11 and Black and Veatch, was selected to perform the study. <br />That study has now been completed and all 7 Colorado River Basin States have signed a letter <br />transmitting the results of that study to the Secretary of Interior. We are attaching a copy of the fact sheet <br />summarizing the study results. Randy Seaholm served as Colorado's technical representative. <br />COLORADO RIVER- DISCUSSIONS WITH MEXICO -The US Core Group met on <br />February 12, 2008 to formulate a US list of potential joint projects for bi-national consideration. <br />Mexico's list of proposed projects included: 1) Desalting at various sites; 2) treating and reusing the New <br />River (now a waste stream to the Salton Sea; 3) modernization of the Mexicali irrigation districts; 4) <br />conveyance of Mexican water through the All American canal; 5) Emergency water deliveries to Tijuana <br />at the Otay connection; 6) wetlands protection; 7) Aquifer monitoring around Mexicali and lastly; 8) <br />Drought Management, including defining the term extraordinary drought. <br />The US Core Group, after discussing a variety of options, finally decided to focus on the list of Mexican <br />projects which they thought may have some bi-national benefits. The interest at present seems to focus <br />on some small Mexican projects that might have enough support to actually move forward and help pave <br />the way for discussions on bigger, more long-term projects for augmentation in the future. The next <br />meeting is scheduled for March 11 t1i. The purpose of the Bi-national meeting will be to discuss the two <br />nation's priorities and come to some agreement on which ones to move on to the work group process. <br />1922-2007: 85 YEARS OF THE COLORADO RIVER COMPACT -Eighty-five years ago, <br />representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin states joined then-Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover <br />at Bishop's Lodge in Santa Fe, N.M., to negotiate an agreement to divide the Colorado River. The <br />Colorado River Compact, signed on Nov. 24, 1922, was a historic milestone. It was the first time more <br />than three states negotiated an apportionment for the waters of a stream. It divided the watershed into the <br />Upper and the Lower basins and allocated the w°ater between them. It laid the groundwork for <br />construction of Hoover Dam, whose construction changed the course of the Southwest. <br />The Compact also attempted to look into the future and determine the water needs of the vast Colorado <br />River Basin. But the signers did not realize the river's flow would one day be insufficient to meet all the <br />demands. Nor could they foresee the immense urban growth, the strong interest in protecting the natural <br />environment and the implications of climate change in the 21st century. <br />The future of the Colorado River Basin is the focus of much debate as federal officials on both sides of <br />the U.S.-Mexican border along with the states, Indian tribes, environmentalists and others consider a long <br />list of challenges related to water supply, water demand and environmental protection. But the past <br />continues to influence the present as today's stakeholders interpret the modern-day meaning of the articles <br />that comprise the historic Compact. <br />The Compact is just one element in the Law of the River that is regarded as something of a constitution <br />when it comes to management of the Colorado River. The current challenge: managing the river during <br />the ongoing drought. <br />On Dec. l ;, 2007, Interior Secretary Dirk hempthorne signed an historic agreement that establishes <br />guidelines for coordinated operation of Lakes Powell and Mead under low-reservoir conditions and for <br />shortage allocations among the Lower Basin states. <br />.,.22.,. <br />