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<br />-6- <br /> <br />water upstream to a quantity somewhat less than 600,000 <br />acre-feet a year, and perhaps as little as 375,000 acre- <br />feet a year. While the California witnesses have testi- <br />fied that they believe these estimates of return flow to <br />be too high, the committee believes that greater weight <br />should be given the estimates of the Federal agencies, <br />who have made , long and careful studies of this problem <br />and who are considered to b e disinterested witnesses." <br />(emphasis supplied) <br /> <br />(e) You overlook the "drought clause" (see Article 10) <br />in the Mexican Water Treaty. This reduces the allotment to <br />}jexLco "in the event of extraordinary drought or serious <br />accident to the irrigation system in the United States." <br />It must be assumed that the United States will take ad- <br />vantage of a treaty provision designed for its protection. <br />If you reduce the Mexico share during drought, you also re... <br />duce the potential charge against the Upper Basin. <br /> <br />(d) On page 10 of your statement there appears this <br />sentence: <br /> <br />"When the treaty with Mexico was exe.euted, <br />there was granted to Mexico about twice the amount <br />of water we could spare without loss to the Basin <br />in the United States.1I <br /> <br />The statement implies that the United States was unwi::,e in <br />making the treaty. The Colorado Water Board aoo the Colorado <br />River Basin Committee of States considered this overall and <br />important phase of the proposed treaty when it was under <br />discussion. The following statement from the report of the <br />United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the treaty <br />(Executive Report No.2, 79th Congress, 1st Session, p. 4), I <br />believe"correctly states the controlling view on this matter: <br /> <br />11_* ** the United States is now using only a little <br />over a third of the water which is made available for <br />her use under the treaty. Mexico, on the other hand, <br />is now using approximately 1,800,000 acre-feet a year, <br />and in the meantime some 8,000,000 or 9;000;000 acre- <br />feet of water flows through Mexican territory and wastes <br />unused into the Gulf of California. :'1:e testimony is <br />that it will be many years hence befo:re this water can <br />all be put to beneficial use in the United' State$. If <br />and when that time arrives, present l.lexican uses must <br />be curtailed. Thus, by placing a limit, measurably <br />below present Mexican diversions, upon the obligations <br />of the United States to supply Colorado River water to <br />Mexico, the treaty provides needed assurance to American <br />agencies and communities in planning future developments." <br /> <br />