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<br />A. Introduction <br /> <br />The Colorado River system (see Figure 1) is the only <br />source of surface water in the heartland of seven western <br />states bounded by the Rocky Mountains on the east and the <br />Sierras on the west. It is the region's life blood, and its <br />apportionment between the Upper and Lower Basins and within <br />the states in each of these basins has long been the subject <br />of intense controversy. Recently, there has been a great <br />deal of interest about whether there will be enough water in <br />the Upper Colorado River Basin to supply a vast energy <br />industry, and a number of studies have focused on this issue. <br /> <br />The purpose of this paper is to take a closer look at <br />some of the critical water supply variables which sometimes <br />go unhighlighted in these recent studies. The paper begins <br />with a compilation of the major conclusions from the recent <br />water supply studies on the availability of water for energy <br />development in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The second <br />section of the paper then notes the wide fluctuation and <br />possible downtrend of Colorado River virgin flows, while the <br />third section presents the most important legal assumptions <br />for allocating these flows under the 1922 Colorado River <br />Compact. The fourth section of the paper explores how <br />Colorado River virgin flows might be allcoated if they are <br />not augmented by some 2.0 million acre-feet (MAF), and if <br />existing and projected water depletions in the Lower Basin go <br />uncurtailed, particularly in southern California and central <br />Arizona. Finally, the last sections of the paper address the <br />problem of apportioning the statewide percentage entitlements <br />of the 1948 Upper Colorado River Compact among each Upper <br />Basin state's Colorado River tributaries, and suggests some <br />benchmarks for determining when each Upper Basin state must <br />start making decisions about such tributary apportionments. <br />The extent to which such compact considerations may constrain <br />intrastate water rights and development plans is also <br />illustrated by these last sections. <br /> <br />- <br />./f.; .'. <br /> <br />-1- <br />