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therefore have beer? a neighborly 51-1-50 snlit of the waters of
<br />the Colorado River. The commissioner from Arizona, however,
<br />insisted Chat if Che :Jpper $asin caere to get another million
<br />acre-feet of water, then the Lower Basin must have another
<br />miliioi.l acre-feet of water also. This threw the matter out of
<br />bc iance again.
<br />Since the conmissioner from Arizona was adament on the
<br />point, a rather devious solutzon was finally worked out. The
<br />compact was written so that it would ap e?ar that the waters
<br />would be divided on a 50-50 basis. Art- icle III(a) carried
<br />out this theme by providing for the anportionment of 7,500,000
<br />acre-feet of water annually to the Upper Basin and Lower Basin
<br />respectively "in per?etuity." However, in Article III(b) the
<br />Lower Basin was f°given the right`P to increase its consumptive
<br />use of water by one million acre-feet annually. This latter
<br />provision would have been relatively innocuous had it not been
<br />followed by Article III(c) concerning future deliveries of
<br />water to the Republic of Eexico (subsequently established by
<br />treaty at 1,500,000 acre-feet of water annually). In comguting
<br />any deficiency in deliveries to 14exico, the Lower Basin is
<br />entitled to complite the total of its use as being both III(a)
<br />and (b), i.e., 8,500,000-acre-feet of water, while the only
<br />use accorded to the Upper Basin is in Article III(a), i.e.,
<br />7,500,000 acre-feet of water. :',? -_ , : ' • • •• '-'- • It shou2d be noted that the commissioners calculated the
<br />average annual vir.gin flow of the river at Lee Ferry at approxi•
<br />ma.tely 17,000,000 acre-feet and the virgin flow of the lower
<br />tributaries at about-, 4,000,000 acre-feet, making a total water
<br />,jupl':.?, of about 21,000,000 acre-feet annually. The present
<br />historic records indicate that the total virgin flow of the
<br />Colorado and its tributaries has not exceeded 18,000,000 acre-
<br />feet annually. Total allocations from the river are 17,500,000
<br />acre-feet annually (12 million to IvIexico, E2 million to the
<br />Lower Basin, and 72 niilion to the U?per Basin).
<br />A further provision of the compact provides that the
<br />Upper Basin shall not cause the flow of the river to be depleted
<br />below 75,000,000 acre-feet in any consecutive ten-year period
<br />reckoned in continuing progressive series. This amount of
<br />water, together with tributary inflow below Lee Ferry, has
<br />historically bc:en sufficient to satisfy both the Lower Basin
<br />and the Mexican Treaty allocations.
<br />The completed compact was signed by the respective com-
<br />missioners of each of the seven Colorado River Basin States
<br />and by Herbert Hoover as a representative of the United States
<br />at the Palare of Goverriors in Santa Fe, New Mexico on
<br />PTovember 24, 1c.22. In historical sequence, the compact was
<br />rat+ried by the Legislafiures of the respective states as
<br />iollows: lyoming - Febrsary 25, 1925, Colorado - February 26,
<br />I925, Mw ?iexico - iLiarch i7, 1925, Nevada - Nlarch 18, 1925,
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