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Colorado River Basin and Compacts <br />The Colorado River and its tributaries diain portions of seven western states. <br />Colorado's use of these waters is apportioned pursuant to the Colorado River ' <br />Compact (1922), the Upper Colorado River Compact (1948), the La Plata River <br />Compact and the .Animas-La Plata Project Compact. In addition, certain treaties, <br />federal statutes, and judicial decisions also control the allocation and use of the waters <br />of the Colorado River. In combination, these various compacts, treaties, federal <br />statutes and judicial decisions are referned to as the "Law of the Colorado River. " <br />In Colorado, the "Law of the Colorado River" impacts Water Divisions 4, 5, <br />6, and 7. The following are generally considered to be the major legal documents <br />comprising the "Law of the Colora.do River" but are by no means all of them: <br />1922 Colorado River Compact <br />1928 Boulder Canyon Project Act (Hoover Dam and Lake Mead) <br />1940 Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act <br />1945 Water Treaty with Mexico <br />1948 Upper Colorado River Basin Compact <br />1956 Colorado River Storage Project Act (CRSP or CRSPA) <br />1964 Supreme Court Decree in Arizona v California <br />1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act <br />1970 Coordinated Long Ra.nge Operating Criteria--Colorado River Reservoirs <br />1974 Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act <br />The background for each of the above laws are described in numerous books <br />and papers.l A basic understanding of these documents and their impact on Colorado <br />is important because they influence the amount of water available for consumptive use in Colorado. <br />The following discussion briefly describes each of the major legal documents <br />in chronological order: <br />• The Colorado River Compaet (1922) <br />The Colorado River Compact divides the Colorado River into Upper and <br />Lower Basins with the division being at L.ee Ferry on the Colorado River one mile <br />below the Paria River in Arizona. The Lower Basin states are Arizona, Califomia, <br />and Nevada, with small portions of New Mexico and Utah that are tributary to the <br />'One of the most complete and concise documents on the subject of the Colorado River was prepared <br />in 1978 by Nathonson, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, "Updating the Hoover Dam Documents."