2003

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 2003
• Author: U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Title: Quality of Water, Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1985.
• USFW - Doc Type: Progress Report No. 12,
• Copyright Material: NO

P ART VI

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

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The Upper Colorado River Basin Compact provides that the States of
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming will share in the consumptive
use of water available in the Upper Basin in the following proportions.

Arizona (acre-feet)
Colorado (percent of remainder)
New Mexico (percent of remainder)
Utah (percent of remainder)
Wyoming (percent of remainder)

50,000
51. 75
11 . 25
23 . 00
14.00

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To be conservative in making its estimate of water supply and deple-
tions in the Upper Basin, the Department of the Interior has assumed
that the river flow will be 75 million acre-feet every 10 years at Lee
Ferry, plus 750,000 acre-feet annually for Mexican Treaty deliveries.
This would require an average annual water delivery at Lee Ferry of 8.25
million acre-feet. Using this assumption, the Department of the Interior
estimates that the long-term dependable yield of water available in the
Upper Basin for consumptive use by man is 5.8 million acre-feet per
year. This assumption is not to be considered an interpretation of the
obligation of the Upper Division States for water delivery at Lee Ferry
under the Colorado River Compact, nor is it in accord with the view of
the Upper Division States. It is the position of the Upper Colorado
River Commission and the Upper Division States that, with the delivery
at Lee Ferry of 75 million acre-feet of water in each period of 10 con-
secutive years, the water supply available in the Colorado River system
below Lee Ferry is sufficient to meet the apportionments to the Lower
Basin provided for in Article III (a) and (b) of the Colorado River
Compact and the entire Mexican Treaty delivery. The Upper Division
States submit that the long-term dependable yield of water available in
the Upper Basin would be at least 6.3 million acre-feet.

The value of "State Share" and "Remaining Water Available" which
appear in Table A is based on the assumption of the Department of the
Interior that a dependable yield of 5.8 million acre-feet of water is
available for consumptive use in the Upper Basin. The negative values
of remaining water which appear in the New Mexico projections represent
uses of water above that available under the conservative water supply
and are assumed by the Department to be permitted under the Upper Colo-
rado River Basin Compact.

1. Arizona

a. Miscellaneous Additional Depletions

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Consumptive uses due to irrigation and stockpond evapora-
tion have increased by about 2,000 acre-feet since the Comprehensive
Framework Study estimates were prepared. Municipal and domestic uses
have increased by about 1,000 acre-feet. It is expected that an addi-
tional 3,000 acre-feet will be used for municipal purposes for the
Navajo Indian Nation and for the city of Page, Ariz. Water for Page is
reserved by The Reclamation Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-493,
which among other actions provided for the incorporation of the city.

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