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50 Chapter 7-Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program day would be required to treat the irrigation return flow portion of the total drainage flow. The plant is being constructed to produce about 72.4 million gallons of desalinated or product water per day. This would result in a delivery of about 68,500 acre-feet of product water per year. The product water will be blended with untreated drainage water to make up an estimated return flow of about 75,000 acre-feet each year. The plant is expected to save about 70 percent of the anticipated 108,000 acre-foot drainage flow from the WMIDD. In March 1985, Reclamation awarded the last of three major contracts for the construction of the Yuma Desalting Plant. The $35 million contract was awarded to complete the desalting plant pretreatment facilities and to construct equipment and office buildings. The desalting plant is scheduled for completion in 1992. Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District (Reclamation and USDA) Reclamation Public Law 93-320 authorized the acceleration of the cooperative program ofIrrigation and Management Services (lMS) between Reclamation and the WMIDD. The IMS program (name was changed to Water Management and Conservation Program in 1981) was initiated in 1973 in the WMIDD and was operated as a cooperative program through 1987. The program's purpose was to improve onfarm irrigation efficiencies by providing irrigation scheduling information on a field-by-field basis. Improved irrigation efficiencies result in reduced deep percolation thereby reducing pumped drainage requirements (return flows). The IMS program was cost shared by Reclamation and the District. Federal funding ended in 1987, however, the District continues to operate a Water Management and Conservation program on a limited number o:(acres. During the period from 1979 through 1986, growers received information projecting the next date of irrigation and amount of water to apply on a field-by-field basis on an average of 47,009 acres of crops each year. The IMS program complemented the onfarm improvements and irrigation management program administered by the SCS by providing information on irrigation timing and amount by which water could be ordered for application through an efficient onfarm irrigation infrastructure. Drainage return flow reductions of approxi- mately 100,000 acre-feet since 1975 are largely attributed to the combined effects of the SCS onfarm improvement program, the IMS program, and the Acreage Reduction Program. USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) involvement relates specifically to onfarm treatment and water management improve- ments in the WMIDD. The purpose of this project is to reduce drainage return flows which will reduce the size and costs of operating the Yuma desalting plant. By improving irrigation efficiencies, a corresponding reduction of deep percolation into ground water reduces the required amount of pumped drainage that must leave the WMIDD. The WMIDD onfarm Federal cost-sharing program was fully funded by Reclamation. Under authority ofa Bureau of Reclamation and Soil Conservation Service Title I Memorandum of Agreement (December 1974), Reclamation reimbursed the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) for cost-sharing and technical assistance provided to individual participants through long-term contracts. The initial program for 23,800 acres was expanded during the annual renewal of agreement in 1984 to 48,000 acres. During the project period from 1975 to 1986, SCS entered into 366 long-term contracts with participants on 48,195 acres. Under these contracts, SCS designed and assisted farmers with the installation of irrigation systems and