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56 Chapter 7-Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program EP A continues to work with the Basin States to ensure that salinity is addressed in the nonpoint source control assessment reports and management programs currently being implemented under section 319 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended by the Water Quality Act of 1987. The EPA continues to emphasize salinity control through State, local, and Federal land management activities, in addition to the Reclamation and USDA salinity units. State and local Cooperators In the Title II of the salinity control program, the Basin States are represented by the Salinity Control Forum and the Advisory Council. The Basin States contribute 25 to 30 percent of the construction cost of the salinity control program from their basin development funds. In addition, local cooperators provide up to 30 percent cost sharing for some portions of the program. In the Lower Gunnison Basin Unit, local water users have provided construction management and labor, saving the Government about 40 percent of the estimated cost of that unit. Since the salinity control program costs are shared by the States and local entities, they have a significant role in deciding how the program will be implemented. Some alternatives appear to conflict with the beneficial use of water under Western water law. In these cases, Reclamation works very closely with the States to evaluate and develop the alternatives. In the case of the Paradox Valley Unit, the State of Colorado and Reclamation were able to develop a plan which ultimately allowed deep well injection to be considered a beneficial use of the water. In the Dirty Devil River Unit, Utah, the cost effectiveness was not competitive with other alternatives being proposed in the Basin at the time. Reclamation recommended this alternative be deferred until the unit became necessary to meet the salinity control objectives. If and when that is evident, Reclamation and the State of Utah would work together to resolve the institutional barriers. Other units have been formulated knowing that water rights may be an institutional constraint. The Glenwood-Dotsero Springs Unit was planned with an alternative using evaporation ponds to control the discharge from saline springs. This alternative's cost effectiveness was found to be higher than other projects being implemented. The State of Colorado was concerned that the enormous amount of evaporation required by the alternative would be a depletion of their water resources. Since that time, Reclamation has found an industrial use alternative. Industrial use is considered a beneficial use of water by all of the Basin States. It is also more cost-effective than the evaporation alternative and potentially will save the Federal Government and the states, who cost share the program, a significant investment. Less expensive, cost effective alternatives have replaced most of the units proposing evaporation and deep well injection as alternatives. Western water law has not caused Reclamation to implement expensive alternatives nor expend additional funds to control salinity. In the past, local cooperation to implement the salinity control program has been mixed. For the most part, water users in the Upper Basin have had little or no need for the salinity control program. They were satisfied that their irrigation systems worked and were relatively free to operate them as they wished. An increasing number of water users are beginning to realize that salinity is a water pollution problem and that agriculture will have to help control its discharge of salt to the river or face regulations that would put them out of business. They cannot ignore the growing number of people that are dependent upon the Colorado River (now in excess of 18 million). With the rapid expansion in the number of alternatives available to the salinity control program, competition is beginning to improve the willingness of water users to participate in the program. Cost sharing alternatives are being formulated and will replace the more expensive alternatives. TITLE II UNIT SUMMARIES This section includes a summary of the units and investigations conducted under the salinity