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<br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program <br /> <br />Currently, 21 of the planned full complement of 35 wells and associated conveyance and energy <br />facilities have been constructed. The wells are connected by a 15.3-milepipeline and open <br />concrete-lined canal that carries water by gravity across the Southerly International Boundary. <br /> <br />With 35 wells, the PRPU would be capable of producing about 125,000 acre-feet of water per <br />year. Ultimately, 125,000 acre-feet of water from the PRPU, combined with 15,000 acre-feet of <br />water from wasteways and drains in the Yuma Valley, would furnish 140,000 acre-feet of <br />Mexico's 1.5-million-acre-foot annual entitlement. The water would be delivered at the Southerly <br />International Boundary near San Luis, Arizona. In addition, 35,000 acre-feet could be withdrawn <br />by private wells and/or 242 wells for use on private land to equal the 160,000 acre-foot limit for <br />pumping in the 5-mile zone. Currently, water from wasteways and drains in the Yuma Valley <br />exceeds 15,000 acre-feet per year. <br /> <br />Should these wasteway and drain flows diminish in the future, wells will be added to the PRPU, <br />as needed, to ensure that approximately 140,000 acre-feet can be delivered at the Southerly <br />International Boundary at all times. <br /> <br />Additionally, as authorized by Title I, approximately 23,500 acres of private, State, and State- <br />leased lands have been acquired within the 5-mile zone. The purpose of these acquisitions is to <br />limit development and thus limit United States ground-water pumping to 160,000 acre-feet <br />per year, as required by Minute No. 242. The acquisitions were completed in 1984. <br /> <br />Yuma Desalting Plant <br /> <br />The Yuma Desalting Plant is built on a 60-acre tract of land 6 miles west of Yuma, Arizona. The <br />purpose of the plant is to upgrade the quality of irrigation drainage water from the Wellton- <br />Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District (WMIDD) so that it can be returned to the Colorado <br />River and delivered to Mexico. <br /> <br />The operational design parameters set up for the plant determined that a membrane desalting <br />process was technically feasible and is suitable for the Yuma Desalting Plant operation. The <br />factors included in this formula are the volume of water delivered to Mexico, the salinity <br />differential required by Minute No. 242, the salinity of the Colorado River at Imperial Dam, the <br />volume of drain water treated, the salinity of the drain water, a number of other factors related to <br />the diffuse return flows below Imperial Dam, and plant operational factors. <br /> <br />A study done in 1978 by the Advisory Committee on Irrigation Efficiency, WMIDD, recom- <br />mended expansion of onfarm irrigation improvement measures. These improvements were <br />expected to reduce irrigation drain flow to about 108,000 acre-feet per year. In addition, <br />the Colorado River Basin States have established a salinity standard at Imperial Dam of 879 mg/L. <br />Using a salt balance formula and assuming an irrigation drain flow of 108,000 acre-feet and <br />salinity at Imperial Dam of 838 mg/L, a plant size of 73 million gallons per day would be required <br />to treat the irrigation return flow portion of the total drainage flow. <br /> <br />The plant was constructed to produce about 72.4 million gallons of desalinated (product) water per <br />day when operated at full capacity. This would result in a delivery of about 68,500 acre-feet ofn <br />41 <br />