<br />NEWS AI'iIO. COMM,.:NT
<br />
<br />Grand Canyon: Colorado
<br />Dams Debated
<br />
<br />The Grand Canyon, carved by the
<br />Colorado River over a leisurely 9 mil-
<br />lion years, is indisputably one of
<br />nature's great masterpieces. The poli-
<br />ticians of the Pacific Southwest, in
<br />something of a hurry, have been at
<br />work on a masterpiece of their Own-
<br />a multi-bill ion-dollar water project
<br />which, while offensive to some tastes, is
<br />drawn to a scale impressive by human
<br />standards.
<br />Besides two dams in the Grand Can-
<br />yon. which are the proiect's most cele-
<br />brated featllre to date it would indnde
<br />the Central Arizona Proiect. consistinJZ
<br />~rincipallv ofa lar!!:e aaueduct runnin~
<br />hundreds of miles across Arizona. from
<br />T ~ lcp. l-l ~"!1C:11 .("\n thp. r"lnr!ltin tn Phnp:_
<br />nix and Tucson' a number of reclama-
<br />tion and water supply proiects in other
<br />rnlnrann hllsin states' and-ultimately
<br />t~ nrnjp.~t'~ kev~tnne_an ::ll1t1erlnct
<br />li:v~tpm tn hrintr to thp rnlnr:lnn mil.
<br />]ion~ -of 3~rp-..fp~t of W$\tpr frnrn ~nm~
<br />other river basin. pr:obablv the Colum-
<br />bia. The project's initial cost is esti-
<br />mated at $ 1.6 billion; its ultimate cost
<br />is not known, but it would run into ad-
<br />ditional billions.
<br />Legislation to initiate the project is
<br />now before the Interior Committee of
<br />the U.S. House of Representatives. The
<br />bill, H.R. 4671, will, if ever enacted,
<br />be a remarkable achievement of basin
<br />diplomacy to which Representative
<br />Morris K. Udall of Arizona, the Met-
<br />ternich of the Colorado, will have con-
<br />tributed much.
<br />The prooosal represents an intrj~atf',
<br />delicate meshing and balancin!!: of the
<br />interpli:tc nf t'hp TTpppr rnlnr!1~n n~dl'1
<br />states-Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and
<br />New Mexico-with those of the Lower
<br />Basin states-Arizona, Nevada, and
<br />California. Moreover, it harmonizes the
<br />ipterests of Arizona and ralifnrni",
<br />whose relations with resoect to use of
<br />the Colorado have been markcd by
<br />nm~h ciio;:h<>..".,nny. It retains certain
<br />elements, such as the canyon dams and
<br />. the concept of water importation, of
<br />the Pacific Southwest Water Plan sub-
<br />
<br />1600
<br />
<br />mitted to Congress in 1964 by Secretary
<br />of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, the
<br />congressman's brother.
<br />The feeling of honest compromise
<br />inspired by H.R. 4671 within the Colo-
<br />rado basin is not the feeling the bill
<br />has always produced outside the basin.
<br />Its provisions for a water importation
<br />study have generated fears in the North-
<br />west that the Colwnbia's now abundant
<br />waters Olav be seriouslv diminished bv
<br />nf'Olands frQm the Southwest. a region
<br />.whose nolitical Dower has been e:rowine:
<br />a~ rnpicHv :1~ ire: thirc::t
<br />Nationally, conservationist groups
<br />have become alarmed by the proposal
<br />to build the canyon dams. The conser-
<br />vationists, led chiefly by the Sierra
<br />Club, have had some success in con-
<br />tributing to the atmosphere of' doubt
<br />and criticism that seems to have en-
<br />veloped H.R. 4671. Indeed, the opposi-
<br />tion appears strong enough to make
<br />passage of the bill without major altera-
<br />tions doubtful-yet any important
<br />change in the measure could cause the
<br />compromise among the basin states to
<br />fall apart.
<br />The intricacies of Southwest water
<br />politics, fully revealed in H.R. 4671,
<br />are best explained by the history of the
<br />region's policies regarding use of the
<br />Colorado. The "Law of the River," as
<br />developed through two interstate com-
<br />pacts, several acts of Congress, a treaty
<br />with Mexico, and court decisions, ap-
<br />portions the Colorado's water among
<br />the various basin states and Mexico.
<br />The apportionments are based on an
<br />assumed annual flow of 17.5 million
<br />acre-feet a year-7.5 million for the
<br />Upper Basin, 7.5 million for the Lower
<br />Basin, and 1.5 million for Mexico.
<br />However, from 1906 to 1965 the
<br />river's total yearly flow averaged only
<br />15 million acre-feet, with annual flows
<br />ranging from the record high of 24
<br />million in 1917 to the record low of
<br />5.6 million in 1934. Thus far, the defi-
<br />cit has existed solely on paper because
<br />only California has in fact been with-
<br />drawing its legal quota. California, en-
<br />
<br />-~7-
<br />
<br />titled to 4.4 million acre-feet, has been
<br />withdrawing 5.1 million by dipping
<br />into the unused share of other states.
<br />As other basin states begiQ with-
<br />drawing their fun allowances, through
<br />future reclamation and water supply
<br />projects, the need to conserve and aug-
<br />ment the Colorado's flow will become
<br />critical. Estimates as to when the criti-
<br />cal moment will arrive vary, but it is
<br />believed to be not more than a genera-
<br />tion away.
<br />The purpose of H.R. 4671 is to
<br />"make the river whole" by increasing
<br />total water available as well as to
<br />authorize, for immediate construction,
<br />the Central Arizona Project (CAP) and
<br />five reclamation projects in Colorado
<br />and New Mexico. The canyon dams
<br />and the importation of water from out-
<br />side the basin are both viewed by the
<br />bin's sponsors as essential to their long-
<br />range objectives. The dams would serve
<br />no water storage function, but, once
<br />having paid for themselves from the
<br />sale of the electricity that they would
<br />generate, they would be expected to
<br />contribute to a new Lower Basin De-
<br />velopment Fund. This fund, which
<br />would also receive the proceeds from
<br />water sales and part of the power reve-
<br />nues from Hoover dam and other ex-
<br />isting dams on the Lower Colorado,
<br />would be used to reimburse the federal
<br />treasury for about 90 percent of the
<br />$525 million to be spent on CAP and
<br />for part of the much larger sums to be
<br />spent on the aqueducts, pumping sta-
<br />tions, and other works needed to im-
<br />port water to the Lower Colorado.
<br />The hill wOllld diryct the Secretary
<br />of the Interior to studv various possi-.
<br />bifities for augmenting the Colorado
<br />basin's water supply. These Include wa-
<br />ter salvage and conservation, weather
<br />modification, and desalinization of sea
<br />water; but, in the sponsors' judgment,
<br />the most promising possibility is water
<br />importation.
<br />The study would contemplate import-
<br />ing, initially, up to 6.5 million acre-
<br />feet of water a year (including 2 mil-
<br />lion acre-feet to the Upper Basin),
<br />which would make up the deficit under
<br />present quotas and provide for addi-
<br />tional needs that arise. Another 2 mil-
<br />lion acre-feet might be withdrawn from
<br />the exporting basin (or basins). but
<br />diverted to water users along the route
<br />to the .colorado. The bill was amenl;led
<br />last week to have the study cover West
<br />Texas, which is not part of the Colo-
<br />rado basin but is potently represented
<br />in Congress. The deadline for comple-
<br />tion of the importation plan, together
<br />with the supporting feasibility studies
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<br />SCIENCE. VOL. IS2
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