9567

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9567
• Author: Colorado River Water Conservation District.
• Title: River of Shortages
• USFW Year: 2006.
• USFW - Doc Type: Drought, Demand and Consensus on the Colorado River - 2006 Colorado River District Annual Water Seminar.
• Copyright Material: NO

Section 1.0
1.3 Background
Introduction and Background
The Secretary is vested with the responsibility of managing the mainstream waters of the
lower Colorado River pursuant to applicable federal law. This responsibility is carried out
consistent with the Law of the River.' The Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968
(CRBPA) directed the Secretary to adopt criteria for coordinated long-range operation of
reservoirs on the Colorado River in order to comply with and carry out the provisions of
the Colorado River Compact of 1922 (Compact), the Colorado River Storage Project Act
of 1956 (CRSP), the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 and the United States-Mexico
Water Treaty of 1944. These criteria are commonly collectively referred to as the Long
Range Operating Criteria (LROC). The Secretary sponsors a formal review of the LROC
every five years.
The Secretary establishes an Annual Operating Plan (AOP) each year for the Colorado
River reservoirs. The AOP describes how Reclamation will manage the reservoirs over a
12-month period, consistent with the LROC, applicable Federal laws, the United States-
Mexico Water Treaty of 1944, interstate compacts, the 1964 Supreme Court Decree in
Arizona v. California (Decree), and other documents relating to the use of the waters of
the Colorado River. Further, as part of the AOP process, the Secretary makes annual
determinations on the extent to which the reasonable beneficial use requirements of
mainstream users in Arizona, California and Nevada (the Lower Division states) can be
met. Reclamation consults annually with the Colorado River Basin States, Indian Tribes,
and other interested parties in the development of the AOP.
In 2001, the Department of the Interior (Department) adopted Interim Surplus Guidelines
(66 FR 7772-7782) that are used by the Secretary in making annual determinations
regarding Normal and Surplus conditions for the operation of Lake Mead. Since
adoption, these Guidelines have, among other operational and management benefits,
provided the Department and entities in Arizona, California, and Nevada that rely on the
Colorado River greater predictability in identifying when Colorado River water in excess
of 7.5 million acre-feet (maf) will be available for use within these three states. A
Normal year is a year in which annual pumping and release from Lake Mead will be
sufficient to satisfy 7.5 maf of consumptive use in accordance with the Decree. A Surplus
year is a year in which water is available for pumping or release from Lake Mead to
satisfy greater than 7.5 maf of consumptive use, pursuant to Article II(B)(2) of the Decree
after consideration of relevant factors, including the factors listed in the LROC. Surplus
water is available to agencies that have contracted with the Secretary for delivery of
Surplus water, for use when their water need exceeds their basic entitlement, and when
the excess need cannot be met within the basic apportionment of their state subject to
availability.
1 The treaties, compacts, decrees, statutes, regulations, contracts and other legal documents and agreements
applicable to the allocation, appropriation, development, exportation and management of the waters of the
Colorado River Basin are often referred to as the "Law of the River." There is no single, universally-
agreed upon definition of the "Law of the River," but it is useful as a shorthand reference to describe this
longstanding and complex body of legal agreements governing the Colorado River.
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