9674 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

COLORADO RIVER COMPACT WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTION November 2, 1995 FINAL REPORT Page 8 (1922), the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact (1948), the La Plata River Compact, and the Animas-La Plata Project Compact. In addition, certain treaties, federal statutes, and judicial decisions also control the allocation and use of the waters of the Colorado River. In combination, these various compacts, and related treaties, federal statutes and judicial decisions aze referred to as the "Law of the Colorado River." The following discussion briefly describes several of the major components of the Law of the Colorado River: Colorado River Compact (1922): The Colorado River Compact divides the Colorado River Basin into Upper and Lower Basins with the division being at Lee Ferry, a point on the Colorado River one mile below the Paria River in Arizona. The Lower Basin states include Arizona, California, Nevada, and small portions of New Mexico and Utah that aze tributary to the Colorado River below Lee Ferry. The Upper Basin states are Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, with a small portion of Arizona being tributary to the Colorado River above Lee Ferry. Article III of the Compact apportions the use of the waters of the Colorado River system to the Upper and Lower Basins in the following manner: 1. Article III(a) apportions to both the Upper and the Lower Basin the right of each to the exclusive beneficial consumptive use of 7.5 million acre feet (MAF) annually from the "Colorado River System" in perpetuity. 2. Article III(b) allows an additional 1.0 MAF per yeaz of increased beneficial consumptive use to the Lower Basin. 3. Article III(c) provides water for Mexico pursuant to treaty first from any surplus over the waters allocated to the states in Article III(a) and (b) of the compact as described above. If such surplus proves insufficient, then the burden of any deficiency shall be shared equally by the Upper and Lower Basins. 4. Article III(d) provides that the Upper Basin states will not cause the flow of the river at Lee Ferry to be depleted below an aggregate of 75 MAF for any period of ten consecutive years beginning with the ratification of the Compact. 5. Article III(e) provides that the Upper Basin states will not withhold water and the states of the Lower Basin will not require delivery of water which cannot reasonably be applied to domestic and agricultural uses. Mexican Treaty (1944): In 1944, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty concerning the waters of certain international rivers, including the Colorado River. The treaty guazanteed a scheduled annual delivery of 1.5 MAF to Mexico (except in the event of an extraordinary drought or serious accident) and up to 1.7 MAF per year in years of surplus on the Colorado River. Upper Colorado River Basin Compact (1948): In 1948, the Upper Basin states entered into a compact which apportioned among themselves the waters of the Colorado River available to the Upper Basin under the 1922 Compact. The 1948 Compact apportions to Arizona 50,000 acre-feet per yeaz, while the other Upper Basin states received a percentage of the remaining apportionment, as follows: