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States deal for water Continental Divide and out of the river basin. Arizona wants help in protecting its urban supply, which would be the first to dry up if the drought worsened. None of this is new. The Colorado River is as defined by conflict as it is by canyons, and that conflict has shaped the laws that govern the river. What is new is the character of the conflict. It's not California vs. The Other Six States anymore. California now uses only its legal allotment of the river and has quietly stepped out of the spotlight. The other six are more worried about one another. Nevada is driving the debate as much as anyone, if only on strength of personality. The question now is whether the states can come together to avert a potential crisis. Drought threatens the stability of the Colorado River, and some states are at greater risk than others. The U.S. Department of the Interior has ordered the seven river states to produce a plan to protect everyone from serious shortages. If the states fail, Interior Secretary Gale Norton has promised to impose her own plan. Of greater fear is that failure could push the whole fight into court. "The drought is the ultimatum," said Bennett Raley, assistant Interior secretary for water and science. "The states knew that someday there wouldn't be enough water to go around. We're not there yet, which is why we say the drought is serious but not a crisis. But people are right. "It's a wake -up call." Nevada's stand Pat Mulroy put Nevada on the water map. As general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, she oversees the state's share of the Colorado River, a near -token 300,000 acre -feet, negotiated decades ago by state leaders who saw no value in arguing over water for a sparsely populated rail stop. Had Mulroy negotiated that deal, Nevada would not be begging for water. She asks for what she needs, and if she doesn't like the answer, she asks again. A self- described mom and soccer coach, Mulroy is imposing when she's talking business. She has emerged as a leader not only among water managers but in her home state, where she has been approached to run for public office more than once. Mulroy sees few gray areas when it comes to the state's needs. Nevada is just as much a part of the Colorado River as Colorado or California. The water is vital to the Las Vegas economy and, in her view, the Las Vegas economy is integral to the entire Southwest. She refuses to concede that Las Vegas should solve its water problems by slowing growth. "For Nevada, the immediacy of this drought is very severe," Mulroy said. "As a water planner, I define my job as looking at the worst possible scenario and being ready if that happens. In my mind, I cannot get comfortable working from a position of 'let's see if it gets better.' " Southern Nevada's perch along part of Lake Mead's 550 miles of shoreline gives it better access to the Colorado River than the other major metro areas in the Southwest. Denver has to get the water under or through the Rocky Mountains; Phoenix and Los Angeles move it hundreds of miles through canals. But physical access doesn't translate to legal access, and legally, Nevada can only sip from the river while other's gulp. It hits other limits as well. The Colorado accounts for more than 90 percent of Las Vegas' water supply, which means when the river's in trouble, so is Las Vegas. Nevada also lacks a backup source. In most of the other states, including Arizona, farmers still use a hefty share of the river. In a crisis, the states could pay the farmers to use less water and shift that supply to the cities. Because of Nevada's and climate, irrigated agriculture never developed there. Mulroy calls that her state's single biggest problem. centrifuges used for uranium enrichment • Veteran actor charged in shooting death of bar patron - Foreign strippers must supply nude photos to officials • Boy who 'divorced' murderer father wants to make it easier for others - More breaking news >> Page 2 of 7 http:// www. azcentral .comispecialslspecia1061 articles /0722colorado- conflict.html 7/27/2004