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States deal for water He works in a steel- and -glass office building but much prefers being out in the field. He has seen most of the Colorado River territory up close, conducting an early survey of a Mexican wildlife marsh, diving into an underground lake to study endangered fish. "From my point of view, the lower basin does not exercise a call on the upper basin," he said. "We need to try to work things out ahead of them becoming a crisis. I'm not sure there is a winner if we litigate some of the more central issues of the compact." Guenther said Nevada's proposal to essentially buy water from farmers in Arizona and California is a bad idea. "There is a sacred quality to one's entitlement of Colorado River water," he said. "It belongs to the people of the state, and that is the absolute basis of the Law of the River." Solutions elusive Nevada's Mulroy isn't convinced some of her ideas won't fit within the law and help avoid federal intervention. Arizona could help with agricultural transfers, for example, by running them through its existing interstate water bank. Nevada is already storing water in that bank, which went through years of review by the government. She's watching, somewhat impatiently, as the Bureau of Reclamation moves ahead with a pilot project to do precisely what she was told Nevada couldn't do: idle farm land in Arizona as a way of leaving more water on the river. In this case, the water would be used to benefit Arizona, which now loses billions of gallons a year down an agricultural bypass canal that flows into Mexico. But Mulroy doesn't understand why the program couldn't be expanded to help boost storage in Lake Mead. The money, she said, would be well- spent, "almost disaster relief money." "The Southwest economy is at stake," she said. "Why would you not do that ?" Mulroy said the West should consider the possibility that this isn't a short- term drought, that the Colorado won't return to normal levels anytime soon. That's where talks should begin, and that's why states should be prepared to consider a wider range of ideas. "I am convinced we can find a collective solution that prevents the worst from happening," she said. "In truth, that would be the Colorado River's finest moment. If we don't, if we can't agree and end up in court, it will be our darkest." Print This I Email This I Most Popular I Subscribe I Larger Type I Smaller Type The Arizona Republic - Front Page • Local • Sports • Business • Arizona Living . Opinions . Ads 12 News - News - Weather • What's on 12 • About 12 • 12 News Bios . 12 News Today • Jobs at KPNX world & nation I the buzz I Arizona Republic print edition I politics scanners I traffic information I obituaries I photography and multimedia I video I education site map azcentral.com main I news I sports I money I entertainment I style travel health I families I food & home I shop I espariol I weather I maps classified I jobs I cars I real estate I apartments I merchandise I personals customer service I terms of service I contact The Republic I subscribe to The Arizona Republic Newspapers In Education I The Republic in your community I about The Republic I about KPNX -TV I The News Store Copyright 2004, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. USA Today I Gannett Co. Inc. I Gannett Foundation I Real Cities Network Page 6 of 7 http:// www. azcentral .comispecialslspecia1061 articles /0722colorado- conflict.html 7/27/2004