Colorado River Project: River Report Summer 2003

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Construction of Animas -La Plata Underway Excavation is full -steam ahead for the Durango Pumping Plant, an integral part of the Animas -La Plata Project (ALP) located in the Four Corners region of the Upper Basin. ALP satisfies the requirements of settlement acts between the Southern Ute /Ute Moun- tain Ute Indian Tribes and the federal government. The Weeminuche Con- struction Authority, owned and operated by the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, is contracted to head up the construction. Initial construction efforts will require the blasting and removal of 115,000 cubic yards of bedrock. Both the pumping plant and the Ridges Basin Dam are scheduled for completion in April 2008 with the reservoir filling by the Spring of 2010. Possible San Juan River Sharing Agreement Reached Farmers, American Indian tribes, electricity providers and urban users appear poised to come to final agree- ment on how to divvy up the San Juan River for the remainder of the year. The agreement details the amount of water each user will take from the river due to the continuing drought. Navajo Reservoir, which feeds the San Juan River (and eventually the Colorado River) is currently at about half capacity of its 1.7 million acre -feet storage potential. Interests using the river include those from the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Ban on Personal Watercraft at National Recreation Areas Lifted Jet skis and other personal watercraft are being permitted, temporarily, to run atop the waters of Lakes Powell, Mead and Mojave again. A ban was placed on the watercraft in November 2002 while the U.S. National Park Service completed an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) about their impact to the reservoir. The ban was part of a 2001 settle- ment between the Bluewater Network (which sued to have the watercraft removed) and the U.S. Department of the Interior. A counter -suit was filed in April by the Blue Ribbon Coalition — an umbrella organization for recreational interests. The ban has been lifted on specified areas of the reservoirs until September 30, 2003 (unless the EIS is released sooner). The Draft EIS recom- mended allowing personal watercraft a return to most areas of the lakes. - Water Quality Concerns for Las Vegas? Top officials at the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) have publicly expressed concerns over the potential quality of water coming from Lake Mead. The ongoing drought within the Colorado River watershed has reduced the capacity of the reservoir to about 60 percent of normal. The result is less water to dilute pollutants (in particular, contaminants such as Perchlorate and bacteria like cryptosporidium) generated from Las Vegas Wash — the channel through which Las Vegas disposes of its effluent and runoff from the city. SNWA has intake pipes for its water supply close to the wash. Get the facts with our new Colorado River Facts booklet! Also available in Spanish! Order one today on -line at www.watereducation.org! Additional concerns have been raised over the level of the lake's thermocline, a current of thermal water within the lake that more readily traps water from the Wash. As the lake level shrinks, the thermocline lowers and brings water from the Wash closer to SNWAs intake pipe. SNWA authorities say it will be at least a year before they start seeing potential impacts to their water quality because of the drought. Authorities also say that the ability to blend water from its two intake pipes, as well as a new ozone treatment facility, could improve water quality for Las Vegas should the lake level continue to decline. Navajo Nation Files Suit Against Feds In March, the Navajo Nation filed suit against the U.S. Department of Interior (Interior) to try and enforce what it perceives as its share of the Colorado River. Complaints stem from the proposed Interim Surplus Guidelines and Arizona's water banking program. Though the Nation (as well as other American Indian tribes) has senior rights to water from the Colorado River, the Nation's full rights have never been formally quantified on the mainstem. In general, tribal water allocations on the Colorado River are traditionally based on agricultural water use and for on- reservation uses. It is believed the Navajo are seeking to use the water for domestic and industrial uses including coal mining. The Nation reservation covers over 13 million acres spread out across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. • SUMMER 2003 • RIVER REPORT • COLORADO RIVER PROJECT • 3