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Although the states' proposal does not include many of the specific program elements suggested by the environmentalists, Cohen said the environmentalists are "relieved to see that the basin states have come to some agreement, and remain optimis- tic that the `Conservation Before Shortage' proposal can be incorporated into the states' broader proposal. However, we are concerned that the emphasis on improving system effi- ciencies will result in the loss of water for the remnant Colorado River delta, which, unfortunately, now relies on over deliveries and inefficiencies." More Water? Facing a future of increased demand and static supplies, the seven states are proposing an extensive program designed to improve the efficiency of the existing water delivery system and encourage individual agencies to adopt aggressive conservation programs — all in an effort to stretch supplies. "If we continue to fight about the amount of water on a system, which appears from all information to be overallocated, all we're going to do is somebody's got to win, and somebody's got to lose. That's probably going to lead to protracted litigation before the [U.S.] Supreme Court. I don't think any of us want to go there," said Herb Guenther, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, at the symposium. "So we decided to take another approach by looking at augmentation to bring the system at least a little bit closer to the long -term average, and meet most of the entitle- ments that have been distributed under the Colorado River Compact." To try to increase the amount of water in the entire system, the seven states have proposed studying the Potential for implementing a weather modification (cloud seeding) program. Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification in which seeding agents such as silver iodide or dry ice are released into clouds in an attempt to increase the amount of precipitation from a pending storm. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 For the system as a whole, the states strongly support construction of a new regulating reservoir in the Imperial Valley, the focus of a separate Reclamation NEPA process. Located along the All- American Canal by Drop 2, the reservoir would capture water released from Lake Mead that is in excess of what can be used by diverters because of subsequent changes in water orders. Such supplies (called overruns) now flow to the Republic of Mexico but are not counted against its annual 1.5 million acre -feet apportionment. The late Dennis Underwood, chief executive officer and general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), was known as a long -time supporter of multi -state drought preparedness planning and of actions such as this to operate the system more efficiently. Underwood played a major role in development of several major Colo- rado River programs, including the Interim Surplus Guidelines and California's Quantification Settlement Agreement. For the Lower Basin, the seven - state preliminary proposal recom- mends enacting a far - reaching program for water conservation and other augmentation activities to generate "intentionally created surplus "(ICS) supplies. In their Feb. 3 document, the states said that the program is intended to "help avoid shortages to the Lower Basin, benefit both Lake Mead and Lake Powell; and increase the surface elevations of both Lakes Powell and Mead to higher levels than would have otherwise occurred." The secretary would create a policy and accounting procedure for credits generated under this program, which would be distributed pursuant to existing regulations and forbearance agreements among the states. The ICS credits would be created through such activities as land fallow- ing, canal lining programs and desali- nation programs. The conserved water would be stored in Lake Mead for future use, with 5 percent of the water