Board Meeting 02/16/1984 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I. Executive Summary Determination as to the availability of water under long-term service contracts for municipal and industrial uses from Navajo Reservoir involve a projection into the future of estimated water uses and water supplies. On the basis of hydrologic investigation, water depletions under municipal and industrial contracts from Navajo Reservoir could reasonably be allowed to rise to 69 ,000 acre-feet annually through the year 2039 . . To avoid a critical compact interpretation, we assume that the Upper Basin will be obligated to deliver 75 million acre-feet (MAF) of water every 10 years at Lee Ferry, plus 750,000 acre-feet annually toward Mexican Treaty deliveries. This would require an average annual water delivery at Lee Ferry of at least 8 .25 MAP acre-feet. This assumption is not to be considered as an interpreta- tion of the Upper Basin obligation for water delivery at Lee Ferry under the Colorado River Compact. It represents, rather, a practical and conservative approach for the purposes of the present determination required by section 11(a) of the Act of June 13, 1962 (Public Law 87-483) . Contracts involving a depletion of 69 ,000 acre-feet would still leave sufficient water to meet the 8.25 MAF acre-feet estimated annual delivery requirement at Lee Ferry. On this basis, we conclude that the projection of water uses now envisioned in the Upper Basin by 2040 with the 5.8 MAF depletion level remaining in effect, including deliveries under interim long-term contracts involving 69 ,000 acre-feet depletions from Navajo Reservoir will not impair the Upper Basin' s ability to meet its water delivery obligation to the Lower Basin. We recommend that water availability from Navajo Reservoir be extended beyond the year 2005 as allowed in subsection (b) of Article III of the Upper Colorado River Compact which permits New Mexico or any other Upper Basin State to use