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<br />., <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />r... <br />If) <br />.... <br />C\l <br /> <br />therefore have been a neighborly 50-50 split of the waters of <br />the Colorado River. The connnissioner from Arizona, how~, <br />~ insisted that if the Upper E~sin were to get another millio~ <br />acre-feet of water, then the Lower Basin must have another'. <br />million acre-feet of water also. This threw the matter out of <br />balance again. ~.. <br /> <br />Since the commissioner from Arizona was adament on the <br />point, a rather devious solution was finally worked out. The <br />compact was ~ritten so that it ~ould ~p~ear that the wa~ers <br />would be div~ded on a 50-50 bas~s. Art~cle III (a) carr~ed <br />out this theme by providing for the apportionment of 7,500,000 <br />acre-feet of water annually to the Upper Basin and Lower Basin <br />respectively "in perpetuity." However, in P.rticle III(b) the <br />Lower Basin was "given the right" to increase its consumptive <br />use of water by one million acre-feet annually. This latter <br />provision would have been relatively innocuous had it not been <br />followed by Article III(c) concerning future deliveries of <br />water to the Republic of Mexico (subsequently established by <br />treaty at 1,500,000 acre-feet of water annually). In computing <br />any deficiency in deliveries to Mexico, the Lower Basin is <br />entitled to compute the total of its use as being both III (a) <br />and (b), i.e., 8,SOO,000'acre-feet of water, while the only <br />use accorded to the Upper Basin is in Article III(a), i.e., <br />7,SOO,000 acre-feet of water. '. . ... . ...., . <br /> <br />It should be noted that the connnissioners calculated the ) <br />average annual virgin flow of the river at Lee Ferry at approxi~ <br />mately 17,000,000 acre-feet and the virgin flow of the lower <br />tributaries at about 4,000,000 acre-feet, making a total water <br />supply of about 21,000,000 acre-feet annually. The present <br />historic records indicate that the total virgin flow of the <br />Colorado and its tributaries has not exceeded 18,000,000 acre- <br />feet annually. Total allocations from the river are l7,SOO,000 <br />acre-feet annually (l~ million to Mexico, 8~ million to the <br />Lower Basin, and 7~ million to the Upper Basin). <br /> <br />A further provision of the compact provides that the <br />Upper Basin shall not cause the flow of the river to be depleted <br />below 75,000,000 acre-feet in any consecutive ten-year period <br />reckoned in continuing progressive series. This amount of <br />water, together with tributary inflow below Lee Ferry, has <br />historically been sufficient to satisfy both the Lower Basin <br />and the Mexican Treaty allocations. <br /> <br />The completed compact was signed by the respective com- <br />missioners of each of the seven Colorado River Basin States <br />and by Herbert Hoover as a representative of the United States <br />at the Palace of Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico on <br />November 24, lS22. In historical sequence, the compact was <br />ratified by the Legislatures of the respective states as <br />follows: Wyoming - February 25, 1925, Colorado - February 26, <br />1925, New Mexico - March 17, 1925, Nevada - ~~rch 18, 1925, <br /> <br />-5- <br />