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<br />'<. ~,/ <br /> <br />'2119 <br /> <br />MEMOW1D1.lU <br /> <br />on <br /> <br />WATER USES FOR INDIANS IN THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN <br /> <br />By Jean S. Bre itenstein, Attorney for <br />The Colorado Water Conservation Board <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />In oonneotion with the oomprehens ive study of the Colorado River <br />Basin made by the Bureau of Reclamation and in the submission of oomments <br />to the Colorado River Basin Compact Commission, the Office of Indian Affairs <br />has submitted a program for greatly expanded water uses by and for Indians <br />living on reservations within the basin. The purpose of this memorandum <br />is to oonsider the extent to which Colorado River water must be made avail- <br />able for suoh uses in oarrying out the obligations of the United States to <br />the Indian tribes and the allocation to be made of such water under the <br />Colorado River Compact. These tv/o problems will be oonsidered generally <br />without regard to any partioular faotua1 situation or any partioular treaty <br />or agreement which the United States may have with any tribe or group of <br />tribes. <br /> <br />Chapter VIII. pp. 261-268, of the report of the Bureau of Reolamation <br />on the Colorado River states that within the Colorado River basin, as <br />defined in the text of the report, there are 29 Indian Reservations, one <br />non-reservation Indian school and two sanatoria with a total acreage of <br />26.82,.062. of which 1,271,117 aores are in trust allotments, 24,557,040 <br />acres in tribal ownership and 994,905 acres in government ownership. The <br />oombined Indian population totals more than 80,000. the majority of whom <br />are full bloods. Wyoming is the only one of the Colorado River states <br />which does not have some Indian water use within the basin, <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reolamation report on the ColoradO River of }Aaroh, 1946 <br />lists the present and ultimate irrigated aoreage and water diversion reqire- <br />ments of the Indians as follows (see Table CXXXVI. p. 267), <br /> <br />STATE <br /> <br />Present <br /> <br />ACREAGE DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS <br />(Acres ) (Aore feet) <br />Ultimate Present Ultimate <br />291.055 610,4'10 1,6'11,342 <br />22,350 47,718 134,218 <br />20,350 43,000 72.750 <br />600 1,950 ,,600 <br />133,000 95.000 6q5,OOO <br />99,085 236,170 298,510 <br />566,440 1,034,308 2,845,4.20 <br /> <br />Arir:ona <br />California <br />Colorado <br />Nevada <br />New lIexioo <br />Utah <br /> <br />TOTAL <br /> <br />148,070 <br />7,975 <br />8,600 <br />325 <br />19,000 <br />78,320 <br /> <br />262,290 <br />