BOARD00463

• Board Meeting Date: 11/25/1996
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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Discussion continues with the Colorado River Basin States as to how to best manage the
system in light of the new realities facing the system which include: deliveries in excess of
4.4 MAP to California, surplus declarations, Arizona underground water banking, Mexico
Treaty deliveries, and the Operation of the Yuma Desalting Plant. We will be meeting
with representatives of the California water users during the Western States Water
Council meeting on November 20-22, 1996. I will report further details of those
discussions at our meeting.

The Upper Colorado River Commission Engineering and Legal Committee met in
Albuquerque on October 28-29th. The primary purpose of the meeting was to develop a
working strategy for the commission staff to evaluate the increasing demands being placed
on the River by the lower basin. The staff will be doing additional computer runs and
adjust the existing modeling programs to reflect existing conditions with respect to surplus
uses and impacts on Lake Powell. Critical levels of storage [CRSP 602(a)] will be further
analyzed. The Upper Basin States are all very concerned about the lack of effort to
reduce California's use of the River from 5.2 MAP to 4.4 MAP. With the accelerated
demand being placed on the river by the Central Arizona Project, Arizona will be using 2.6
to 2.8 MAP within the next 2 years. Consequently, the need for reducing California's
diversion is occurring much sooner than originally anticipated.

Arkansas River

The trial continues before the Special Master concerning the Kansas vs. Colorado
litigation. Hal Simpson has spent several weeks in California participating in the litigation
and we have scheduled a briefing from Special Council David Robbins for executive
sessions during this meeting.

In a related matter, we have completed the contract for the final distribution of funds to
the Lower Arkansas River Management Association (LAMA) and the staff has prepared a
memorandum for your review concerning the transaction. Additionally, we are working
with LAMA and the Division of Wildlife (DOW) to complete the sale of the XY Ranch
lands to DOW.

Several meetings have been held by the Flood Plain Section concerning the studies that
were authorized for the channel below John Martin Reservoir and in the La Junta-Las
Animas areas. More detail as to the status of these projects will be given during agenda
items 18e, and 28.

The Bureau of Reclamation has completed its evaluation of the operating principals of
Trinidad Reservoir and comments have been made by concerned parties including the
State of Kansas (see enclosed memo for Colorado comments).