BOARD01954

• Board Meeting Date: 7/28/2003
• Description: CF Section - California Quantification Settlement Agreement and Nevada Proposal
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
Governor

TO:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director

FROM:

Randy Seaholm, Chief, Water Supply Protection;

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

DATE:

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

July 16, 2003

SUBJECT: Agenda Item 18, July 28-29, 2003 Board Meeting -
Colorado River Issues - California Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA),
Nevada Proposal and other Related Matters

Introduction:

As lower basin water uses have approached 7.5 million acre feet (MAF), it has become necessary for
Califomia to reduce its use of Colorado River water from 5.2 MAF to the 4.4 MAF allowed by the
Compact. In order to accomplish this, California needed to quantify its water users rights to
Colorado River water and to address the transfer of some agricultural water to municipal uses. The
Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) was one of several agreements required to accomplish
the task. Interim Surplus Guidelines (ISG's) and Inadvertent Overrun and Payback Criteria were
also developed and put in place to help provide a "soft landing." The ISG's required that the QSA
be fully executed by December 31, 2002 or California and other Lower Basin States would not
receive any of the surplus water supplies made available pursuant to the ISG's. Although California
faikdtQrell.cb_ag@~me!1LQll tb~L~.e..bJ' the .Decemb_~ 31,_2002 .deadline. resulting in the
suspension of the ISG's, theycontinued to work towards a QSA agreement.

On March 12,2003 the State Califomia, Inlperial Irrigation District (lID), Coachella Valley Water
District (CVWD), Metropolitan Water District of Southern Ca1ifomia (MWD) and San Diego
County Water Authority (SDCW A) reached tentative agreement on a revised QSA pending
approvals by the agency Boards. Approval was conditioned on reinstatement of the ISG's,
resolution of inadvertent overrun payback issues, settlement of the lID v. U.S. litigation, passage of
enabling legislation by the California legislature, and Department of Interior's acceptance of certain
agreements. The substance of the QSA and certain agreements were presented to Interior and the
other Colorado River Basin States on March 13, 2003. Following review of the revised QSA by the
basin states, it was noted that the fundamental structure of the program to reduce Califomia's water
use had changed since the 1999 Ca1ifomia Plan and the 2000 QSA were prepared. Rather than
permanent conservation based water transfers, the plan was now predicated on land fallowing in the
early years of the IS-year program, with an increase in conservation-based transfers late in the 15-
year period. Land fallowing is a measure that can be quickly implemented, but also quickly
reversed andIID has long opposed land fallowing, as a permanent measure to reduce water
Flood Protection. Water Supply Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation and Drought Planning