BOARD02267

• Board Meeting Date: 5/27/1968
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

I

I

MR. DOUGLAS:

"May I make another comment?"

MR. SPARKS:

"Yes, sir. II

MR. DOUGLAS:

"We have going on right now two legal studies,
one by the University of Arizona law school and
one by the University of Wisconsin. Both are
looking into these problems. One of the results,
hopefully from the University of Arizona, will
be recommended legislation which, I am sure,
will be important. The University of Wyoming
has done a very interesting study in this regard.
We did not sponsor it but it's one of the finest
that has been published to date.

One comment here in regard to seeding in
the Upper Colorado River Basin. The source of
the moisture is to the west. Once the air
mass has crossed the Rockies, none of that
moisture comes out any more. So any that comes
out on the western slope wouldn't corne out on
the eastern slope or upper plains anyway. The
source of the moisture in the plains and the
eastern slope, of course, is the Gulf of Mexico.
We have found some very interesting indications
that rather than robbing Peter to pay Paul,
instead of not robbing Peter you are also in-
creasing his rainfall too."

MR. SPARKS:

"One particular problem that I think every-
one can see that is posed, let's assume that
we do produce another two million acre-feet of
water west of the Continental Divide, whose
water is it?"

MR. ECKLES:

"Once it hits the ground or the stream
courses wouldn't it corne under the existing
division and adjudication that we divide the
river with now?"

MR. SPARKS:

"This gets into how do you pay for this
program? This is a problem we will have to
face at such time as it is proven that these
programs are effective and economically possi-
ble. Dividing the cost will be a major
headache."