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<br />nlSTRICT <br /> <br />\ <br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />MPfRIAllRR bAII~~ ~ISrHI[1 <br /> <br />OPE"ATIN(; HEADQUARTERS' P. O. BOX 937 ' IMPERIAL. CALIFORNIA 92251 <br /> <br />January 11, 1999 <br /> <br />Mr. Phil Pace, Chairman <br />Metropolitan Water District <br />of Southern California <br />350 South Grand Avenue <br />Los Angeles, CA 90071 <br /> <br />RE: Alternative Means to AcqUire Additional <br />Colorado River Water Supplies <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Pace: <br /> <br />. I am writing you to express my concern that the Board of Directors of the <br />Metropolitan Water District of Southern Califomia is being misinformed about <br />important facts and the law concerning Colorado River water. For your <br />convenience, I discuss these matters within the context of the questions posed in <br />the "alternative means" section of the Attachment to Board Letter 8-16 entiUed <br />Approaches to Implementing Metropolitan's Policy Regarding Required Volume <br />of Colorado River Water Supplies, dated January 6, 1999. <br /> <br />Should Metropolitan's Member Agencies be required to give up <br />water and reasonable use claims and the right to pursue more appropriate <br />allocation of Colorado River watar in order to secure the IID/SDCWA <br />transfer and surplus criteria to assure a full aqueduct? <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Answer: The Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the California <br />Department of Water Resources, and the six other Colorado River Basin stales <br />have made it clear that ~ changes in reservoir operations at Lake Mead will <br />depend upon the successful implementation of the Imperial-San Diego <br />agreement. Metropolitan cannot obtain new surplus criteria by making claims <br />about Imperial's water use. <br /> <br />As indicated by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt in his De"cember <br />199B speech before the Colorado River Water Users Association, a resolution <br />through consensus requires that the parties resolve all outstanding disputes to <br />ensure a meaningful and lasting peace. This has been understood from the <br />outset of the negotiations among Imperial. Coachella, and Metropolitan mediated <br />by David Hayes, Counselor to the Secretary of the Interior, and former DWR <br />