BOARD02386

• Board Meeting Date: 3/8/1972
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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don't have a very sympathetic judge over there.
Maybe, you and I both won't be able to go to
Utah, but it doesn't appear that this is all as
nice as it might be.

What else do you have, Larry?"

MR. SPARKS:

"A brief item on the salinity problem of
the Colorado River. As you know, a meeting was
held in Las Vegas under the auspices of the
Environmental Protection Agency to discuss the
EPA report on the salinity of the Colorado
River. The seven states of the Colorado River
Basin unanimously adopted a resolution request-
ing that certain actions be taken to reduce the
salinity, but also request that no numerical
designation be adopted for salinity standards
until such time as the projects have been devel-
oped which would make it possible to reduce the
salinity of the river.

There is a common determination on the part
of all seven states to make every attempt to
reduce the salinity in the Colorado River. The
Bureau of Reclamation has promised to give this
matter urgent priority and to work out various
projects which would help the situation. The
Grand Valley area of Colorado has been singled
out in hopes that we can put a pilot project in
that area which will reduce the return salt
content from irrigation uses. Other prospective
projects will be investigated as rapidly as pos-
sible. We are probably talking about at least
a billion dollars to keep the Colorado River
within acceptable salinity standards. Through
the EPA and the federal agencies, and with the
cooperation of the states, we believe that this
problem can be solved.

We are now cooperating with the Bureau of
Reclamation and the EPA on the Grand Valley
project. Probably we will dedicate some state
funds to that project, at least in the field of
measuring water quality and establishing various
gaging stations. So at least at this time, there

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