WSPC00070 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

o < . At this time the State of California was already vigorously pressing Congress for authorization of a federally financed lower basin project on the Colorado River. As the result of the Wyoming vs. Colorado decision, the upper basin states were now openly hostile to the construction of storage or diversion facilities on the lower rive= t~At would place that area in a position to monopolize the waters of the river through prior appropriation. It therefore did not appear possible that Congress wQuld approve lower basin proj~cts without an 'adequate guarantee that the water resources of the upper basin would have some protection. In such a climate, the Colorado River Compact Commission, authorized by Congress the previous year, began its deliberations in January of 1922. The Commission was chaired by Herbert Hoover, representing the United States. It soon became obvious that no divi-sion of water among the respective seven states could ever be accomplished. Agreement was then reached that the waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries would be apportioned between the "Upper Basin" (Colorado, Wyoming, and parts of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona) J and "Lower Basin" (California, Nevada and parts of Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona). . However, the Commission then became deadlocked on the question of hO~-1 much water each basin was to receive. A handy solution ~ias provided by the Bureau of Reclamation, which had made studies to determine the possible future water require- ments of each basin. The ~equirements of the Upper Basin were figured at 6,500,000 acre-feet of water annually. The require- ments of the Lower Basin from the main stem of the Colorado .River were estimated at 5,100,000 acre-feet. The total future consumptive use of water from the Gila River in Arizona was computed at 2,350,000 acre-feet. This latter sum, when added to the 5,100,000 from the main stem of the Colorado, came to 7,450,000 acre-feet. This figure was rounded out at 7,500,000 acre-feet. The situation at this point was that the total Upper Basin present and future requirements were computed at 6,500,000 acre-feet of water annually, anc the Lower Basin requirements, includin~ the Gila River, were computed at 7,500,000 acre-feet ~nnuallr.' Sinc7 ?v7r ~O% of the Colorado River flow originates l.n the 'Upper Dl.VJ.,sl.on" states (Colorado, New loiexico, Utah and Wyoming), the Upper Division commissioners were hardly in a position to return home and inform their people that they had bargained away over half of the Colorado River to the Lower Basin. _ At this point, a happy compromise almost occurred to the efrect that the Upper Basin should be allowed another million acre-feet of water in order to bring its total allocation to the same figure agreed on for the Lower Basin. The result would -4- . "