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<br />Salinity. . .
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<br />(Co"tln'~t'tlfnJm JIn~f" 27)
<br />
<br />While se.din!!! a test well in the Mct"kcl
<br />Dome, the agency simullaneously seakd
<br />an olll oil w('l1 that had been leaking
<br />salty ~01JIIIIWnICr 10 the _surface.
<br />The SCS only ha.s fOllT projcCl" on
<br />line. hUI they seem \0 he working well.
<br />The two largc.st - lIinl.1h tJa.sin in Utah
<br />and the Grand Valley in Colorado -
<br />have bl'cn oJlerating for m.'.mly 10 years;.
<br />Two more jus, got underway: Ihe Big
<br />Sandy project in Wyoming and the
<br />Low('r Gunnison projcCI in Colora(Io.
<br />Combined, Ihe four remove ahoul
<br />76,5IX) 10m; (Jr s...11l a year at an avcrage
<br />cost of jU\1 under SSO a Ion.
<br />PlOgfl'SS lIIay soon accelerate.
<br />Gappa c:\pCCIS the Paradox project on
<br />the Dolores Ri vrr in Colorado to hc~in
<br />operation" in 1992. removing 19H,IX)()
<br />tons or sail a year, and he So'lYs a new
<br />project in Glellwood Springs may t.'lke
<br />out anothC'r 70,000 tons a year.
<br />Me<lllwhile, SCS oHidals report they are
<br />receiving more than twite the nllmber or
<br />applications than they can fuml, and say
<br />other SCS projects have ocen planned
<br />bulawail funding.
<br />Dave Rohbins, who ha.~ chaired IDe .
<br />state's Salinity Control Forum for the
<br />last 10 ye.au, says, "Sure we're only 10
<br />percent of !he way there and it's been 15
<br />years... but tile important thing to
<br />remcmocr is this is prohahly the first and
<br />most succ('s.~ful non point pollution effort
<br />in !he U.S, We've led the way in defin-
<br />ing the means to dcal with nonpoint, and
<br />that'll taken a subSlantial amount of time
<br />and money."
<br />
<br />lfh,r, ,h, probltmJ art
<br />
<br />
<br />B ehint! those successes loom
<br />problem!. With a couple or exceptions.
<br />the Bureau of Reclamation's rart of the
<br />Salinity Control rro~ram is not working
<br />well. A recem report by the Dqxuuncnt
<br />of Interior's InspcclOr General slatcd,
<br />"Between 1974 and 19R7. the nureau
<br />spent more Ulan S 14 millinn to investi-
<br />gate eight potential projecls, which
<br />included natur,ll salt sources, without
<br />successfully identirying one thOlt was
<br />both economically viable allll acrcptable
<br />tn the applicahle state:'
<br />Because of high consUllclion cosl.~
<br />- most Bureau projects rale at over
<br />S 100 pcr IOn of salt removed - the
<br />Bure..1U has shelved many of its projCCK
<br />The agency dropped at Icast onc, the
<br />Dirty Devil proj<X~I, in rart hccause Utah
<br />would oot commit to a waler right ror
<br />the projcct and in part because it was too
<br />c:-;pensive. The In<:.peclOr Gelleral also
<br />found resisl;incc_ from farmer!! involved
<br />in Bureau projecu. In one ca.~e. McElrno
<br />Crcek, the Burellu essentially hought the
<br />fanner's cooperation by including $4.4
<br />million in exua work, the fedcral report
<br />says.
<br />lbe SCS docs not have those pub-
<br />lems, Rather than consume waler or
<br />inCtea~e a farmer's costs, SCS proje-cl'
<br />tend 10 save waler and increase a farm's
<br />efficiency. Gary Tharp says that even
<br />aher only one year his project has
<br />noticeably cut labor, operation and main-
<br />tenance cosu. reduced topsoil loss,
<br />increa'iCd production and increased irri-
<br />gation errriciency.
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<br />"We didn't have enough wattr
<br />before and we will oow." ~ys Tharp. He
<br />expects to bring an idle field into pro-
<br />duction and still he. able to irrigate his
<br />entire spread throughout the growing
<br />season. Currently waler starts funning
<br />shortaboutmid-summcr.
<br />However, the SCS is hamstmng by
<br />lock 0( money. About two-thirds of the
<br />Salinity Control Program's budget goes
<br />to the Dure.au, and Tharp says a.~ rar as
<br />he is concerned that is Ihe only real
<br />problem with the salinity program.
<br />"(The SCSJ is short of help down
<br />there and tha('.'i going to cost them. If
<br />you o\'erstres~ the program they're not
<br />~lOing to imrcc1 projects good enough
<br />and something is going to break down ...
<br />Those guys need more help and more
<br />money."
<br />In !he pa~t, those kinds of prohlems
<br />were identified and solvC'd by the Burc.<lU
<br />of Reclamation's Colorado River WalC'r
<br />QualilY Office - an office that Mike
<br />Clinton fonned and headed. That office
<br />has been cut from a staff of seven to just
<br />
<br />one man. Slan Gappa, who is ncw to the
<br />job.
<br />Thai (aclor is thc one tll:1I .....orries
<br />C1intc," (11051 ahout the program. '.In the
<br />pa~t two ye.:J.r.I I've walched the Dur('au
<br />t.'lke apart a k)t of the capability or m:m-c.,
<br />aging the rrogram that existed 10 ycars-....)
<br />ag{),"he~ys. c.; 1
<br />"U Reclamation rcally an(1 truly
<br />wanl~ to mO\'c from il~ hislOf)' and H1ol.~
<br />as a dam building agency tn a new mis-
<br />sion [as a water resource agency I tlu:n
<br />this is an arC'3 whcrC' thcy've gone had.
<br />....ards," Clinton says.
<br />Mean.....hile. the pressure is sl;lrtinp:
<br />to build. Salinity le\'c1~ ha\'c tx'cn ri~inp:
<br />steadily since 1986, a~ ri'o'er nows h;l\'e
<br />dropped. And, as the drought cyrle con.
<br />tinues, a numbe.'r (If large water pmjccl~
<br />- Animas.L.'lI'lat.'l, the Dolores l'roj('t'I,
<br />Ole CC'nlral ArilOn.a and the CcntrallJtah
<br />projects - arc Ixp:ining cnnstmclioll In
<br />nc.aring completion. All will signilicant.
<br />Iy add 10 the problem.
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<br />Should the West dry up?
<br />
<br />There i5an alternative to the
<br />uaditional salinity control projecL't, hut
<br />it makes st.'ltc officials. county commis-
<br />sioners and water dc\'clopers break out
<br />in hive.~.
<br />The idea - ceasing to irrigate
<br />highly saline or marginal agricultural
<br />land - W:lot considered in the Bureau's
<br />Salinity Conuol Program system.wide
<br />Environmental Impact Study in the
<br />19705. However, it was rejected as
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