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<br />-------~--- <br /> <br />Ou:i250 <br /> <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Department of Natural Resources <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />721 Slate Centennial Building <br />1313 Shennan Street <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone (303) 866.3441 <br />FAX (303) 866.4474 <br /> <br />Roy Romer <br />Governor <br /> <br />Ken Salazar <br />Executive Director, DNR <br /> <br />Daries C. We, P.E. <br />Director, CWCB <br /> <br />News Release <br /> <br />February 16, 1994 <br />For Immediate Release <br /> <br />News Contact: <br /> <br />Ross Bethel <br />(303) 866-3441, ext, 308 <br /> <br />NEW SYSTEM HELPS PROTECT COLORADO RIVER INTERESTS <br />Increased competition for Colorado River water has prompted the state to launch <br />a major project to improve Colorado's ability to protect and use its portion of Colorado <br />River water. At the center of the competition is some 15 million acre-feet of water that <br />annually originates above Lee Ferry, Arizona. <br />The 1922 Colorado River Compact divides the flow of the Colorado River at Lee <br />Ferry, Arizona between the upper basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and <br />Wyoming, and the lower basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada. A subsequent <br />series of laws, interstate agreements and court cases further divides the flows among the <br />states in the upper and lower basins, <br />In recent years, California's annual use has exceeded its basic compact <br />approtionrnent of 4.4 million acre feet. California's overuse has historically came from <br />Arizona's and Nevada's unused share, Now that Arizona and Nevada have begun using <br />a larger share of their Colorado River water, via the Central Arizona Project and other <br />means, the lower basin states have entered an era in which their compact apportioned <br />water supply will not always satisfy their water demands. <br />In addition to water demands by the states, there are proposed uses of Colorado <br />River water for the recovery of endangered fish and Clean Water Act re-authorization <br />considerations. <br />