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<br />on2178 <br /> <br /> <br />OFFICE OF ISSPECTOR GESER.:\L <br />W.\SHISGTOS, DC. ~02~O <br /> <br /> <br />United States Department of the Interior <br /> <br />- - <br />- . <br /> <br />September 7, 1989 <br /> <br />Memorandum <br /> <br />To: Assistant Secretary - ~ater and Science <br /> <br />From: Assistant Inspector General for Audits <br /> <br />Subject: Survey Report on the Review of the Colorado River Basin <br />Salinity Control Program, Bureau of Reclamation (No. 89-109) <br /> <br />This report presents the results of our survey of the Bureau of <br />Reclamation's salinity control program authorized by the Colorado River <br />Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320;. Our objectives <br />were to determine if the program was operated in compliance with <br />legislative, regulatory, and Bureau requirements and to evaluate the <br />Bureau's progress toward accomplishing salinity control objectives. Our <br />survey generally covered the Bureau's activities since the program's <br />inception in 1974. The survey was perfonned primarily at the Bureau's <br />headquarters in ~ashington, D.C., and at six Bureau field offices. <br /> <br />The Colorado River basin salinity control program act'Jally consists of <br />two subprograms, Title I and Title II. The Title I program was designed <br />to reduce the salinity of Colorado River '..,ater del.:.....ered to Mexico. <br />thereby enabling the United States to comply with its obligations under a <br />water quality agreement negotiated Nith Mexico in 1973. The main feature <br />of this program. a large desalting plant near Yuma, Arizona, Nill <br />intercept and desalt irrigation drainage from the ~ellton-Mohawk <br />Irrigation District before it reaches the River. The Title II program <br />was intended to offset salinity level increases in the lower portion of <br />the Colorado River caused by the development of water resources in the <br />upper portion of the River. To accomplish the Title II objective, the <br />Bureau is authorized to construct facilities which eliminate salt from <br />natural and man-made sources before the salt can reach the upper portions <br />of the Colorado River. <br /> <br />Overall, we concluded that after approximately 15 years of Bureau effort <br />and over $450 million invested, there is still uncertainty whether the <br />objectives of the salinity control program will be achieved. <br />Specifically, meeting the Title I program goals of providing Mexico with <br />water that meets the negotiated salinity standards without depriving the <br />Colorado River basin states of any of their allocated water is in <br />jeopardy. For example, the Bureau has been unable to identify and <br />develop a replacement source for the water that will be lost to ::he <br />basin states whenever the desalting plant is operational. Also, the <br />projected costs of operating the desalting plant have risen from $75 per <br />