WSPC03208 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

f: " ."; 8 ' 1 UuU ,-,' "22'n in the United States, c, Colorado says that this conclusion of the Report ie inaccurate, and is confusine if not misleading to the affected states and the Congress. It involves the implied assumption that the natural consumption of water and the channeJl losses of virgin flow' volumes and oonditions' will prevaill. un- diminishelJ: in amount regardless of future streamflow' ,'olumes and conditions, - an assumption wnioh, being contrary to known factS', is \mjustified, In order to deplete the flow' into Mexico from its estimated virgim volume of 17,720,000 acre feet, to its future volume of 1,500,000 acre feet as fixe~ hJ the Treaty, it wUl be necessary to ucilize in the United States a quanti ty of water materially gl'eater than the reported' 1L6,22O, 000 acre feet annually. The amount by which the uses of water and' depletions of stream_ flows in the United States will exceed 16,220,000 acre feet annually, will be determi~ed' by the extent to which the natural consumption and losses of water, which prevailed under the streamflow volumes of virgin conditions, are reduced. or prevented, or avoided, or are converted to beneficial consumptive uses, with development in the United States. 'r~ ~ Colorado points out that existing developments and uses of water in the United States have alread7 had the effect of reducimg the natural losses under virgin conditions; th9;l; the estimated! l,03a,000 acre feet of natura~ or virgin channel loss in the section of the Colorado River from Boulder D<rn to Laguna Dam halE been materially reduced in amount si nce Lak6' Mead came into operation, by reaso~ of the more regulated streamflow'volumelE and the reduced flows to l1exicol that the estilnatod' 1,007..000 acre.' feet of naturall. or virgin channel loss in the section of the Gila River frem the vicinity of Phoeni~ downstream. incident to the conveyance of 2,279.000 acre feet of estimated! natural or virgin condition inflows to the Phoeni% vicini ty. has si nee been ]a rgely reducedl in amount by the developments v.hich store, divert, use and consume the wnter supplies at; and above' the Phoeni1< vicinitYl and that all such channel loss reductions constitute savinge or the salvage' of water. which corresponding1y add to the supplies available in the United States. TIa above mentioned examples under presenlt developmentff' a~ in amounos' whioh are subject to determination by comparative analytical studies. i ( .~'. ,i II. 'j.1 Colorado says that further reductions in the natural losses of virgim conditions will ne~essarily accompany the future progressiv~ developm~t in the United States; and that in the future, with full development in the United State$~ when the flow' of the Colorado River at Lee Ferry ha~ ~~ere reduced from lits virgiD volume of about 16,000,000 acre feet to aboui!;-half that amount, and when the flow of the Colorado River at the Internatip~al Boundary ha~' been reduoed from it~ virgiw volume of about 17,700,000 ~cre feet to about 1,500,000 acre feet. the further reductions in natural losseS; will .fUrther increase the supply of water available in the United States. .The future salvage of water is subject to estimation frQm engineering datro and studie~ with as much assurance of accuracy as estimation~ of the future depletions by so-called potential projects. Estina tionlf'of salvagedi wate!!" olearly should be included in thi~ Report on the future development and full utilization in the United States of all the waters of the Colorado River System available to the State5 of the Colorado River Basin,