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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />w <br />c:J <br />~ <br />o <br /> <br />Adoption of the industrial reuse policy marks a shift in the <br />Forum's, and thereby the seven CRE states', approach to salinity <br />control. Until recently, great reliance had been placed on the federal <br />government's structural actions to control salinity. This policy rec- <br />ognizes that purely structural actions may not provide the entire <br />solution and that complementary state action will not only aid in sa- <br />linity control but may also aid in optimizing water use. It is a <br />simplified' axiom that use and/or reuse of saline water may leave bet- <br />ter quality water in-stream for higher uses, <br /> <br />r <br /> <br />At this point, it seemS desirable to differentiate between <br />"usable" saline or brackish water and "unusable" brine. These terms <br />are relative ones. Water of up to 1,000-1,200 ppm is still valuable <br />for some agricultural uses (depending on soil type) and is used for <br />agriculture in the Lower Colorado River Basin of the U.S, and in Mexico. <br />It also can be used, generally with increased cost for treatment, by in- <br />dustry. Heavily saline brines, on the other hand, although still usable <br />for selected purposes, are generally not used for economic reasons. <br />Brines are normally disposed of by evaporation. <br /> <br />The industrial reuse policy adopted by the Forum recognizes <br />that some saline and brackish water, which otherwise would be disposed <br />of through evaporation to meet NPDES requirements or to meet salinity <br />control goals, has an economic value when reused. <br /> <br />As the salt concentration of brine increases, the water quality <br />advantage of its consumptive disposal becomes more significant and the <br />loss of beneficial use becomes less significant. Correspondingly, if <br />saline water has a relatively low salt content, it is more wasteful to <br />dispos,e of it consumptively, If NPDES regulations do not permit its <br />return untreated to the river, it is nevertheless important to obtain a <br />greater beneficial use by industrial reuse, <br /> <br />Water and Power Resources Service Saline Collector Study <br /> <br />As described in earlier sections, the Water and Power Resources <br />Service (WPRS) has specific legislative authority to coordinate Colo- <br />rado River salinity control projects, The Colorado River Water Quality <br />Improvement Program (CRWQIP) is the vehicle by which salinity control <br />is to be achieved. <br /> <br />Structural controls (desalinization, evaporation ponds, canal <br />lining, irrigation improvements) are becoming more and more costly and <br />these costs often are exceeding the accepted economic benefits of sa- <br />linity control. In addition, regulations affecting the disposal of <br />saline water are forcing reconsideration of alternative use and disposal <br />concepts. Finally, structural removal of most saline waters also re- <br />moves usable water supplies from a water-short river system, <br /> <br />II-8 <br />