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HAXTUN HERALD (phillips County) Thu,aal MAR 2, 1991 ,-"'" ~ t:d~ ~.s/~ ~7 eweB .. 2 0 1!IBl COLORADO PRESS Clipping Service 1336 Glenarm Place - -' Govern"r Romer has propOsed pennilling drought-stricken Califor- nia 10 dip into the Upper Colorado River Basin's stored water in Lake Powell, This offer is cenainly a de- cent and neighborly gesture in a time of need, but Coloradans should think long and hard about the precedent such generosity would establish, If Western history is ~y gu'ide, water is an addiction largely impervious 10 treatment programs, Encouraging dependence,. even temporarily, on Upper Basin surpluses seems a per- ilous policy, . II is panicularly unwise in suggest water !ransfers without atlaching an . . economic price, Simply because California's drought is now extend- ing into its fifth year, there is no . reason 10 believe it may not continu'e for five -- or even fifty -- more, Some ---\ scientis\l, are speculating that the hot, dry coastal wea!.her panerns creati~g shonages in California may be evi- dence of an e~erging Greenhouse Effect which will radically alter pre- cipilation across the continent. . In other words, there may be no real relief in sight for the nation's most populous Slate, ! Lending the' burgeoning urban centers of Southern California ano!.her hOse with which to suck water out of the Colorado River may prove one of tOOse loans that must be extended indefinitely, Th~refore,itseemsonly prudent that Upper Basin states should charge for the very first acre foot.of waler. ! The truth is that time has arrived for all Slates dePendent on the Colo- rado River 10 seriously re-examine, and possibly renegotiale, !.heexisting i I _.1 ___~_ compact governing its allocation and 10 consider !.he construction of water storage projeclS in the Upper Basin, The river itself is over-allocated, as ~'. all users are aware,and the remaining . developmemrightsbelong IOsparsely populated states without !.he financial resources or current demand to de- velop those rights, ' . Califomians, on the other hand, : have bo!.h money and need, There is : no time belter !.han the present 10 open !.hesediscussions, before current users in the Upper Basin states begin: 10 sell their waterrighlS inil piecemeal. and uncoordinated fashion that would. undennine our rural economies and spread environmental calamity, Colorado can only secure its long- tenn rights 10 Colorado River water by developing additional storage. projects on theWestem Slope, These p.:ojects will eventually benefit all downstream users by guaranteeing a more reliable annual supply. It is difficult 10 embrace additional dams and reservoirs which don't appear 10 be needed today, but the question isn't.whether. these 'projeclS wilJ.. eventually be buili;- rather itis when, and by whom, Either Colorado can demand that waler development oc- . cur in the context ofa comprehensive: river management policy which'pre-. - serves the future access of. Upper Basin SlateS to their currenlly unde- . veloped rights, or. il will .occur in: response 10 growing Lower Basini demands for a larger share of the: river. / . A good place to stm is by requir- ing thatCalifomianspay for an y water' ihey take from the Colorado River above and beyond current allocation,