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<br /> <br />Water Use and Assol'illled Impact'l of Salinity <br /> <br />The Colorado River, from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to its mouth in the Gulf <br />of California, is utilized for a variety of purposes. A portion of the flow is transported out of the <br />Colorado River Basin for use in adjacent river basins. In the Colorado River Basin, irrigation, <br />municipal and industrial, hydroelectric power generation, power plant cooling, fish and wildlife, <br />and recreation are the major uses of the water. <br /> <br />~ <br />o <br />(!') <br />w <br /> <br />Colorado River water <br />users in the Lower Basin have <br />suffered significant economic <br />impacts due to long-term <br />continued use of water with <br />elevated salinity levels. Figure 2- <br />3 indicates salinity damages <br />resulting from long-term <br />continued use at various levels of <br />salinity. At current salinity <br />levels, these damages are <br />estimated to be in excess of $750 <br />million per year. If the proposed <br />plan of implementation for <br />salinity control as set forth in this <br />Review is not implemented, these <br />damages could exceed $1 billion <br />per year by the year 2015. <br /> <br />Damages vs Salinity <br /> <br />$2,0 <br /> <br />- <br />III <br />C <br />~ <br />:0 <br />~ <br /> <br />$1,5 <br /> <br /> <br />Without Future Controls (2015) <br /> <br />III <br />CII <br />01 <br />\\I <br />E <br />\\I <br />C <br />b <br />:e <br />iii <br />(f) <br /> <br />At Numerio Crkerla Level <br /> <br />$1,0 <br /> <br />................."................................".................... <br /> <br />At 1995 Oburved Levels <br /> <br />$0,5 <br /> <br />$0 <br />400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 11 00 <br /> <br /> <br />Agricultural water users <br />suffer economic damage as a <br />result of using highly saline FIGURE 2-3 <br />waters through reduced crop <br />yields, added labor costs for irrigation management, and added drainage requirements. The urban <br />user incurs additional costs due to more frequent replacement of plumbing and water using <br />appliances, use of water softeners and the purchase of bottled water. Industrial users and water <br />treatment and waste water utilities incur reductions in the useful life of system facilities and <br />equipment from higher levels of salinity. <br /> <br />A significant impact in the Lower Basin is due to the regulatory restrictions imposed by <br />local and regional water quality standards and management programs to protect ground water <br />supplies. Regulatory agencies have placed restrictions on reuse or recharge of waters that exceed <br />specified salinity levels. If the salinity levels of the Colorado River continue to increase, these <br />regulatory actions would result in additional expensive treatment of water prior to reuse or <br />disposal of such waters. If disposal options are selected, additional costly alternative sources of <br />water must be developed or imported to meet the demands previously met or that could be met <br />by water reuse. <br /> <br />2-6 <br />