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Introduction "l ~ G~: The Colorado River Board of California is the State agency created by the Legislature in 1937 for the purpose of protecting the rights and interests of the State, its agencies, and its citizens in the water and hydroelectric power resources of the Colorado River System, The duties of the - Board are set forth in Sections 12527 through 12533 of the California Water Code. The activities of the 13-member staff are directed by the Chief Engineer. The California Attorney General is legal counsel to the Board, The Board consists of a total of 11 members. Six members are appointed by the Governor from the agencies with Colorado River water and power rights-City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Coachella Valley County Water District, Imperial Irrigation District, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Palo Verde Irrigation District, and San Diego County Water Authority. Three additional members are appointed by the Governor from the public and the Directors of the Departments of Water Resources and Fish and Game, or their designees are ex-officio members of the Board. The Governor annually appoints a Chairman from among the members of the Board other than the latter two members or their designees, Patricia C. Nagle continued as Chairman of the Board during 1978. Harold F. Pellegrin, Executive Secretary of the Board since 1953, retired in September 1978 and Dennis B, Underwood was appointed as the new Executive Secretary. Colorado River Operations Operations During 1978 The estimated virgin flow of the Colorado River at Lee Ferry during the 1977-78 water year (October 1 through September 30) was 15,268,000 acre-feet. This was 111 percent of the long-time average flow of 13,786,000 acre-feet for the 57-year period from 1922 to 1978, During the water year, storage in Upper Basin reservoirs increased by 1,900,000 acre-feet, and storage in Lower Basin reservoirs increased by 694,000 acre-feet. As of September 30, 1978, the total active storage in the major Upper Basin reservoirs was 21,812,000 acre-feet and the active storage in the Lower Basin reservoirs was 22,932,000 acre-feet. The actual flow of the river below Glen Canyon Dam at Lee Ferry for the water year was 8,244,000 acre-feet. The Bureau of Reclamation estimated the 1977-78 water year Upper Basin depletions by the Upper Basin States (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) at 3,906,000 acre-feet, 473,000 acre-feet more than the previous year. Diversions less measured returns from the mainstream for the major water users of the Lower Basin States (Arizona, California, and Nevada) were 5,771,000 acre-feet for calendar year 1978, 315,000 acre-feet less than in 1977. Data for major California users show diversions less returns for calendar year 1978 at 4,596,000 acre-feet, 376,000 acre-feet less than 1977. Deliveries of Colorado River water to Mexico in accordance with the 1944 Mexican Water Treaty totalled 1,727,000 acre-feet during calendar year 1978 or 227,000 acre-feet in excess of the Treaty's guaranteed annual quantity. Of this amount, 6,176 acre-feet was conveyed on an interim basis to the City of Tijuana through facilities of the Metropolitan Water District and other agencies in accordance with Minute No. 240 of the International Boundary and Water Commission. Of the 227,000 acre-feet of delivery in excess of the Treaty's guaranteed annua'l quantity, about 180,000 acre-feet was covered under provisions of the Commission's Minute No. 242, the 1973 agreement with Mexico, and about 47,000 acre-feet was chargeable to operational control of the river and to 6 > R U.s. users not taking ordered water, Most of the excess deliveries chargeable to operational control were due to uncontrollable floodwaters from tributaries entering the Colorado River below Hoover Dam. Minute No. 240 is described in the Board's 1972 Annual Report and Minute No, 242 is described in the Board's 1973 Annual Report. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 recogn ized "replacement of the reject stream from the desalting plant and of any Wellton-Mohawk drainage water bypassed to the Santa Clara Slough .. . as a national obligation. . .", The Santa Clara Slough is adjacent to the Gulf of California and is the terminus of the canal constructed to convey Wellton-Mohawk drainage water and the reject stream from the desalting plant through Mexico. Since passage of the Act, the following amount of water has been discharged from the Wellton-Mohawk Drain below Morelos Dam, Mexico's diversion structure on the river, with the drainage water flowing through the lined canal to the Santa Clara Slough since its completion on June 23, 1977: Drainage Water Released Below Morelos Dam (Acre-feet) 113,645 214,729 205,395 206,822 180,374 920,965 Period June 25 to December 31, 1974., 1975 Calendar year,..........,.....,..., 1976 Calendar year...,.....,....,....... 1977 Calendar year..,.......,.,......... 1978 Calendar year...................... Total through 1978,.....,........... The Department of the Interior's Fi- nal Environmental Statement on the Title I facilities, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project, recognizes these bypassed quantities as a debit against the water to be salvaged by lining the Coachella Canal. The State- ment indicates that credits from the Coachella Canal lining salvage would be used to offset past debits, to credit against brine discharge from the future desalting plant, and to accumulate credits to offset future brine dis- charges.