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<br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The PVID investigation in southern California adjacent to the Colorado River <br />is part of the comprehensive CRWQIP (Colorado River Water Quality Improvement <br />Program) which is designed to identify and implement programs to improve the <br />water quality of the Colorado River. This special report is to inform con- <br />cerned interests of the costs, impacts known to date, and benefits associated <br />with plan components being considered for the unit. The report also describes <br />the setting and problems and needs of the area. Plan formulation is described <br />only briefly but includes alternatives being considered and criteria and <br />standards used. Future activities are discussed. Environmental impacts will <br />be identified as a part of continuation of the planning process. <br /> <br />Authorization <br /> <br />The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-320) <br />provides for the construction, operation, and maintenance of certain works in <br />the Colorado River Basin to enhance and protect the quality of water delivered <br />to users in the United States and Mexico. Under that Act, the Secretary of <br />the Interior was directed to expedite planning studies of 12 salinity control <br />units of a basinwide program for the control of the salinity of Colorado <br />River water including the PVID unit. <br /> <br />Title I of the Act authorizes the construction of facilities to enable the <br />United States to comply with its obligations under the agreement with Mexico, <br />of August 30, 1973, Minute No. 242 of the International Boundary and Water <br />Commission, United States and Mexico. In brief, Title I provides the means <br />of accomplishing the requirements of Minute No. 242 which requires that the <br />water delivered to Mexico be no more than 115 ppm + 30 ppm higher in salinity <br />than the Colorado River water arriving at Imperial-Dam upstream of the United <br />States-Mexican border (ppm is a measure of the parts per million concentration <br />of total dissolved solids, an indicator of salinity concentration, and is <br />essentially equivalent to concentrations expressed in mg/L). <br /> <br />Title II of the Act provides for programs to control the salinity of the <br />Colorado River upstream from Imperial Dam to meet the salinity standards <br />developed by the basin states and approved by the EPA (Environmental Protection <br />Agency). It also authorizes the construction of four salinity control units: <br />Paradox Valley Unit, Grand Valley Unit, Crystal Geyser Unit, and Las Vegas <br />Wash Unit. <br /> <br />Title II also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to expedite the <br />completion of the planning reports listed in the Secretary's Report, "Colorado <br />River Water Quality Improvement Program, February 1972," which is essentially <br />the CRWQIP. The Water Quality Improvement Program is a general investigation <br />program developed in early 1971, by the Bureau of Reclamation, which includes <br />the PVID unit. <br /> <br />Previous and Related Investigations <br /> <br />The PVID unit was included as part of a water quality study of the entire <br />Colorado River system by the FWPCA (Federal Water Polution Control <br /> <br />(,'~~9~7 <br />v, 4 <br />