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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />USE OF AUG~ffiNTED FLC~S <br /> <br />Colorado River is one of the mos\; litigated, regulated, <br /> <br />w::.. <br />o <br />..... <br />w <br /> <br />anc s:~~ed-about ~ajor rivers in the world. The rights to the use <br /> <br />of Co::~ado River ~ater are complex, and are based upon interstate <br /> <br />co~~s::~, federal legislation, water contracts, state legislation, <br /> <br />a t:es:: and other agreements with Mexico, a United States Supreme <br /> <br />Cou:: ~ecree, and federal administrative decisions. These documents <br /> <br /> <br />are oo:':'ectively referred to as the "Law of the River". <br /> <br />T~e settlement of water rights issues with respect to the allot- <br /> <br />men"G <br /> <br />~~ - <br />=.~ <br /> <br />use of any additional water produced by a weather modification <br /> <br />pro6:a= requires =ore information than is available at this time. <br />..my .:i:-.3.1 decision on this important issue would have to wait until <br /> <br />the ~e:essary information is available from the program and would <br />involve negotiations between the seven states of the Colorado River <br /> <br />Basin s:,d the federal government. <br />Based on cloud seeding experiments in the Colorado River Basin, <br />the J.S. Bureau of Reclamation has estimated that about 1.3 maf/yr <br />could ce added to the Basin's water supply through implementation <br />of a basin-wide weather modification program. The impact on salinity <br />of this amount of additional water depends on how and where the addi- <br />tional -.'rater is used, and the time frame considered. <br /> <br />SALINITY I~WACTS OF AUGMENTED FLOWS <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation made a preliminary study to determine <br />the i;:::::act of basin-wide \'leather modification program for the 1991- <br />2020 pe~iod. The Bureau selected the historical period 1933-74 which <br />had a ::.ean virgin flow of about 14 maf/yr'. and applied it to the <br />period 1979-2020.. Using that historical period they made operational <br />