WSP02128

• File Number: 8210.110.60
• Description: Colorado River Water Users Association
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 11/20/1969
• Author: CRWUA
• Title: Proceedings of the 26th Annual Conference
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

ELLIS 1. ARMSTRONG

On balance, I do not think we have done too badly, Before the, dams were built, the river was
little more than a sluiceway for silt and debris of all types that washed off of the Colorado Basin
lands, Only above Grand Junction did the Colorado and :its tributaries contribute anythin~ of value as
far as sports fishing was concerned, As for recreation, there was virtually no public enjoyment of the
river except for the handful of intrepid souls who followed John Wesley Powell's pioneering voyage
down the Grand Canyon just a century ago,

Today, of course, all that has changed. There are clear water lakes all 'the way down from the
tributaries to the southern border interspersed with clear' cold running water which is developing some
of the. best stream fisheries in the world, Utah State biologists, for example, consider the Green
River below Flaming Gorge Dam as the best trout fishing stream in the State. It is true that there is
fluctuation to meet necessary powerplant operations, but this is nowhere near the seasonal fluctuation
of the natural river and it is managed in such a way that it does not change the fish, or prevent
enjoyment of the stream,

Or jumf all the way downstream to the 260,mile reach of the river from Davis Dam south to the
Internationa Boundary and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area upstream to the boundary of
Grand Canyon National Monument, This area alone annually hosts about 8 million man,days of
recreational activity, It is this Reclamation-created environment below Davis Dam in which acres
upon acres of new plants and trees took advantage of >\ new water supply to flourish in many back,
waters. These large marshy areas now' present a dile~ma to the Bureau of Reclamation and the
water users who have contracts with the United States fdr the river water,

Simply stated, we must continue to conserve water wherever feasible if we are to satisfy the
commitments for water to cities, farms, and industries. But in order to conserve and in some in-
stances to salvage water necessary to meet these commitments, some of the environment must be
altered if benefits are to accrue to another segment.

Reclamation programs, present and future, relate c\irectly to people, Our major programs in the
past have been devoted chiefly to the development of Water for irrigation because this has been the
major thrust of our authorizing legislation. As the West continued to grow, other uses of water took
on new importance,

.

~

Today, in our affluent and complex society, we see a concern and a recognition by the very
people we serve that our natural resources are not unlimited. They recognize as do we that if we are
to retain a wide variety of natural habitat, we will have to make certain that the maintenance and
enhancement of environmental quality becomes an equa) partner of the multiple-purpose concept and
not relegate it to the role of a fringe benefit.

I was pleased to read in the Los Angeles Times some days ago, a story which represents both
sides of our river operation and maintenance work. The story emphasized the work being undertaken
for fish and wildlife protection and enhancement and recreational purposes.

The dollars programmed for this work represent 25 percent of the total cost and sometimes
more. For the next year, the principal thrust of our dredging program wilt be for fish and wildlife.
Our 20-inch dredge will be working in Cibola Lake, The 12-inch dredge will be in the Palo Verde
Division on the California side deepening these wate,rs for enhancement of the fishery habitat.
Another 12-inch dredge will be in Mittry Lake in Arizona for the same purpose. They meet the
pledges made by Reclamation in our various reports an~ discussions with the fish and game people of
Arizona and California.

A fourth dredge will be in the river above Imperial Dam clearing sediment that blocks the channel
to diversion works on bo~h sides of the river, The sediment is in the river at this point because we
could not get a large dredge to work upstream early enough to keep the sediment where it belongs,
That dredge is in the program for this fiscal year. '

,4,