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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />w <br />00 <br />Q <br />~ <br /> <br />Since irrigation technology has not been oriented to control of <br /> <br />salinity in return flows, irrigation practice now poses a water quality <br /> <br />management problem because the salts in return flows may produce <br /> <br />unacceptably high downstream salinity levels. An important question <br /> <br />then is the manner in which PL 92-500 applies to irrigation return flows, <br /> <br />which raises a further question as to the ability of irrigation technology <br /> <br />to control salinity as one key to solving the salinity problem in the <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin. <br /> <br />WATER QUALITY AND THE LAW OF THE RIVER <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Until just the last decade, the "Law of the River"~-an amalgamation <br /> <br />of statutes, compacts. treaties, court decisions, contacts, regulations, <br /> <br />and administrative rulings--has dealt almost entirely with issues relating <br /> <br />to the development and allocation of the waters of the Colorado River <br /> <br />Basin. This complex body of law divides the basin's scarce waters <br /> <br />between two nations, two sub-basins, seven states, and competing use <br /> <br />sectors within each of these political domains. As the following will <br /> <br />attempt to document, water quality considerations have until quite <br /> <br />recently played a minor role in the development of the "Law of the River. " <br /> <br />Although salinity received some recognition as a potential problem <br /> <br />in the first half of the century, active concern for the problem was <br /> <br />minimal, as evidenced by two noteworthy facts. One is that salinity <br /> <br />13 <br />