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EP 0 81995STATESI'f DIR oIoredo Waler ~~c nsarvation Board F WATER ~ . September I, 1995 Issue No. 1111 I' recycled paper conseI'1{fs water 'j THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL Creekview Plaza, Suile A-20l /942 East 7145 So. / Midvale, Utah 84047 / (801) 561-5300 / FAX (801) 255-9642 Chairman - Larry Anderson; Executive Director - Craig Bell; Editor - Craig Bell; Typist - Alona Banks WATER RESOURCES Colorado River Basin - Lower Basin Agreement . Diverse interests in the lower Colorado River Basin have 60 days to reach an agreement on their future use of the river. After that, the Department of Interior has said it may proceed with promulgation of proposed rules drafted last summer relating to transfers in the Lower Basin (WSW #1051). Following preliminary meetings involving the seven basin states and ten Indian tribes affected, a technical committee (TC) was formed of state officials and water users' representatives to seek a regional solution to the Lower Basin's problems. Before concluding its efforts, without an agreement, the TC prepared a list of guiding principles and essential elements for any regional solution (WSW #1084). No solution has yet been reached. In its July 1995 newsletter, the Southern California Water Committee included a series of invited contributions from some of the principal Lower Basin interests. The Committee representn !~ca.! and municipal governments, water and irrigation districts, and farming and business interests. Noting that Lower Basin water supplies are approaching full use, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Dan Beard suggests that 75 years after most Colorado River Basin state governors endorsed an interstate compact, "...we must again ask what steps can be taken to ensure the river will meet contemporary and future water needs...." He adds, "The federal government has a role in this process, but the states must ultimately lead it. Indeed, to accomplish true consensus on what steps should be implemented, and how, the process must include...all stakeholders...." . Jerry Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Colorado River Board of California, points out that discussions have focused on improved reservoir and river management, interstate water transfers, water banking and more flexible accounting for water use. He states, "Although some are of the opinion that certain of these elements are more acceptable and more important than others, I firmly believe that each...in some form, must be components of the 'Regional Solution' package...." E. Thornton Ibbetson, a director of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, observes, "Consensus often is more easily talked about than accomplished, particularly among water users. Yet...one fact remains unchanged: Each entitlement holder has a very specific, and individual, need for seeking a regional water supply solution." According to Patricia Mulroy, General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, "The problem is political, and the result of an institutional deficiency in the Lower Basin.... Unlike our neighbors in the Upper Basin states, we have no multi-state regional forum that allows us to work together to manage this resource...." Southern Nevada has proposed "limited" state-to-state marketing and multi-state water banking as the key to stability for its water supplies. Rita Pearson, Director of the Arizona Department of VVatei Resources, declare-s that Aiizona has clearly demonstrated its commitment to meeting its future water supply needs. "Arizona responded by crafting a long- term water policy centered on conservation and on promoting the use of renewable surface water supplies...investing in the construction of the $4.4 billion Central Arizona Project.... The state also enacted its innovative Groundwater Management Code... [which) imposes aggressive conservation requirements and promotes the use of reclaimed water and effluent. Arizona is experiencing rapid population growth and...will fully utilize its annual Colorado River entitlement by 2040." David "Sid" Wilson, General Manager, Central Arizona Water Conservation District, points out, "Arizona has no intention or relinquishing any of its long-term entitlements to Colorado River supplies.... Arizona's share..provides the long-term supply surety we require while enabling us to reduce serious overdrafting of the state's ground water. Arizona has made long-term