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<br />" <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Interior either declares a .surplus. river condition, in <br />which California is entitled to at least 50 percent of any <br />surplus in the lower Colorado River, or the Secretary allows <br />California to utilize unused apportionments of Arizona and <br />Nevada. Absent either of these conditions, California would <br />have to redupe its present annual Colorado River water use of <br />about 4.8 maf to its 4.4 maf annual basic apportionment. <br /> <br />Prior to the commencement of CAP deliveries, and <br />pursuant to the 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decree in Ar izona v. <br />California and the Operating Criteria, California was allowed <br />to divert all the water it could beneficially use. With the <br />commencement of CAP deliveries, the Secretary of the Interior <br />is to define the river supply available each year to the <br />Basin states and Mexico by declaring whether surplus, normal, <br />or shortage conditions exist in the river and through <br />discretionary decisions regarding the use of unused <br />apportionments. For the Basin states to effectively make <br />beneficial use of water greater than their basic <br />apportionments, declarations of surplus or decisions to <br />utilize unused apportionments must be made by the beginning <br />of the operating year (water year) so that water and power <br />operations can be appropriately scheduled and implemented. <br /> <br />The Upper Basin states are not expected to be capable of <br />using more than their basic apportionment of river water <br />during the likely period of full reservoirs. In the lower <br />Colorado River Basin under a "surplus" declaration, water <br />greater than the states' basic apportionments would be <br />available to entities and individuals with Colorado River <br />water delivery contracts. Such water would fulfill basic and <br />surplus water delivery contracts, both of which are with the <br />Secretary of the Interior. The largest existing and <br />potential users of surplus water are The Metropolitan Water <br />District of Southern California, which provides supplemental <br />water service to nearly 14 million people in coastal southern <br />California, and the CAP water contractors in Arizona <br />beginning in 1992. In addition, a small amount of water <br />would be made available to entities and individuals without <br />Colorado River water rights or with insufficient rights to <br />meet their water needs. A river supply for these users would <br />be interruptible and subject to availability only under a <br />declared "surplus. condition, as specified in the users' <br />surplus water delivery contracts with the Secretary of the <br />Interior. The domestic, municipal, industrial, and <br />recreational river water users in this category in California <br />will be eligible to participate in the recently authorized <br />10,000 acre-foot per year Lower Colorado Water Supply <br />Project, once the initial phase of construction is completed <br />in 1988. <br /> <br />-14- <br />