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<br />B. Title II Program Summaries <br />1. Bureau of Reclamation <br /> <br />~ <br />-.J. <br /><.0 <br />(0 <br /> <br />Title II of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act authorized <br />the Secretary of the Interior to construct, as part of the Colorado River <br />Salinity Control Program, the Grand Valley Unit, the Las Vegas Wash Unit, the <br />Lower Gunnison Basin Unit, portions of the McElmo Creek Unit now included in <br />the Dolores Project, and the Paradox Valley Unit. Another unit, the Meeker <br />Dome Unit, was completed in a verification well plugging program. No <br />additional actions are planned for this unit. <br /> <br />Title II further authorized and directed the Secretary of the <br />Interior to expedite completion of the planning reports on units described in <br />the Secretary's Report, Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program, <br />February 1972, Section 203(b)(2) and directs the Secretary to undertake <br />research on additional methods of accomplishing the objective of this title <br />(Ti tle II of Public Law 93-320). ,\ <br /> <br />In order to insure the effectiveness of Reclamation projects, <br />several projects are being staged. Staging allows additional time to monitor <br />actual results of salinity control methods and fine tune the techniques used <br />to predict just how effective the project will be. In the Grand Valley Unit, <br />the results of the Stage One monitoring program have significantly improved <br />the confidence in the techniques used to predict effectiveness of both the <br />Reclamation and USDA programs in the Grand Valley Unit. The results of this <br />monitoring program have also improved confidence in similar applications in <br />other units. <br /> <br />In 1985, Reclamation and the USDA formed the Technical Policy <br />Coordination Committee (TPCC) to improve the coordination of salinity control <br />investigations and construction of salinity control units. In the Grand <br />Valley unit, coordination of the data and methods used to evaluate the <br />potential effectiveness of various salinity control techniques has improved <br />the ultimate effectiveness of the programs by both Reclamation and the USDA. <br /> <br />Reclamation and the USDA are evaluating an alternative in the Price <br />and San Rafael Basins which would combine the on-farm and off-farm delivery <br />systems into one pressurized system. The co~bined system would allow farmers <br />to use the pressure to help convert to a more water efficient sprinkler system <br />and reduce salinity at a lower cost than would be possible with a more <br />traditional delivery system. <br /> <br />Some of the Basin States have raised water rights issues over <br />disposal of collected saline water in evaporation ponds, the primary disposal <br />methods proposed early in the investigation of salinity control. Under <br />Colorado water law, such a control system would not meet the requirements for <br />"beneficial use" in granting a water dght. Moreover, the disposal of large <br />quantities of water in ponds requires large land areas and high investment <br />costs in land preparation and liners to prevent leakage. <br /> <br />At this point in time, there are only a few methods of salinity <br />control which have passed all the tests of viability and are presently <br />implementable: the lining of irrigation delivery systems, the deep well <br />injection of brines (but only in the case of beneficial use), the plugging 'of <br /> <br />VII-7 <br />