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<br />Beneficial Consumptive Uses
<br />
<br />Upper Basin Uses
<br />
<br />The three largest categories of depletion in the
<br />Upper Basin are agricultural use within the drain-
<br />age basin, diversions lor all purposes to adjacent
<br />drainage basins, and evaporation losses from all
<br />reservoirs.
<br />
<br />During water year 1976, agricuitural and M&I uses
<br />in the Upper Basin were estimated at 2,350,000
<br />acre-feet. Approximately 763,000 acre-Ieet were
<br />diverted to adjacent drainage basins and approxi-
<br />mately 656,000 acre-feet evaporated from main-
<br />stem reservoirs in the Upper Basin, it is estimated
<br />that an additional 150,000 acre-feet evaporated
<br />from other reservoirs and stockponds in the Upper
<br />Colorado Basin for a total depletion of 3,919,000
<br />acre-feet.
<br />
<br />Water is being stored in the Upper Basin reser-
<br />voirs and will be released to the Lower Basin as
<br />specified by the Colorado River Basin Project Act
<br />and the laws, compacts, and treaties upon which
<br />the operating criteria promulgated pursuant to
<br />section 602(a) of the act is based,
<br />
<br />Lower Basin Uses and Losses
<br />
<br />During water year 1976, releases of 6,855,000 acre-
<br />feet from Lake Havasu were made to meet the
<br />requirements for water deliveries at Imperial Dam,
<br />as weli as those of the Colorado River indian Res-
<br />ervation near Parker, Ariz" the Palo Verde Irriga-
<br />tion District near Biythe, Calit., other miscei-
<br />laneous users along the river, and transit losses
<br />between Parker Dam and Imperial Dam, Deliveries
<br />to Mexico consisted of river water delivered to
<br />Imperial Dam and waste and drainage relurn flows
<br />from water users below Imperial Dam. Beneficial
<br />use of the small amount of regulatory storage
<br />space in Imperial, Laguna, and Senator Wash
<br />Reservoirs resulted in the regulatory waste of
<br />68,627 acre-feet.
<br />
<br />The major water diversion above Parker Dam was
<br />by Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern
<br />Cal,fornia. MWD pumped 812,000 acre-feet from
<br />Lake Havasu during water year 1976, which in-
<br />cluded 9,554 acre-feel for delivery to the city of
<br />Tijuana, pursuant to a contract for temporary
<br />emergency delivery of a portion of Mexico's treaty
<br />entitlement. During water year 1976, releases of
<br />
<br />8,000,000 acre-feet were made from Lake Mohave
<br />to provide for releases at Parker Dam; to supply
<br />diversion requirements of the MWD, miscellaneous
<br />contractors, and other users; to offset evaporation
<br />and other transit losses belween Davis and Parker
<br />Dams; and to maintain the scheduled levels of
<br />Lake Havasu,
<br />
<br />During water year 1976, releases of 8,319,000 acre-
<br />feet were made from Lake Mead at Hoover Dam
<br />to regulate the levels of Lake Mohave and to pro-
<br />vide for the small uses and the losses from this
<br />reservoir. In addition, 91,500 acre-feet were di-
<br />verted from Lake Mead for use by Lake Mead
<br />National Recreation Area, Boulder City, Basic
<br />Management, Inc" and contractors of the Division
<br />of Colorado River Resources, Stale of Nevada,
<br />During water year 1976, the total releases and
<br />diversions from Lake Mead were 8,410,500 acre-
<br />feet.
<br />
<br />
<br />Upper Basin streams carrying runoff Irom snowmelt
<br />provide high quality water.
<br />
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