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<br />of 0,248 mafwould reduce the total amount to 7,988 maf, For calendar year 1999, the Central Arizona
<br />Project (CAP) is projected to divert 1.323 maf and The Metropolitan Water District of Southern
<br />California (MWD) is projected to divert 1,237 maf,
<br />
<br />The March I" estimate of 1999 end-of-year California agricultural consumptive use of Colorado
<br />River water under the first three priorities of the 1931 California Seven Party Agreement is 3,832 maf,
<br />This estimate is based on the collective use through February 1999 by the Palo Verde Irrigation District
<br />(PVID), the Yuma Project Reservation Division (YPRD), the Imperial Irrigation District (lID), and the
<br />Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), Figure I, found at the end of this report, depicts the historic
<br />end-of-year agricultural use for the year,
<br />
<br />Colorado River Ooerations
<br />
<br />It is expected that the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) will soon be initiating its process
<br />for development of its water year 2000 Annual Operating Plan for the Colorado River System
<br />Reservoirs (2000 AOP), According to Reclamation's latest 24-Month Study (February 11, 1999), there
<br />will be a flood control release in January 2000 with the projected runoff and water use in 1999, This
<br />suggests that the Secretary may consider a surplus condition for the release of water from Lake Mead
<br />in the 2000 AOP, provided runoff conditions do not substantially change,
<br />
<br />In conjunction with the development of the 2000 AOP, it is anticipated that the Secretary of the
<br />Interior and Reclamation will initiate a public process to obtain input on appropriate surplus/shortage
<br />guidelines for the operation of Lake Mead, Secretary Babbitt announced his intent to initiate such a
<br />process in his December 1998 speech at the Colorado River Water Users Association Annual
<br />Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, The Federal Register notice announcing the initiation of that
<br />process may be published in April.
<br />
<br />The Yuma Area Water Resource Management Group (Y A WRMG) was recently formed to
<br />investigate and develop alternative solutions for the groundwater and salinity problems that exist in the
<br />Yuma Valley, The Y A WRMG held its second meeting on January 2Jh, One of the initial tasks asked
<br />of the members was to identify specific problems the Y A WRMG needs to solve, how the problem
<br />should be solved, and what additional information is needed to solve the problem, Included in the
<br />Board folder is a copy of the issues/needs/concerns that were identified by the member organizations,
<br />
<br />Included in the Board folder, for your information, is a copy of a report from the U ,S.
<br />International Boundary and Water Commission entitled "A Report on Salinity Operations on the
<br />Colorado River Under Minute No, 242" for calendar year 1997, The Report, among other things,
<br />verifies that the quality of water being delivered to Mexico upstream of Morel os Dam did in fact meet
<br />the obligations of Minute No, 242, The salinity differential between water delivered upstream of
<br />Morelos Dam and that of water at Imperial Dam was 69 ppm verses the lIS ppm :1:30 ppm required by
<br />Minute No, 242,
<br />
<br />Also included in the Board folder, is a copy of a letter, dated February II, 1999, from
<br />Reclamation to Commissioner John Bernal accepting Mexico's modification to its water delivery
<br />schedule for the remaining months of 1999, Subsequently, Mexico by letter dated March Sth, requested
<br />an increase in its April delivery and a corresponding decrease in its December delivery,
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