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<br />. <br /> <br />o <br />00 <br />w <br />w <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />HISTORY OF WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Continued) <br /> <br />Congress had previously been unwilling to approve projects without <br />assurance that a water supply would be available, so this division of <br />water among the States permitted development to proceed and resulted <br />primarily in the authorization of most of the Federal projects above Lee <br />Ferry that are mentioned in this report. <br /> <br />Neither of the compacts specifically mentions water quality, but it <br />has been recognized as a factor to be considered in developing projects, <br />and water quality studies have been required by recent legislation <br />authorizing the construction of projects in the Upper Basin. <br /> <br />4. Arizona vs. California Suit in the Supreme Court <br /> <br />The States of the Lower Basin have never agreed to a compact for <br />the division of use of the waters of the Lower Colorado River Basin. <br />The State of Arizona filed suit in the Supreme Court of the United <br />States in October 1952 against the State of California and others for <br />the determination of the rights to use the waters of the Lower Colorado <br />River system, The Supreme Court gave its decision on June 3, 1963, and <br />issued a decree on March 9, 1964, providing for the apportionment of the <br />use of the waters of the main stream of the Colorado River below Lee <br />Ferry among the States of Arizona, California, and Nevada. The States <br />of Arizona and New Mexico were granted the exclusive use of the waters <br />of the Gila River system in the United States. The decree did not <br />affect the rights or priorities to the use of water in any of the other <br />Lower Basin tributaries of the Colorado River. <br /> <br />The decree permitted the States of the Lower Basin to proceed with <br />developments to use their apportionments of Colorado River water. Major <br />new developments include the Southern Nevada Water Project in Nevada, <br />and the Central Arizona Project in Arizona. Development of the Indian <br />lands is expected to use all of the water allocated to them by the <br />decree. These lands include the Colorado River Indian Reservation, <br />Arizona-California; the Fort Mohave Indian Reservation, Arizona- <br />California-Nevada; and the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation, California. <br /> <br />5. Colorado River Basin Project Act (Public Law 90-537, 90th Congress, <br />September 30, 1968) <br /> <br />The major items provided in the law include the following: <br /> <br />Construction of the Central Arizona Project consisting of a <br />system of main conduits and canals including a main canal and <br />pumping plants (Granite Reef aqueduct and pumping plants) for <br />diverting and carrying water from Lake Havasu to Orme Dam or suit- <br />able alternative. <br /> <br />15 <br />