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<br />Sunday. Mav '5. 1988
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<br />THt: nr'-:\TR P(1-.1
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<br />Here's why Colorado worries about water flowing downstream
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<br />for their allocatIOn. The CE'ntral \n70n...
<br />Project that ......aters Ph()('filX ar:ll 'f U{":>0n
<br />wasn't SlJppoSt>d 10 gel......ater untl~ ~r)(' Cpo
<br />p('r BaSin had storage proJec~ ;~. plllee.,
<br />Bul thanks to the adroIt foot won: ..rld .....
<br />slduou~ h~pocnsy of Lower B3:,,:, poliU-
<br />Clans, and the ons('1 of the en\"lf(';,:Ilt'f,t..l
<br />mon'ment and federal budget l;~ hellS,
<br />Anzona gollL" ft'dpral storage: \\ t. 6r'.n'1.
<br />We're now so bewilden"<1 and bl.mu:.t-d
<br />that we can't e\"t'n deCIde to kN'1l .,,,me c>l
<br />ours for Colorado use at Twl.J Forks,
<br />wt.Jch has no fNlcral money lfl\0;\('d. A
<br />numbE'r of we:;,1.em Coloradans WO:.JU prtt-
<br />ft'r to wate( tu.<;tonc enemIes In I.tJ.i ,\n;
<br />geJes lor free, rath('r than hISl": Le eus-
<br />lom<'rs on the Front Range for pay,
<br />I guess Hus rostor)' IS part of the' :,n\'.\.N
<br />as to "why we care if surplus ( (,Jorad"
<br />RI,'er water runs down to Ann'rla <tr:d
<br />Cahfomla?" IIlstorv and future nl'n1. ;~nJ
<br />not wantmg someone to gf"t aW;1\ \< Ii.h a
<br />heiSt. t\ny\\"ay, the compact 151ft r:lU(h of
<br />a Chnstmas t;ve story anymore~
<br />
<br />l111eal and legal. that have emerged In the
<br />Wt':.t since the Colorado Rlwr Compacl
<br />was achlt'vPd In 1!r.!2.
<br />The experts thoug-ht thert' would be 17
<br />mlluon acn,.f('el In the n\'er on an'rage,
<br />and Uus .....as the amount shared b\' the
<br />('ompact. But it turned oul lhert' .... ere on-
<br />ly 13.b, and a raw polHlcal struggle for the
<br />llon's shan' v,'as on.
<br />Besldt's hndJng out there wasn'l gOing
<br />to be enough waIN, MeXICO demandf'd
<br />and oblamt'd a guarantee of a ("erlam flow
<br />al the rlVN'S lo.....er end, so tht' pohllcs
<br />seeped Into mternatlOnal d.lplomacy, too,
<br />Mop thesl' problems, Anzona and Cali-
<br />fornia gre..... at a much faster and thlrstler
<br />rate than the mountam states, and v,lth
<br />theIr politIcal clout In Congress, captured
<br />more than their compact share of the nv.
<br />er's water. Thpy dId Hus by bwldmg lhdr
<br />storage proJPcts first, w hllt' helpl11!; delay
<br />most of those In the lpper hasln, thus
<br />cn'atmg a "surplus" of our compact wa.
<br />ter, wtuch lhpy happily slurpttus day.
<br />Southern Callforma today eXists on
<br />much .morl' than Its share, and IS not v
<br />about to v. ant the upper slales to fmd uses'
<br />
<br />In Phoemx or L.t\ , took plac(> regardless
<br />of whether then' v,as .....ater ready 10
<br />sen'(' It; Dt'nver please note.)
<br />ThIS one nv(>r IS the pnnclpal water
<br />source for Colorado/Ueml'r, W~omlng,
<br />t'ol'W :-,lexleo and Ctah (the l"pp<>r Basm
<br />states and clt).!>1ateS); and lor :\e\'ada,
<br />,\nzona/Phoemx and Cahforma/Los An-
<br />geles (the Lower Basm). Thls Low(>r Ba.
<br />Sin being at thE' same hme much more
<br />populouS and a p-eat deal dner than the
<br />l'pper Basm, it began early to dram the
<br />fiver dry, raiSing conCE'rns up in the
<br />mountains that there wouldn't be enough
<br />Mt for tht'm or th(>ir kids.
<br />lienee, t.....o p-eat conc(>pts arose. One,
<br />lhat holes should be dug along: Ihe fiver to
<br />store th(> wat(>r runnmg by In ,good Yl"ars
<br />for d.lstnbutlon In bad years. 1'v.o, that en-
<br />ablPd by thIS storage of a hrm supply, the
<br />water should be shan:'<1 bt'tween the Up-
<br />pt'r and Lower basUl." by a lej<:al compact
<br />v,orked through the Congre-ss, the lehlSla-
<br />tUf('S and the courts.
<br />When you say ttus compact was "work-
<br />ed through" the process, you cannotlot-pn
<br />to descnbt' the tortun'<1 compleXItieS, po-
<br />
<br />TI O:'OE WIIO once, v.llh dulc'.ren at
<br />knet' on ct.nstmas cW', thou~t to
<br />read to the!:' CfK>rublC f<!{1;'c; and mqUlf'
<br />ll':ii:: nunds from tn' "Colorado Hlver Com--
<br />pict:' \ius recent QUe'SUon ....a." W1.',l:'t\lJI1g:
<br />"\l.11y," said an II1ldl1ger.t young nl'v,('om.
<br />er, "should Colordrlo care If surplus water
<br />from the Colorado H.1wr d()('S run of{ to An-
<br />zona and Cahlorrua'?" ThLs qUt';,tJon. e),"flt.-'C-
<br />li'd m J'hoeru.x. Tucson or Los An~ele.s, was
<br />a shocker arrud IJenwr's mtelli,genlSla, but
<br />l~'S reasonable and .....orth a sketcn\' am;v.er.
<br />Out there m IlK> S('~'en-sLate b<ism of the
<br />. Colorado RI\'er, a "nation" blg.gE'r than
<br />5-pam and Portu!!al combu1f'd. lurk those
<br />"'-00 have figured out how to g('t \hPtr share
<br />. of the nwr and ho..... th/:'y hope to !Zl't more.
<br />.0\.) Uus watRr no.....s or tm:kJt'S, derll.:ndmg on
<br />t.~ ..ear, dov.n lrom tht> Hockv ~'ountams
<br />where It falls to the de.wrt otJes and fanns
<br />....here It su.stal1lS, Ux~ folk have l:Jt>(>n domg
<br />a lot of getlUlg and shanng.
<br />They are alert to the misplacement, m
<br />expJanatlon or on the ground, of a single
<br />'.acre.foot," the ey('.g13lm~ umt by which
<br />~ch :naHer IS ml'3-"l,:rt'd. That's the
<br />amount of water It lao.;es to cover ont'
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<br />-' Z...,. BIl L
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<br />,,:":.7':, HOH;-;UY
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<br />acre of Jrround to a depth of ant' foot, or
<br />thl:' 325,000 gallons an average family of
<br />f<Jur uses In a vear,
<br />The hL<;tonc Colorado River problem ls
<br />thaI In some years there lSn't enough nat-
<br />urally nowmg water In It to serve the
<br />numtx'r of families or bu.c;messes wantmg
<br />(0 u-"e II, and tht' u.c;es are multJpl~'lI1g rap-
<br />uily. !\ature prOVides, "on the a\'eral:;e,"
<br />13,~ mIllion acrp.feet each vt'ar, now sen-
<br />In[! more than Z2 million fX'ople.
<br />But naturl" as the pronoN has not m-
<br />creased ItS supplies. whlle peoplt' as the
<br />users have contuJuously Increased their
<br />numbPrs and demand-c;. (ThiS growth, as
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<br />8.11 HOI""~Y ..r.0l04I COlumn .~.r' Tu...."~,~ T..ulS-
<br />O"l'.t'\ds."nO.ll~",,~,Oted"OOO!Tn.l''''.''''P,",'
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