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the use of Co Iota do River water in California. This system of priorities and the California water contracts cover the following amounts of water: Acre-feet I. Palo Verde Irrigarion District 104,500 acrtS. 2, Yuma Project of U. S. Bureau of Reclamation 25,000 acres. 3. (a) Imperial Irrigation District and lands under the All- American Canal in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys, (b) Palo Verde Irrigation District in "Lower Palo Verde Mesa" 16,000 acres. Total for I. 2. and 3 n.......h.h..........h___.___.....h 3.850,000 4. Metropolitan Water District of Sourhern California and the City of Los Angeles ............h..n'......h___.h.......nhn.n....... 550.000 Total III 5, 6. (a) water .h.........................nhn..........___.........h.....n.... ""h... (a) Metropolitan Water District of Sourhern California and the City of Los Angeles ..........n___..........______.........hh.... (b) City and County of San Diego n.......hnn.n....h..h___..... (a) Imperial Irrigation District and lands under the AII- American Canal in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys, (b) Palo Verde Irrigarion District in "Lower Palo Verde Mesa"-16.000 acres. Total fot 6 (a) and 6 (b) n........hhn___........... 4.400.000 550.000 112,000 300.000 Total Surplus Water ..........................,................hm.............................. Total ,..................__h........................................h.h........."'m ..............n. 962.000 5,362.000 As shown above. California warer contracts exceed the amount of III (a) watet to which California is entitled by the Bouldet Canyon Project Act and its Self-Limitation Act by 962.000 acre-feet of warer. California is fearful that its contract rights to this 962.000 acre-feet of water are jeopardized by the proposed treaty with Mexico, Here. it must be observed that. if there is any instability in these junior California rights. that instability existed at the time of the execution of the contracts therefor. These contracts were all made subject to the availability of the water under the Colorado River Compact and subject to the provisions of that Compact and of the Boulder Canyon Project Act. Since under the Compact there may be no allocation of surplus until after October I. 1963. these juniot contracts cannot be made firm until aftet that dare, It is entirely possible tbat. at the present rate of increase of use by California. some other users. such as Arizona. might be using the surplus befote California. The possibility of a recognition of a right in Mexico to Colorado River water was contained in both the Compact and the Project Act, California must be charged with familiarity with the pertinent provisions; and. hence, at the time these junior contracts were made, it was obvious that they might be subject to any right of Mexico, which by the plain language of Article III (c) would be satisfied first out of surplus. Thus. it is clear that California knew at the time these contracts were made that they could be satisfied only out of III (f) water. Without granting that there is any in- finnily in these junior California contracts, it is a fair observation that any infirmity which does exist was present at the time the contracts were made. and is not the result of anything which bas bappened since. Indeed, it would seem that tbe best possible method of giving validity to these junior contracts is the execution of a treaty wirh Mexico which, by defining the extent of the Mexican right, will make certain tbe priorities wbich must be satisfied before water will become available as surplus. Any delay in tbe making of such a treaty carries with it the hazard of a continued increase in use by Mexico and a resulting economic development, which in all probability will be recognized and protected by any arbitration board or any international court. There can be no question about this if we are to grant that the controversy is not to be decided upon the basis of the relative might of the two nations. 7