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<br />Western States Water Council <br />Meeting <br /> <br />BOise, Idaho <br />April 12, 1974 <br /> <br />-;;. <br />~~~!i <br /> <br />N <br />N <br />N <br />C) <br /> <br />measures to reduce the salinity of the Colorado Rive.r water <br />delivered at the northerly boundary. The Minute in its original form <br />terminated in November of 1970, but was extended for successive <br />one-year periods by formal agreements in 1970 and 1971 , <br /> <br />Under Minute 218, the United States extended the Well ton- <br />Mohawk drainage channel to a point below the Mexican point of <br />diversion at Morelos Dam and gave Mexico the option of wasting <br />Wellton-Mohawk water or of mixing it with other Colorado River <br />water above Morelos Dam, The United States also constructed <br />additional drainage facilities in the Wellton-Mohawk Project to <br />allow the pumping of the most saline waters at times when Mexico <br />is bypassing Well ton-Mohawk drainage water and the pumping of <br />higher quality groundwater at times when Mexico is using <br />Wellton-Mohawk water, The United States also agreed to release <br />in addition to the 1,500,000 acre-feet required by the Treaty, 50,000 <br />acre-feet per year of water from storage to substitute for Wellton- <br />Mohawk drainage waters wasted to the River below Morelos Dam. <br /> <br />Mexiooretained and exercised the right under Minute 218 to <br />waste additional Well ton-Mohawk waters to obtain the quality of <br />water it desired even though this meant the loss of about 50,000 <br />acre-feet annually of its Treaty allotment. Under the me3.sures <br />of Minute 218, at a cost to the United States of about $12 million <br />and 50,000 acre-feet per year of water over and above Treaty <br />requirements, the quality of water made available to Mexico <br />improved from about 1500 ppm in 1962 to 1240 ppm in 1971 . <br />The additional bypasses made by Mexico of its own volition reduc.ed <br />the average salinities of the waters actually used by approximately <br />an additional 100 ppm. <br /> <br />;: <br /> <br />'* <br />f <br /> <br />In 1971 the United States proposed a new Minute which would <br />have provided Mexico Colorado River water having the same salt <br />concentration as would exist were the Wellton-Mohawk Project and <br />all other projects in the United States below Imperial Dam in <br />salt balance, Le., the total tonnage of salt in drainage water <br />delivered to Mexico would not exceed the tonnage of salt in the <br />water applied to the lands below Imperial Dam in the United States <br />which contribute to the drainage waters, Under this proposal <br />average salinity would have been further reduced to about 1130 ppm <br />in 1973. <br /> <br />A-4 <br /> <br /> <br />, -~ <br /> <br />.' ~__.""- ,,-;:,;,L_..;.;,.~,~ _~ " <br /> <br />