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<br />~ . <br /> <br />r~ached flexico at the toot ot the river.76 Hexico ~rotested, A series ot <br /> <br />negotiations resulted in agree~ents that assured ~2xico of water deliveries of <br /> <br />77 !';""- ~"'-', <br />a certain quality. Costly ::neasures i..inally--wer"e instituted CO protect water <br /> <br />::;~. <br /> <br />qualit~including an expensive desalination plant now being constructed near <br /> <br />rhe border.78 The federal government need not rely on construction of such <br /> <br />works to clean up salinity. Instead it could choose to satisfy its promises <br /> <br />to Mexico by regulating the manner in which water is used tor irrigation, <br />79 <br />especially in the Lower Basin. <br /> <br />(si12) <br /> <br />What Is The Future Of Federal Participation In Water Projects On The Colorado <br />River? <br /> <br />The federal government has been generous in its largess for water pro- <br /> <br />jects for over 70 years; over half at all the money spent by the Bureau of <br /> <br />Reclamation's national construction budget since the agency started in 1902 <br />au <br />has been spent in the basin. There was consensus that water development on <br /> <br />the river was a national need to be satisfied by national expenditures. The <br /> <br />early water projects on the river transformed much of the West from what <br /> <br />explorers thought was an uninhabitable waste to an area of tremendous impor- <br /> <br />tance for the nation's economy as well as a recreational haven for millions. <br /> <br />The efficacy of new projects is limited, however. <br /> <br />Although problems remain that might be addressed by construction of water <br /> <br />projects to provide physical solutions to shortages and allay dissension among <br /> <br />the states and user groups, the federal approach to these problems probably <br /> <br />will be different. Strong bipartisan sentiment now exists for rethinking the <br /> <br />role of the United States in new endeavors and tor curtailing further federal <br /> <br />investments. Policy is in flux for several related reasons. first, the non- <br /> <br />Indian projects that remain to be built--mainly Upper Basin storage facili- <br /> <br />ties--are difficult to justify economically and would not directly benefit <br /> <br />- 22 - <br />