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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Some Membrane Deterioration And Storage Costs As the Desalting Plant would be operating at one-third capacity, the membranes purchased for the anticipated full-scale operation would need to be stored until needed. Some deterioration may occur. Uncertain Risks to States Water Supply While it is clear that water belonging to the Basin States is being allowed to be bypassed and lost, it is not clear that this loss will cause harm or that conserving this loss will significantly increase Colorado River water supplies. As the Upper Basin has yet to fully develop, overall water supply demands continue to be less than the long- term supply. With the large carryover storage of the Colorado River reservoirs, the probability that shortage will occur in the foreseeable future is relatively low, and there is a good probability that the reservoir system will fill, and flood control releases will be required. If so, water conserved by operation of the Desalting Plant and reserved in storage may eventually be spilled and may in part be wasted. Use Of Temporary Entitlement Is Authorized Use of the 132,000 af per year of water, conserved from lining the Coachella Canal, would be sufficient to replace the additional water released from storage to meet the delivery obligation to Mexico. The Federal Government would be conserving more water than is strictly required to meet the salinity objectives of Minute No. 242 and the commitments to the Basin States. ALTERNATIVE 01: BUY OUT WMIOD AND SHUTDOWN Under this alternative, the Desalting Plant would be shutdown. After the interim period, WMIDD agricultural lands would be purchased and retired from production to replace the bypass loss. To be effective, such a purchase must include the permanent retirement of the water rights, an equal reduction in WMIDD diversions, and a stipulation that any United States water left in the river would not be subject to subsequent appropriation. Using a consumptive use loss rate of about 4.6 af per acre, as shown in Attachment B, the purchase of 17,100 acres would be sufficient to leave 78,500 af per year of water in the river. This would substitute for the additional water recovered from full-scale operation of the Desalting Plant and used to reduce releases from storage to meet the delivery obligation to Mexico. However, any remaining drainage (about 97,000 af per year) from WMIDD would have to be bypassed as it is at present and lost from use. The purchase of more than a few acres could entail costs in addition to the price of the land itself. For example, the Government may become obligated to pay relocation costs and manage the lands for other purposes such as wildlife habitat. Farm and WMIDD investments may be rendered worthless but not included in land values (as opposed to farm values) used to estimate purchase price. A very large or total purchase of WMIDD lands would undoubtedly cause the local town to economically 30