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<br />. t' I' - <br />J.\.i.,l_ <br /> <br />study were under consideration at the <br />close of the year. <br /> <br />Yuma OesJlling Plant <br /> <br />The Water and Power Resources <br />Service Continued its studies of <br />potential sources of replacement <br />water for the reject slream from the <br />proposed Yuma Desalting Plant and of <br />methods to reduce the plant's size. <br />The plant. the principal feature <br />authorized by Title I of P.L 93-320, <br />would d5a1t the drainage flow from <br />the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and <br />Drainage District. <br />Board staff members anended <br />meetings and reviewed reports of the <br />federally appointed Wellton-Mohawk <br />Technical Field Committee which <br />studied several alternatives for <br />reducing the volume of the drainage <br />flows from the Wellton-Mohawk <br />District which would enable the <br />deSillting plant to be reduced in size. <br />These alternatives included <br />intensification of the Soil Conservation <br />Service's ongoing irrigation <br />improvement program; reuse of <br />Wellton-Mohawk drainage water to <br />irrigate new lands in Arizona, <br />California, or Mexko; reuse of <br />Welhon-Mohawk drainage water <br />within the district by recycling part of <br />the return flow; and pumping the <br />Wellton-Mohawk drainage water back <br />to the Colorado River above Imperial <br />Dam. <br />Toward the end of 1979, the <br />Wellton-Mohawk Technical Field <br />Committee concluded that the only <br />viable alternative was an increase in <br />the Soil Conservation Service's <br />ongoing irrigation efficiency <br />improvement program. <br />The Color ado River Board adopted <br />a resolution in January 1979, which <br />expressed its support for legislation <br />reauthorizing the features of Title I of <br />P.L 93-320 that would cover <br />additional features needed to <br />accomplish the Title I objE"Clives and <br />the funds for both the additional <br />features and for inflationary increase<;, <br />in costs. Subsequentlv, the bill H.R. <br /> <br />2609 was introduced which increa!>ed <br />the appropriation ceiling for Title J <br />from S 155.5 million to $333,4 million, <br />authorized additional fish and wildlife <br />facilities. authorized use of power <br />from the Navajo Generating Station, <br />and approvl"d changes in engineering <br />plans for the desalting plant and <br />Coachella Canal construe lion. The <br />Chief Engineer, one of California's two <br />members on the seven-state <br />Committee of Fourteen, supported a <br />statement by the Comminee on H.R. <br />2609, presented to Congress on <br />March 20, which supported the items <br />mentioned above. Information on the <br />various dSpt'CtS of the Yuma Desahing <br />Plant was also given to California <br />Congressmen to use in considering <br />H.R. 2609 and other legislation <br />reauthorizing features of Title I of P-L <br />93.320. <br />While work on the Yuma Desalting <br />Plant was held up due to the <br />reauthorizing legislation being <br />considered by Congress, work <br />continued on the replacement of a <br />49-mile unlined section of the <br />Coachella Canal. A sE"Cond contract <br />was awarded for construction of the <br />concrete-lined replacement canal <br />which, with the first contract, covers <br />the entire 49 miles, and the contractor <br />has made good progress durin~ the <br />year. <br /> <br />Regional Developments <br /> <br />As described in this section, the <br />Board's staff continued to review <br />plans for water and energy <br />development projects in the Colorado <br />River Basin to determine their effect <br />on C.alifornia's Colorado River water <br />rights dnd interests, and, if necessary, <br />to attempt to obtain changes in the <br />projects. Substantial increases in <br />prices for imported oil during the <br />)'ear, plus the unseuled political <br />situation in Iran, a major oil-e),porting <br />nation. have rene-.\'ed national interest <br />in tht' development of the Colorado <br /> <br />11 <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />River Basin's coal and oil shale <br />resources. The President has proposed <br />energy development goals that include <br />the development and USt' of these <br />basin resources. Various governmental <br />regulations have hinderl"d energy <br />developments in the last few years. <br />and the President has called for <br />creation of an Energy Mobilization <br />Board to expedite these <br />developments. <br /> <br />General Accounting Office Report5 on <br />Colorado River Bar.;n Water and <br />Ene'1lY Problem5 <br /> <br />The United States General <br />Accounting Office report entitled, <br />"Colorado River Basin Water <br />Problems: How to Reduce Their <br />Impact", was released during the <br />year. The report analyzes several of <br />the major current and future Colorado <br />River Basin problems and issues, but <br />reveats a certain lack of understanding <br />of some of these problems. The <br />Board's 1978 Annual Report described <br />the draft of this report and the <br />comments which the Chief Enginf't"r <br />transmitted to the Generdl Accounting <br />Office. <br />The staff reviewed and analyzed <br />dnother General Accounting Oifice <br />report during the year entitled, <br />"Electrical Energy Development in the <br />Pacific Southwest". The report <br />proposed that the Western Area <br />Power Administration be made d <br />showcase to demonstrate the federal <br />government's commitment to <br />conservation dnd use of renewable <br />resources. The repon analyzed <br />Western's operations in California, <br />Arizona, and Nevada as being <br />indicative of its entire operations. <br />In order to force conservation of <br />energy through increased prices. the <br />repon recommends that Congress give <br />Western a broad charter that would <br />direct \Vestern to structure its rates to <br />