WSP06497

• File Number: 8270.100
• Description: Colorado River Basin Water Quality/Salinity -- Misc Water Quality
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 1/1/1974
• Author: USDOI
• Title: Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program - Status Report
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

concentrations at or below levels presently found in
the lower main stem. In implementing the salinity
policy objective for the Colorado River System, the
salinity problem must be treated as a basinwide
problem that needs to be solved to maintain Lower
Basin water salinity at or below present levels while
the Upper Basin continues to develop its
compact-apportioned waters.

"II. The salinity control program as described by
the Department of the Interior in their report
entitled "Colorado River Quality Improvement
Program," dated February 1972, offers the best
prospect for implementing the salinity control
ob je cti ve adopted herein. Therefore, it is
recommended that:

"(1) to minimize salinity increases in the river, a
salinity control program, generally as described
in the Interior Department report, be
implemented on an accelerated basis;

"(2) the Bureau of Reclamation have the
primary responsibility for investigation, planning,
and implementing the basinwide salinity, control
program in the Colorado River System;

"(3) to accelerate the salinity control program,
the Bureau of Reclamation assign a high priority
to LaVerkin Springs, Paradox Valley, and Grand
Valley water quality improvement projects with
the objective of achieving stabilization of salinity
levels on the Lower Colorado River at the earliest
possible date. The contemplated impact would
be to initiate immediate action so as to achieve,
by 1977, the removal of 80,000 tons of salt per
year from LaVerkin Springs, 180,000 tons per
year from Paradox Valley, and 140,000 tons per
year from Grand Valley. This would provide a
total reduction of 400,000 tons per year and
would result in an estimated subsequent
reduction of 33 mg/l at I mperial Dam.

"(4) the Office of Saline Water contribute to the
program by assisting the Bureau of Reclamation
as required to appraise the practicablility of
applying desalting techniques; and

"(5) the Envi.onmental Protection Agency
continue its support of the program by
consulting with and advising the Bureau of
Reclamation and accelerating its ongoing data
collection and research efforts.

"III. To achieve the salinity policy described
herein, the long-range program of the Bureau of

Reclamation shall be directed toward achieving
reduction of salinity concentrations that would
otherwise exist at Imperial Dam to the extent of at
least 120 mg/l in 1980,355 mg/l in 1990, and 405
mg/l in the year 2000.

"Th e conferees agree that the Bureau of
Reclamation's program as submitted in its report
"Colorado River Water Quality Improvement
Program,'" dated February 1972, should be
considered as an open-ended and flexible program.
If alternatives not yet identified prove to be more
feasible, they should be included as part of the
program, and if elements now included prove not to
be feasible, they should be dropped. In addition, it
should be recognized that there may be other
programs which could reduce the river's salinity.
Since present levels are greater than desirable, an
effort should be made to develop additional
programs that will obtain lower salinity levels.

:~,

"The February 1972 report states that the Bureau
of Reclamation Mathematical Simulation Model for
the Colorado River System will be used to evaluate
the Water Quality Improvement Program. This will
be an important tool to evalute the program's
progress. The results of this evaluation along with
the general program progress should be reported
annually to the conferees and other interested State
agencies. "

The recommendations and conclusions of the
Enforcement Conference were subsequently approved
by the EPA Administrator. On June 9, 1972, Deputy
Administrator Robert Fri advised Secretary Morton of
the approval in the following letter:

"Honorable Rogers C.B. Morton
Secretary of the Interior
Washington, D.C. 20240

"Dear Mr. Secretary:

"Thank you for the participation of your
Department in the seventh session of the conference in
the matter of pollution of the interstate waters of the
Colorado River and its tributaries
(Co I orad 0- Utah -Ari zon a. Nevada-California New
Mexico-Wyoming), held under the provisions of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act on February
15-17,1972, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and on April 26-27,
1972, in Denver, Colorado. I am enclosing a copy of
the summary of the conference which contains the
conclusions and recommendations of the conferees.

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