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<br />To complicate this situation further, beginning in 1988, the <br />Colorado River has experienced its driest four consecutive years of <br />runoff on record. .During this same period, California has faced <br />severe drought conditions with many agricultural water users <br />receiving only 50 percent of their water requests from the state <br />Water Project (SWP) in 1990 and none in 1991. Municipal and <br />industrial water users in California, including The Metropolitan <br />Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan), are receiving <br />only 20 percent of their SWP requests in 1991. Water rationing in <br />California has been commonplace. Water agencies including <br />Metropolitan have implemented mandatory water conservation <br />programs. During 1991, Metropolitan implemented Phase V of its <br />incremental interruption and conservation plan which is designed to <br />achieve a 31 percent reduction in water deliveries to its 27 member <br />public water agencies. <br /> <br />II. NEED <br /> <br />There is a need for the seven Colorado River Basin states, in <br />cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the secretary of the <br />Interior, to agree on how the Colorado River System reservoirs will <br />be operated annually now that the requests for water to meet <br />beneficial consumptive uses in the Lower Division states from the <br />mainstream of the Colorado River are expected to approach or exceed <br />7.5 maf. Technical discussions to address this issue should occur <br />within the existing Colorado River Management Work Group that has <br />been established to annually prepare the operating plan for the <br />colorado River System reservoirs. Recognizing that: <br /> <br />o surplus conditions on the Colorado River are <br />likely to continue to exist until the Upper <br />Division states more fully develop their <br />Compact apportioned water, <br />o more effective operation of the system <br />reservoirs is desirable, <br />o most if not all of Metropolitan's request for <br />water from the Colorado River could be met <br />from within California's basic apportionment <br />of 4.4 maf within a reasonable period of time <br />in the future, and <br />o maintaining comity among the Basin states is <br />in all of the states' interests <br /> <br />discussions should continue on a parallel track among <br />representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin states and the <br />Bureau of Reclamation. The objective of those discussions would be <br />to continue to explore potential bases and mechanisms that would <br />assure Metropolitan that it will be allowed to divert up to 1.3 maf <br />of water per year through its Colorado River Aqueduct as efforts <br />continue to be undertaken by Metropolitan and other California <br /> <br />3 <br />