WSP06713

• File Number: 8273.800.10
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control - Federal Agencies - Joint Reports
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 1/1/1994
• Title: 1993 Joint Evaluation of Salinity Control Programs in the Colorado River Basin
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

/-J. The USDA National Salinity Control
~ Coordinating Committee prepared the 1993
f-. Report to Congress. This 5-year report was
o submitted to Congress as required by the
Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of
1974, as amended. It provides information on
the program objectives, scope, and implemen-
tation impacts.

Work is underway on various items in the
SCS/EP A wetland salinity action plan.

BLM

The BLM Assistant Director and agency soil
and water specialists, together with the BLM
salinity manager, other agency salinity
coordinators, and the Forum's Executive
Director met in April 1991 to discuss
accomplishments and future activities. Based
upon a strategy developed at the 1991 Grand
Junction meeting, the BLM Director issued on
May 31, 1991, a Colorado River salinity control
strategy.

Salinity control decisions made by BLM are
subject to a consistency test with the above
strategy. The agency uses a land management
planning process as the internal vehicle for
carrying forward solutions to salinity problems,
with consideration for all resource values.

All rangeland watersheds in the Basin will be
ranked consistently using expertise and
experience of many organizations, and priorities
will be established based upon the rankings.
The determination of cost effectiveness in
BLM comprehensive salinity control plans will
be conducted consistent with Bureau of
Reclamation and U.S. Department of
Agriculture procedures.

Monitoring will be conducted efficiently and
effectively to evaluate progress in reaching salt
reduction objectives.

An interagency watershed ranking effort is well
underway in Wyoming, involving many
organizations and agencies. High priority
watersheds are being identified for followup
action.

Reclamation

Colorado River Simulation System Support ,-
Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) is
used extensively by Reclamation to forecast
salinity conditions and evaluate compliance with
the water quality (salinity) standards. To do
this, accurate water use data is needed as a base
for these predictions. Preparing base maps for a
remote sensing program to refine current water
use estimates in the upper Colorado River Basin
are among the activities that support CRSS.

Lower Gunnison Basin Unit, Colorado.-
Reclamation completed a study evaluating
alternatives to reduce the cost of the canal and
lateral1ining. The study found construction
costs could be significantly reduced by
eliminating the canal1ining program, by
combining and piping the laterals, and by the
continued use of construction cooperative
agreements with the water districts. Recla-
mation has been working on a pre construction
report.

Non-point Source Control, Uta h.-Reclamation
began working in cooperation with the BLM to
evaluate the effectiveness of various rangeland
management techniques for erosion and salinity
control as an outcome of the Non-point Source
Control Screening Studies in Utah and Colorado.
In 1993, the monitoring program was up and
fully operational in the Castle Peak and Sagers
Wash study areas.

North Desert Study.-In Colorado, Reclamation
and BLM have scoped plans to jointly evaluate
the effectiveness of grazing management to
improve soil and salinity conditions in the GranddJunction area. In 1993, a cooperative agreement
for the study was drafted and monitoring plans
developed to use each agency's expertise.

Price-San Rafael Rivers Unit, Uta h.-The
USDA and Reclamation prepared a combined
Reclamation/SCS draft PRlEIS evaluating a
comprehensive salinity control program for

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