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<br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />...... <br />o <br />m <br />-..l <br /> <br />This report provides the basis for continuing evaluation of <br />the Title II portion of salinity control programs in the <br />Colorado River Basin. It is intended to serve as a compre- <br />hensive financial/management level analysis of all Federal <br />and State salinity control efforts in the basin. This <br />annual evaluation is provided as a management tool to ensure <br />that the program is being carried out in the most cost- <br />effective manner in accordance with legislative requirements <br />and current program schedules. The Title I portion of the <br />salinity control program downstream from Imperial Dam is <br />also briefly summarized. <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin <br /> <br />The Colorado River Basin encompasses portions of seven <br />states. The river flows over 1,400 miles from its mainstem <br />headwaters in Colorado. It joins with major tributaries <br />from Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, flows through the Grand <br />Canyon, provides state boundaries for Nevada, Arizona, and <br />California, flows through the Republic of Mexico, and ter- <br />minates in the Gulf of California. <br /> <br />The Colorado River provides municipal and industrial water <br />supplies for over 18 million people and irrigation water to <br />over 1,000,000 acres. The river, however, carries about <br />9 million tons of salt annually past Hoover Dam. Projec- <br />tions indicate salinity levels increasing beyond numeric <br />standards if controls are not implemented, even though <br />recent high flows have flushed the major reservoirs. The <br />result has been significantly lowered salinity levels at <br />Imperial Dam--from an annual average of 826 mg/L in 1982, <br />to 607 mg/L (provisional) in 1985. <br /> <br />Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Proqram <br /> <br />The CRWQIP (Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program) <br />Has initiated as a general investigation program by <br />Reclamation (Bureau of Reclamation) in 1971. See figure 3. <br />The general goals and objectives governing salinity control <br />in the basin have been established by two key pieces of <br />Federal legislation: The Federal Water Pollution Control <br />Act as amended, Public Law 92-500, currently known as the <br />Clean Water Act; and the Colorado River Basin Salinity <br />Control Act of 1974 as amended, Public Law 93-320. <br /> <br />7 <br />