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<br /> <br />(::'<": <br /> <br />FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> <br />PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION <br /> <br />o <br />c.:> <br />m <br />--..l <br /> <br />Progress in ehe Tiele I and Tiele II programs of ehe Colorado River basin <br />salinicy conerol program has been slow, and ehe uleimaee effeceiveness <br />and efficiency of boeh appear queseionable. Despiee.15 years of Bureau <br />of Reclamaeion effore, as well as exeensive expendicures, key componenes <br />of boch programs seill have noe been implemeneed. For example, despiee <br />Tiele I program expendieures of over $312 million, the desaleing plant is <br />still noe compleee, and when compleeed, it may noe be capable of <br />performing its purpose in a fully effective manner. Currently, estimated <br />Title I program coses at completion are expecced to total between $426 <br />million and $485 million. Also, the proj ected operaeing costs for the <br />plane have risen from $75 in 1973 to a minimum of $316 for an acre-foot <br />of water, so that the Title I program, in its currene form, may no longer <br />be economically desirable. Moreover, the Bureau has been unable to <br />develop the required water source to replace the water that will be lost <br />in ehe desalting process. <br /> <br />For Title II, despite about $142 million in expendieures, the Bureau has <br />made litele headway in developing ehe non-Federal cooperation necessary <br />to successfully implemene the salinicy conerol program within the United <br />Staces. This sicuation may be causing the Bureau to waste Federal funds <br />pursuing projects .that have litele or no chance of being implemented. <br />Additionally, the sealled progress may also lead to excessive program <br />coses because the Bureau appears willing to provide unauthorized projece <br />work as an inducement to gain the cooperation of local canal system <br />owners. <br /> <br />Title I - Desaltin2 Comnlex <br /> <br />Current status. Although some features of the desalting complex are <br />operational, construction of the desalting plant itself has not yet been <br />completed. Completion of the Title I effort, for which $312 million was <br />expended through fiscal year 1987, has been slowed over the past 15 <br />years. The Bureau maintains that progress was slowed by design changes <br />to incorporaee state-of-the-art technology, budget constraints brought <br />about by political deemphasis on domestic programs, and protests <br />regarding desalting membrane (filters) contract awards. The current <br />status of the complex and related Title I features, along with the. <br />original and current cost data, are shown in Appendix 2. Total costs of <br />the Title I effort. when completed, are currently estimated to be between <br />$426 million and $485 million. <br /> <br />When the plant becomes operational. it is expected to be able to recover <br />about 79,000 acre-feet of ~ellton-Mohawk's annual irrigation drainage of <br />108,000 acre-feet. Current plans call for the unrecoverable portion <br />(29,000 acre-feet) to be diverted down the drainage canal to the Santa <br />Clara Slough. Also, until the plant is operational, all the drainage <br />will have to be bypassed down the drainage canal to avoid fouling <br />Mexico's allocated water. In the past, this diversion process has not <br />affected delivery of the states' allocated water because excess River <br />flows, water saved by lining the Coachella Canal, and water stored in <br /> <br />6 <br />