WSP07317

• File Number: 8210.140.20
• Description: Colorado River Basin Organizations and Entities - Colorado River Basin States Forum - California
• State: CA
• Basin: Western Slope
• Date: 1/1/1971
• Author: Myron B Holburt
• Title: Annual Report for the Calendar Year 1970
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

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struction of a replacement for an eXlstmg
dam and rehabilitation of an old irrigation
system. It was estimated that the proposed
works would increase project diversions
from the present 8,350 acre-feet per year to
14,800 acre-feet per year in order to provide
full irrigation on 3,935 acres of developed
land, and may permit some additional land to
be cultivated.
The Colorado River Board prepared com-
ments which the Secretary for Resources,
Norman B. Livermore, transmitted by letter
dated August 12, 1970, to the Regional Direc-
tor, Region 4 of the U. S. Bureau of Reclama-
tion. California requested that the Bureau of
Reclamation evaluate the effect of the
proposed project on the salinity of return
flows and investigate means of reducing the
salt load to the river.
On November 6, 1970, the Commissioner
of Reclamation replied to California's com-
ments regarding the proposed development.
The Commissioner stated that the increased
water supply to be developed by the Over-
land Ditch and Reservoir Company would be
used almost exclusively to firm up existing
water supplies for presently irrigated acre-
age and that the net effect upon flows of the
Colorado River would be minimal. There-
fore, the Bureau of Reclamation concluded
that a comprehensive evaluation of the
proposed project's water quality effects
would not be warranted at this' time. The
Commissioner did, however, share concern
for Colorado River salinity problems and
stated that the Bureau would be willing to
participate in a multistate-federal study and
that this matter would receive careful atten-
tion in the Western United States Water Plan
studies.

Navajo Generating Station Cooling Water

In September 1970, the Board received a
copy of a report prepared by the Bechtel cor-
poration on methods of handling cooling wa-
ter blowdown at the Navajo Generating Sta-
tion, a proposed 2,310,000 kilowatt thermal
plant near Page, Arizona. The Salt River

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Project, as Manager of the Navajo Project,
invited representatives of concerned federal
and state agencies to comment on the Bechtel
report. The report considered a number of
alternatives and recommended the least cost
alternative which would involve return of
untreated blowdown water to Lake Powell.
The Chief Engineer prepared a statement
for the October 7, 1970, meeting called by the
Salt River Project and this was concurred in
by the State Water Resources Control Board,
the Department of Water Resources, and the
Los Angeles Department of Water and Pow-
er, which is one of the five participating utili-
ties of the project. At the meeting, the Chief
Engineer presented an analysis of the pro-
jected increased salinity at California points
of diversion which would occur if the Bech-
tel recommendation was carried out and the
cost detriments resulting from this salinity
increase to California. The impact on other
basin states and Mexico was also discussed.
Comparisons were made with data from the
Board's August 1970 salinity report, and it
was found that the cost of several of the alter-
native methods of disposing of the blowdown
water were in the same unit cost range of the
potential salinity control projects identified
in the Board's report. Accordingly, it was
recommended that participants in the Nava-
jo Generating Station adopt one of the alter-
natives of handling salinity blowdown that
would prevent the salts contained therein
from entering the Colorado River System.
The Federal Water Q!!ality Administration
supported the Board's position at the meet-
ing.
Subsequently, the Board was informed
that participants in the Navajo Generating
Station had directed the Bechtel Corporation
to make more complete investigations and
report on alternatives which would not re-
turn the concentrated solution to the Colo-
rado River system. Complying with this di-
rective, the Bechtel Corporation prepared a
report entitled "Draft of Environmental
Statement, Navajo Project," dated January
1971. The report stated that a plan would be
developed to eliminate any return of cooling

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