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<br />., 1>......- <br />J.':1iV <br /> <br />tower blowdown to the lake and further <br />stated that the decision was made "in order to <br />avoid even minimal adverse effects and, more <br />importantly, in order to avoid setting a prece- <br />dent for return of water to the Colorado Riv- <br />er and Lake Powell. . . ." <br /> <br />Havasu Water Company <br />, <br />Havasu Water Company, a public utility <br />serving an area on the California side of Lake <br />Ha vasu, has drilled several wells over the last <br />few years in an attempt to obtain a water <br />supply for residential development. Howev- <br />er, developent was not permitted by the State <br />Department of Public Health and the Coun- <br />ty of San Bernardino because the water sup- <br />ply, with a total dissolved solids (TDS) of <br />about 1,300 ppm, was in excess of the 1,000 <br />ppm maximum permissible upper limit. <br />The Company proposed a plan which <br />would mix water from Lake Havasu, which <br />has a TDS of about 740 ppm, with its well <br />water to obtain a blend not to exceed 1,000 <br />ppm for use in its service area. Since the <br />Company does not have a water right to con- <br />sumptively use mainstream water, a one-year <br />agreement was made with the Chemehuevi <br />Indians to divert 365 acre-feet per year from <br />Lake Havasu. The plan would return the <br />same quantity of water, but at a higher salin- <br />ity, either to Lake Havasu or for use on the <br />Indian Reservation. Thus, "diversions less <br />return flow" would appear to be zero. <br />Since this proposed use appeared to be in <br />conflict with the decree in Arizona v. Cali- <br />forma, the Attorney General, at the Colorado <br />River Board's request, sent letters to the So- <br />licitor General of the United States and to <br />the Company notifying them that in Cali- <br />fornia's view, the quantities of water decreed <br />to the various Indian reservations under Ar- <br />ticle II (D) are for use within the boundaries <br />of those reservations. By Letter of September <br />16, 1970, the Regional Solicitor of the Depart- <br />ment of the Interior notified the Attorney <br />General that the Bureau of Indian Affairs <br />would not renew the permit issued to the <br />Company which expired on July 16, 1970. <br /> <br />Savery-Pot Hook Project <br /> <br />The staff reviewed a draft report by the <br />Federal Water Q!!ality Administration <br />(FWQb), dated November 1970, of the wa- <br />ter quality aspects of the authorized Savery- <br />Pot Hook Project located in Wyoming and <br />Colorado. In response to the invitation by the <br />FWQb, the Board submitted a number of <br />comments on the report which were coor- <br />dinated with the Department of Water Re- <br />sources and the State Water Resources Con- <br />trol Board. <br />Of major interest was the report's recom- <br />mendation that salinity control features be <br />included as a part of the proposed project to <br />mitigate the expected adverse effects of the <br />project on water quality. The report recom- <br />mended that such mitigation features be in- <br />cluded in the Project Definite Plan and pro- <br />vide for installation and operation of salinity <br />control measures, either in the project area or <br />any other area in the Colorado River Basin <br />where they are found to be effective and effi- <br />cient. <br /> <br />Salinity Surveillance Stations <br /> <br />Early in 1970, the Colorado River Board <br />received from the Bureau of Reclamation a <br />tabulation entitled "Salinity Surveillance <br />Stations-Colorado River," which covered <br />the Colorado River from Lake Mead to Mex- <br />ico. The Bureau invited the Board and other <br />agencies to comment as to the adequacy of <br />the surveillance program. After receiving the <br />comments from all agencies, a federal task <br />force composed of representatives of the Fed- <br />eral Water Q!!ality Administration, U. S. <br />Geological Survey, International Boundary <br />and Water Commission, and the Bureau of <br />Reclamation was formed to develop an effec- <br />tive coordinated surveillance program. The <br />task force identified 57 water quality moni- <br />toring stations operated cooperatively by the <br />four agencies. A specific sampling and test- <br />ing schedule was proposed for each station. <br />By use of the network and testing schedule, <br />the Bureau of Reclamation anticipates that <br />salt tonnages of all major diversions and re- <br /> <br />27 <br />