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<br />remaining priorities. To insure the availability of water <br /> <br />delivered to the Authority under the Galloway Agreement, it <br /> <br />would be necessary for Metropolitan and the agricultural <br />agencies to allow the Authority to obtain a priority higher than <br /> <br />or equal to Metropolitan's priority 4. <br /> <br />Ill. IMPACTS ON METROPOLITAN <br /> <br />A. Water Supply and Use <br />The basic water rights situation on the Colorado is <br /> <br />that there are existing rights held by Upper and Lower Basin <br /> <br />states, and entities within the seven states that, together with <br /> <br />amounts required under the United States-Mexico Water Treaty, <br /> <br />exceed the average flow of the river. These rights have not yet <br /> <br />been exercised, so that currently there is an excess of supply <br /> <br />over use, and all of the major reservoirs are essentially full. <br /> <br />There is in existence a complex'system Df priorities <br /> <br />administered by the Secretary of Interior. some of which were <br /> <br />described in the previous section. The Secretary stores water <br /> <br />behind federal dams and delivers water in accordance with the <br /> <br />documents that comprise the Law of the River. Each basin, <br /> <br />state, and water user has a right to use water. If the water is <br /> <br />not used by a senior water right user, the water is stored for <br /> <br />future use as protection against droughts, or is made available <br /> <br />to the next priority user. Under the present system developed <br /> <br />over a period of 62 years, there is no basis for any sale of <br /> <br />water from any Colorado River Basin state or entity within that <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br />15. <br />