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<br />- "',"1 <br />~\J~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Grand Valley Basin Unit, Colorado - The total quantity of salt con- <br />tributed by the Grand Valley Basin is about 600,000 tons annually. <br />There are about 76,000 acres irrigated within the Grand Valley area <br />of western Colorado. A combination of water systems improvement <br />and irrigation management services could result in a reduction of <br />about 200,000 tons of total dissolved solids to the Colorado River <br />and a salinity concentration reduction of about 19 mg/l at Imperial <br />Dam. The studies are scheduled for culmination in an appraisal <br />report in fiscal year 1975. <br /> <br />3. Comment - Coordination with the Colorado State Water Pollution <br />Control Commission is essential to detail this aspect of degrada- <br />tion of the quality of water in the river. <br /> <br />Response: By letter to the State of Colorado dated May 21, 1973, <br />the Bureau of Reclamation requested an official statement concerning <br />the impact on the Colorado River of the projected 8-l2,mg/l increase <br />in salinity at Cameo attributable to the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. <br />Pursuant to discussion with the Director of the Colorado Department <br />of Natural Resources, who also serves as chairman of the Colorado <br />Water Quality Control Commission, additional information and sup- <br />porting data were sent to him by letter of June 25, 1973, from the <br />Regional Director. Subsequently, a letter dated June 28, 1973, was <br />received from the Governor of Colorado stating ". . . the expected <br />salinity increase of 12 mg/l to be justifiable on the basis of pro- <br />viding necessary economic and social development in the Arkansas <br />Basin." A copy of this letter is included in Appendix I to the <br />Draft Environmental Statement. <br /> <br />.1 <br /> <br />4. Cnm~~!!.t - C;:llc......lo:tiu(\~ shewing the available supply of Colorado <br />Ri ver water for development use by the State of Colorado should' be <br />further explained. The draft statement contains an estimate of <br />3.01 million acre-feet (MAF) as the total amount of water depleted <br />from the river from Colorado's share by the year 2020. A Bureau <br />of Reclamation report based on 13.5 MAF virgin flow for the entire <br />river, states that if Colorado is allowed its present share of 52 <br />percent of the upper basin's half, then only 2.93 MAF would exist <br />for development within the State. ("Quality of Water - Colorado <br />River Basin," Progress Report No.6, Bureau of Reclamation, January <br />1973). This fact does not inClude other requirements which remain <br />unsettled either in operation or by court action. <br /> <br />As you well know, 7.5 MAF is allotted to the Upper Basin States and <br />the same amount to the Lower Basin States by the Colorado River <br />Compact. Since Arizona and California are developing their allot- <br />ment faster than the Upper Basin States, upper basin development <br />may be limited to the remainder of the water in the river system. <br />Thus, the Lower Basin States may have preemptive appropriate rights <br />on their 7.5 MAF. In addition, Mexico is entitled to 1.5 MAr by <br />the treaty of 1944. A desalination plant which is proposed as a <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />XI-2BO <br />