Laserfiche WebLink
<br />UV "I y~ 10: 11. "0'801 538 7279 <br /> <br />UT ST WATER RES <br /> <br />~OOl <br /> <br />posl.rt~ brand fax lransminal memo 7671 ,- .'page- . 3 ~, <br />T. From Barrv Saunders <br /> Peter Evans <br />Co, c., <br />Dept. Ph."" t 80 1) 538-7258 <br />F... (303) 866-4474 FuN <br /> <br />006G <br /> <br />Ion by Ted Stewart <br />Colorado River Water Users Associatipn <br />Las Vegas, Nevada <br /> <br />., <br /> <br />November 10, 1994 <br /> <br />One thing can be said about the Colorado River that everybody could <br />agree to: the closer you get to it and the more you.study it, the more <br />complicated you realize it is! You people are definitely the ones who know <br />the most about the Colorado River Basin -- its geography, its history, its <br />problems --, but unfortunately most of the major decisions which will affect <br />the river and its environs will not be made by you experts. They will be made <br />by politicians (and occasionally appointees like me) in state capitols and in <br />Washington. So like it or not, these decisions will be highly dependent on <br />how well you can educate people like me and my boss, <br /> <br />From my perspective, the most preSSing Colorado River problem (apart <br />from endangered species) is formulating arrangements for temporary ( <br />reallocation of water among the Basin states. I'd like to begin my comments <br />on this issue with some rather basic observations. First, even a casual <br />reading of the two Colorado River compacts reveals that the negotiators <br />antiCipated and provided for temporary use in excess of basic allocations. <br />Secondly, average annual water use in the Lower Basin is bumping up against <br />the apparent Compact limit, while use in the Upper Basin is nowhere near that. <br />And lastly, each year we go through incredibly convoluted and lengthy <br />machinations while formulating the Annual Operating Plan for Colorado River <br />reservoirs, just to demonstrate that we haven't violated any jot or tittle of <br />the law or created an_ irreversible precedent that one or more parties might <br />someday regret. <br /> <br />There must be a more efficient way-. <br /> <br />Two factors stand in the way of an easy solution -- (1) states with <br />temporary surplus water (and in some cases water right holders within those <br />states) see a potential for generating revenue by selling or leasing this <br />water to water-short states, entities, or individuals; and (2) states are <br />worried that temporary leases may, for unanticipated legal or political <br />reasons, turn out to be permanent. Even a careful review of the compacts and <br />the associated negotiations won't turn up much evidence that sellino a portion <br />of one's allocation was ever contemplated. (Are we more greedy now?) <br />However, one cause of our change of heart can be attributed to the Supreme <br />Court ruling in SDorhas~, Even if some of us couldn't bring ourselves to view <br />water as a commodity, seven justices made that water buffalo position moot. <br /> <br />The discussions among the Lower Basin states regarding establishment of <br />Lower Basin water bank are in our opinion a very appropriate and timely avenue <br />for addressing both the water marketing and the certainty issues. Without <br />question, an arrangement involving only Lower Basin interests would avoid (or <br />