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<br />Page 1 of 1 <br /> <br />Gilbert, Hanna <br /> <br />From: SeEtta Moss [SeEtta@msn.com] <br />Sent: Sunday, March 21, 200410:26 AM <br />To: rick.brownOstate.co.us; SWSI (Statewide Water Supply Initiative) <br />Subject: Additional Supply Side items <br /> <br />Rick and Sue, <br />I also want the following added to the Supply side: <br /> <br />1. Develop a plan to reduce the salinity in the lower Arkansas Basin which will improve crop <br />yields by improving the efficiency of agricultural use. A secondary benefit will be cleaner <br />water to municipal users in that area. Another side benefit of reducing salinity will be to <br />also reduce selenium, which has resulted in listing the lower Arkansas River as impaired by <br />the CWQC, since both are related to agricultural practices such as open-air irrigation ditches <br />and Research in the Gunnison Basin is showing that by reducing the amount of irrigation <br />water that is applied to crops by more efficient irrigation methods that there is a reduction <br />in the deep perculation that seeps from these fields that brings with it increased salts and <br />selenium. It is my understanding that one demonstration project of piping laterals reduced <br />salinity by 18% and selenium loading by 28%! It is my understanding that other more <br />efficient irrigation methods such as drip irrigation and center-pivot sprinkers instead of <br />furough irrigation. Additionally, efforts need to include incentives for transfering use of <br />water off of those lands that heavily generate salts. Water banking can be a method to <br />facilitate such transfers. Other strategies must be incorporated into Water Law that rewards <br />instead of punishes the farmer increasing efficiency of use with "salvage" legislation. <br />2. Legislation needs to be enacted that keeps native Arkansas River water in its own basin. It <br />makes no sense to spend millions of dollars to import water from another basin, which <br />creates significant environmental damage to both our own basin as well as to the basin <br />from which the water is removed, while native water from our Basin is being exported to <br />other basins. <br /> <br />Thank you. <br /> <br />SeEtta Moss <br /> <br />3/25/2004 <br />