OVERVIEW

From its headwaters high in Colorado's Rocky Mountains to the point in Mexico where it empties into the Gulf of Cali­ fornia, the Colorado River is a diverse area of rugged moun­ tains, deep canyons, river val­ leys, rolling ridges, flat-topped mesas and harsh deserts. Outing the year, tempera­ tures may vary from minus 60 degrees in the high Rockies to more than 125 degrees in the basin's desert valleys. Annual precipitation ranges from more than 50 inches at higher eleva­ tions to as low as four inches in arid areas. The Colorado and its tribu­ taries drain nearly a quarter of a million square miles in the seven states within the Colorado River Basin - Wyoming, Col­ orado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Califor­ nia. As it wends its 1400-mile way south, then west, then south again, the Colorado helps meet the water and power needs of more than 20 million people within the basin states and ad­ joining areas - many, many more when you add those south of the border in Mexico. But it was not always so. THE UNRULY RIVER

Not too many years ago, the battle among the seven states river could be a rampaging over apportionments of the giant. A spawner of killer, de­ river began, disaster struck. structive floods in the spring, a In 1905-06, the Colorado placid trickle of water in the burst through its confines, ran hot, dry months of summer. unchecked along an old There were early diversions rivetbed into the Imperial Val­ for irrigation from the Colorado ley and, in a wild flood scene, and its tributaries-in 1854 by created the Salton Sea. Mormon settlers of the Green In 1913, the floods hit the River in southwestern Wyo­ Yuma Valley In 1922, it was ming, in 1887 by Samuel Blythe Palo Verde Valley's turn. in California's Palo Verde Valley; in the 1880s by farmers in the Uncompahgre Valley near Montrose, Colorado, in the 1890s in Arizona's Yuma Valley; in 1901 in California's Imperial Valley and in 1910 by farmers in Arizona's Salt River Valley By 1910, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had built the Un­ com pahgre Tunnel in Col­ orado, Strawberry Tunnel in Utah, Theodore Roosevelt Dam in Arizona and Laguna Dam on the Arizona-California border. Other than Laguna, these BurRec developments were all on tributaries and neither they nor Laguna con­ trolled the Colorado itself. Even before the decades-long TAMING A NOBLE RIVER

FortunatelY, the states kept talking and finally hammered out the 1922 Colorado River Compact that apportioned the beneficial consumptive use of seven and a half million acre­ feet* each to the upper and lower basins. In addition, at the insistence of the Arizona dele­ gation, the lower basin was to be allowed to increase its use of water each year by one million acre-feet. The dividing point between the basins is Lee Ferry below Page, Arizona. The upper basin states are Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, and the lower basin, Arizona, Nevada and California. Agreement on the compact was necessary before legislation to harness the river could be in­ troduced. After considerable maneu­ vering in the halls of Congress, legislation was passed that cleared the way for building additional legislation has made Hoover Dam Boulder (now Hoover) Dam. possible Flaming Gorge Dam Completed in 1935, the dam on the Green River, Navajo dams on the main stem of the was the first giant step toward Dam on the San Juan , Colorado. taming the rampaging river Crystal-Morrow Point and Blue Today the Colorado is prob­ In the years that followed, Mesa dams on the Gunnison, ably the most controll ed, most and Glen Canyon (which form s litigated river in the world.

• An acrt-foo t co vers an acrt of land to a Lake Powell ), Davis and Parker d,pth of o"' foo t-appro xim atdy 326,000 gallo"s. RIVER IN HARNESS

Together the reservoirs have hours of fishing, boating and a combined active storage ca­ water skiing in spectacular can­ pacity of about 60 million acre­ yon land surroundings. Lake feet, providing water for people shores abound with camping and industry in the cities, for facilities Long stretches of river growing hay to feed cattle on between reservoirs offer white­ the ranches and for nourishing water rafting thrills. fruits and vegetables on the Hatcheries and wildlife farms . All creating jobs that management programs contribute to the nation's econ­ throughout the basin assure an omy abundance of fish and fowl. The list of benefits goes on. The compact recognized Reservoirs on ~ -system that in the future a specific right provide essential flood control. for Mexico might need to be Generating stations produce spelled out. In 1944, the United pollution-free hydro power States signed a water treaty with which provides revenue to help Mexico in which the U .S. repay the cost of the various agreed to deliver to Mexico an projects. annual quantity of one and a Then there are the endless half million acre-feet.

Compact negotiators had es­ Lake .Powell timated the flow of the river to be at least 17 million acre-feet a This is the major and over­ year. However, today the rec­ riding problem on the Colo­ ords indicate a dependable flow rado. But it doesn't end there. that ranges between 13 and 15 For the potential demands on million. And the sum of the ap­ the river exceeding its depend­ portionments made in the com­ able supply lead to yet other pact and the Mexican treaty problems-problems concern­ substantially exceeds the flow of ing water projects, water qual­ the river most years. ity and environmental factors. WYOMING

GREEN RIVER

CHEYENNEe NEVADA Utah Lake e DENVER e CARSON CITY UTAH LORADO e PUEBLO

e SANTA FE

NEW MEXICO

eELPASO WORKING TOGETHER SALINITY

For a number of years, the states in the upper and lower basins strongly disagreed on the storage and release of water from the upper basin to the lower. This disagreement was accentuated by the passage of the Colorado River Storage Project Act in 1956 which au­ thorized construction of major reservoirs in the upper basin. Lake Powell, the largest of these, for instance, has a usable storage capacity of 25 million acre-feet. Recognition of this problem resulted in the Colorado River It's a naturally salty river; the orado River Basin Salinity Con­ Basin Project Act of 1968. The Colorado. Perhaps the most so trol Act, the first step in its Secretary of the Interior was in the entire United States. It's implementation. Congressmen directed to consult with repre­ possible the Arkansas or the and all 14 senators from the sentatives of the seven basin Pecos or the Rio Grande might seven basin states sponsored the states and to publish criteria for give it a run for its money But bills authorizing the first three coordinated long-range opera­ those rivers don't provide water specific control projects. tion of the reservoirs. The re­ for people in seven states and The long-range goal of the sulting regulations are flexible the Republic of Mexico. The program is to remove more than in nature and require the secre­ Colorado does. two million tons of salt a year. tary to make numerous studies And that's why salinity is It's an ongoing major prob­ and consider various items in such a problem-salinity con­ lem of Colorado River water developing an annual plan of tributed by nature and salinity users. And one that will take a operation. Each year the secre­ contributed by man, the re­ long time more to solve. But tary submits drafts of the plan sponsibility is just about equal. thanks to the combined efforts for review within the seven This problem was the basis of all seven states and the fed­ states prior to its adoption. for the Colorado River Water eral government, the goal gets a Quality Control Program and little closer each year. for.the . subsequent 1974 Col- ENERGY

Even with energy conserva­ tion and utilization of exotic sources, national supply prob­ lems will be enormous by the turn of the century Rich deposits of potential energy mineral resources are found in the basin states of Col­ orado, Utah and Wyoming: 42 percent of the nation's bitumi­ nous and lignite coal, 100 per­ cent of the nation's recoverable oil shale and 95 percent of the nation's uranium. Coal Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel. A conservative esti­ mate of the amount of coal within the boundaries of the basin is 100 billion tons. Demand for western coal will continue to grow because of the energy shortage, because of the scarcity of oil and natural gas and because of environmen­ tal restrictions of other energy developments. Fortunately, the amount of water required for the coal min­ ing operations themselves is minimal, since it is used only for dust control, fire protection and coal washing. But larger shale reserves are found in the of the same size. Also, water is upper basin states, the richest used in mining and processing deposits being located in Col­ fuel , particularly uranium. orado. Although estimates vary on Hydro the amount of water required There's boundless energy in for shale oil production, one in­ falling water. Superstructures dicates that it takes about 8000 capture and utilize the river's acre-feet of water a year to pro­ potential throughout the Col­ duce 50, 000 barrels of shale oil orado River Basin . Pollution­ a day-and with no return Aow. free hydro power is produced As the cost of imported oil on the main stem Colorado and has fluctuated, some shale oil its tributaries and transported processes have appeared to be within and out of the basin. almost economically feasible, Prompted by the always but large scale production is still present national demands for in the future. When shale oil new sources of clean, reliable reaches full production and de­ energY, the Bureau of Reclama­ mands on Colorado River water tion continues looking into increase, additional storage res­ increasing hydro generating ca­ ervoirs could well be necessary pacity in the basin Although most of the best hydro sites Nuclear have already been developed, Producing nuclear energy several having major potential amounts of water will be re­ Shale today is a highly emotional remain untapped. quired for revegetation of sur­ For more than 60 years, oil issue. Continuing controversy But the evaluation of face mines, for slurry pipelines shale has been on the verge of has clouded previous forecasts tradeoffs between costs-fiscal, to transport the coal, for hy­ becoming at least a partial solu­ of rapid growth in nuclear social and environmental-and drogenation and gasification tion to the need for developing energy in not only the basin the benefits derived from the and for cooling of steam­ new sources of fuel. states, but nationwide. production of hydro energy electric plants. All will have About 8000 square miles of Should further construction must be carefully made. some effect on surface and the Colorado River Basin is go forward in the basin, how­ underground water quantity underlain by oil shale forma­ ever, large volumes of water will and quality, on air quality, on tions. And estimates of the be required. Consumptive use fish and wildlife and on other amount of oil in the shale range of water for cooling is slightly environmental matters. from 600 billion to one trillion higher than for coal-fired plants barrels. Known high grade oil WHAT IS THE COLORADO RIVER WATER USERS AUGMENTATION ASSOCIATION?

In 1945, leaders in Wyo­ ming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and California joined in form­ ing the nonprofit, nonpolitical Colorado River Water Users Association. Its purposes today remain the same and are every bit as important as they were at that time: to plan, studY, formu­ late and advise on ways to pro­ tect and safeguard the interests of all who use the Colorado River system. Membership in the associa­ tion stimulates the exchange of information of mutual interest on an ongoing basis, resulting in the identification of common problems and goals At its an­ nual meeting, members gather Many feel that eventual Importation is a political hot to discuss these problems and augmentation of the Colorado potato and desalination is to formulate programs to ac­ is a must. Importation of water energy intensive. Both are also complish the goals. from other river basins, desalt­ highly expensive. But weather Meeting in an atmosphere of ing of seawater or brackish modification (cloud seeding), 'f an informal forum has contrib­ groundwater, weather modifi­ vegetation management and uted greatly to easing bitter cation to increase precipitation, improved water management all controversies and to maintain­ vegetation management to in­ hold promise and all continue to ing lines of communication. crease runoff, even reducing be the subject matter of further The association recognizes that losses through a general im­ study the efforts of all seven states are provement in water manage­ essential to making use of the ment in the basin-all are pos­ Colorado River beneficial to the sibilities for augmenting the most people in the most desir­ Colorado's water supply able way COLORADO r::Vl:."2 !/r'~.TER CO, 1.SC:GV;.i..T: P. 0. BOX i 120 GLE WOOD S?RI GS, CO. 81602

WYOMING COLORADO UTAH NEVADA NEW MEXICO ARIZONA CALIFORNIA

COLORADO RIVER WATER USERS ASSOCIATION PO. BOX 1058 I COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA 92236