Law of the River the Colorado River Compact
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The Colorado River Imperial Valley Soils
THE COLORADO RIVER and IMPERIAL VALLEY SOILS I I ' ' '' ' ' '"' ' A CHRONICLE OF IMPERIAL VALLEY'S CONTINUING FIGHT AGAINST SALT FOREW ORD Elsewhere In the Untied States, soil conservation dlstricte - lormed as a result of referendum by landowners - are governed by an elected board ol directors. In Imperial Valley, Imperial lrriqatlon Dlatrict functions a.s the SoU Conservation District under a unique memorandum of aqreement with the U.S. Department of Aqr;culture. Soil conservotlon policy Ia ael by the District board which also aerves as a soli conservation board. Soil scl.ontlata. en91n..•r• and con&41rvatlonlsts provide technical assistance to farmers. Soil engineering lnforma1ton and survey da1a, prepared by either the liD or SCS, are freely interchanged. The Dlatrict provides clerical and office facllJUes lor SCS, as well as pub!Jc Information 01818tance. Silt and Salt Imperial Valley, the winter qreenhouse of the nation. has be&n oonqu.,rtng the pro!> !ems and obstacles tha1 have tendad to discourage Ita formers sin~ 1901. In 1900, thta was a bo11en deMrl. Wllh the construction ol a heading on the Colorado River, 60 mllos east ol the Valley, irrigation wa1er was brought lnto the thirsty d·-rt In 1901. This au~sful dlv"r slon ol water through o con ...... ~«-..l••·•t "' * or· VIIYOnc:e canol, many miles of which were In Mexico, was enJoyed (or the brief period of only four years before trouble developed. Looldnf eouth.. thl• oeriol •lew .atowa the beodworb of tl:•• AJI. A flood on the Colorado River washed out the control wor;ca Amenccm Cc:ma.L Tb• Colorado IU•tr ia ot left. -
The Little Colorado River Project: Is New Hydropower Development the Key to a Renewable Energy Future, Or the Vestige of a Failed Past?
COLORADO NATURAL RESOURCES, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REVIEW The Little Colorado River Project: Is New Hydropower Development the Key to a Renewable Energy Future, or the Vestige oF a Failed Past? Liam Patton* Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 42 I. THE EVOLUTION OF HYDROPOWER ON THE COLORADO PLATEAU ..... 45 A. Hydropower and the Development of Pumped Storage .......... 45 B. History of Dam ConstruCtion on the Plateau ........................... 48 C. Shipping ResourCes Off the Plateau: Phoenix as an Example 50 D. Modern PoliCies for Dam and Hydropower ConstruCtion ...... 52 E. The Result of Renewed Federal Support for Dams ................. 53 II. HYDROPOWER AS AN ALLY IN THE SHIFT TO CLEAN POWER ............ 54 A. Coal Generation and the Harms of the “Big Buildup” ............ 54 B. DeCommissioning Coal and the Shift to Renewable Energy ... 55 C. The LCR ProjeCt and “Clean” Pumped Hydropower .............. 56 * J.D. Candidate, 2021, University oF Colorado Law School. This Note is adapted From a final paper written for the Advanced Natural Resources Law Seminar. Thank you to the Colorado Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Law Review staFF For all their advice and assistance in preparing this Note For publication. An additional thanks to ProFessor KrakoFF For her teachings on the economic, environmental, and Indigenous histories of the Colorado Plateau and For her invaluable guidance throughout the writing process. I am grateFul to share my Note with the community and owe it all to my professors and classmates at Colorado Law. COLORADO NATURAL RESOURCES, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REVIEW 42 Colo. Nat. Resources, Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. [Vol. 32:1 III. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PLATEAU HYDROPOWER ............... -
Imperial Dam/All American Canal Projects Update-2021
Imperial Dam/All American Canal Projects Update-2021 David Escobar General Superintendent, Operations & Maintenance AAC/River Division May 19, 2021 www.iid.com www.iid.com 2 www.iid.com 3 Executive Summary • Imperial Dam is primarily a concrete slab and buttress structure on the Colorado River located approximately 18 northeast of Yuma, Arizona. The Dam was constructed between 1936 and 1938 by Reclamation to impound water for irrigation. • The Dam’s overall length is approximately 3,479 feet. The sections of the Dam consist of the California abutment, the All American Canal (AAC) Headworks, the California Sluiceway, the overflow weir (spillway) section, the Gila Canal Headworks, and the Arizona abutment. www.iid.com 4 Projects List • Imperial Dam Roller Gates 1 through 4 Overhaul completed in 2018, total project cost-$2,955,900 • Imperial and Laguna Dams Electrical Upgrade Project completed in 2018, total project cost-$20,940,977 • Imperial Dam Sluiceway Gate Replacement Project completed in 2019, total project cost-$3,132,200 • Imperial Dam Concrete Repairs 2019, total project costs- $823,954 www.iid.com 5 Projects List • Imperial Dam Desilting Basin Clarifier Valve Replacement Project will be completed in 2021, total project cost- $1,985,200 • Senator Wash Units 1, through 6 Rewind Stator and Pump Refurbishment 2019-2021, total project cost-$2,145,800 • Gila Headworks Trunnion Repair Project 2021-2022, estimated project costs-$4,156,635 • Gila Headworks Gate Replacement 2021-2022, estimated project costs-$2,900,000 www.iid.com 6 Projects List • Pilot Knob Wasteway/Spill Gate Replacement Project will be completed in 2021, project costs-$1,861,600 • Imperial Dam Desilting Basins Sludge Pipe Replacement Project 2022, estimated project costs-$15,000,000 • Gila Gravity Main Canal Unused Radial Gates Permanent Closure Project 2022, estimated project costs-$2,900,000 www.iid.com 7 Questions? www.iid.com. -
Operation of Flaming Gorge Dam Final Environmental Impact Statement
Record of Decision Operation of Flaming Gorge Dam Final Environmental Impact Statement I. Summary of Action and Background The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) has completed a final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam. The EIS describes the potential effects of modifying the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam to assist in the recovery of four endangered fish, and their critical habitat, downstream from the dam. The four endangered fish species are Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), humpback chub (Gila cypha), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), and bonytail (Gila elegans). Reclamation would implement the proposed action by modifying the operations of Flaming Gorge Dam, to the extent possible, to achieve the flows and temperatures recommended by participants of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program (Recovery Program). Reclamation’s goal is to implement the proposed action and, at the same time, maintain and continue all authorized purposes of the Colorado River Storage Project. The purpose of the proposed action is to operate Flaming Gorge Dam to protect and assist in recovery of the populations and designated critical habitat of the four endangered fishes, while maintaining all authorized purposes of the Flaming Gorge Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP), including those related to the development of water resources in accordance with the Colorado River Compact. As the Federal agency responsible for the operation of Flaming Gorge Dam, Reclamation was the lead agency in preparing the EIS. Eight cooperating agencies also participated in preparing this EIS: the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, State of Utah Department of Natural Resources, U.S. -
The Colorado River Aqueduct
Fact Sheet: Our Water Lifeline__ The Colorado River Aqueduct. Photo: Aerial photo of CRA Investment in Reliability The Colorado River Aqueduct is considered one of the nation’s Many innovations came from this period in time, including the top civil engineering marvels. It was originally conceived by creation of a medical system for contract workers that would William Mulholland and designed by Metropolitan’s first Chief become the forerunner for the prepaid healthcare plan offered Engineer Frank Weymouth after consideration of more than by Kaiser Permanente. 50 routes. The 242-mile CRA carries water from Lake Havasu to the system’s terminal reservoir at Lake Mathews in Riverside. This reservoir’s location was selected because it is situated at the upper end of Metropolitan’s service area and its elevation of nearly 1,400 feet allows water to flow by gravity to the majority of our service area The CRA was the largest public works project built in Southern California during the Great Depression. Overwhelming voter approval in 1929 for a $220 million bond – equivalent to a $3.75 billion investment today – brought jobs to 35,000 people. Miners, engineers, surveyors, cooks and more came to build Colorado River the aqueduct, living in the harshest of desert conditions and Aqueduct ultimately constructing 150 miles of canals, siphons, conduits and pipelines. They added five pumping plants to lift water over mountains so deliveries could then flow west by gravity. And they blasted 90-plus miles of tunnels, including a waterway under Mount San Jacinto. THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA // // JULY 2021 FACT SHEET: THE COLORADO RIVER AQUEDUCT // // OUR WATER LIFELINE The Vision Despite the city of Los Angeles’ investment in its aqueduct, by the early 1920s, Southern Californians understood the region did not have enough local supplies to meet growing demands. -
Equity and the Colorado River Compact
TOJCI.ROBISON & KENNEY.DOC 11/26/2012 8:47 PM EQUITY AND THE COLORADO RIVER COMPACT BY JASON A. ROBISON & DOUGLAS S. KENNEY* The Colorado River and the elaborate body of laws governing its flows (Law of the River) are at a critical juncture, with a formidable imbalance between water supplies and demands prompting diverse efforts to evaluate and to think anew about Colorado River governance. One such effort is the Colorado River Governance Initiative (CRGI) at the University of Colorado Law School. Incorporating CRGI research undertaken over the past two-and-a-half years, this Article focuses on the interstate compact constituting the foundation of the Law of the River—the Colorado River Compact (Compact)—and approaches the water apportionment scheme established by this Compact as a subject of central importance in current efforts to navigate the future of the river. Lying at the base of the Compact is a commitment to equity—“equitable division and apportionment of the use of the waters of the Colorado River System”—which poses the fundamental question explored in this Article: To what extent does the Compact’s apportionment scheme fulfill this commitment to equity in its existing form? After providing an initial overview of the Compact, this Article considers the meaning of “equity” as a norm, setting the stage for a subsequent examination of water supplies and demands in the basin and of longstanding interpretive disputes involving the Compact’s key terms. This examination reveals several equity-related concerns associated with the composition of the Compact’s apportionment scheme and the governance structure devised for it. -
Cultural Resource Inventory for the Vega SES LLC Solar Additional 80-Acres Project, Imperial County, California
Cultural Resource Inventory for the Vega SES LLC Solar Additional 80-Acres Project, Imperial County, California Prepared for: Vega SES, LLC 750 W. Main Street El Centro, California 92243 Prepared by: Joel Lennen, M.A., RPA ASM Affiliates, Inc. 2034 Corte del Nogal Carlsbad, California 92011 USGS 7.5-minute Mount Signal; approximately 80 acres Keywords: Imperial County, Mount Signal USGS 7.5’ Quad, West Mesa, West Side Main Canal, Fern Canal, Fig Drain, Wormwood Canal and Drain, Drew Road, PN 27970 December 2017 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page MANAGEMENT SUMMARY ................................................................................ iii 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION .................................................................. 1 STUDY PERSONNEL .................................................................................................... 1 2. SETTING ......................................................................................................... 6 NATURAL SETTING ...................................................................................................... 6 Geology and Soils ...................................................................................................... 6 Climate ...................................................................................................................... 6 Topography .............................................................................................................. -
The Lining of the All-American Canal
The Lining of the All American Canal: Effects on Mexico Construction of the All-American Canal, 1935 (top), 1939 (bottom), José Luis Castro-Ruiz and Vicente Sánchez- and 1936 (background). Courtesy of Munguía – El Colegio de la Frontera Norte U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. n 1988, the U.S. Congress approved 7.3 million acre-feet (maf) annually in Law 100-675, authorizing the equal parts, creating high expectations for Secretary of the Interior to line the the economic transformation of the region. All-American Canal (AAC) along a I The Alamo Canal experienced a number 23-mile section in the southern Imperial Valley of California. Lining the canal was of difficulties in the years that followed. expected to save an estimated 70,000 acre- An inability to control canal volumes from feet of water per year lost to seepage the Colorado River resulted in a series where the canal traverses sand dunes. The of floods from 1905 to 1907, affecting Mexican government quickly filed an the cities of Mexicali and Calexico and informal complaint through the Mexican agricultural areas on both sides of the section of the International Boundary and border, and creating the Salton Sea. These Water Commission (IBWC), claiming conditions, together with the dependence potential harm to water users in the of the canal operation on Mexican Most evident is a potential decrease in Mexicali Valley, and noting that the United policy changes, moved Imperial Valley static levels of the Mexicali Aquifer, States was legally obligated by Minute 242 users to lobby for their own access to which depends mostly on AAC seepage to notify Mexico of any changes affecting the Colorado. -
THE L\IIEXICALI VALLEY \VATER PROBLEM . Jol-IN C
THE l\IIEXICALI VALLEY \VATER PROBLEM . JOl-IN c. ARCHBOLD San Diego City Schools The Mexicali Valley of Baja California has become a prime producer of cotton and one of the world's great processors of raw cotton. General argiculture has flourished, too. Like a phoenix arisen from the desert this region has been reclaimed from the arid conditions that have gripped the entire area since before the white man arrived. Now, salinity left in the soil by draining irrigation waters threatens to wipe out the progress of half a century. Only salt-tolerant cotton may survive conditions which have become an international issue. North of the border in the summer of 1961 the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation completed the vVellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District project. The $14,000,000 drainage system includes 70 deep drain age wells with pumps, and a 50-mile concrete-lined conveyance channel with an outfall on the Gila River above Yuma, Arizona (Figure 1). Drainage water being pumped in the Wellton-Mohawk system is not return Bow in the usual sense of the word, but water accumulated over a long period of tirrie as a result of interior drainage. From before the turn of the century until 1952, Wellton-Mohawk farmers depended upon underground flow of the Gila River for irrigation water.1 The quality of this water was uniformly so poor that it was disclosed in testimony before the United States Senate in 1945 that the irrigated area was down to 8,000 acres (as of 1943; later, even less was in crops) and that samples were taken showing a salt content of 12,000 parts per million.2 In 1952, Colorado River water became available with the completion of the Gila Project. -
Colorado River Compact, 1922
Colorado River Compact, 1922 The States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, having resolved to enter into a compact under the Act of the Congress of the United States of America approved August 19, 1921 (42 Statutes at Large, page 171), and the Acts of the Legislatures of the said States, have through their Governors appointed as their Commissioners: W.S. Norviel for the State of Arizona, W.F. McClure for the State of California, Delph E. Carpenter for the State of Colorado, J.G. Scrugham for the State of Nevada, Stephen B. Davis, Jr., for the State of New Mexico, R.E. Caldwell for the State of Utah, Frank C. Emerson for the State of Wyoming, who, after negotiations participated in by Herbert Hoover appointed by The President as the representative of the United States of America, have agreed upon the following articles: ARTICLE I The major purposes of this compact are to provide for the equitable division and apportionment of the use of the waters of the Colorado River System; to establish the relative importance of different beneficial uses of water, to promote interstate comity; to remove causes of present and future controversies; and to secure the expeditious agricultural and industrial development of the Colorado River Basin, the storage of its waters, and the protection of life and property from floods. To these ends the Colorado River Basin is divided into two Basins, and an apportionment of the use of part of the water of the Colorado River System is made to each of them with the provision that further equitable apportionments may be made. -
Management of the Colorado River: Water Allocations, Drought, and the Federal Role
Management of the Colorado River: Water Allocations, Drought, and the Federal Role Updated March 21, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45546 SUMMARY R45546 Management of the Colorado River: Water March 21, 2019 Allocation, Drought, and the Federal Role Charles V. Stern The Colorado River Basin covers more than 246,000 square miles in seven U.S. states Specialist in Natural (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California) and Resources Policy Mexico. Pursuant to federal law, the Bureau of Reclamation (part of the Department of the Interior) manages much of the basin’s water supplies. Colorado River water is used Pervaze A. Sheikh primarily for agricultural irrigation and municipal and industrial (M&I) uses, but it also Specialist in Natural is important for power production, fish and wildlife, and recreational uses. Resources Policy In recent years, consumptive uses of Colorado River water have exceeded natural flows. This causes an imbalance in the basin’s available supplies and competing demands. A drought in the basin dating to 2000 has raised the prospect of water delivery curtailments and decreased hydropower production, among other things. In the future, observers expect that increasing demand for supplies, coupled with the effects of climate change, will further increase the strain on the basin’s limited water supplies. River Management The Law of the River is the commonly used shorthand for the multiple laws, court decisions, and other documents governing Colorado River operations. The foundational document of the Law of the River is the Colorado River Compact of 1922. Pursuant to the compact, the basin states established a framework to apportion the water supplies between the Upper and Lower Basins of the Colorado River, with the dividing line between the two basins at Lee Ferry, AZ (near the Utah border). -
The Future of the Salton Sea with No Restoration Project
HAZARD The Future of the Salton Sea With No Restoration Project MAY 2006 © Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved ISBN No. 1-893790-12-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-893790-12-4 Pacific Institute 654 13th Street, Preservation Park Oakland, CA 94612 Telephone (510) 251-1600 Facsimile (510) 251-2203 [email protected] www.pacinst.org HAZARD The Future of the Salton Sea With No Restoration Project Michael J. Cohen and Karen H. Hyun A report of the MAY 2006 Prepared with the support of The Salton Sea Coalition & Imperial Visions The U.S. Geological Survey Salton Sea Science Office and the Compton Foundation About the Authors Michael Cohen is a Senior Associate at the Pacific Institute. He is the lead author of the Institute’s 1999 report entitled Haven or Hazard: The Ecology and Future of the Salton Sea, and of the 2001 report entitled Missing Water: The Uses and Flows of Water in the Colorado River Delta Region. He is also the co-author of several journal articles on water and the environment in the border region. He is a member of the California Resources Agency’s Salton Sea Advisory Committee. Karen Hyun is a Ph.D. candidate in the Marine Affairs Program at the University of Rhode Island. Her research interests include ecosystem-based management and governance, especially in the Colorado River Delta. She also has interests in transboundary water issues, authoring Solutions Lie Between the Extremes: The Evolution of International Watercourse Law on the Colorado River. In addition, she has examined watershed to coast issues in Transboundary Solutions to Environmental Problems in the Gulf of California Large Marine Ecosystem.