Determination of the Rights of the States of the Lower Colorado River Basin to Waters of the Main Stream of the Colorado River, Opinion

Document: 88th Congress, 1st Session, Senate, Document No. 20, Determination of the Rights of the States of the Lower Colorado River Basin to Waters of the Main Stream of the Colorado River, Opinion of the United States Supreme Court in the Case of State of Arizona, Plaintiff, v. State of California et al, Rendered June 3, 1963, Presented by Mr. Hayden, June 4, 1963, page 4543 ARIZONA v. CALIFORNIA. of California to 4,400,000 acre-feet, effect a valid apportionment of the first 7,500,000 acre-feet of mainstream water in the Lower Basin. There remains the question of what shall be done in time of shortage. The Master, while declining to make any findings as to what future supply might be expected, nevertheless decided that the Project Act and the Secretary's contracts require the Secretary in case of shortage to divide the burden among the three States in this proportion: California 4.4/7.5; Arizona 2.8/7.5; Nevada .3/7.5. While pro rata sharing of water shortages seems equitable on its face,96Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 1,748,721 byte