Pacific Southwest Water Plan August 1963

Document: "Pacific Southwest Water Plan- Corrected to 8/19" Chapter II, August 19, 1964, page 7New Mexico--The Court accepted a New Mexico-Arizona compromise settlement by which New Mexico agreed to limit the acreage to be irrigated and the water from the Gila River and its tributaries to be put to beneficial consumptive use. Utah--Utah's only use of water within the Lower Basin is from tributaries the right to which the Court did not adjudicate. Accordingly, Utah's right to expand its present Lower Basin tributary uses is not limited by the Court's decision. United States--The Court held the United States to be entitled to the beneficial consumptive use of waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries on five Indian Reservations, two Wildlife Refuges, a National Forest, and a National Recreational Area. Consumptive uses of mainstream Colorado River water by the United States are to be charged against the States in which such uses occur. Summary--The final decree of the Supreme Court will remove that uncertainty which has prevented Congressional consideration of Lower Basin development since 1951. But there is not sufficient water in the Lower Colorado River to provide for the needs of the area it serves. Maximum conservation and utilization of available water is imperative, and there is a compelling necessity to provide additional water from new sources of supply. The Present Situation Throughout most of the Pacific Southwest, water supplies which have been inadequate to sustain the acreage developed for irrigation for a number of years have been further burdened by rapidly expanding urban populations. As outlined previously, dependable surface-water sources have been fully developed, often overcommitted, and the ground-water supply has been increasingly utilized beyond its perennial capability. Southern California--Irrigated areas dependent on the Colorado River in the State of California include the Palo Verde diversions, a portion of the Yuma Project, the All-American Canal diversions to the Coachella and Imperial Valleys, and unauthorized diversions along the main stream. All of these developments are and have been supplied with adequate quantities of water by diversions from the Colorado River. The coastal valleys of southern California have been supplied with water from local developments, the Owens River Aquduct of the city of Los Angeles, and the Colorado River diversions made through the facilities of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. In recent years southern California has been diverting from the Colorado River in excess of 5,500,000 acre-feet II-7Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 1,064,648 byte