Dear Readers I


n the Colorado River Basin, conflict and cooperation are two sides of the same coin. While the 1922 Colorado River Compact landmark agreement divided the river between upper and lower basins, it did not prevent disputes over water supply, demand and other issues. But it did provide a framework for the later decisions and documents that comprise the “Law of the River.”


Te Compact’s negotiators based water allocations on a wet period, lead- ing to an over-allocated river when comparing average vs. appropriated flow. Tis was especially problematic for the three Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada. With passage of the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968, authorizing the Central Arizona Project, the Secretary of the Interior was established as the “water master” with the potential to declare an official shortage. And under the priority system, Arizona and Nevada would see the first water cuts.


Flash forward to 2007. As the states and federal government wrestled with a drought that began in 2000, an agreement was reached on balancing storage in Lake Powell and Lake Mead and determining shortage triggers based on Mead’s elevation. Elevation 1,075 would require the first cutbacks in deliveries. As the potential for a shortage moved ever closer, Arizona, California and Nevada leaders began to discuss the potential of a Drought Contingency Proposal overlay in which California could consider volun- tarily reducing its take under certain circumstances. Writer Gary Pitzer explores these discussions and concerns in this issue of River Report. •


– Sue McClurg


Colorado River Project Advisory Members Michael Cohen, Te Pacific Institute John Entsminger, Southern Nevada Water Authority Amy Haas, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission Robert Johnson, Water Strategies Jeff Kightlinger, MWD of Southern California James Lochhead, Denver Water Don Ostler, Upper Colorado River Commission Jennifer Pitt, National Audubon Society Stanley M. Pollack, Navajo Nation Department of Justice Maureen Stapleton, San Diego County Water Authority Tanya Trujillo, Colorado River Board of California Gary Weatherford, California Public Utilities Commission


River Report is a project of the Water Education Foundation


Writer Gary Pitzer


Editors Jennifer Bowles Sue McClurg


Editorial Assistants Susan Lauer Vanessa Morganstern


Photos Bureau of Reclamation Pixabay U.S. Geological Survey Visit Phoenix, Nick Cote


Graphics and Layout Curt Leipold, Graphic Communications


Te Water Education Foundation thanks all the sources and experts who reviewed this newsletter for balance and accuracy.


Te mission of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial, nonprofit organization, is to create a better under- standing of water resources and foster public understanding and resolution of water resource issues through facilitation, education and outreach.


Water Education Foundation 1401 21st


Street, Suite 200


Sacramento, CA 95811 (916) 444-6240 fax (916) 448-7699 www.watereducation.org


President William R. Mills


Executive Director Jennifer Bowles


2 • Colorado River Project • River Report • Summer 2016


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