OCR Text |
Show 133 fied demand for water in the Lower Basin, it is impossible to develop further uses of the water because of the cloud on its legal availability. Because of the topography and geography of the region, Colorado River water can feasibly and economically be utilized only by the construction of great projects consisting of dams, pumping facilities, desilting basins, canals and other works, the cost of which is enormous. Needless to say, such projects cannot be financed unless there is assurance that water will be not only physically, but legally available for their operation. No such assurance of the legal availability of mainstream water for use in any particular state can today be given. This uncertainty can be removed only by an interstate compact or by the adjudication of the Supreme Court. Congress, in the Boulder Canyon Project Act, encouraged Arizona, California and Nevada to agree to a compact apportioning mainstream water among them, and even suggested a division which it approved in advance. For over thirty years, however, these states have been unable to agree. Time has not cooled the controversy among them, and it seems very unlikely that they will be able to agree in the foreseeable future. Thus, adjudication of the present action is indispensable to a determination of the legal availability of mainstream water in the Lower Basin. It is an inescapable fact that unless this controversy among the three states and the United States is adjudicated, the full utilization of the Colorado River will be indefinitely delayed. Such a result would frustrate the purposes of Congress in authorizing the construction of Hoover Dam and would seriously hinder development of the entire area. In addition, the Supreme Court's jurisdiction ought to be exercised in this case for another, related reason. There are a number of existing projects in the Lower Basin for |
Source |
Original Report: State of Arizona, complainant v. State of California, Palo Verde Irrigation District, Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella Valley County Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, City of Los Angeles, California, City of San Diego, California, and County of San Diego, California |