OCR Text |
Show 184 The only water available for diversion from the mainstream of the Colorado River below Hoover Dam is the water released from Lake Mead and the tributary inflow from the Bill Williams River.46 The annual inflow from the Bill Williams River, which varied during the period 1944 to 1951 from a minimum contribution to the mainstream of 7,300 acre-feet to a maximum contribution of 114,400 acre-feet,47 is stored by Parker Dam, and is available for use in Arizona and California. Consumption of this water, after it reaches the mainstream, is chargeable to the state within which it is consumed under the Section 4(a) limitation and the Arizona water delivery contract. As an administrative matter, it would be impossible to reach a different result, for water from the Bill Williams commingles with water released from Lake Mead in the mainstream, and diversions of water below Parker Dam could not be broken down into water which was supplied from Lake Mead and water which was supplied from the Bill Williams. Since it is impossible to segregate water supplied from each source, it is impractical to treat the two sources differently. Furthermore, even if such a demarcation were possible, Section 4(a) and the Arizona water delivery contract provide that consumption of the inflow from the Bill Williams is charged to the states. Article 7(1) of the Arizona contract specifically provides for this result. The Project Act treats the Bill Williams inflow as de minimis in comparison to releases from Lake Mead, and assumes that this inflow will not be accounted for separately. Indeed, the Section 4(a) limitation specifically limits Cali- 46The Gila River is the only other tributary which has its confluence with the mainstream below Lake Mead. It is already over-appropriated, however, and the occasional inflow which it does supply to the mainstream cannot be captured for use in the United States by any existing works. 47See Part One, page 121. |
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 |