OCR Text |
Show 292 tributaries other than the Gila River, see pages 318-321, 323-324, infra. The United States' interests on the Gila are disposed of in a subsequent section of this Report. Therefore, it is necessary to treat here only the single national recreation area which presently diverts water from the Colorado River. Except for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, no National Forests, Parks, Monuments, Memorials or lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management divert water from the mainstream of the Colorado River.79 The United States does not claim water specifically from the Colorado River for any of its Forests, Parks, Monuments, Memorials, or lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management; rather it proposes conclusions of law to the effect that the United States establishments have rights to the water generally available in the Lower Basin.80 I think it would be inappropriate to predict which of such federal establishments might attempt to utilize water from the mainstream in the future. It may well be that none of the others will ever need to use mainstream water and there would be no point in determining their rights to this water until it appears that it may be necessary to exercise those rights. It is necessary to adjudicate the water rights of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area for the same reason that the rights of the mainstream Indian Reservations must be adjudicated. I conclude that the United States had the power to reserve water in the Colorado River for use in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area for the same reasons that it could reserve such water for Indian Reservations. Although the authorities discussed above which establish the reservation theory all involved Indian Reserva- 79See U. S. Exs. 2700-2722, 2800-2821, 2900-2911; U. S. Proposed Conclusion 11.4. 80U. S. Proposed Conclusions 8.1, 9.1, 10.1. |
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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 |