OCR Text |
Show region, but consistent with the rights of the States and other established interests. The Situation Upstream and downstream interests in the use of the waters of a river basin are by no means uniform or consistent. Divisions of interest are particularly sharp where water is as limited as it is in the Colo- rado Basin. In this basin comparatively extensive irrigation use upstream competes with intensive downstream use. All upstream consumptive uses also compete with downstream power generation in a region short of power. Storage of water for power may not be in the best interest of irrigation. Upstream recreational and cultural uses may con- flict with downstream economic uses; upstream in- dustrial uses may compete with downstream agri- cultural uses. In view of the likely national needs for oil and other minerals, the regional resources of strategic materials, their location, and requirements for water in processing, intensification of the upstream and downstream competition for water is to be expected. Finally, the needs and desires of Mexico must be considered, as covered by the 1945 treaty. The need for reconciliation of upstream and downstream interests therefore may be considered as a matter of continuing urgency. An extensive background is required for thorough understanding of these conflicts and their effects. They can be only briefly described here. Through a compact titled "The Colorado River Compact," ratified by Arizona, California, Colo- rado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, the States of the basin sought to divide the "bene- ficial consumptive use" of the waters of the river basin between the upper basin and the lower basin.1 (See figure 2.) The interpretation of that docu- ment and of laws and contracts having roots in that document has given rise to several conflicts. Particularly applicable in this respect are articles I, II, and III of the compact. They are as follows: Article I The major purposes of this compact are to provide for the equitable division and appor- tionment of the use of the waters of the Colo- rado River system; to establish the relative im- portance of different beneficial uses of water; to promote interstate comity; to remove causes of present and future controversies and to secure the expeditious agricultural and indus- trial development of the Colorado River Basin, the storage of its waters, and the protection of life and property from floods. To these ends the Colorado River Basin is divided into two basins, and an apportionment of the use of part of the water of the Colorado River system is made to each of them with the provision that further equitable apportionment may be made. Article II As used in this compact: (a) The term "Colorado River system" means that portion of the Colorado River and its tributaries within the United States of America. (b) The term "Colorado River Basin" means all of the drainage area of the Colo- rado River System and all other territory with- in the United States of America to which the waters of the Colorado River system shall be beneficially applied. (c) The term "States of the Upper Division" means the States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. (d) The term "States of the Lower Divi- sion" means the States of Arizona, California, and Nevada. (e) The term "Lee Ferry" 2 means a point in the main stream of the Colorado River 1 mile below the mouth of the Paria River. (/) The term "Upper Basin" means those parts of the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming within and from which waters naturally drain into the Colo- rado River System above Lee Ferry, and also all parts of said States located without the drainage area of the Colorado River System which are now or shall hereafter be bene- ficially served by waters diverted from the system above Lee Ferry. (g) The term "Lower Basin" means those parts of the States of Arizona, California, Ne- vada, New Mexico, and Utah within and from which waters naturally drain into the Colo- 1 The Hoover Dam Documents, H. Doc. 717,80th Cong., 2d sess., p. A17 (1948). * Lees Ferry, referred to elsewhere in this document, is located on the Colorado, above the mouth of the Paria River. 388 |