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Show Because of the desirability of development in its full multiple-purpose aspects, because of the un- known effects of diversions and particularly on water quality in the lower basin, and because of project requirements for water known to exceed actual total supply, out-of-basin diversions need further study in their relation to an integrated basin plan. 14. Coordination of Programs The Problem The extent to which the planning, construction, and operation of water use and control projects should be coordinated in the basin. The Situation The primary problem in the greatly varied basin and related areas is the distribution of water re- sources in. relation to the land and the people. About three-fourths of the area is federally admin- istered. Water resources development and water- shed management arc necessarily preponderantly governmental responsibilities because of the com- plexity of the problems, the size of the programs, and the sj>arsity of population. However, much of the present use of the river has been accomplished by private enterprise and local public agencies. Comprehensive development of the basin for irriga- tion, domestic and industrial water supplies, power, flood contarol, pollution abatement, recreation, and wildlife use, and the related land use problems will necessitate the cooperation of these interests and of the severral Federal and State agencies concerned. Interstate and international problems are in- volved and serious conflicts, particularly over the right to trae use of water, have existed. Some of these conflicts have been resolved; others remain unsolved. Through the Colorado River Compact, ratified by the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, the States sought to divide the "beneficial consumptive use" of the waters of the river between the upper basin and the lower basin States. There are con- flicts as to the interpretation to be placed upon important features of that document, notably be- tween Ariz ona and California. There arre presently no known conflicts of sig- nificance aanong the upper basin States, which re- cently entered into a compact dividing the water of the upper basin among the separate States. In contrast the conflicts within the lower basin are serious. There has been no division among the States of the lower basin of the water which the Colorado River Compact apportions or allocates to the lower basin. To all practical purposes, ne- gotiation among these States toward such division has been abandoned as hopeless. The conflict be- tween California and Arizona will probably not be resolved until it comes before the Supreme Court for decision. Planning for over-all water resources development, especially in the lower basin, is seri- ously handicapped by conflicts. The treaty with Mexico of February 3, 1944, establishes the amount of Colorado River water due Mexico and governs its delivery. The Interna- tional Boundary and Water Commission adminis- ters this treaty. A Committee of Fourteen, composed of two rep- resentatives from each of the seven States party to the Colorado River Compact, has been active in the basin in considering mutual problems. Cali- fornia and Nevada, however, now have withdrawn from the committee. In the direction of furthering and implementing cooperation and coordination between Federal agencies in the Colorado River Basin, the Federal Inter-Agency River Basin Committee in July 1948 established the Pacific Southwest Federal Inter- Agency Technical Committee. The purposes of this committee are: * * * to coordinate the technical activi- ties of the Federal agencies directed toward the preparation of plans for programs dealing with the development, protection, or use of national resources, to promote activities for obtaining timely and sound technical data for use in the development of such plans, to facili- tate the interchange of technical data, to avoid duplication of activities, and to facilitate the coordination of field work among the Federal agencies in the Colorado River Basin, the Great Basin, and in southern Cali- fornia * * *. The purposes are directed chiefly to the gather- ing and interchange of technical data. Various subcommittees have been established to implement these objectives. However, the purposes do not include the coordination of planning activities and consideration of broad planning policies; nor does the committee bring to it participation by the sev- 446 |
