Las Vegas (KLAS) — When Americans started living in what would become Nevada, California, and Arizona, they needed clean running water, but they could persuade people to invest millions in governments to figure out how. It was only at the turn of the 20th century that the To manage and distribute the water of the Colorado River safely and consistently.

For years, people have tried and failed to control the irrigation of the Colorado River. A historic flood in the Imperial Valley in 1906 changed the public’s mindset about spending money to harness the power of the river.

The Colorado River is managed and operated by the United States Reclamation Service (USBR). The USBR is an institution formed under several federal laws, conventions, court decisions and statutes, contracts, and regulatory guidelines known as the “Law of the River.”

The 1906 flood was the first in a series of natural and man-made events that changed the Southwest forever. The region fears Lake Mead could lose another 20-30 feet of water in 2023 alone, so it’s important to understand how the situation has changed. am. Below is a description of the chain of events and legal documents that led to the Colorado River taming.

• 1906
  • Flooding of the Colorado River in the Imperial Valley. The urgent need for river flood control measures became apparent.
• 1918
  • Congress passed the Kincaid Act, authorizing research in the Lower Colorado River Basin by the U.S. Reclamation Service.
• 1922
  • The Department of the Interior has submitted a report and recommendations to Congress on flood control and development in the Lower Colorado River Basin. The report recommended building a dam in Boulder Canyon.
• 1922
  • Representatives of seven states in the Colorado River Valley signed the Colorado River Compact after a series of hearings presided over by then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover. This agreement provided for the division of water bodies between the Upper Basin State and the Lower Basin State. Upper Basin includes Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Lower Basin, Arizona, California, Nevada.
• 1922
  • The Lower Colorado River Development Bill, based on recommendations from the Department of the Interior, was introduced to Congress by Senator Hiram W. Johnson and Representative Phil D. Swing.
• 1928
  • Congress adopted the Swing-Johnson bill. Signed by President Coolidge on December 21.
• 1930
  • July 8th. Congress has approved an initial budget ($10,000,000) to begin work on the Boulder Canyon project. March 10. The US Reclamation Service awards the Hoover Dam construction contract to Six Companies, Inc. Work on the dam began immediately.
• 1931
  • May 17th. The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed an Arizona lawsuit to block construction of the Boulder Dam.

Below is a summary of the most important documents produced by USBR.

1922 Colorado River Compact

To delve deeper into the legal language governing water from the Colorado River, the 1922 Colorado River Compact is a good starting point.

This agreement was negotiated in 1922 by seven states in the Colorado River Basin and the federal government. This defined the relationship between the upstream catchment states, where most of the river’s water supply occurs, and the downstream catchment states, where most of the water demand is supplied. developing. At the time, states in the upper catchment decided that plans for the Hoover Dam and other water development projects in the lower catchment would deprive them of their ability to exploit the river’s currents in the future under pre-allocation, a tenet of Western water law. I was worried that it would become

Because the states could not agree on how to allocate the waters of the Colorado River watershed between states, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover divided the watershed into upper and lower halves, each with development and use rights. proposed to give 7.5 million acre feet (maf) of river water for a year. This approach ensured that water was reserved for future upper basin development and allowed for planning and development of the lower basin.

U.S. Reclamation Service

Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928

This act: (1) ratified the 1922 Compact; (2) approved the construction of the Hoover Dam and associated irrigation facilities in the lower reaches; (3) allocated 7.5 maf of the lower basin among the states of Arizona (2.8 maf), California (4.4 maf), and Nevada (0.3 maf); (4) Authorized and directed the Secretary of the Interior to act as the sole contracting authority for the downstream uses of the Colorado River water;

U.S. Reclamation Service

California Seven Party Agreement of 1931

The agreement helped resolve a long-standing conflict between California’s agricultural and local government interests over water priorities for the Colorado River. His seven principal plaintiffs — the Palo Verde Irrigation District, the Yuma Project, the Imperial Irrigation District, the Coachella Valley Irrigation District, the Metropolitan Water District, and the City and County of San Diego — have reached an agreement on how much water will be allocated each year. to each entity. Although the agreement did not address all priorities, these regulations were also incorporated into California’s major water supply contracts.

U.S. Reclamation Service

Mexican Water Treaty of 1944

The agreement promised 1.5 maf of the river’s annual discharge to Mexico.

1948 Upper Colorado River Compact

(This act) created the Upper Colorado River Commission, and 7.5% of the Upper River between Colorado (51.75%), New Mexico (11.25%), Utah (23%), and Wyoming (14%). Distributed maf. The portion of Arizona within the Upper Colorado Basin was also allocated at 50,000 acre-feet per year.

U.S. Reclamation Service

Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956

(This Act) provides a comprehensive Upper Basin-wide water resources development plan, and permits the construction of the Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, Navajo, and Curecanti Dams for river regulation and power generation, and for irrigation and other uses. has approved several projects for

U.S. Reclamation Service

1964 U.S. Supreme Court Decision Arizona v. California

In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled to resolve a 25-year-old dispute between Arizona and California. The controversy stemmed from a desire to build the Central Arizona Project so that Arizona could use all of its allotment of the Colorado River. California objected, stating that Arizona’s use of water from the Gila River, a tributary of the Colorado River, constitutes use of the Colorado River Quota and has developed some historic uses of the Arizona Quota. I claimed. prevented Arizona from developing the project.

Supreme Court rejects California’s argument, holding that downstream states have the right to allocate and use tributaries before they join the Colorado River, and that the principle of advance allocation does not apply to downstream allocations bottom.

In 1964 the court issued an order. The decree prohibited the Secretary of the Interior from supplying water outside the allocations defined by law and required the Secretary to prepare an annual report documenting water use in the three downstream states. rice field.

In 1979, the Supreme Court Supplementary statute This addresses the now completed rights referred to in the Colorado River Compact and the Boulder Canyon Project Act. These rights are essentially rights established under state law and supersede any subsequent contractual rights.

On March 27, 2006, the Supreme Court, integrated statute To provide a single reference to the provisions of the original 1964 statute and several subsequent statutes (1966, 1979, 1984, and 2000) derived from the first judgment. The order also reflects the settlement of water claims on the federal reserve of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation.

U.S. Reclamation Service

Colorado River Basin Planning Act of 1968

The act authorized the construction of numerous water development projects in both the upstream and downstream basins, including the Central Arizona Project (CAP). It also subordinated CAP water supply priorities to California’s allocation and instructed the Secretary to consult with the Colorado River Basin states to prepare a long-term operating standard for the Colorado River Reservoir System.

U.S. Reclamation Service

1970 Standards for Coordinated Long-Range Operations on the Colorado River Reservoir

[This document]provided for the coordinated operation of upstream and downstream reservoirs and established discharge conditions from Lake Powell and Lake Mead. On March 21, 2005, following a public review process that included consultations with stakeholders and stakeholders in his seven states in the Colorado River Basin, the Secretary of the Interior approved the language of his 1970 Code of Practice. made some limited fixes to .related Federal Register Notice Annotate your changes to describe the publishing process and any comments that resulted in your changes.

U.S. Reclamation Service

1973 U.S.-Mexico International Boundary and Water Commission Proceedings 242

[This]called for action by the United States to reduce the salinity of the water being sent to Mexico at the Morelos Dam.

U.S. Reclamation Service

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974

(this act) approved desalination and salinity management projects, including the Yuma Desalination Plant, to improve the water quality of the Colorado River.

U.S. Reclamation Service