COLORADO RIVER REGIONAL SEWER COALITION

Historical Perspective

Historically, the quantity of water on the Colorado River has been the primary focus of regulatory agencies.

One of the earliest measures to address water quantity was the Colorado River Compact, signed in 1922. The purpose of the compact was "to provide for the equitable division and apportionment of the use of the waters of the Colorado River system; to establish the relative importance 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 industrial development of the Colorado River Basin, the storage of its waters, and the protection of life and property from floods."

Subsequently, Congress approved the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928, which athorized the construction of the Hoover Dam and Power Plant and the All-American Canal. In addition, the Lower Basin states made provision for the sharing of water, and authorization was given to the Secretary of the Interior to execute contracts for water made available by the Boulder Canyon Project, subject to the terms of the Colorado River Compact.

Under the Colorado River Basin Act of 1968, the Department of Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, has managed the allocation of water to respective shareholders of that resource.

The federal government set a precedent for dealing with water quality on the Colorado River as a result of international negotiations. In 1962, the Mexican government formally protested to the United States regarding the quality of Colorado River water being delivered to the Mexicali Valley under the Mexican Treaty of 1945.

Numerous meetings and negotiations drawing on advice from representatives of the seven Colorado River Basin states led to the adoption in 1973 of Minute 242, which obligates the United States to implement measures that will maintain the salinity of Colorado River waters delivered to Mexico at nearly the same quality as that diverted at Imperial Dam for use within the United States.

Subsequently, the states undertook a regional approach to reduce salinity undertaken through the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974.

Since there has been relatively little interest in water quality until recent decades, insufficient resources have been dedicated to regulatory oversight for water quality initiatives. This is the case from the federal level down to the local governing bodies. Largely due to the efforts of the Colorado River Regional Sewer Coalition (CRRSCo), there is a new interest in protecting the water quality of the Colorado River.

California’s State Water Resources Control Board has begun efforts to develop support for a comprehensive protection program for the state’s rivers and streams. One of its initiatives has been the development of a strategy closely aligned with the program outline developed by CRRSCo.

The four-point California plan calls for identifying and locating the source of pollutants, focusing on pollution prevention, looking at the whole river basin as a management unit, and cooperating among affected interest groups. The Board also recognizes the importance of the lower Colorado basin noting water bodies of state, national and international significance are located in the area of concern.

Likewise, Gov. Janet Napolitano and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) created a Clean Colorado River Alliance (CCRA) to identify the main pollutants of concern that potentially affect water quality on the river. Its list includes nutrients such as nitrogen, nitrates and ammonia; chromium and uranium; perchlorate; endocrine-disrupting compounds; and salinity and sediment. A final report was submitted to the Governor in January 2006 and is available at http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/water/download/ccra06.pdf

"The Colorado River is the lifeblood of Arizona," ADEQ Director Steve Owens said. "The CCRA’s identification of pollutants of concern is an important step towards developing comprehensive strategy to protect the Colorado River."

The problem is bigger than any one state, agency, or community can successfully address. Water quality protection on the Lower Colorado River requires implementation of a federal plan for regional participation by all parties. Initiatives put forth by CRRSCo outline such a strategy to manage the water quality along the river.