Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program

Overview

The program reduces salinity preventing salts from dissolving and mixing with the river's flow. Irrigation improvements and vegetation management reduce water available to transport salts vertically, laterally and on the soil surface. Point sources, such as saline springs are also controlled. A long term, interstate and interagency public/private partnership effort is being carried out to reduce the amount of salts in the river and its associated impacts in the basin.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required development of water quality standards for salinity in the Colorado River in 1972. The basin states formed the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) in 1973 to develop these standards including numeric salinity and a basin-wide plan of implementation for salinity control that EPA subsequently approved.

In 1974, Congress enacted the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (Act) with subsequent amendments. This authorized the construction, operation and maintenance of salinity control works in the Colorado River Basin. Title I of the Act address the United States commitments to Mexico established by agreement of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico. This agreement addresses the quality of water deliveries to Mexico pursuant to the Mexican Water Treaty of 1944. Title II of the Act created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program and directed the U.S. Department of Interior (USDI) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) manage the river's salinity, including salinity contributed from public lands. The law directed that preference be given to those projects that are the most cost-effective in obtaining the greatest reduction in salinity concentration per dollar spent.

Highlights

• Nearly 30 million people depend on Colorado River water. Salts dissolved in Colorado River water cause over $300 million in damages each year.
• Salinity control measures installed with USDA assistance control over 300,000 tons of salt annually. Measures installed with Bureau of Reclamation assistance control nearly 500,000 tons each year.
• NRCS currently uses EQIP funds to implement on-farm salinity control measures in six project areas in western Colorado, eastern Utah, and southwestern Wyoming.
• Maintaining the numeric criteria for total dissolved solids in the Colorado River through 2020 requires an additional 999,000 tons of salt control.

Additional Information and Links

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Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program Brochure

Annual Reports Available

The latest annual reports showing progress in the six USDA Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Projects administered by NRCS is now available at the Bureau of Reclamations's Upper Colorado Region website.