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Consumptive Uses and Losses Reports
The Arizona portion of the Upper Colorado River Basin covers approximately 6,900 square miles in the north-east corner of Arizona. Except for Page, Arizona; a small area around Lees Ferry; and a portion of the Paria Plateau administered by the Bureau of Land Management; the study area lies entirely within the Navajo Nation.
Water is used for irrigation, municipal and industrial purposes, electric power generation, livestock, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Water used by the Navajo Generating Station is pumped directly from Lake Powell and comprises over half of the total consumption in the study area
The Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968, Public Law 90-537, Section 601 (b)(1), dated September 30, 1968, directs the Secretary of the Interior to "make reports as to the annual consumptive uses and losses of water from the Colorado River System after each successive five-year period, beginning with the five-year period starting on October 1, 1970… Such reports shall include a detailed breakdown of the beneficial consumptive use of water on a state-by-state basis.”
Additionally, in compliance with Section 49 of the Navajo Project Participation Agreement dated September 30, 1969, which states in part: “The Secretary of the Interior further agrees to make the reports required by Section 601 (b)(1) of Public Law 90-537 as they pertain to Arizona’s Upper Basin uses annually rather than every five years. Within fifteen days following the completion of said reports, the Secretary of the Interior shall furnish copies of such reports to the Co-Tenants, the Navajo Tribe, each of the Upper Basin States, and the Upper Colorado River Commission.”
These reports reflect the Department of the Interior's best estimate of actual consumptive uses and losses for each year within the Arizona portion of the Upper Colorado River Basin. The reliability of the estimates is affected by the availability of data and the current capabilities of data evaluation. The reports include a breakdown of the beneficial consumptive use by major types of use
Colorado River System Basin Consumptive Uses and Losses Reports
For more information, contact:
Kib Jacobson
Bureau of Reclamation
125 South State Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84138-1147
E-Mail: kjacobson@uc.usbr.gov