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Colorado River Management Section
Current Issues
On December 13, 2007, the Secretary of the Interior signed the Record of Decision for the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and Mead. It is the first agreement that allocates Colorado River water during shortage and it begins a new era that emphasizes conservation and augmentation of the river to meet water demands.
Colorado River Interim Guidelines
An important part of the seven States' proposal for the Secretary's
guidelines involves the
concept of "Intentionally
Created Surplus" (ICS). ICS
means that a water contractor
may add water to the system
through conservation or
importation and the Secretary
will release water in the
future to the Lower Division
State (Arizona, California or
Nevada) that added the water.
The Record of Decision (ROD) contains a Forbearance Agreement with Nevada and
California that will allow
creation and release of ICS
and domestic surplus
deliveries under certain,
specific conditions, by
forbearance of the three
States from claiming their
rights to another State's ICS
or domestic surplus.
Forbearance authority is
needed from the Arizona
Legislature in order to
proceed with the agreement.
The agreement will have no negative impact on any Arizona water user.
See the ROD .