CHAPTER VIII Cooperating Interests in the Basin Integrated development of the resources of the Colorado River Basin can best be achieved by the cooperation of all Federal, State, and local interests in the region. This cooperation is necessary not only in the formulating of a comprehensive, coordinated plan, but in the execution of a unified program that will be keyed to the welfare of the people in the basin. The various agencies of the Department of the Interior having an interest in development of resources in the basin have teamed together in the preparation of this comprehensive report in the development of the water resources of the basin. These agencies have cooperated to the extent of funds and personnel available. Their cooperation is vital, practical, and essential, as evidenced in this chapter, which presents their specific comments and programs. The Geological Survey has outlined a program for stream gaging and has furnished basic data on stream flow, quantity and quality of surface and underground water supplies, and water utilization. The National Park Service has surveyed the recreational possibilities of the potential projects and appraised the benefits with a view to preserving the parks and areas of historic and scenic interest. The Fish and Wildlife Service has made recommendations that will assure the restoration and conservation of game and fish resources. The Grazing Service has outlined the objectives of its range improvement program and the benefits that will result from the potential projects in the stabilization of livestock industry and the conservation of land and its resources. The Bureau of Mines has probed the minerals of the basin to discover how they might best be mined, processed, and utilized to support the metallurgical and industrial economy that is envisioned. The Office of Indian Affairs has outlined projects that will benefit the Indians of the basin. The General Land Office has presented a program to obtain optimum use of these public lands and to coordinate their utilization with the development of water resources. Other Federal agencies that are involved in the development of the resources of the basin have likewise cooperated with the Bureau of Reclamation and their reports appear as parts of this chapter. The Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, has em phasized the need for careful management of watersheds on the national forest lands to insure adequate safeguarding of their water yields. The Federal Power Commission has furnished data upon which power utilization and market trends are based and has commented generally on the power resources of the basin. The interests and cooperation of State and local groups as well as other Federal agencies in the basin are reflected throughout the report. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Quantity and Quality of Water Factual information, systematically collected and arranged, relative to both quantity and quality of water, is a prerequisite of the successful utilization of water. This information is necessary because of the fluctuations in quantity caused by the vagaries in climate, especially in precipitation and temperature, and by the changes resulting from the activities of man; and because of the differences in quality caused by sediment and the varieties of soluble matter with which the water comes into contact in its flow over and through the crust of the earth, by the variations in the length of time that the water remains in contact with the various soluble substances, and by the changes in pollution caused by the activities of man, especially in the use of water for agriculture, industrial processes, and municipal supplies, the return flow from which reaches and mixes with other surface and ground waters. Such information is needed as a basis not only for planning and constructing but also for operating plants and systems that utilize water. Although the conspicuous uses of water in the basin relate to irrigation and the generation of hydroelectric power, there are many other important uses such as those for industrial, municipal, domestic supplies, and water for stock on the range. These uses, which are not spectacular, affect the life, prosperity, and security of many people and therefore are for serious consideration. For example, the stock business in the basin is of major proportions. It depends largely on the capacity of range lands to carry stock, and that capacity is affected largely by the ability to get water for stock at many places so distributed as to permit a maximum use of the range. The finding and developing of stock water is therefore of major importance. There are many conflicting interests in the use of water because there is either not enough water to serve all needs or its use for one purpose may impair or prevent its use for another purpose. The general basic information must be collected and published without reference to the use that may be made of the water or to the public or private agency that may utilize it. It must, therefore, be collected, assembled, and presented without bias as to kind or place of use or to particular projects. Because of the fluctuations in the quantity and quality of water, the information concerning it must be collected over a period of years and at some places indefinitely. In order to satisfy everyone that the records are free from bias, they must be collected by an organization that has no administrative or construction responsibilities. The United States Geological Survey is primarily an investigational agency whose reports are recognized as reliable, to which Congress appropriates funds for the study of the general basic aspects of water without reference to uses or projects. In accordance with that Congressional mandate, the Geological Survey measures the daily flow of surface streams and records fluctuations of reservoirs to ascertain the availability of water for conservation and use; investigates ground-water resources to ascertain availability, depth, recharge, discharge, and storage; makes chemical analyses of both surface and ground water with reference to fitness for use in agriculture and industry, and to treatment for public and domestic water supplies; and prepares statistical and interpretative reports-all with a view to furnishing reliable information that is essential as a basis for the full and best use of the water resources. This investigational work is supported in part by funds appropriated by Congress "for gaging streams and determining the water supply of the United States, investigating underground currents and artesian wells and methods of utilizing the water resources," in part by funds furnished by other Federal agencies for use in specific investigations. related to the activities of those agencies, and in part by cooperating States and municipalities. The cooperation with States is based on the understanding that both Federal and State governments are interested and that responsibility for the work is divided properly between them. The work is conducted through field offices of the Geological Survey placed generally in State capitols in order that State officials may be easily consulted as to State problems and needs. Permanent Federal employees assigned in these field offices, through long residence and service, become local citizens familiar with local problems and requirements. The agencies of the States participating in the cooperation also contribute valuable experience and knowledge to the conduct of the investigations. In these ways local needs are served and reliable Government records are assured that are uniform in accuracy and form of publication for all sections of the country. Accordingly, the Survey is now maintaining four offices in the basin as follows: Las Vegas, Nev., for ground water. Tucson, Ariz., for surface water and ground water. Safford, Ariz., for surface water and ground water. It maintains seven other offices outside the basin from which work in the basin is done, as follows: Salt Lake City, Utah, for surface water, ground water, and water utilization. Logan, Utah, for surface water. Denver, Colo., for surface water. Albuquerque, N. Mex., for ground water and quality of water. Los Angeles, Calif., for water utilization. The investigational work of the Geological Survey on the quantity, quality, and utility of water in the Colorado River Basin is essential to the stable development of the basin because water in great or small quantities enters into all activities. Interstate and international character of the river serve to complicate the situation as to water supplies because of the necessity for equitable division of the water among the States of the basin, and because of the interest of Mexico in the water that flows across the international boundary. The interstate and international problems which are of far reaching importance emphasize the requirement that basic water information shall not be related to particular use or projects but shall serve the needs of all purposes equitably. As the canyons of the Colorado River divide the basin into two parts with respect to both utilization of water and routes of transportation, and as the interstate compact for the division of water between the upper basin and lower basin divides the basin in the same way, the description of the water work of the Geological Survey in the basin is similarly divided. Because of the differences in qualifications of personnel and methods used for investigating the different aspects of water and its utility, the work of the Geological Survey in investigating water is organized and will be presented in its relation to the Colorado River Basin, under the following four headings: surface water, ground water, quality of water, and water utilization. Upper Basin The Colorado River Basin above Lee Ferry, defined by the Colorado River Compact as the "upper basin," has |