Colorado River Agreement, from the Arizona Department of Water Resources

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.  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.  To read the Record of Decision in its entirety, please visit: http://www.azwater.gov/dwr/ColoradoRiverManagement/Record_of_Decision_december_2007.pdf