January 26, 2012 Las Vegas, Nevada

1. Colorado River BasinSalinity Control ProgramDon BarnettColorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum January 26, 2012 Las Vegas, Nevada

2. The “Greatest”Water Quality Improvement Effortin the History of the World Facts/Results: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program… • reduced the annual salt load by about 1.2M tons • reduced the concentration at Imperial Dam by 90-100 mg/L • reduced quantified damages by several hundred million $/yr • $50/ton Facts: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program… • existed for more than 35 years • approximately $555 M spent • ($384 M in appropriations and $171 M in cost share) • plus potentially maybe $50- $80M from Program participants Facts: The Colorado River Basin Salinity Program… • multiple federal agencies (Reclamation, NRCS and BLM) • 7 states • hundreds of local agencies, organizations and companies • thousands of individual producers Facts: The Colorado River… • is more than 1450 miles long • drains 246,000 sq-miles (1/12 of the continental US) • has an annual flow of about 16 M acre-feet • had an annual salt load of approximately 9 million tons Facts: The Colorado River supplies… drinking water to more than 30 million people in the US irrigation water to nearly 4 million acres

3. Salinity Control Program Genesis • Early 1970’s

4. Salinity Control Program Genesis • Early 1970’s • Salinity of the Colorado River was rising • Significant concerns by Mexico • States were concerned about the implications of the Clean Water Act

5. Salinity Control Program Genesis • 1973 – created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum (Forum) • 1974 – passed the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (Act) • 1975 – adopted salinity standards for the Colorado River

6. Standard (1975) 879 mg/L • Established the numeric criteria. • Initiated a Plan of Implementation. 747 mg/L 723 mg/L

7. Salinity Control Program 2001 • Funded at about $26 M per year • $10.8 M – Reclamation • $6.9 M – NRCS • $0.8 M – BLM • $7.9 M – cost share • Had put in place measures which would remove approximately 775,000 tons per year • 388,000 tons per year – Reclamation • 324,000 tons per year – NRCS • 63,000 tons per year – BLM

8. Salinity Control Program 2011 • Funded at about $40 M per year • $ 8.1 M – Reclamation • $19.7 M – NRCS • $ 0.7 M – BLM • $ 11.9 M – cost share • Had put in place measures which would remove approximately 1,218,000 tons per year • 546,000 tons per year – Reclamation • 572,000 tons per year – NRCS • 100,000 tons per year – BLM

9. Salinity Control Program 2011

10. 2011 Review • Reviewed the numeric criteria and determined to not change it. • Identified a Plan of Implementation.

11. 2011 Review • There are currently measures in place to control 1.2 million tons per year. • This equates to about 90-100 mg/L lower TDS at Imperial Dam.

12. 2011 Review • Modeling by Reclamation shows that without additional salinity control the TDS at Imperial will increase on average by 100 mg/L by 2030. • The Plan of Implementation is to control an additional 644,000 tons by 2030 which will reduce this projected increase by about 50 mg/L.

13. 2011 Review

14. Reclamation’s Basinwide Program • 2010 Funding Opportunity Announcement • More than $100 million dollars of proposals • Selected 11 projects • Will control about 39,000 tons of salt annually • Cost of about $35 million dollars • $20 million from appropriations • $15 million from cost-share • Will be implemented over the next three to five years • Will open up opportunities for on-farm work

15. Reclamation’s Basinwide Program

16. NRCS – EQIP Salinity Control • In 2011 had about $19 million in funding of which about $12 million was obligated in EQIP contracts as follows:

17. NRCS – EQIP Salinity Control ?

18. 2012 Farm Bill • Since 1996 on-farm salinity control efforts have been funded through NRCS’s Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP) which was last authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill • The Colorado River Salinity Control Program is a small piece of EQIP which is a very small piece of the Farm Bill • Authority under the 2008 Farm Bill expires on September 30, 2012 • 2012 Farm Bill?

19. Summary

20. Summary • Have put measures in place that reduce the salt load by 1.2 M tons per year or a concentration of 90-100 mg/L • However, salinity levels are projected to increase by 100 mg/L by 2030 without continuation of the program • In order to offset that increase by 50 mg/L we need greater funding under Reclamation’s Basinwide Program and continuation of NRCS’s EQIP with current funding levels, and This is the Greatestwater quality improvement effort in the history of the world!