California to reconsider plan for Lake Mead water

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Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

California's Colorado River Board has agreed to vote in February on a plan that will prevent using so much river water that Lake Mead could drop 120 feet.

In November California water officials asked six other Western states sharing the Colorado River to continue to give the Golden State all surplus water from the river for more 15 years while it weans its use down to the 4.4 million acre-feet-a-year limit under the Law of the River.

Its first proposal would have drawn down both lakes Mead and Powell to levels that local water officials consider dangerous.

Historically, California has drawn far more than its share from the river because of natural surpluses and unused portions from Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. California's legal annual share is the largest, and Nevada's 300,000 acre-feet is the smallest.

Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy led the six states to protest California's plan for the drawdown of lakes Mead and Powell in November.

If California had been allowed to take the extra water stored in those lakes, Mulroy said, Lake Mead's shoreline would shrink 2 miles, possibly threatening Southern Nevada's water supply.