The Colorado River Documents

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The book is being published and offered for sale on both hard copy ($87) and CD ($14) by the United States Government Printing Office (GPO). 

NOTE: The book includes a CD that contains the complete text of all three of those books as well as the complete text of the new book, and all related source documents. To order, visit the GPO website

The Colorado River Documents 2008 is a book that discusses the Secretary of the Interior's management of the Colorado River from 1979 through 2008.

Developed by the Bureau of Reclamation's Upper Colorado and Lower Colorado Regions, in collaboration with the Boulder City Field Solicitor, the book summarizes the last 30 years of updates to the “Law of the Colorado River," a compilation of compacts, federal laws, court decisions and decrees, contracts, and regulatory guidelines that have been implemented over nearly a century to guide the management and operation of the Colorado River.

It details the statutes, policies, agreements, and court decisions related to river operations, environmental matters, Mexican treaty deliveries, water development, water entitlement actions, Native American water settlements, proceedings in Arizona v. California, and power generation and distribution issues.

This document is the fourth in a series of books published by the Bureau of Reclamation to address the management of the Colorado River since the early 1900s.  The previous books, and their publication dates, are: The Hoover Dam Power and Water Contracts and Related Data (1933), The Hoover Dam Documents (1948), and Updating the Hoover Dam Documents (1978).

Additional information, questions, and/or comments on the book may be directed to Margot Selig at CRdocs2008@usbr.gov or phone: 702-293-8192.

5/7/20