Yuma Area Office
Historical Milestones
| 1902 | Congress passed the Reclamation Act creating the Bureau of Reclamation |
| 1903 | Reclamation moved into the Yuma area and created its first development along the Lower Colorado River (a 125,000 square-mile watershed congruent of Arizona, California, and Nevada). |
| 1909 | Laguna Dam construction completed in Yuma |
| 1912 | Colorado River Siphon constructed to carry water (Yuma to Yuma Valley) |
| 1917 | Launched the Yuma Auxiliary Project |
| 1922 | Colorado River Compact Act signed into law |
| 1925 | Colorado River Front Work and Levee System Act passed into law |
| 1928 | Boulder Canyon Project with Hoover Dam and Imperial Diversion Dam |
| 1935 | Hoover Dam construction completed |
| 1935 | Parker Dam construction completed |
| 1937 | Launched Gila Project |
| 1939 | Imperial Dam construction completed |
| 1941 | Davis Dam construction completed |
| 1942 | All-American Canal construction completed |
| 1943 | Gila Gravity Canal construction completed |
| 1944 | Treaty of 1944 guarantees delivery of 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water to Mexico annually (did not address water quality) |
| 1965 | Minute No. 218 authorizes Main Outlet Drain Extension (MODE) construction and use to bypass WMIDD irrigation drainage water |
| 1973 | Minute No. 242 defines acceptable salinity differential at the Northerly International Boundary |
| 1974 | Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act authorizes actions to control salinity including construction of the Yuma Desalting Plant (YDP) |
| 1980 | YDP construction groundbreaking |
| 1992 | YDP operated from May 1992 to January 1993 at 1/3 of full capacity |
| 1993 | Gila River flood |
| 1997 | Water Quality Improvement Center (WQIC) designated as a National Center for Water Treatment Technologies |
| 2004 | Yuma Area Resource Water Management Group (YARWMG) established |
| 2004 | YDP Workgroup established |
| 2005 | YDP Workgroup releases proposed plan to operate the YDP without causing harm or keeping water from the Ciénega de Santa Clara and Reclamation initiates a public process to explore alternatives to the YDP for replacing or recovering the bypass flow |
| 2005 | Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program enacted |
| 2006 | Coachella Canal Lining completed and dedicated |
| 2007 | YDP Demonstration Run completed |
| 2007 | Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and Coordinated Operations for Lakes Powell and Mead enacted |
| 2007 | Drop 2 Reservoir Funding Agreement Signed |
| 2007 | Yuma Area Water Management System installed |
| 2008 | YDP Committee established and YDP Pilot Run is proposed |
| 2008 | Drop 2 Storage Reservoir construction groundbreaking |
| 2009 | All-American Canal Lining project dedicated |
| 2009 | YDP Pilot Run Funding Agreement signed |
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