Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program

The Colorado River and its tributaries provide municipal and industrial water to about 40 million people and irrigation water to 5.5 million acres of land in the United States. The river also serves about 2.3 million people and 500,000 acres in Mexico. The threat of salinity is a major concern in both the United States and Mexico. Salinity affects agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users.

In June 1974, Congress enacted the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law 93-320, which directed the Secretary of the Interior to proceed with a program to enhance and protect the quality of water available in the Colorado River for use in the United States and Republic of Mexico. In October 1984, Congress amended the original act by passing Public Law 98-569.

Public Law 104-20 of July 28, 1995, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to implement a basinwide salinity control program. The Secretary may carry out the purposes of this legislation directly, or make grants, enter into contracts, memoranda of agreement, commitments for grants, cooperative agreements, or advances of funds to non-federal entities under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may require.

Significant salinity control results from the implementation of measures on private agricultural lands. Reclamation's Basin States Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives Program provide cost share assistance to landowners who install salinity control measures. See chapter 1 and chapter 5 of the Quality of Water Reports in the Related Information tab below.

2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity

Reclamation will be posting a new Funding Opportunity June 2025.

2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity

The 2023 NOFO No. R23AS00353 was posted on June 2, 2023, on Grants.gov.

Reclamation awarded projects totaling $23,567,002 located in Utah and Colorado to pipe, PVC line, and/or shotcrete canals to meet the objectives of the Colorado River Basin Water Quality Standards.

Utah

Lower Bench Canal Salinity Control Project
Reclamation Funding: $3,458,900
Total Project Cost: $5,458,900

This project is to fund the Uintah Indian Irrigation Project O&M Company for salinity control by eliminating seepage losses via piping of 13.97 miles of the unlined open Bench Canal. The project is near Bottle Hollow Reservoir near Ft. Duchesne, Utah. The Bench Canal receives water from the Uinta River and flows south approximately fifteen miles serving 5,494 acres of Class I land. Water is diverted to the Canal from April 1 to October 31.

This project will control 2,087 tons of salt annually at a cost of $70.66/ton.

Colorado

Hartland Ditch Improvement Project
Reclamation Funding: $6,582,836
Total Project Cost: $6,582,836

This project will provide resources to the Hartland Ditch Company to line the upper Hartland Ditch (currently an earthen ditch) with shotcrete along the existing alignment, including new turnouts for all headgates. It will also replace various spill structures and turnouts and install other various infrastructure to enable lining and piping.

The project will control 3,472 tons of salt annually at a cost of $80.83/ton.

North Delta Canal Salinity Control Project
Reclamation Funding: $5,878,015
Total Project Cost: $5,878,015

This project will provide resources to the North Delta Irrigation Company to provide salinity control improvements to the North Delta Canal. This project will install approximately 4,945 ft of pipe and 6,820 ft of shotcrete liner along the canal. It will also provide for headgate structure, gate replacement, and siphon installation; all with remote controls to allow the ditch company to operate headgates remotely.

The project will control 3,432 tons of salt annually at a cost of $73.02/ton.

Fire Mountain Canal Phase 2 Salinity Project
Reclamation Funding: $1,426,793
Total Project Cost: $1,431,593

The Fire Mountain Canal & Reservoir Company will install 1044 ft of pipeline as an inverted siphon across Short Draw Creek and abandonment of 8,659 ft of open earthen canal. A valve and necessary accessories will be installed at the bottom of the siphon to allow draining of the pipeline. All construction will be located on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation managed land. This project is part of a larger master plan to convert the lower end of the canal to an on-demand managed system. These improvements were also included as part of the North Fork Water Conservancy District Master Plan compiled in 2016.

The project will control 756 tons of salt annually at a cost of $80.46/ton.

Grand Valley Irrigation Company Phase 6 Lining Project
Reclamation Funding: $1,357,246
Total Project Cost: $1,957,246

Three sections of canal will be lined with an impermeable membrane liner system and coated in shotcrete conforming to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation specifications. Old headgates within each section will be replaced with new concrete structures complete with trash screens and sacrificial anodes. The canal will be re-graded and shaped using a combination of imported materials and suitable on-site materials prior to installation of liner materials.

The project will control 667 tons of salt annually at a cost of $85.47/ton.

Contacts

Reclamation Regional Office Coordinators

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program Manager:
Clarence Fullard
Bureau of Reclamation
125 South State Street, Room 8100
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
303-253-1042
cfullard@usbr.gov

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program Coordinator:
Melynda Roberts
Bureau of Reclamation
125 South State Street, Room 8100
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
801-524-3747
mroberts@usbr.gov

Reclamation Technical Contacts and Area Office Coordinators

Technical Representatives by State

Western Colorado & Southwest Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona
Joshua Dunahm
Bureau of Reclamation
445 West Gunnison Ave Suite 221
Grand Junction CO 81501-5711
970-248-0613
jdunham@usbr.gov

Eastern Utah and Western Wyoming
Bryan Schmutz
Bureau of Reclamation
302 East 1860 South
Provo, UT 84606-7317
801-379-1245
bschmutz@usbr.gov

San Juan River and Dolores River Basins
Andrew Limbach (Provides Salt Load Calculations)
Bureau of Reclamation
445 West Gunnison Ave Suite 221
Grand Junction CO 81501-5711
970-248-0644
alimbach@usbr.gov

COLORADO RIVER BASIN SALINITY CONTROL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Title II of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (Public Law 93-320) created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program, and Section 204 of the Act created the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council. The Council consists of up to three members from each of the seven Colorado River Basin States. Governors of their respective states appoint the Council members. The Council:

  1. Acts as liaison between both the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the States in accomplishing the purposes of the Act;
  2. receives reports from the Secretary on the progress of the salinity control program and review and comment on said reports;
  3. recommends to both the Secretary and the Administrator of the EPA appropriate studies of further projects, techniques, or methods for accomplishing the purposes of the Act; and
  4. provides to the Secretary of the Interior advice and consultation regarding implementation of the Basin States Program to carry out salinity control activities.

This is accomplished by the Council meeting with the Federal agencies two times a year and providing an Annual Report to the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture and the Administrator of the EPA.

The fall meeting of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council will be held in Arizona the during the week of October 21, 2024. Details will be posted when they are available.


Council Annual Reports

Can be found in our Document Library

Council Charter

2024 Charter Link is to a PDF file

Council Members

Membership list Link is to a PDF file

National Environmental Policy Act & Habitat Replacement

Please review the NEPA Guidance document provided on this webpage for preliminary information regarding NEPA and habitat replacement requirements for salinity projects. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Reclamation for additional information regarding the NEPA process and the habitat replacement component of salinity control projects. Below are the primary points of contact for each Reclamation Area Office.

Western Colorado Area Office

NEPA and Habitat Replacement: Jenny Ward
jward@usbr.gov
970-248-0651

Provo Area Office

(For projects in Utah)

NEPA: Peter Crookston
pcrookston@usbr.gov
801-379-1152

Habitat Replacement: Tom Davidowicz
tdavidowicz@usbr.gov
801-379-1062

Last Updated: 9/9/24