The Colorado River Compact

Abstract

As the 20th century dawned, the vast domain of the Colorado River lay almost entirely untouched. Though there had been a few early filings for diversion and a "grand ditch" conveying water some 16 miles across the Continental Divide into eastern Colorado in the late 1800s, California's Imperial Valley was among the first areas to tap the river's true potential. In early 1901, the 60 mile long Alamo Canal, developed by private concerns, was completed to deliver Colorado River water for irrigation, and a wasteland was transformed. But the Imperial Valley did not move ahead without problems. About 50 miles of the canal coursed through Mexico, leaving the valley faarmers at the mercy of a foreign government. And in 1905, the river, raging with floods, eroded the opening to the canal, roared through and created the Salton Sea before the river was pushed back into its normal channel .