The Water Information Program

The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District contends that a federal agency's legal position would allow the federal government to export unlimited native water out of the Arkansas River Basin. "This could ultimately leave the Arkansas River Basin with less water than it had before the (Fryingpan-Arkansas) Project, a paradoxical result that Congress clearly did not intend," the water district contends. The district's allegation that the agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, is subverting the project is in a new U.S. District Court filing. "The central issue of this case is whether the (Bureau of Reclamation has) jurisdiction to use Fryingpan-Arkansas Project water for purposes directly contrary to Congress' authorization," the district argues in the 42-page response. The district contends the bureau's reading of the 1962 act of Congress authorizing the water project ignores the fundamental purpose of the act, to construct, operate and maintain water facilities, such as reservoirs, for the benefit of the Arkansas Valley.

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