3317767

Water Development Strategies in the Colorado River Basin: Expansion versus Involution
Author(s): Gary B. Palmer

Source: Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Apr., 1978), pp. 99-117
Published by: The George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research
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WATER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN THE COLORADO
RIVER BASIN: EXPANSION VERSUS INVOLUTION'
GARY B. PALMER
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
This paper abstracts and expands Clifford Geertz' theory of involution as a strategy o
tation to resource scarcity and applies it to the understanding of contemporary water d
ment in the Colorado River Basin. Involution is here defined as a set of social and techn
substrategies, including allocation of shares, diversification of resource use, increasing t
ciency of resource use, regulation of resource use, and specialization segments with ex
The concept is used to interpret the regional implications of proposed geothermal dev
ments, desalinization plants, irrigation projects, and actions taken by water managemen
cies. The strategy of involution presents an alternative to the strategy of competitive e
which has characterized water development in the Colorado Basin. The encouragement o
agriculture is proposed as a practical application of the strategy of involution.
In a recent paper, Anderson and Keith egy of expanding water use which contin-
(1977:167) demonstrated that energy ues de-to the present. The Colorado River, and
velopment on the Colorado River "may its major tributaries, the Gila and the Little
have significant impacts on local and Colorado in Arizona, the San Juan in Utah
regional water allocations and quality." and New Mexico, and the Green River in
They concluded that the distribution of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, have been
impacts on the regional population would segmented by dozens of dams and drained
depend on "institutional and economic by aqueducts and irrigation canals (see Fig-
constraints and incentives which are ure 1). Wells and mechanical pumps tap the
imposed, either as a result of historical underground reservoirs of Central Arizona,
development or future policy directions." the Colorado Plateau, and the Las Vegas
This paper interprets the relevant histori- Valley.
cal developments and offers a conceptual As public officials build water delivery
basis for future development policy in the facilities, they encourage population
Colorado River Basin. The history of Colo- growth, industrial developments, and agri-
rado River development is primarily one of cultural developments which typically over-
competitive expansion, while future policy run existing capacities. Once overruns and
directions may be guided by the concept of potential scarcities are apparent, they initi-
involution (Geertz 1963). ate new rounds of competition for remain-
ing sources of water. In the end, the diverse
The Spiral of Scarcity, interests of Euroamericans and Indians,
Expansion and Competition cities and rural municipalities, the energy
industry and agriculture all converg to
Entrepreneurs in the Colorado River create chronic shortages.
Basin discovered early in the twentieth cen- Population growth is centered in the
tury that they could profit enormously by Lower Basin region, which includes Ari-
applying federal funds and modern techno- zona, southern Nevada, and southeastern
gy to the development of water. Following California. The population of the Colorado
the passage of the National Irrigation Act River Basin is projected to grow from 2.5
of 1902, developers embarked upon a strat- million in 1970 to 4.28 million by the year
99
100 ANTHROPOLOGICAL QUARTERL Y
2000 (USDI, BR 1976:II-11). Eighty-four

tral Arizona Project and other similar pro-
jects lives
percent of the Basin population in California
in the and Nevada stimulated
Lower Basin and seventy percent
twenty yearsofofthe
litigation for water rights
Lower Basin population livesininthetheLowermetro-
Basin. The dispute was finally
politan areas of Las Vegas, Phoenix
settled by theand
1963 decision of the Su-
Tucson. preme Court in the case of Arizona versus
The growth of Las Vegas illustrates the California. California received the share of
pattern of water development, industrial 4.4 million acre feet per year, Arizona re-
expansion and population growth leadingceived 2.8 million and Nevada received
to shortages and renewed expansion. Popu-300,000 (see Table 1). California already
lation is expected to double between 1975 consumes one million acre feet more than
and the year 2000. State and federal offi- the Supreme Court allotment. When
cials are working hard to advance the Nevada and Arizona complete their diver-
Southern Nevada Water Project. The sion facilities, interstate competition may
second stage of the project will double thebegin anew.
volume of water available from Lake Mead While the scale of the Central Arizona
for municipal and industrial uses in the Las Project is gigantic, as the sole solution to
Vegas metropolitan area. As public officials expanding needs, it would be insufficient
plan water facilities, long range forecasts in- to cope with the growth of central Arizona.
dicate 1220 new hotel and motel rooms The project's aqueducts will carry 1.2 mil-
will be built annually to expand the tourist lion acre feet of water annually, providing
industry. Each new room eventually createsfor irrigation and permitting rapid urban
4.5 new jobs for the city (Nixon 1977, per- growth with high per capita rates of water
sonal communication). consumption. The total amount of water
Arizona's Salt River Project provides an- available to central Arizona from the Cen-
other example of the traditional strategy of tral Arizona Project and from ground
coping with water scarcity in the Colorado waters is 2.9 million acre feet per year. Ex-
River Basin by expansion of capacity pressions of interest in this water already
(Smith 1972). The project was originally total 5.3 million acre feet per year, 4 mil-
intended to expand the consumption and lion from Indian and non-Indian irrigation
distribution of water for irrigation and to users (USDI, BR 1972a:4). It appears that
develop power for irrigation pumping. The all of the water from the Central Arizona
federal government provided loans to fi- Project could be used just to replenish
nance the construction of power generating groundwaters. Annual withdrawals from
facilities. In an arrangement commonly the water table reach 3.8 million acre feet
termed the "reclamation principle," reve- per year, an overdraft of 2.1 million acre
nues from the sale of surplus power were feet. Because the Colorado River is fully
used to subsidize water development. The appropriated, the Central Arizona Project
project later supplied the water and power will probably be the last major project
necessary to the urban growth of Phoenix. diverting water in the Lower Basin.
Throughout its history, the project organi- In spite of the growing recognition that
zation lobbied for other water and power the region contains limited water resources,
projects, including the Central Arizona Pro- major new competitors have entered the
ject. Basin arena. Energy companies and regional
The continual expansion of water devel- power consortiums now compete with irri-
opment leads to interstate competition for gators and municipal water users in Basin
shares of river water. The Central Arizona counties and Indian reservations. The na-
Project, an offspring of the Salt River Pro- tional demand for secure supplies of energy
ject, continues Arizona's tradition of water intensifies private and governmental efforts
development expansion. Plans for the Cen- to expand water and energy development.
EXPANSION VERS US INVOL UTION 101
TABLE I
FIRST ORDER ALLOCATIONS OF COLORADO RIVER WATER
BASED ON 15,000,000 AF/ANNUM, UNITED STATES SHARE
AMOUNT PERCENT OF
(af/annum) 7,500,000
Upper Basin (1) 7,500,000 100.00

Arizona's Prior Right 50,000 .67
Remainder 7,450,000 99.33
PERCENT OF
7,450,000
Colorado 3,855,000 (4) 51.75

New Mexico 838,100 11.25
Utah 1,714,000 23.00
Wyoming 1,043,000 14.00
Subtotal 7,450,000 100.00
PERCENT OF
7,500,000
Lower Basin (1) 7,500,000 100.00

Prior Rights of Indians (2)
Chemehuevi 11,340 .15
Cocopah 2,744 .04
Yuma 51,616 .69
Colorado River 717,148 9.56
Fort Mohave 122,648 1.64
Subtotal 904,496 12.08
Remainder 6,594,506 75.84
PERCENT OF
6,594,506
Lower Basin States (3)
Arizona 2,462,000 (4) 37.33
California 3,869,000 58.67
Nevada 263,800 4.00
Subtotal 6,594,000 100.00
1. Colorado River Compact of 194

2. Decree of March 9, 1964, Suprem
3. Percentages based on Supreme C
4. All derived amounts rounded to
annually consume
The large nuclear and 450,000 acre feet of
coal-fir
generating plants
water whenbeing
completed (USDIinstall
1972:FC-5).
basin are heavy consumers
Along the lower Colorado River, proposed of
cooling. They nuclear
are built
power and
developments would con- op
gional consortia sume additional
of water. Southern California
utilities, w
velopment provided Edison is planning theby the
Vidal Nuclear Plant B
clamation. The Bureau has estimated that near Parker, Arizona and San Diego Gas
four coal-fired power plants, Four Corners, and Electric is planning the Sundesert Nu-
San Juan, Navajo and Kaiparowits, would clear Plant near Blythe, California.
102 ANTHROPOLOGICAL QUARTERLY
The planned energy projects

Mohavewill con-California, having just
of Needles,
sume significant proportionswon
ofa the region's
suit against the federal government
waters. In 1974, the United for
States Commis-
several thousand acres of land adjacent
sioner of Reclamation stated:
to the Colorado River, quickly accepted
It is estimated that about 870,000 acre-feet of the proposal of a California farmer to in-
water will be needed annually in the Upper Bas- vest over one million dollars in an irrigation
in by the year 2000 to meet the requirements
of about 30 major energy development projectsproject on the land. The Mohave have fed-
erated with five other Colorado River tribes
which are in various states of operation, con-
struction, or planning. These include coal-fired to protect water rights which the tribes feel
electric generating plants, oil shale retort oper- were not properly considered in the stipula-
ations and coal gasification plants (Stamm
tion of the Supreme Court in Arizona
1974:3).
versus California (Confederated Tribes
The commissioner's figure for water con- 1975).
sumption by energy development repre-
Five Central Arizona Indian tribes may
sents over six percent of the total average
obtain substantial water rights through a
flow of 14 million acre feet (Paff 1975,
bill introduced into the U.S. Senate by Ed-
personal communication). In dry years, en-
ward Kennedy. The bill provides for the ap-
ergy requirements could reach much higher
propriation of $200 million for the con-
percentages of the annual flow. For ex-
struction of dams, roads, aqueducts, power
ample, the figure quoted by the commis-
plants and pumping facilities, the improve-
sioner would represent over 15 percent of
ment of existing wells and the purchase of
the flow in the very dry year of 1934. Be- land. Eminent domain would be used to
sides, there is evidence from tree ring anal-
obtain the lands and appurtenant water
ysis that the long term trend in the flow of
rights of the Wellton Mohawk Division of
the river is down and that the long term
the Gila project (U.S. Senate 1976). The
average may be closer to 13.5 million acie Indians would obtain one million acre feet
feet (Anderson 1975:30).
of water per annum, of which 300,000 acre
The proposed synthetic fuels develop- feet would come from the Wellton Mohawk
ment on the Navajo reservation typifies the
irrigation system in Arizona (Blake 1976,
way in which the expansion of the energy
personal communication).
industry is creating competition for water How will future water users in the
(see Figure 2). The El Paso Energy Com-
Southwest respond to scarcities imposed by
pany and the Western Gasification Com-
new competition from an expanding energy
pany plan the construction of seven coal
industry, Indian claims, and urban growth?
gasification plants which would consume
One response to new water users is a wave
large quantities of water from the San Juan
of litigation, and legislative activity. South-
River, a tributary of the Colorado. The
western water managers seeking new
right to use water for gasification is being
sources of water in Canada, Alaska and the
contested by a group of Navajo who fear
Pacific Northwest have already aroused po-
that the projects will take water from the
litical opposition (Hundley 1975:324). Be-
tribal irrigation project which may require
cause of opposition to transfers from the
as much as one-half million acre feet per Pacific Northwest, the Colorado River Bas-
annum. The state Engineer of New Mexico,
in Project Act of 1968, which authorized
and the Jicarilla Apache, are also contesting construction of the Central Arizona Pro-
water rights in the San Juan (Atcheson and
ject, also contained a clause regulating fur-
Musick 1975, personal communication;
ther water importation. Specifically, it pro-
Renolds 1975; USDI, BR 1974a). vided
Along with the Navajo, other Indian that for a period of ten years, the Secretary
tribes of the Southwest have also entered should not undertake reconnaissance studies of
the competition for remaining waters. The any plan for the importation of water into the
EXPANSION VERSUS INVOLUTION 103
Colorado River Basin from any they

culture, other natural
also diversified to utilize all
river drainage basin lying outside the natural
possible remaining niches for dry farming.
drainage basin of the Colorado River (USDI,
BR 1975c:8). Through these means-increasing the effi-
ciency of resource use, sharing and diversi-
As water becomes scarce, expansion and
fication-Javanese society provided a niche
competition between communities and
for each new member of its growing
regions only serve the needs of part of the
population in spite of resource deprivation
population, while weaker competitors ex-
owing to Dutch colonization and mercant-
perience deprivation. Since expansion with-ilism.
out deprivation can take place only so long
In order to use the concept of involution
as additional supplies of water are available,
in evaluating other development efforts it
competition is only a temporary solution.
will be explicitly defined here as allocation
The problems of water scarcity and water
of shares, diversification of resource use, in-
depletion will persist.
creasing the efficiency of resource use, reg-
Involution of Water Use ulation of resource use, and specialization
of segments with exchange. These concepts
As ground water tables sink lower and are sufficiently general to permit their
consumption approaches the rate of water cross-cultural application to all economic
production, the strategy of competition systems, including the modern industrial
will become less productive. One alterna- system of the Colorado River Basin. In
tive strategy, here termed involution, com- practice, the various sub-strategies repre-
bines a set of sub-strategies which, taken sented by these concepts are often applied
together, may increase the total benefit independently, but a coordinated strategy
from the use of a resource, while at the may be possible in the future. The purpose
same time benefiting a wider sector of the of the remainder of this paper is to use the
population. concept of involution to interpret examples
Clifford Geertz (1963:33) coined the of proposed water developments in the
Colorado River Basin and the actions of
term "agricultural involution" to describe
the "introversive tendency" of wet rice water management agencies. The encour-
agriculture in Java. Javanese populations agement of urban agriculture is proposed as
grew rapidly after 1830, depleting per one application of the concept of involu-
tion.
capita resources. Because the Dutch colo-
nists appropriated all economic surplus
from the sugar plantations, the Javanese Allocation of Shares
were forced to provide for population
growth by relying upon their own re- The concept of involution implies, first-
sources; They did so by investing labor and ly, a wide distribution of resources and,
skills in wet rice agriculture using the secondly, the maximization of productiv-
capital intensive water-control facilities ity. Allocations which lead to wider sharing
originally constructed by the Dutch for the deny competition and maximize equity and
purpose of irrigating sugar cane. The total benefit of resource distribution. In
Javanese allocated the quantity and quality the ideal case of complete sharing, every in-
of water in complex social arrangements. dividual would theoretically have the right
They shared land holdings, work opportu- to use an equal amount of water, while at
nities, and the products of both agriculture the other extreme of no sharing, one per-
and craft through egalitarian systems of son would use all the available water. Pres-
land tenure, tenancy, work spreading and ently, water in the Colorado River Basin is
marketing. While Javanese farmers intensi- very narrowly shared, largely among irriga-
fied their manipulation of wet rice mono- tion users. Free market distribution and the
development of urban agriculturehowever, after extended negotiation and

present
two possible means of physically sharing
litigation, central control was exerted to al-
water more widely. locate shares among the states and other
The variety of water allocating institu-
parties in the 1963 Supreme Court decision
tions and mechanisms in the river basin,
in the case of Arizona versus California.
The approximate
ranging from free markets to executive con- regional distribution of
Colorado River water is shown in Table I,
trol over funds for water development,
tends to obscure the resulting based
patterns of assumption of an average
upon the
water sharing, the distribution of theflow
annual re-of 15 million acre feet, a figure
source itself. Institutions and rules of allo- which now appears to be too optimistic by
cation affect the sharing of water in the at least one million acre feet.
Colorado River Basin at several levels of At the level of local government, irriga-
social organization ranging from the local tion companies exemplify the most com-
community to the international organiza-mon form of central allocation of water
tion. Examination of water allocating in- shares in the river basin. Typically, the
stitutions and mechanisms can be simpli- company allots a limited number of shares
fied in each case by making a distinction on a prior appropriations basis. Users pay
between central and polycentral alloca- property taxes as well as assessments
tions, followed by a description of the against each share. In the Upper Basin, the
resulting distribution of water. Northern and Southern Conservancy Dis-
tricts in Colorado are two of the more im-
Resources may be allocated centrally, by
a single segment of a community, or poly- portant such companies. They divert water
centrally, through negotiations and agree-from west of the continental divide to irrig-
ments reached among politically indepen-ate the flatlands of eastern Colorado (Hart-
dent parties (Gerlach and Palmer, n.d.). man and Seastone 1970). The Bureau of
States of the Colorado River Basin have al- Reclamation diverts water to thirteen irrig-
located water both centrally and polycen- ation companies in the Lower Basin (USDI,
trally. Allocations by the states to agencies BR n.d.). Approximately eight million acre
and interests within the states tend to be feet of water goes to irrigation companies
central, lodged in a state water agency in the Upper and Lower Basins. The Lower
headed by a state engineer. Basin annually applies nearly four million
On the international level, the United acre feet of water to irrigation while the
States and Mexico reached agreement on Upper Basin applies somewhat over four
the sharing of Colorado River water. In million acre feet (USDC, BC 1969:245).
1944, the United States ratified the Treaty The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project pro-
for the Utilization of Waters of the Colo- vides an example of central allocation by
rado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio local government. The project will be devel-
Grande. The treaty committed the United oped on the corporate farming model
States to provide Mexico with 1.5 million which uses relatively small quantities of
acre feet of water annually from the Colo- labor and large-scale technology, such as
rado River (USDI, OSW 1974:1). massive mechanized sprinkler irrigation sys-
On a regional level, the states of the Up- tems, cultivators, and harvestors. In effect,
per and Lower Basins of the Colorado the Navajo tribe allocated all the project
River were also able to allocate shares poly- water to the board of directors of the agri-
centrally, dividing the flow of the river in cultural corporation. Had the Navajo fol-
two by negotiating the Colorado River lowed an alternative plan, the project
Compact of 1922. The states of the Upper would have been designed to convey rela-
Basin negotiated a similar compact among tively small flows of irrigation water to a
themselves in the Colorado River Basin large number of farmers. If the Navajo were
Compact of 1948. In the Lower Basin, to share water more widely by scaling
down the technology and scalingofdown

Diversification Water Development
shares of land and water, they could maxi-
mize employment of laborAson allocation
the processes
project. require increasing
rationing, resource
The system of sharing has social as well as users will attempt to
diversify their
economic implications. If the corporate sources of supply through
technical innovation.
agricultural system alienates Navajos, there They may, for
may be a greater influx example, of Mexicanseek to develop
and previously un-
Mexican American laborers to the Four developed waters of low quality, to use
Corners (Bahe Billy 1977, personal commu- rain-making technology, or drill to deep
nication; USDI, BR 1974b; Gorman and aquifers. Most such projects presently being
Landsford 1975; Levine 1976). developed in the Colorado River Basin in-
Free market exchange of water shares isvolved expenditures of large amounts of
capital and the assistance of the U.S. De-
a form of polycentral allocation. In general,
students of the southwestern economy partment of the Interior.
lament the fact that free market exchange One example of capital intensive diversi-
of water shares is impeded by irrigationfication of water development is the Bu-
companies which control the price ofreau of Reclamation's planned mining of
shares, by laws which tie water rights toheat and desalinized water from the Imperi-
land ownership, and by the lack of stateal Valley of California. Water development
water agencies with a market structure.policies in Arizona have helped to stimulate
Water exchanges in the Southwest ordinar-interest in the Imperial Valley project by
ily occur through central redistribution byadding to competition for control over the
the courts and by irrigation companies Colorado River, and by expanding capacity
which lend more weight in their delibera- to divert water through the Central Arizona
tions to the establishment of prior rights Project.
of According to the Bureau, the pro-
use than to the market value of water ject is being planned because:
(Hartman and Seastone 1970:4-25; Kelso, It is anticipated that when the Central Arizona
et al. 1973:26-27). Project starts diverting from the Colorado
In summary, social scientists wishing to River, the existing level of diversions by Cali-
study water allocation must consider both fornia will have to be reduced (USDI, BR
1972b).
the mechanism of allocation and the result-
ing pattern of sharing. In the Colorado The desalinization project will deliver as
River Basin, shares have been allocated much as 2.5 million acre feet of desalted
through both central and polycentral mech- water per year to the Colorado River, more
anisms: through judicial decisions, regional than twice the quantity of water to be
compacts, market exchanges, and the deci- pumped by the Central Arizona Project.
sions of irrigation companies and municipalThe water would first be pumped from the
governments. By exercising rights of prior Pacific Coast or the Gulf of California and
beneficial use, irrigation companies have conveyed in a pipeline to the Imperial Val-
taken the largest portion of Colorado ley where it would be injected into 2400
waters. As water becomes more scarce, geothermal wells. From another 1800 geo-
municipal water managers may seek to al- thermal wells the project would tap steam
locate shares through rationing or life-line boiling off the hot brine below. The steam
pricing mechanisms, such as electrical util- would be used to produce 10,500 mega-
ities are using in setting rate schedules. watts of electricity, or about seven times
Sharing of water requires either control or the capacity of Hoover Dam. Two thous-
renunciation of the strategy of competing and megawatts will be required just to run
for water. It therefore requires political, the desalting and pumping facilities. The
legal and ethical reforms. delivery of 2.5 million acre feet per year
106 ANTHROPOLOGICAL QUARTERL Y
Figure 1:
The Colorado River Basin
lO
II
~s
1
Io
r 55~ake !
kaiparowitse
desalinizattion N a vajo Formnirgton

SLos d , Station
Generating
Va NAVAJO
II RESERVATION \ JICARILLA
Southrn Nevadaa OeGallu e ur Corners Plant

Water Project - Llrnham
FORT MOHAVE RES.
CHEMEHUEVI RES.
Central Arizona
Proje~t (FT.
CiO L COR ADO Phoenix S

RIVER RES. SALT RIVER RES.
geofr ermnaa le Sl
Woter-- C um'
P roject
COOPMohawk ""O "Wellton-P
Bfrnho < 7
RES. It
PAPAGO o Tacson
GILA RIVER RES Io

A CHIN RE S.
o 5 (9 (
Sou T--he I NeTZIadt *nuuCeP
EXPANSION VERS US INVOLUTION 107
to the Colorado River would lower

efficiencies. the technologies
They apply pro- which
are large
jected salinity at Imperial Dam in from
scale, such1150
as desalinization
ppm to 850 ppm. plants, re-use of urban waste waters in
In 1972, the Bureau projected research
power plant cooling, and advanced infor-
and development costs formationa technologies,
pilot project such as the com-
to be $16 million, with federal financing
puterized release at
of waters in hydroelectric
and irrigation systems.
6 percent interest. From the estimated cost For example, man-
of water ($85-$130 per acre-foot)
agers of the Southern itColorado Water
appears that over the ten Conservancy District monitor return-flows
year estimated
by analogue
life of the project the total costscomputer.
would be
something like $2.5 billion ($100
Attempts per acre-
to increase the efficiency of
waterper
foot x 2.5 million acre feet use inyear
the Colorado
x 10 River Basin
years). demonstrate an important principle of
Diversification through geothermal de- water management systems: projects which
velopment will produce large amounts of produce efficiencies for a segment of the
water, though only at high cost, because it population may be inefficient from the
requires intensive concentrations of tech- standpoint of the whole population and t
nology. High costs and large scale oper- larger resource management system. When
ations seem to characterize diversification defining efficiency, the social units of anal
in general, because cheaply exploited ysis, as well as the economic units, must be
waters were first to be exploited. It remainsspecified. Desalinization plants, for ex-
to be seen whether diversification will ample, increase efficiency of water use
augment water supplies more economically within a very limited local management
than other tactics, such as increasing the framework, but they may actually reduc
physical efficiency of water use and con-efficiency from a regional perspective.
verting to more economically efficient The concept of return-flow credits has
specializations. encouraged state and municipal water man
agers to work with the Bureau of Reclama-
Increasing the Efficiency of Water Use tion to develop desalinization and waste
water treatment projects. These technolo
Federal and state water managers in the gies maximize usable water from a limited
Colorado River Basin have pursued efficien- source, increasing the efficiency of use of
cy of water use in much the same way theysource water at the point of consumption.
have pursued diversification: though large While the states are allocated fixed shares
scale, capital intensive programs. In pursu- of water by the law of the Colorado River,
ing this strategy of water development, they can withdraw more water if they re-
they may be achieving some spurious effi- turn water of acceptable quality to the
ciencies, if efficiency of use refers to the river. The desalinization and water treat-
amount of product or benefit yielded whenment technologies permit such returns.
a quantity of resource is consumed. We are Nevada, for instance, intends to expand
here concerned primarily with the physicalits diversion of water from the Colorado
efficiency of water use, rather than with River through enlargement of the Southern
economic efficiency, while recognizing thatNevada Water Project. In order to achieve
economic efficiencies may derive from an extra 100,000 acre feet per annum of re-
physical efficiencies. turn flow credit, Nevada is planning con-
In the Colorado River Basin, managers struction of a desalinization plant and ex-
rely primarily upon modern mechanical pansion of the waste water treatment plant
and information technologies and bureau-in Las Vegas. With return flow credits, the
cratic management systems to increase state will be able to divert 400,000 acre
feet per annum, even though project,

Nevada's allo-
the Bureau's Irrigation Manage-
ment Services
cation is only 300,000 acre feet. will conduct "extensive edu-
In effect,
the federal government arranges
cation subsidies
programs" for irrigation water users
so that the state can afford to install facil- in Arizona's Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation
ities to increase the quality of Colorado District and provide a computerized system
River waters downstream from the com- for monitoring climate, crops and weather
munity. It then gives the community clean to determine the proper timing and quanti-
upstream water in exchange for clean water ties of irrigation waters distributed through
downstream. automated systems (USDI, OSW 1974:26-
What is efficient water use for the com- 27).
munity of Las Vegas may be inefficient for The utility of the involution scheme for
the region. Las Vegas receives a greater the analysis of water developments can be
water benefit from a limited apportion- tested by applying the concepts to the
ment, but additional water will be con- description and classification of possible
sumed in other locations for cooling power development alternatives to the Yuma
plants which provide the electricity to op- plant.
erate the plant. The desalinization plant it- In compliance with federal laws, the Bu-
self will also consume water. In addition, reau provides a list of alternatives to the
the increased availability of water to the Yuma desalinization plant. One alternative
municipality may permit the citizens of Las is to purchase the entire Wellton-Mohawk
Vegas to use water less efficiently. irrigation district, a division of the Gila Pro-
The Colorado River International Salin- ject, in order to reduce the amount of
ity Control Project provides a parallel ex- saline water entering the Colorado River.
ample of a project with clear-cut local effi- This is essentially the tactic of regulation of
ciency but dubious regional efficiencies. In consumption. The Bureau estimates that
1973, the International Boundary and the Wellton-Mohawk Division could be pur-
Water commission agreed to a plan which chased for $125 to $150 million, exclusive
would maintain the quality of the water de- of the costs of relocating and subsidizing
livered to Mexico. The result of the plan persons adversely affected by the purchase
was the Colorado River International Salin- (USDI, OSW 1974:191-192).
ity Control Project, of which the major fea- A second alternative is to substitute
ture is the electrically powered Yuma de- water from northern California at an esti-
salinization plant which will produce over mated cost of $23 million per year: the
100,000 acre feet of water annually. The strategy of competitive expansion. The
real effect of the project is to enable the California diversion plan is rejected because
Lower Basin states to divert that much the water will "probably be needed by Cali-
additional water, of which a large portion fornia in 1985" (USDI, OSW 1974:199). In
will go to irrigation. An act of the U.S. fact, the 1976 drought in northern Califor-
Congress specifies that the Yuma plant nia resulted in plans to reduce diversions to
must recover at least 70 percent of drain southern California, making diversion to
water as product water with a 90 percent the Colorado Basin even less likely.
efficiency of salt removal from feed water. The Bureau considered the alternative of
The Bureau's impact statement says the diversification of water development in the
plant may be operational by 1978 at a costform of Project Skywater, the seeding of
of about $119 million for the plant and re- clouds in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
lated projects. The operation of the plant Project Skywater is rejected because any
will draw 35 megawatts of power annually, water produced by cloud seeding in the Up-
producing water at a cost of $100 per acre per Basin states would likely be claimed by
foot at current energy prices (USDI, OSW those states. That is, what might be regard-
1974:26, 32, 181, 187). As a part of the ed as diversification from the standpoint of
nia be
the Lower Basin would diverts much more than its
regarded asallocated
com-
petitive expansion from4.4 million
the acre feet. When Nevada and
standpoint of Ari-
the Upper Basin. zona reach capacity, allocation will be ac-
companied by
A final alternative proposed byclosethe
regulation.
Bu-
reau is a moratorium on Regulation serves to prevent
the future develop-depletion
ment of water in the Colorado River Basin: by limiting consumption no matter what
again, the tactic of regulation. The Bureauthe distribution of shares within the re-
notes that such a proposal "would un- source consuming segment. Obviously, Las
doubtedly prove highly controversial" andVegas and Phoenix might not have depleted
would adversely affect "proposed irrigation their underground reservoirs had their
projects, transmountain diversions, and the water users been regulated. The allocation
construction of additional power plants in of shares after water is pumped from the
the area" (USDI, OSW 1974:204). It ground is logically separate from the limita-
appears from this reluctance to discourage tion of total consumption, although ineq-
development that the Bureau intends to uitable patterns of allocation may interfere
produce irrigation water at $100 per acre with attempts to regulate.
foot. Kelso, et al. (1973:242) estimated The states vary widely in their institu-
that Arizona water users cannot rationally tions for regulating water consumption.
pay $100 per acre foot for supplementary Water regulation in Colorado derives from
surface water supplies until after 1985. By common law usage applied in the court
that time, it is probable that the estimated system. Water commissioners appointed by
cost of production would also increase. county commissioners regulate water use.
In Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, the
Regulation of Water Use State Engineer administers water use. Com-
missions of appointed state officials, such
Regulation refers to any attempt to limit as the Colorado River Commission, watch
the consumption of resources, whether the over and dispose of interstate surface
consumer is oneself, a community of refer- waters.
ence, or a potential competitor. At first In its study of western water problem
glance, the concept of regulation seems to the Bureau of Reclamation has sugges
be simply a restatement of the concept of the pricing mechanism as a means of reg
allocation of shares, as reliable allocation lating water consumption in irrigatio
and sharing of scarce resources imply some (USDI, BR 1975b:135). The Bureau of
means of regulating use by competing Reclamation currently charges the states
users. Moreover, the institutional frame- token fees of 50 cents per acre foot for
works of allocation and regulation are water diverted above Hoover Dam and 25
nearly identical, involving state and federal cents for water diverted below the dam.
courts, state agencies and irrigation com- Congress will set rates again in 1987
panies. As in allocation of shares, regula- (George Blake 1976, personal communica-
tion may be accomplished through central tion). New rates may effect regulation of
or polycentral social controls, as well as by consumption by more closely reflecting the
technological means. costs of developing and pumping water.
The difference is that allocation of Many scholars and administrators are
shares can take place in the absence of reg- calling for regulation by increasing central-
ulation of use. For example, the waters of ization of water management (Kelso, et al.
the Colorado River Basin have been fully 1973:27; Mann 1963:22, 27, 117; White
allocated, but the consumption of the 1969:103). Centralization is a tempting re-
states is as yet unregulated because the sponse to curb excess withdrawals, but it
states have not reached their full capacities contains the risk of imposing uniformity
to divert their total shares of water. Califor- and regional specialization of water use
schemes. Analyses of the functioning of

The federal summary, Critical Water Prob-
various regulatory and allocating institu-
lems Facing the Eleven Western States ar-
tions can be found in Hartman and Sea- gued:
stone (1970), Hundley (1975), Kelso, et al. In the absence of clear-cut national direction,
(1973), and Mann (1963, 1974). and the severe impacts that would accompany
any long-term shortages of agricultural com-
modities, contingency planning for future food
Specialization of and fiber needs calls for continued development
Segments with Regional Exchange of alternative water resource plans which incor-
porate federally supported irrigation (USDI, BR
Specialization occurs within an econom- 1975a:32).
ic or ecological system when segments of Local specializations in water use also re-
the system possess advantageous access tospond
a to networks of exchange extending
scarce resource, such as water. Their posi-outside the region. The city of Las Vegas
tion of advantage enables them to producespecializes in providing recreation and
and export that resource and its products;entertainment for tourists from all over the
thus, responding to the stimulation of tradeworld. Most of central Arizona's water goes
or other forms of exchange, they specialize to irrigation of grains and citrus fruits
which are processed in California. Lettuce
their economic activities. In the language of
ecology, specialization is part of the pro- is packed in refrigerated railroad cars and
cess of specific evolution. It increases ther- shipped to eastern states. Northeastern Ari-
modynamic efficiency (Segraves 1974). zona and northwestern New Mexico use
However, efficiencies vary with the scale water for power which goes to California or
and organization of economic specializa- to the production of agricultural exports.
tions and exchanges. The Kaiparowits plant, now being held in
abeyance by environmental protest, and
Large Scale Exchanges Between Regions the gasification plants would use water al-
located to the Upper Colorado Basin to
High volume exchanges over long dis- produce energy for Los Angeles, Phoenix
tances characterize the strategy of water and Tucson. These power sales will create a
use presently being followed in the Color- net transfer of water use from the Upper
ado River Basin. Much of the water in the Basin to the Lower Basin and to areas out-
side the Basin.
river basin is exported in the form of ener-
gy, services for tourists, food, municipal Social scientists who have studied the
waters and irrigation waters. As these ex-problem of economic specialization in the
changes grow, they consume more water, Colorado Basin have argued that the type
becoming as much causes of scarcity andof specialization affects the economic effi-
competition as solutions. ciency of water use. Kelso, et al. (1973:20-
The Colorado Basin specialization in the21, 26-27) suggested that the economic ef-
production of food crops has resulted from ficiency of water use in the Colorado River
federal subsidies to irrigation. The river bas-Basin could be increased by shifting the
in has specialized in the production of irrig-economic specialization from irrigation
ation crops, such as alfalfa, cotton, lettuceagriculture to light manufacturing, a high-
and citrus fruits. In 1973, the National valued use of water. Since it takes less
Water Commission recommended that sub- water to produce a given value of product,
sidies to irrigation development be discon- light industry can pay more for a unit of
tinued (Bromley and Barrows 1974), but water. However, Hartman and Seastone
with the rising importance of food exports (1970:108) argued that external factors,
to the strength of the United States balance socio-economic costs beyond the market
of payments, there may be renewed empha- value of water, make shifting out of agri-
sis upon water development for irrigation. culture uneconomic, at least in Colorado.
Figure 2:
Proposed Coal Gasification

Uta Colorado on the Navajo Reservation
New
Arizona
Mexico
.Navajo
Reservosir
Plants ase Irrigation Project
WESCO Navao indian

Burnhamr
El Paso Plants
But the economic efficiency of cialization

various of whole regions and ex
development strategies of interestin-long
to these distance transport networks
authors must be separated from theates ques-
to the detriment of small scale eco-
tion of physical efficiencies. nomies. For example, small farmers near
Las Vegas find it difficult to sell their pro-
Small Scale Local Exchanges duce in Las Vegas because local retail food
distributors buy in large uniform lots from
wholesalers in Los Angeles.
A potentially more efficient alternative
to high volume exchanges between Largefarscale irrigation agriculture, energy
flung regions is to specialize in development,
smaller and tourism are based upon
scales and exchange resources andvarious federal subsidies which make pro-
products
within the region or with communities
duction forin existing demand more profit-
contiguous regions. Schipper and able. In order to conserve water and ener-
Lichten-
berg (1976) demonstrated that Sweden is
gy, communities in the Colorado River Bas-
more efficient than the United States in the
in should consider a development strategy
use of energy in part because the which limits their dependence on distant
physical
scale of the economy is smaller. communities
In the and institutions. While large
United States, the trend towardscale
national
specializations with long distance ex-
changesspe-
economic integration, with economic can contribute to involution if
limited in volume, when unregulated they

ardino, California. Such commercial hydro-
tend to stimulate expansion of water use.
ponic facilities have developed without the
Small scale specializations with local
federalex-
water subsidies which enabled irrig-
changes are likely to result in greater
ationeffi-
agriculture to expand and dominate
ciencies. food production in the Colorado Basin.
Although there are no direct estimates of
Involution through Urban Agriculture water savings in hydroponic and closed
greenhouse systems, examination of field
Since food production for export con- ise and open greenhouse systems provides
sumes much of the water in the river basin, an indication of potential savings. In the
this sector of the economy should provide Colorado River Basin, most irrigation water
a good test of the utility of the concept of is applied by furrow and ditch methods, re-
involution with small scale specializations quiring 2.65 feet per acre per annum in the
and local exchanges. Field systems which Upper Basin and 4.01 feet per acre per
dominate agriculture in the Colorado River annum in the Low Basin (USDC, BC 1973:
Basin are very inefficient in the use of 15). Sprinkler irrigation techniques reduce
water. The Department of Agriculture expenditures in the Lower Basin by nearly
Westwide Study staff estimated that only half (2.41 feet), but do little to reduce ex-
six percent of Nevada's irrigation waters re- penditures in the Upper Basin (2.17 feet).
turn in agricultural products. Percentages The Lower Basin annually applies nearly
for other Basin states range from nineteen four million acre feet of water to irrigation,
in New Mexico to fifty-seven percent in while the Upper Basin applies somewhat
Colorado (USDI, BR 1975b:132). Conserv- over four million acre feet (USDC, BC
ation efforts rely primarily on the improve- 1973:245). If urban agricultural systems
ment of field cultivation through trickle ir- were only twice as efficient as sprinkler sys-
rigation, a system which reduces evapora- tems, they could reduce water applications
tion losses. Urban agriculture may offer an by three-fourths in the Lower Basin, a
even more efficient alternative to field sys- saving of three million acre feet per year.
tems which minimize water use. Urban agri- At only $20 per acre foot, the water saving
cultural systems also promote wider pro- would be $60 million annually, enough to
ductive sharing, and small scale specializa- build 4000 acres of greenhouse space.
tions with local exchanges. Data from greenhouse systems in opera-
Greenhouses, hydroponic systems, and tion indicate savings of half the water now
gardens achieve efficiencies through inten- expended in irrigation are possible with no
sive application of labor, skills, and capital loss in production. Greenhouse tomato
investments in carefully regulated growth growers in the Tennessee Valley use about
environments. Because of their smaller 500 gallons of water per hundred weight of
scales of operation, they can accommodate tomatoes (Brooks 1975; McElroy 1975). In
wider sharing or agricultural resources, in- field raised tomatoes, the rate of consump-
cluding water. Because they are located tion of irrigation water is over 780 gallons
next to the consumer, they greatly reduce of water per hundred weight at a rate of ap-
the necessity for preservation and long dis- plication of .48 feet per acre per -annum,
tance transport. Theoretically, greenhouses which is the average achieved by sprinkler
and hydroponic systems could drastically irrigation techniques for all crops in the
reduce water consumption per pound of Tennessee Resource Area (USDC, BC 1973
produce by utilizing adjustable shade and :15). Tennessee benefits by five times the
solar energy to maintain appropriate tem- rainfall of Phoenix and Las Vegas. Depend-
perature ranges and recycle water. Com- ing upon slope, type of crop, and method
mercial hydroponic facilities already exist of cultivation, annual water loss through
in Glendale, Arizona; Encino and San Bern- runoff may vary from less than one percent
to over fifty percent (USDA 1938:594,

Direct recycling of food wastes and ef-
638-639). Assuming 50 fluent
inches would reduce
of the need to manufac-
rainfall
and 10 percent or 5 inches ture of runoff,
chemical toma-
fertilizers from petroleum.
to crops raised in Tennessee consume
Urban agricultural a
systems facilitate recy-
cling becausewater
total of 51 inches of irrigation productionplusand consumption
rainfall, or slightly over sectors
5 feet.are closer together
This than in field sys-
comes
to 6,501 gallons of water
tems. per hundred
weight of produce as compared to the

Urban agricultural 500
systems replace mech-
gallons comsumed by greenhouse tomatoes.
anized techniques with intensive use of hu-
Thus, even greenhousesman which have
labor. Scarce not
supplies of energy make
been designed to conserve water
it prudent may means
to investigate use of raising
much less than sprinklerfood which use moresystems
irrigation labor and skills.
in regions where rainfall Pimentel
is very (n.d.) argued
low, that "Manpower,
even
allowing for the greaterbased upon kcal output/input
efficiency of ratios, can
do the same farmwork
sprinkler application over rainfall. Recy- using less energy
than most machinery."
cling of water in small scale systems and Greenhouse sys-
use of brackish waste water for cooling
tems consolidate the work area, increasing
large greenhouses could yield the efficiency
furtherof handsay-
operations.
ings. Urban agricultural systems must com-
Urban agricultural systems not only con- pete economically with field irrigation sys-
serve water, they could potentially reduce tems if they are to proliferate. Field irriga-
the consumption of fossil fuels in food sys- tion systems have reaped the advantages of
tems. Eight to twelve calories of fossil fuel federal subsidies to water development. If
energy are burned for every calorie of food urban systems are to compete effectively,
produced in the United States (Steinhart subsidies to irrigation agriculture should be
and Steinhart 1974). Much of this energy is reduced by charging the full cost of devel-
expended in mechanical operations in the opment or by placing water in the free mar-
fields, in transporting produce and in pro- ket, as suggested by Kelso (1973). Alterna-
cessing food. Urban agriculture in the Col- tively, comparable subsidies should be pro-
orado Basin can potentially reduce energy vided to urban agriculture. Subsidies to la-
expenditures in all of these activities by bor and materials would be most effective,
several times. Greenhouse tomato growers because these contribute to wider sharing
in the Tennessee Valley presently use large and greater technological efficiency.
amounts of energy in heating. Greenhouses
use $8.05 worth of energy per hundred Summary and Conclusions
weight of produce as opposed to $0.097
worth of energy per hundred weight in Energy developers, growing populations,
field systems at 1974 energy prices (McE1- and renascent American Indian communi-
roy 1975), but solar heating, self-fogging ties are converging on remaining supplies of
roofs, and heat loss barriers such as curtains water in the Colorado River Basin. Compe-
and liquid foam could reduce the use of tition for control over water must eventual-
fossil fuels. Jensen (1976) estimated that ly yield to management strategies which
solar energy could provide up to 80 percent make better use of water and distribute the
of greenhouse energy needs, and Banadyga benefits of water widely. This can occur
(1975:145) noted: through the involution of water develop-
ment. Involution incorporates the compon-
There is a trend for the greenhouse vegetable in-
ents of allocation of shares, diversification
dustry to expand into the South and West
where some of the environmental conditions of use, increasing the efficiency of use,
may be more favorable, especially regarding regulation of use and specialization of use
fuel costs (Italics mine). with regional exchange.
Various organizations allocate shares water use as they respond to the demands
both centrally and polycentrally and regu-
of expanding external markets.
late the use of Basin waters at the interna-
In general, water users can practice the
tional level and on down through region,
strategy of involution and counteract the
state, community and family levels of centralizing
orga- effects of water development
nization. These same institutions and by
orga-
choosing small or intermediate scale and
nizations plan or participate in technologi-
efficient technologies (Schumacher 1973).
cal development projects which diversify
If no large concentrations of resources are
and increase the efficiency of water use on
needed for the operation of productive
a local basis, but seem to reduce efficien-
technologies, then managers have less justi-
cies on a regional basis. The U.S. Depart-
fication for acquiring greater powers over
ment of the Interior, acting primarilyresource allocation. Regulation of con-
through the offices of the Bureau of Recla-
sumption is necessary with small scale tech-
mation, plans several capital and energynologies
in- as with large scale technologies,
tensive desalinazation and storage projects but most of the continuing regulatory func-
for the last quarter of the twentieth tions cen-can be shifted to lower levels in the
tury. Significant physical and economic social hierarchy where water users and
efficiencies in water and energy use could managers can make greater allowances for
be achieved through the discountinuance variation
of in local and individual needs.
portions of these projects. Further physical Smaller scale technologies favor local spe-
efficiencies could be achieved throughcializations,
the thereby increasing regional
development of urban agricultural systems economic autonomy. Local specialization
which would also allocate shares of water reduces the flow volumes in exchange net-
more widely and employ more people than works, thereby reducing the need for cen-
do field agricultural systems. The develop- tralization of exchange management.
ment of urban agriculture and the discon- Smaller scale technologies promote sharing
tinuance of subsidies to field agriculture of resources among a larger number of con-
would increase local interdependence by sumers. Because it manifests diversification
shifting emphasis from the production of and exchange, the process of involution
export crops, such as cotton and citrus should lead to greater economic interde-
fruits, to the production of vegetables in pendency within the region and conse-
cities which presently import their food. quently to greater social pluralism (Colby
Current specializations of water use primar- and van den Berghe 1969).
ily serve to stimulate local expansion of
NOTES
1 Funding for a field trip to Window Rock andGoddoff, Office of Program Development, Navaj
Farmington was provided by the Northwest Area Tribe; Joe Martinet, Council of Governments,
Foundation through the interest of Luther P. Ger-
Farmington; Ken Rustad, Economic Opportunity
lach, University of Minnesota. Center, Farmington; Cecil Hoffman, Departmen
Many officials of private and public agenciesof the Interior; and M. M. Atcheson and J. P. Mu
granted interviews which I wish to acknowledge sick, El Paso Natural Gas Company. Dick Winche
for their contribution to my understanding of Planner,
the Ft. McDowell Reservation, provided in-
Southwestern water system and its associated formation on the Yavapai resistance to the Orme
Dam.
social processes. These persons are not responsible
for the conclusions in this paper. Gary Frey, Thayne Coulter, George Balke, and
Persons who granted interviews pertaining to Gordon Franey of the U.S. Bureau of Reclama-
the El Paso Gasification proposal and the Navajotion, Don Paff of the Nevada Division of Colorado
Indian Irrigation Project include Wallace Davis,River Resources, Richard Bateman of the Univers-
President, Burnham Chapter, Navajo Tribe; Bahe ity of Nevada Desert Research Institute, granted
Billy, Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NA-
interviews pertaining to water and power develop-
PI): Mrs. Wallace Davis, DNA, Shiprock; Steve ment along the Colorado River. John Nixon, De-
partment of Economics, University of Nevada,

systems. WilliamLasE. Martin, Profe
Vegas provided information ontural Economics,
the economic de-University of Ar
velopment of Las Vegas. information on the destination of
Llewellyn Barrackman, Tribal Chairman
cultural and
produce.
John Swetnam
Sam Russell of Russell Brothers Ranches, read several drafts
Inc. ex-
plained irrigation developmentsandonprovided
the Mohaveindispensable edito
Luther Gerlach,
reservation. Carl Marshall, Chairman, Moapa Val-Don Paff, Pat an
Douglas
ley Irrigation District and Gayland Palmer,
Robeson, Uni-Frank Palmer, D
Margaret
versity of Nevada, explained water Weide also provided us
developments
Judith horticultu-
in the Moapa Valley. Merle H. Jensen, Burk, Joanne Ziek, and J
several versions
rist with the Environmental Research of the manuscript
Laboratory,
al speed and
Tucson, and Gayland Robeson provided attention
useful in- to detail.
formation about greenhouse and trickle irrigation
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Water Development Strategies in the Colorado River Basin: Expansion versus Involution

Author(s): Gary B. Palmer

The George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research is collaborating

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

2000 (USDI, BR 1976:II-11). Eighty-four

Upper Basin (1) 7,500,000 100.00

Colorado 3,855,000 (4) 51.75

Lower Basin (1) 7,500,000 100.00

1. Colorado River Compact of 194

The planned energy projects

Colorado River Basin from any they

development of urban agriculturehowever, after extended negotiation and

down the technology and scalingofdown

desalinizattion N a vajo Formnirgton

Southrn Nevadaa OeGallu e ur Corners Plant

CiO L COR ADO Phoenix S

GILA RIVER RES Io

Sou T--he I NeTZIadt *nuuCeP

to the Colorado River would lower

feet per annum, even though project,

schemes. Analyses of the functioning of

Proposed Coal Gasification

Plants ase Irrigation Project

WESCO Navao indian

But the economic efficiency of cialization

limited in volume, when unregulated they

to over fifty percent (USDA 1938:594,

weight of produce as compared to the

partment of Economics, University of Nevada,

ANDERSON, JAY C. and JOHN E. KEITH

HUNDLEY, NORRIS JR.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

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