Colorado River
Minute 319

In the 21st century, there has been renewed interest in restoring a limited water flow to the delta. In November 2012, the U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement, known as Minute 319, permitting Mexico storage of its water allotment in U.S. reservoirs during wet years, thus increasing the efficiency with which the water can be used. In addition to renovating irrigation canals in the Mexicali Valley to reduce leakage, this will make about 45,000 acre-feet (56,000,000 m) per year available for release to the delta on average. The water will be used to provide both an annual base flow and a spring "pulse flow" to mimic the river's original snowmelt-driven regime. The first pulse flow, an eight-week release of 105,000 acre-feet (130,000,000 m), was initiated on March 21, 2014, with the aim of revitalising 2,350 acres (950 hectares) of wetland. This pulse reached the sea on May 16, 2014, marking the first time in 16 years that any water from the Colorado flowed into the ocean, and was hailed as "an experiment of historic political and ecological significance" and a landmark in U.S.–Mexican cooperation in conservation. The pulse will be followed by the steady release of 52,000 acre-feet (64,000,000 m) over the following three years, just a small fraction of its average flow before damming.
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