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<br />NORMAN E. PEHRSON
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<br />point them out as examples of some reasonably good, if not absolutely essential, planning in the past.
<br />They constitute the Law of the River, From these examples I think we can safely surmise that our past
<br />vision, although sometimes terribly clouded and a bit myopic, has been fairly close to 20/20, although
<br />not right at it.
<br />
<br />But it has det1nitely not been 20/15, Among the deficiencies in our earlier planning and action
<br />programs were that little or no thought was given to optimizing the efficient use of water and related
<br />land resources, nor was much done towards increasing yield within the basin or in augmenting basin
<br />sources.
<br />
<br />If in the past there was fierce competition among the states and among the various types of
<br />water users with little effort at compatible sharing, there were reasons for it. First, there was insuffi-
<br />cient basic data upon which reliable projections could be made, Hydrology was incomplete, economic
<br />data was sorely lacking and the effects of sociological and environmental factors were poorly det1ned,
<br />much less understood. Secondly, no man, however intelligent, could have accurately envisioned the
<br />full extent of the economic growth, urban development and population increase which actually did
<br />occur. Now, I tWnk, we have finally realized that no estimate of growth, regardless of its optimism, is
<br />to be rejected out-of-hand. It will most likely occur, so the problem becomes one of adjusting to meet
<br />it. This suggests, then, that future planning must consider all the basic alternatives to water manage-
<br />ment, and not simply water management per se.
<br />
<br />At this point, let us turn to an examination of the adequacy of our present long-range planning
<br />and its probable effect upon the future. Most of the plans and actions I described previously will have
<br />some carry-over into the future. They have been reinforced, however, by the enactment of the Water
<br />Resources Planning Act of 1965, which sets forth the policy of the United States to encourage the
<br />conservation, development and utilization of water and related land resources of the country on a
<br />comprehensive basisrinvolving the participation and full cooperation of all affected Federal agencies,
<br />States, local governments and private enterprises.
<br />
<br />Note the emphasis here on total involvement of all parties concerned and on cooperative ef-
<br />fort, both of which are necessary ingredients in developing a truly meaningful and complete planning
<br />program, whatever its purpose.
<br />
<br />The terms of the Act are carried out by the Water Resources Council, comprising as Members
<br />the Secretaries of Agriculture; the Army; Health, Education and Welfare; the Interior; Transportation;
<br />and the Chairman of the Federal Power Commission. The Secretaries of Commerce and of Housing
<br />and Urban Development are Associate Members, while the Director of the Bureau of the Budget and
<br />the Attorney General are Observers. The Council is charged with numerous investigative, regulatory,
<br />planning and programming responsibilities too numerous and lengthy to list.
<br />
<br />Of particular signit1cance among the Council's many responsibilities, however, is the prepara-
<br />tion of framework plans intended to provide broad guidance for the best use of water and related land
<br />resources of a region to meet its foreseeable short and long-term needs. The regions referred to have
<br />been designated as the natural water regions of the Continental Uniteq States, 18 in number, four of
<br />which are in the Southwest: California, the Great Basin, and the Upper and Lower Colorado River Re-
<br />gions. The framework study for each basin is a joint effort of the Federal agencies concerned with
<br />water resources development and the States lying in that particular geographical area, and provides, in
<br />my opinion, an excellent vehicle for projecting our planning well into the future along sound, clear
<br />lines. Never before have we had such a potentially powerful planning .tool available to us,
<br />
<br />Among its objectives, each study will inventory the water and land resources of the region;
<br />forecast the requirements for these resources to the years 1980, 2000 and 2020; and provide a frame-
<br />work plan to meet the requirements.
<br />
<br />Responsibility for the formulation and coordination of the four framework studies in the
<br />Southwest has been delegated to the Pacific Southwest Interagency Committee (PSIAC). Its Federal
<br />membership closely parallels that of the Water Resources Council with some deviation, while the
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