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- All-American Canal to theCoachella turnout; then some 30 hours later it reaches Check 6-A on the Coachella Canal,where it becomes the responsibility of the Coachella ValleyCourity Water District.. From 4 to -7 days are required for the water to travel down the Coachella Canal to points where it can be diverted to over 80 main lateral turn.. outs. .. over ten days have gone by before the water destined for J.oe Blevins has made the necessary trip through river, dam structures, canals, and lateral system... Gaging stations at the dams, along the river, and in the canals keep a running l' ecord of wa.ter, which is used as a basis for operations. .. (and) for sett1ementofanydispute. . ." That quot<l-tion gives a look at the operation from the water users' point of view. I shall now tell you of the water scheduling and dispatch- ing processes developed and used by the Office of River Oontrol. . . . Hoover Dam was constructed under authorization of the Boulder Canyon Project Act of December 21, 1928, .which provides that: ". ., the dam and reservoir ... shall be used: Fir st, for river regulation, improvement of navigation, and flood control; Second, for irrigation and. domestic uses and satisfaction. of pr esent perfected rights in pur suance of Article VIII of . . . Colorado River Compact; and Third. for power." Although production of electric energy appears last in: order of prio:dty, revenues from the sale of energy must repay the cost of the structure. This has at all times been recognized and does not jeopardize the pay- out ability of the Project. Starting from a known content of Lake Mead in the summer of each year, operation of the lake and the lower riVer to satisfy all the require- ments of law can be fairly definitely planned. Changes can be made during the year to fit changing conditions. We begin as early as January 1 to make forecasts of the spring flood inflow, and plan operations for the next 12 to 18 months. By April 1 we have a forecast 'sufficiently reliable that we can plan operation for the coming year efficienj:ly. Since power revenues must pay the cost of the dam and reservoir, and:because one of:ou~aimB is the most efficient use of a natural resource, plans are made so that maximum energy maybe generated, and distribution through the year as nearly in accordance with the load requirements as possible. River regulation and flood control, and irrigation and domestic uses, are given full considera- tion so that those requil:'ements will be fully me,t. . The long range schedules are made up to contain, on a monthly basil', quantities of water equal to or greater than estimates by water users of downstream ir.rigation require- ments. Actual o-peration at any time is based upon the actual require:rnent at that time, whether it be greater or smaller than called for in the advance schedule. At present there are two kinds of years on the River: year's in which the water "crop" is poor and releases from the dams during 'some months are dictated by irrigation requirements; a.nd years in which water is so plentiful that releases at all times are in :excess'of irrigation requirements. For those when irrigation requirem:ents~overn, orderEl are received each week from all water user agencies along :the lower river, giving rates at . ., " . -26.