WSP10781

• File Number: 8210.470
• Description: Pacific Southwest Interagency Committee
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 6/27/1962
• Author: Kirk M Sandals
• Title: Special River Basins Studies of the US Department of Agriculture
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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SPECIAL RIVER BASINS STUDIES
OF THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Paper by Kirk M. Sandals, Chairman, Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee
and River Basin Representative, U. S. Department of Agriculture, at Meeting of
the Columbia River Basin Inter-A2ency Committee. Elko. Nevada. June 27. 1962

The title of this paper may sound ambiguous or it may convey the sense of a
declaration. To those of you associated with the Columbia Basin Inter-Agency
Committee, the title probably raises questions because you know that USDA has
been a member Department of River Basin Inter-Agency Committees from the time
the first one was organized in the Missouri Basin in 1943. My use of the title
for this meeting is to introduce a special type of River Basins Studies that
had their beginnings about four years ago. These studies are authorized by
Public Law .566 and a highly important purpose for them is to give orientation,
direction and emphasis for projects developed under the Watershed Protection
and Flood Prevention Act,

In a historical sense, the Department of Agriculture has been involved in
River Basins Studies at least since 1936. It was in the Flood Control Act of
1936 that Congress first recognized the importance of runoff and waterflow re-
tardation and soil erosion prevention as one consideration in River Basin de-
velopments. From 1936 to 19.54 attempts were made to develop what were basi-
cally land treatment programs for River Basins under authority of the Flood
Control Acts. Most of these efforts were lacking in operations results. Only
a few got beyond the report preparation stage, Very likely, there was a lack
of compatibility between legislation, understanding and the job to be done.

Of the many times that efforts were made to focus attention on the fields,
farms, woodlands, forests and grasslands that make up most of the area of any
River Basin, a reasonably workable device had not been found, prior to 19.54,
to represent these things as functions of the watersheds of entire River
Basins in financial-type projects. Neither had it been possible, except in
generalities, to define these elements in the broad field of water and related
land resources, Concerning this situation, I know whereof I speak, because I
was there. During the past 27 years, I have been directly associated with
every study or operations program effort of USDA bearing a water label and
designed to further the interests of water and related land resourceS. These
efforts were concerned with water developments for the Land Utilization pro-
gram, the Water Facilities program, the Case-Wheeler program, the Soil and
Water Conservation program, special duties for the War Food Administrator,
the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention program and the studies under
the Flood Control Acts. All but the Soil and Water Conservation program and
the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention program are no longer in exis-
tence or they have been merged and are very likely subjugated into other pro-
gram activities,

The period from 1936 to 1954 (18 years) was an era of many brave efforts and
frustrations on the part of Federal, State and local agencies, to find a
satisfactory handle to River Basins planning and development. These efforts
are continuing. The 1$ years cited above served as a time backdrop for coming