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<br />on179Q <br />6 THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN PROJECT <br /> <br />was submitted. The proposed bill provided for the development of <br />the water resources of the entire Pacific Southwest, the establishment <br />of a Pacific Southwest Development Fund, and the creation of a Pacific <br />Southwest Regional Water Oommission. <br />From the discussion of that bill and S. 1658 as originally introduced <br />by Senators Hayden and Goldwater, an amendment was offered by <br />the Honorable Frank E. Moss, chairman of the subcommittee, which <br />amends S. 1658 as originally introduceu and which was reported <br />favorably by the subcommittee on July 27, 1964. <br /> <br />PURPOSES OF THE BILL <br /> <br />The purposes of the bill are: (1) to augment the existing water <br />supply in the Lower Oolorado River Basin; (2) to remove the threats <br />of water shortages; (3) to authorize construction of the following units <br />of the Lower Oolorado Basin project: (a) the main stream reservoir <br />unit consisting of Bridge Oanyon and Marble Oanyon projects; (b) <br />the Oentral Arizona unit; (c) the southern Nevada water supply <br />unit; (4) to secure to Arizona, Oalifornia, and Nevada the shares of <br />the river which the Supreme Oourt apportioned to them; (5) to accom- <br />plish the foregoing without impinging on the rights of the upper <br />basin States-Oolorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming---:-under the <br />Oolorado River compact; (6) to provide for recreational facilities, and <br />the conservation of natural, historic and archaeological objects; (7) <br />to conserve and develop fish and wildlife; (8) to authorize the creation <br />of the Oolorado-Pacific Regional Water Oommission, <br /> <br />NEED FOR THE BILL <br /> <br />The immediate occasion for the bill is the need for supplemental <br />water in central Arizona. This area is, and for many years has been, <br />one of the most rapidly growing in the Nation. This growth has been <br />based on the mining of local ground waters; that is, their extraction <br />without replenishment. The overdraft on the ground water now ex- <br />ceeds 2.2 million acre-feet per year. More than one-quarter million <br />acres of land once in cultivation and_ under irrigation stand idle be- <br />cause of insufficient water supplies or because water costs have in- <br />creased to a point where further farming is uneconomic. This idle <br />area will increase unless the water supply of the area is augmented by <br />importation. . <br />The obvious, although incomplete, solution to Arizona's problem is <br />the importation of surface water from the Oolorado River through the <br />Oentral Arizona unit. This, however, is at best a partial and tempo- <br />rary expedient, for the I?lanned diversion of 1.2 million acre-feet by <br />the Oentral Arizona umt will result in deliveries of approximately <br />1 million acre"feet, thus leaving a deficit under present conditions of <br />1.2 million acre-feet. <br />While Arizona has been seeking to have the Oentral Arizona project <br />authorized, Oalifornia has proceeded under State and Federal financ- <br />ing to use (in terms of diversions less returns) some 5.1 million acre- <br />feet per year, or some 700,000 acre-feet more than her entitlement of <br />4.4 million of the first 7.5 million acre-feet available in the main <br />stream. Oalifornia has thus been using waters which have been avail- <br />able because Arizona, Nevada, and the upper basin States have not yet <br />put their full entitlements to use. <br /> <br />:.' <br /> <br /> <br />;, -,' <br /> <br />".,.' ," ',,: <br /> <br /> <br />"", <br /> <br />.;;, <br /> <br />"'. <br /> <br />, '.' <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />'. <br /> <br /> <br />. .. <br />.. <br />" .";; i'i"" <br /> <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />f' "'. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />