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<br />, <br /> <br />460 <br /> <br />settlement is not possible. In my consideration <br />of this problem I have come to the conclusion that <br />there is one big problem to be solved and that <br />this problem is more or less a political football <br />at this time. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />My connection with that transmountain diversion <br />controversy dates back to the period prior to <br />1935. May I remind you that I served on the State <br />Planning Commission under three Governors and <br />during the time of Governor Johnson this question <br />came up. The Planning Commission was charged <br />with the duty of making the master plan of the <br />develop~ent of Colorado and that would embrace <br />the water problem. Certain basic principles <br />were adopted by the Commission at that time and <br />those principles, it seems to me, are still valid <br />and are still the fundamental principles on which <br />we must proceed in an attempt to solve this <br />situation. Those principles are that no natural <br />basin should be robbed of its future development <br />in order to export water to another basin. For <br />sometime I have felt that if we were to perform <br />any further service in that matter it would be <br />to try a~d i~press this Board that it is the <br />duty of this Board to work out an over-all plan <br />for the benefit of Colorado. A period of 25 or <br />50 years was not an unreasonable length of time <br />for the State to determine how any unused water <br />might be best apportioned and allotted. We must <br />plan and develop a program by which the best <br />and fullest use from the standpoint of Colorado <br />and the nation will result. I know that it is <br />a difficult problem, but it must be solved. I <br />think that I can forecast pretty well the future <br />of the Gunnison Basin. I think I can see pretty <br />well what the problem is on the Colorado River. <br />In other areas we need more investigation. My <br />suggestion is that the first thing this Board <br />should do is to proceed to accumulate that data-- <br />I refer to data similar in nature to the Gunnisnn <br />River Report and the Cliffs-Divide Report--and <br />then we can commence to apply that fundamental <br />principle which I mentioned and to plan an over- <br />all development. With that as a basis probably <br />we can make a settlement of this problem, and <br />determine how much water is going to Eastern <br />Colorado and how much is left for individual <br />development. To do this we see now there are <br />certain things that must be done. There must <br />be storage, hold-over storage. We should take <br />the minimum of Mr. Hill's report, 22,000,000 <br />acre-feet and as much more as we can get. <br /> <br />I <br />