Laserfiche WebLink
<br />002213 <br /> <br />ARIZONA v. CALIFORNIA. <br /> <br />39 <br /> <br />droughts and floods. The problems caused by these con- <br />ditions proved too immense and the solutions too costly <br />for anyone State or all the States together. In addition, <br />the States, despite repeated efforts at a settlement, were <br />unable to agree on how much water each State should get. <br />With the health and growth of the Lower Basin at stake, <br />Congress responded to,the pleas of the States to come to <br />their aid. The result was the Project Act and the har- <br />nessing of the bountiful waters of the Colorado to sus- <br />tain growing cities, to support expanding industries, and <br />to transform dry and barren deserts into lands that are <br />livable and productive. <br />In undertaking this ambitious and expensive project <br />for the welfare of the people of the Lower Basin States <br />and of the Nation, the United States assumed the respon- <br />sibility for the construction, operation, and supervision <br />of Boulder Dam and a great complex of other dams and <br />works. Behind the dam were stored virtually all the <br />waters of the main river, thus impounding not only the <br />natural flow but also the great quantities of water previ- <br />ously allowed to run waste or to wreak destruction. The <br />impounding of these waters, along with their regu- <br />lated and systematic release to those with contracts, has <br />promoted the spectacular development of the Lower <br />Basin. Today, the United States operates a whole net- <br />work of useful projects up and down the river, including <br />the Hoover Dam, Davis Dam, Parker Dam, Headgate <br />Rock Dam, Palo Verde Dam, Imperial Dam, Laguna Dam, <br />Morelos Dam, and the All-American Canal System, and <br />many lesser works. It was only natural that the United <br />States, which was to make the benefits available and <br />which had accepted the responsibility for the project's <br />operation, would want to make certain that the waters <br />were effectively used. All this vast, interlocking ma- <br />chinery-a dozen major works delivering water according <br />to congressionally fixed priorities for home, agricultural, <br />and' industrial uses to people spread over thousands of <br />