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<br />00035: <br /> <br />April I, 1971 <br /> <br />of water development projects which would only meet existing needs, <br /> <br /> <br />while growth has continued at rates exceeding even the most opti- <br /> <br /> <br />mistic forecasts. <br /> <br /> <br />Since World War II, the total population of the 11 Western <br /> <br /> <br />States has grown at a phenomenal rate and industrial activity has <br /> <br /> <br />increased proportionately. In addition to the expanding water and <br /> <br /> <br />related land resources requirements associated with this growth, <br /> <br /> <br />there has been increasing pressure on the land base to allocate <br /> <br /> <br />more water for preservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife <br /> <br /> <br />resources, recreation, quality control and other purposes. Some <br /> <br /> <br />of the most rapid economic growth has occurred in areas of inherent <br /> <br /> <br />water deficiency, thereby intensifying water problems of both qual- <br /> <br /> <br />ity and quantity in those areas. Water and related land resources <br /> <br /> <br />planning and development have not kept pace with these expanding <br /> <br /> <br />water requirements. Thus, there are serious existing and emerging <br /> <br /> <br />water problems in the various water resource regions of the <br /> <br /> <br />11 Western States. <br /> <br /> <br />Congressional recognition. of these water problems led to the <br /> <br /> <br />passage of the Colorado River Basin Project Act in 1968. In this <br /> <br /> <br />Act, the Secretary of the Interior was directed to conduct a com- <br /> <br /> <br />prehensive reconnaissance investigation and develop a plan to <br /> <br /> <br />meet the current and projected water needs of the 11 Western <br /> <br /> <br />States which lie wholly or partly west of the Continental Divide. <br /> <br /> <br />Included are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, <br /> <br />) <br /> <br />1-2 <br />