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<br />". 00227Z <br />The reason for such asJlltance is just as obvious tOday~WaS the original need <br />for a Federal reclamation program 50 years ago. Reclamation projects are becoming <br />more complex and expensive as we reach out further and further to put the available <br /> <br />water to use, TIlere is no denying that the cost of many irrigation projects pro- <br /> <br />posed for construction today are beyond the ability of the yater user to repay. Yet <br /> <br />there is overwhelming evidence of the desirability of these projects when measured <br /> <br />in terms of their contribution to the economic stability and growth of the immediate <br /> <br />area and the Nation. <br /> <br />It is ~portant, too, to consider the increased benefits of integrated operation <br /> <br />of individual projects or units of projects l,ithin a river basin. Integrated opera- <br /> <br />tion of all of ~le facilities on the lower Colorado River, which are now nearly cam- <br /> <br />plete after 20 years of construction, increases the benefits from each unit many <br /> <br />fold. It is also true of the San JOaqltin and Sacramento River facilities on the <br /> <br />Central Valley Project in California. <br /> <br />There is no reason why euch integrated operation cannot also be successful <br /> <br />where individual projects are installed by separate agencies, either public or pri- <br /> <br />vate. The power pool in the Pacific Northwest is an outstanding example of such <br /> <br />integrated operation. Additional new units, .mich have been authorized for construc- <br /> <br />tion by the Congress under the partnership policy, will also be integrated into the <br /> <br />system to take greater advantage of the resources of this great rivero As State <br /> <br />officials, you can exercise powerful le~ddrship in bri~ging even the smallest units <br /> <br />of river basine in your States into SU~1 intagrated opnrations. <br /> <br />Mother prime prez,jpt of good river pla:ming and operation, with ;/hich I am <br /> <br />sure you are all familiar, is the principle of upstream storage. ,fuen water passes <br /> <br />a given point. its value for consumptive u~es is lost for all upstream users, <br /> <br />'oIbereas if it can be caught in the high mountain recesses as snowbanks, man-made <br /> <br />6 <br />