WSP04044

• File Number: 8210.140.20
• Description: Colorado River Basin Organizations and Entities - Colorado River Basin States Forum - California
• State: CA
• Basin: Western Slope
• Date: 11/1/1962
• Author: Resources Agency of
• Title: Water Number One Resource of the Number One State
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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Organized

The current organization of thc Dcpartment of
'Vater Rcsources was approved by Governor Ed-
mund G. Brown in June 1961 and modified, again
with approval of the Governor, in May 1962. The
organization provides what management believcs
to be the most efficient and economic utiliution
of the manpower of a department with accelerated
programs and changing workloads.

The department is a unit within the Resources
Agency of California, one of eight California agen-
cies created by statute and administrative order in
1961. Its director, \Villiam E. \Varne, has been
appointed by Governor Brown to serve also as
administrator of the agency. The director and his
deputy directors determine departmental policy.

A policy staff reviews policy aspects of all exist-
ing or proposed programs. Other staff assistance is
provided by the special rcpresentative of the di-
rector, the legal staff, and the public information
office. The internal auditor conducts an independ-
ent audit of accounting and financial controls.
Executive direction of engineering programs is
the responsibility of the chief engineer, with assist-
ance from a program control office. Under the
direction of chief engineer, engineering and re-
lated activities have been separated into line and
staff functions.

Responsibility for planning and operations has
been established on a geographical basis in order
to consolidate area interests. To this effect, the
State has been divided into five geographic areas,
generally along drainage basin boundaries. The
southernmost area is the responsibility of the south-
ern district office, located in Lo~ Angeles. Sacra-
mento is the headquarters for the remaining four

30

for Efficiency

and Economy

areas: the Northern, Delta, Bay, and San Joaquin
Valley branches. Day-tn-day line operations are
performed under the direction of the assistant chief
engineer b~. the area branches and the southern
district.
Certain statewide line aetivities not susceptible to
geographic decentralization have remained the re-
sponsibility of the Divisions of Resources Plan-
ning and Operations, which otherwise dperate in
staff capacity to the chief cngineer. The Division
of Design and Construction is responsible for the
design and construction program of the State
\Vater Project and of water facilities for other
statc agencies.
Administrative services to the department were
expanded in 1961. The function of the Division of
Administration was redesigned to provide policies,
procedures, and postaudit of the decentralized
services, and to supply 'those services necessarily
furnished on a centralized basis. Administrative
capacity was strengthened in 1961 by obtaining a
professional comptroller to co-ordinate fiscal af-
fairs and to develop a utility accounting system.
Additional services are supplied by a technical
services office which comrols machine program-
ming, drilling, laboratory services, and machine
processing of data.
The gradual shift in program emphasis from
planning to construction has required careful man-
agement of departmental manpower, including
the shifting of existing personnel and the recruit-
ment of additional professional personnel. In spire
of the many problems, the department has con-
tinued to grow in orderly fashion from 1,700 em-
ployees on July I, 1960, to 2,000 employees on
June 30, 1962.