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<br />m~' eMU."r .lod tm Secretary of (he 101('-
<br />nor Cecil ^ndru~ soujo:nt to replAce (he
<br />BuRec wlIn a oe'.1. alo(enq called Warer
<br />And PO'''''er ServICes. (hey were .le.
<br />knowled,itlo,li: the me-cua of old identi-
<br />tit'S anJ the nc:ed (Q transcend It- \11;11('0
<br />in 1981 Secrefuy )J.mes \\'al( re-
<br />m"'nded thelt order .l.nd rescored the
<br />BureAu's namt:. he tOO wu ",(knowl-
<br />ed,itln,!l: [he s{ron~ legacy of the pa5t,
<br />the le,l(.l.cy of domination. bUI trying [Q
<br />keep It alive. Thou!," \'l:'art's restoration
<br />has turned OUt (0 have been a Pyrrhic
<br />viclOq' for [he Bureau-us budget has
<br />conunued 10 be cur severely-the old
<br />name endures. UnuJ if disappears (rom
<br />\\'ashLn,l:mn and Denver and S.l.CU-
<br />memo, [he Bureau will continue lO
<br />slJnJ Irremediably (or a certain atti.
<br />tude IOWMd the land ;lnd Ln surface
<br />~"alers.
<br />
<br />In rhe past [his nation creared im-
<br />pressive m~lrumenrs like the Bu-
<br />reau and the Corps to satISfy its
<br />drive for domination. Now it IS faced
<br />wlrh the task of crearing alrogether new
<br />mstrumems of governmenr thar can
<br />help harmonize ItS life wlth tlvers.
<br />But rhere is another Significant issue
<br />that is t'mer~lOg from rhe new political
<br />~etUng: \'(bar 15 to be the future of the
<br />^metlcan \'(!eH a.s It enrersa poSt-recJii-
<br />
<br />mation era? Can It learn to be con rem
<br />with rhe amount oj water II h.l.s .ure.1Jy
<br />developed? Cln II aJlusr. farther down
<br />the roaJ. to a shtlnkm~ ~uppl}") ,'-lore
<br />fund.unemall....can rhls regIOn, so Iatd}.
<br />v..on from In 'wild stare and mil lull ot"
<br />rhe Spltlt of conquest, learn lhe h.l.biu
<br />of negotiation and resrralnt!
<br />There is enoujlth ""-arer 10 the \'('CH
<br />for iu future urban consumers, pro-
<br />Vided they .1(r sensibly: and new tech-
<br />noloJ.:II;'s such as desalinization of the
<br />~ea m.1~' m time aU,lmlent their supply
<br />moJesdy. 'IX'hat the region (,Jnnm con-
<br />tlOue ro do 15 support agncultUre on so
<br />a.mbiriousa scale. Presend..., a"riculture
<br />rakes a.s much a.sB') (090 percem of the
<br />....-ater supply in srales weu of the hun-
<br />dredth meridian, With most oj Ihat
<br />v..arer gOing to raise supplemenrary
<br />feed for cattle and ro imgate staple
<br />gr;l,in and fibt:rcrops. all oj which are or
<br />could be grown elsewhere 10 rhe na-
<br />tion. Only a \.er)" little ....'ilrer is used to
<br />grow rhe specialtr crops that have
<br />made the wesrern farmer famous; .ac-
<br />cording to the Bure.au's stAtistics, il
<br />mere 17 percenr oj its warer 110.....5 to
<br />ve,l:eubles. frulfs, and nurs, .and the
<br />ponion flowing to Winter-season let-
<br />tuce or cilrus fruirs is only .I. minuscule
<br />part of th.at. Clearly, any opponUnHles
<br />for conserving ....-.l.terdepend mainlt" on
<br />
<br />tJ.king some bnd OUI of .1gnculrural
<br />production.
<br />^ny such rollback is. of course. nota
<br />ple.uant prospeCt In a sooeH' ",here
<br />farmers .are wldel}. re,ll:arded .IS God's
<br />chosen people and Iheir terntonalcon-
<br />quests designared as -reJeemed~
<br />,Il:tound, The\' .are nOI by an,. means
<br />pe<:uliarly vinuous, but lher are J vul-
<br />nerable ,ltfoup and therefore worthy of
<br />the nanon's concern. In rht. coming
<br />dap of v.';il!er scarCHt. mam. .....esrern
<br />farml:rs will have heaped on them ne.....
<br />burdens, and it ",.ill be rhe sm.uler op-
<br />erators among them who will be hud-
<br />est hit. Thet. will SImply be unable to
<br />afford much "';ilrer. while their lar.':er
<br />agribusiness competitors sta\' on in rhe
<br />business, hiring lheir werbJ.cks as usu-
<br />al, poisoning them and the soil wllh
<br />Iou of chemicals, wielding dlspropor-
<br />rionate power 10 Slare .and fe,Jerallegn-
<br />!ative ch.ambers: and the\. will be
<br />joined by city industrialists v.'ho will be
<br />able to afford high 'IIo'ilrer prices. Such a
<br />lr.agjc outcome will be un.avoid.able as
<br />and when water comes to be rrealed as
<br />a commodiry for solie ro rhe highest
<br />bidder Ln rhe marketpl.lCe. which is
<br />precisely whar is alreaJ}. be.I.:inning to
<br />hJ.ppen 10 rhe re,ll:ion (see slJebar, be-
<br />low~ ^ more cOmpetili\.e market for
<br />Conllfllud o~ pagt 34
<br />
<br />Thirsty 1Ylarkets
<br />
<br />One of the oldest of western adases holds that water does not necessarily flov.: downhill-it
<br />flows to\\'ard money. In such a viev.:, the stuff of life is a commodity as much .as anything
<br />else. and in such a view it could logically be marketed like anything else, In m.1ny p,ms of
<br />the Wesl there are those who say that "-ater marketing could not only supply the needs of tnt' fa.st-
<br />growing Sunbelt Southwest. but successfullt. forestall the foJlure consrruction of bIg dams.
<br />In theory. the process appears simple: rather thiln IOvest in the erection of costly new water-JeJiv-
<br />ery syStems. Western cities would buy land that already is possessed of water ri.':hrs. or. where It can
<br />be done, buy the \\-ater alread)' delivered to the land. Virtually alllhe land .and the .....ater attached to
<br />it, of cour~, is agricultural. -If you take ten percent of lhe ....';ilter goin,ll: to a.o:riculture:.1. fervc:ntlr
<br />optimistic spokesman for the 'IX'estern Governors ASSOCiation told a reporter for the ChrlJt/.11l Sr;-
<br />met Mon;rorwt April. ~)"ou can double all of the other current uses in the \'('esr.- The process has
<br />begun in a number of places.--Anzona. for example, v.:here lhe cllies of PhoeOlx, Tucson. and
<br />Scottsdale ha\.e been buying up farmland for ~veral t"ears now with .an e}.e roward fUlure use of its
<br />....-at('r (Tucson alone has spent more than $21 million since 19711., or Colorado. where the Denver
<br />suburb of Aurora has laid out some S50 million for ....'ilter from more th.an three hundred sources.
<br />And in Southern California's Imperial VaJley-one of the first regions in the country to receive Bu.
<br />reau of Reclam.ation wlIter-negotiations currently are under"..ay for the transfer of a.'tricultur.t.l
<br />",-ater ro the Metropolitan Water District. which serves the ciues of the Los An~eles Basin,
<br />An unquestioned panacea? H.l.rJly. ^side (rom the complicated .."..dter of W.atN la",.s that would
<br />ha\'e to be o\'ercome or chan.'ted for ....-ater marketin", to become common. and .apart from rtlt' fact
<br />that carried to mlogic.t.l extreme it could devastate communities dependent upon a,l4riculture, the
<br />de\.ice calls up concern voiced b\' James R. Udall 10 the Apnl 1987 nsue of Surra mJ.,l.:azme, who
<br />asked ~whether anYlhmg thJt mi.'tht accelerJte the. . . growth of Tucson. Los An~des. Den\'('r, and
<br />$J.n Diego can be considered a good lhmg. te,nrdless of other possible benctifS th.ar ml~hl lollow,-
<br />
<br />\\'ILDER!\"ESS
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<br />F:\Ll 19/1.
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