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<br />ANAL YS I S OF PROPOSED WATER RESOURCES <br />PLANNING ACT OF 1961 <br />by <br />Hugh A. Shamberger, <br />Director, <br />Department of Conservation and Natu ral Resou rces, <br />Carson City, Nevada' <br /> <br />~- <br /> <br />.~l <br /> <br />I have been given the opportunity to present to YOl.l an analysis of the proposed <br />"Water Resources Planning Act of 1961" which is the subject of S. 2246 and H. R. 8177, <br />introduced during the 1st session of the 87th Congress by Senator Anderson and Congress-. <br />man Aspinall, Chairman of the respective Interior and I nsular Affairs Committees. <br />This is an administration bill. On July 13, 1961, President Kennedy transmitted the <br />draft of this legislation to the President of the Senate ar\d the Speaker of the House. I n his <br />accompanying letter, the President referred to his message to the Congress wherein he <br />stated: <br /> <br /> <br />"Our Nation has been blessed with a bountiful supply of water; but it is <br />not a blessing we can regard with complacency, We now use over 300 <br />billion gallons of water a day, much of it wastefully. By 1980 we will <br />need 600 billion gallons a day. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />"Our supply of water is not always consistent with. our needs of time <br />and place. Floods one day in one section may be countered in other <br />days or in other sections by the severe wate'r shortages which are now <br />afflicting many eastern urban areas and are parti~ularly critical in the <br />West. Our available water. supply must be used to:give maximum benefits <br />for all purposes--hydro-electric power, irrigation! and reclamation, <br />navigation, recreation, health, home, and indus~ry --". <br /> <br />The President referred to legislation already introduced in the Senate and the House <br />with the comment that such legislation manifests congressional recognition of the need for <br />congressional planning for water and related land resources. The draft legislation, he <br />stated, adopts principles and procedures included in a number of such pending bills, and <br />that it would implement the recommendations on comp~ehensive planning and grants to <br />States for such planning made by the Senate Select COr)1mittee on National Water Resources. <br />It would also bring together in a single bill authorizations for complimentary planning activ- <br />ities by Federal agencies and State government. He further added: . <br /> <br /> <br />,I <br />i <br /> <br />I <br />fl.. <br /> <br />"The regional or river basin commissions authorized by the bill will <br />prepare and keep up to date comprehensive, integrated, joint plans <br />for Federal and State and local development of water and related land <br />resources. Existing laws will not be modified or superseded, The <br /> <br />- 6 - <br />