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Show problem of further irrigation development in the Columbia area is closely tied to that of land use in the Nation as a whole. Recommendations for the rate of future construction of irrigation facilities in the Columbia Basin, therefore, can best be made after a comparative study of costs and other factors entering into land development for the Nation as a whole is made. From the existing data, several interim conclusions may be drawn concerning irri- gation development in the basin. Cost of development.-The cost of development for important portions of the possible new irrigated acreage in the Columbia Basin is relatively high compared to past developments. Of the 295,000 acres proposed for new land irrigation within the basin in 1949, 65 percent was on the Mountain Home-Payette Unit, Idaho, where development costs of the project as presently planned were ap- proximately $1,040 per acre. Development costs on two smaller projects (Vale and The Dalles, Oreg.) were over $500 an acre. On the other hand, some small projects had substantially lower development costs. The average cost for 2.5 million acres in future contemplated projects is $450 per acre at 1950 construction costs, not including $150 to $200 per acre on-the-farm development costs. This compares with an average cost of $65 per acre on basin projects now completed, and an estimated $343 per acre for those now authorized or under construction. National (nonregional) food needs.-There can be no doubt that the United States will need sub- stantial increases in agricultural production for food alone in the years ahead. Additions to Colum- bia Basin irrigation, at least over the years, will share in the justification for development given by these national agricultural needs. Irrigation ag- riculture in the basin has a particular place because of its possibilities for producing vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy foods, the types of food for which increase in production will be most necessary. Regional food needs.-Development of new ir- rigated lands in the Columbia area also have justifi- cation from a regional point of view because: Population growth in the Pacific Northwest has been rapid, and may be expected to continue. There are no other important sources of agricul- tural production in the region. The Pacific Northwest is distant from the prin- cipal centers of surplus food production in the United States. In the event of emergency, local food production can reduce the strain on the transportation system, in and into the region, which is likely to be heavily taxed because of the region's industrial importance and coastal location. Additional irrigation can help to stabilize the use of grazing lands within the region and make production from them more efficient, by providing off-season forage. Other regional needs.-Primary future develop- ments in the Pacific Nortlrwest will almost cer- tainly be associated with manufacturing industry, and probably with extensive growth of urban areas. A balance between urban and rural opportunities for a livelihood is desirable. It is not likely that this can be achieved without further irrigation development. Further farming opportunities also should be provided in the region because of local pressure for new farms (as on the part of migratory labor); the need for retirement of many submar- ginal farms from cultivation, (estimated 2 million acres); and the need for irrigated forage produc- tion, to permit a reduction of pressure on grazing lands. Possible conflicts in beneficial use of irrigation developments.-Some losses attendant to irrigation development must be balanced against the prospec- tive gains. Considerable blocks of electric energy must be used for pumping irrigation water on certain proj- ects, like the Grand Coulee diversion. This energy, although generated from water otherwise spilled, may need to be subtracted in part from the total available for industrial production over the long run. If direct power revenues are used instead of the interest component to pay off irrigation costs, power rates must be somewhat higher than they otherwise would be-and hence less attractive to industry. Such increases in power rates, however, would be small in the Columbia Basin and would still leave the region in a favorable competitive position.16 Water needed for industrial development,17 as for processing phosphates in southeastern Idaho, is likely to be a higher use in the not-distant future than water for irrigation in some water-deficient areas. There also are situations in which excessive diversions of water for irrigation seriously limit the ability of water courses to receive treated and un- treated wastes without damage. 18 If, as recommended in volume 1 and in this chapter, irrigation subsidy were not derived from power revenues, these statements would be inapplicable. 17 Includes water for processing and community use. 56 |
