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Show Basic Data 15. Congress should make ample provision, in the national water resources program, for com- pilation and analysis of the necessary basic infor- mation to assure sound, comprehensive multiple- purpose basin planning. This should include geologic, hydrologic, climatic, land and soil analy- sis, and economic data to meet the needs of the planning agencies. 16. Congress should require that all basin recommendations carry a precise statement as to the adequacy of the data upon which they are based. Congress should be prepared to with- hold approval of recommendations in areas where the data are inadequate. 17. A survey program designed to supply the country with full geological and hydrological knowledge of its surface and ground water re- sources, including all their characteristics, should be initiated immediately, with ample funds for the early compilation of essential information. Thereafter it should be continued to meet all of the requirements of basin programs. 18. Th_e appropriate agency should be directed to undertake the annual compilation of and re- port on all water uses and requirements in rela- tion to available sources of supply. This should be comprehensive and should be reported for re- gions and localities on a basis permitting 10- and 20-year running forecasts of requirements and supply. 19. A survey should be undertaken promptly to evaluate the possibilities of and provide a pro- gram for developing the water now being con- sumed in the West by unneeded, water-loving plants whose roots tap the water table or the capillary fringe above it. Financing Programs 20. Th_e financing of the Nation's river basin programs should be set up on a long-range basis, with each* annual budget request therefor sub- divided by river basins. These budget requests, in turn, sliould be subdivided by projects, func- tions, and agencies. To obtain these results, Congress should direct all Federal agencies to submit their budget requests, insofar as they in- volve water resources, by river basins. The en- tire procedure should result in 6-year river basin capital investment programs and annual budgets, originating in the agencies, coordinated by the river basin commissions, and reviewed by the Board of Review for submission to the Bureau of the Budget. Congress should make an annual appropriation to each river basin commission for its activities. 21. The annual water resources investment program should be based on a thorough review of the Nation's resources and of its resources devel- opment requirements. The budget should show the expenditures required to maintain the Na- tion's heritage of land and water resources, to increase the national and regional productivity, and to provide for health and recreation. Reimbursement 22. Congress, in drafting new legislation or amending existing legislation, should provide for a uniform national reimbursement policy and specify the principles to be applied. 23. Reimbursement procedure should aim, as far as possible, to recover a reasonable portion of the benefits accruing from public expenditures for water resources development. This should provide for charges for benefits where they can be collected, and agreements with interested States under which they would utilize their powers of taxation or assessment to assure reimbursement to the Federal Government for primary and sec- ondary benefits not susceptible of direct collection. 24. Reimbursement policy for given functions such as reclamation by irrigation or drainage should be uniform for all Federal agencies. 25. Reimbursement for various types of bene- fits from water resources programs should be de- termined in accordance with the following prin- ciples: (a) For domestic and industrial water supply and hydroelectric power it should provide for full repayment of water supply or power costs including operation and maintenance, repayment with interest of an appropriate allocation of the 12 |
