AZ vs. CA:24 California Exhibits, Vol. XXIV; Miscellaneous

page A40

A40 APPENDIX 205 the very slight and largely theoretical use which might be made for navigation, and this paragraph was drafted accordingly. Question 19. Why is the impounding of water for power purposes made subservient to iis use and consumption jor agricultural and domestic purposes, as provided in paragraph (b) of Article IV? (a) Because such subordination conforms to established law, either by constitution or statute, in most of the semiarid States. This provision frees the farmer from the danger of damage suits by power companies in the event of conflict between them. (b) Because the cultivation of land naturally outranks in importance the generation of power, since it is the most important of human activities, the foundation upon which all other industries finally rest. (c) Because there was a general agreement by all parties appearing before the commission, including those representing power interests, that such preference was proper. Question 20. Will this subordination of the development of hydroelectric power to domestic and agricultural uses, combined with the apportionment of 7,500,000 acre-feet of water to the upper basin, utterly destroy an asset of the State of Arizona consisting of 3,000,000 horse power, which it is said could otherwise be developed within that State if the Colorado River continues to flow, undiminished in volume, across its northern boundary line and through the Grand Canyon? (a) The subordination of power to agriculture will only diminish power in the case that it is necessary to stop the entire flow of the river at some lower dam at some particular season of the year in order to create reserves for the agricultural community. The normal engineering development of the river will proceed by various dams, of which the dam lowest down would be the only one where there would be the remotest probability of a complete stoppage of water flow. Indeed, this could not happen for at least a hundred years, as it would contemplate a development of acreage in the Lower Basin far beyond anything now dreamed of. (b) The adequate development of power can only be obtained through the erection of storage and through the irrigation of the Upper Basin. Storage dams can be erected both in the lower and upper canyon in such a fashion as to secure an average flow of the water throughout the entire year, and thus the maximum power developed. The irrigation of the Upper Basin, as explained above, acts itself as a reservoir regulating the flow of the river, increas'ng the minimum flow, and thus increasing the average power. (c) Obviously, the use of the water for irrigation in the upper basin must in some degree diminish the volume of power in the lower basin, even though the lower river were entirely regulated to secure an even