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Show 190 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER the Imperial Irrigation District of California, a private corporation, which may have an interest in dumping the water after it is used at the Pilot Knob Power Plant into Mexico and into the Alamo Canal, for irrigation of their private holdings in the Republic of Mexico. . ." Dismayed and astonished by the ridiculous accusation so suddenly thrown at them, California leaders assigned M. J. Dowd, chief engineer of the Imperial Irrigation District, to set the record straight. Rep. Welch, said Dowd, had been grossly misin- formed, and continued: "Imperial Irrigation District is not a private corporation. It is a public agency of the state of California governed by a board of directors elected by the registered voters living within the bounda- ries of the district. It exercises governmental powers which in many respects are similar to those of a munici- pality or a county. In addition to the board, the people elect a treasurer, an assessor and a collector. "Imperial does control a subsidiary organization in Mexico which owns the Alamo Canal through which the Imperial Valley water supply was carried prior to the building of the All American Canal. "But I want to make it clear, and the records will bear me out, that neither the District nor any member of its Board of Directors, directly or indirectly, or through its subsidiary company, owns any agricultural land in Mexico." Under the terms of the water treaty with Mexico, the United States Government controls any water that goes from the United States into Mexico, Dowd declared. Welch subsided, but behind the scenes he raised a fuss and castigated the Arizona official who had misinformed him. The identity of the official was not disclosed. |