| OCR Text |
Show 284 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER This construction would provide irrigation, power, muni- cipal and industrial water supply, and some flood control benefits. It would diversify the crop production and stabilize the agricultural income of the area. History shows that irri- gation in the West adds to the national wealth and creates new markets for the products of the rest of the nation. The Upper states, in the Colorado River Compact, have made minimum flow commitments to the Lower states of Ari- zona, California, and Nevada. Large storage reservoirs are necessary to meet these commitments and at the same time, permit the Upper states to use their share of the water, with or without government help. Federal reclamation has been a Republican program; com- menced in the Reclamation Act of 1902 during the administra- tion of Theodore Roosevelt. Cost Much has been said to the effect that the full development of the water resources in the Upper Basin would cost several billions of dollars. Th structures authorized in HR. 3383 would cost about $760 million and are self-contained financially and otherwise. No additional construction is necessary to make them feasible. Any additional projects will depend upon Congressional action and be subject to the usual reviews by the Bureau of the Budget. Objection has been raised to the costs per irrigated acre. The costs range from $500 to $700 per acre. These are not out of line with other highly successful projects in this area. These costs will be repaid over a fifty year period and represent only $10 to $12 per acre per year. The diversification of crops and stabilization of income make these project costs feasible. The principal opponents of this project are not opposing a project in California now pending before Congress that would cost $1800 per acre. This objection has been directed pri- marily at projects not included in this bill, such as the Navajo Irrigation Project - which is not the same as the Navajo Dam authorized in the bill. |
