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Show 66 DIXIE PROJECT, UTAH The area the Dixie project will serve is a delightful garden spot. It has spectacular semidesert scenery, a mild winter climate, and the proximity of Zion National Park and other scenic wonders to make it a growing tourist center. The water from the project will place both its farms and towns on a firmer foundation. Let me hasten to interpose here, in case some of my colleagues from the South might be concerned lest Utah's Dixie should try to compete with the Southland's Dixie in cotton cultivation, that there is no danger. Utah's Dixie gave up cotton cultivation shortly after the Civil War, and is now concerned with fruitgrowing, cattle feeding, and turkey raising and processing- to name a few of the most important agricultural pursuits. In fact, St. George is the center of one of the largest turkey operations in the country. I feel I can say without reservation that the problems which have held up consideration of the Dixie project for so many years have now all been successfully solved. The Virgin River is a tributary to the Colorado River, its small flow entering at Lake Mead, above the Hoover Dam. It is therefore a part of the Lower Colorado River Basin, as defined in the Colorado River compact. My bill provides that the use of all water diverted for the Dixie project from the Colorado River system shall be subject to and controlled by the Colorado River compact, the Boulder Canyon project and the Mexican Water Treaty. The amount of water actually contributed to the Colorado by the Virgin and it tributary, the Santa Clara, is less than 1 percent of the flow of the mighty Colorado, so we are actually talking about an infinitesimal amount of water. But the terms of the water treaties in effect are being adhered to, and there is no problem in this respect. The bill provides that the portion of the costs which is properly allocable to irrigatiton and beyond the ability of the water users to pay in 50 years, plus a 10- year development period, shall be returned to the reclamation fund by revenues derived from the disposition of power in the Federal projects in the lower basin. A committee amendment limited the amount that can be used to $ 3% million; the Bureau of Reclamation indicated that only about $ 3,230,000 will be needed. Funds are included in the project cost to work out a small saline water problem, and agreements have been reached with the State of Utah on the road problems. Even the shadow cast over the project by the long controversy between California and Arizona over the division of the waters of the Colorado River has been completely lifted by the refusal last week of the U. S. Supreme Court to review its earlier decision. Of course, as I have pointed out, the Dixie project never would have any substantial effect on the amount of water available for division between these two lower basin States- the less than 1 percent the Virgin contributes to the Colorado River's flow is too small to be any real point of controversy. But could anyone have ever wanted to raise this question to hold up Dixie, the time has now passed. Mr. President, enactment of S. 26 will mean the rehabilitation and rebirth of Utah's Dixie. The project it will authorize will have a great impact on both the economy and spirits of the people of this remarkable section of Utah. I trust it will pass the Senate today without further delay. Senator Moss. The point I want to stress here today is that the Dixie project is long past due, and to ask that this subcommittee consider it with an open mind, and take action on it as quickly as possible. It has been estimated that the total annual benefits from the project will be about $ 4 million. Since the total costs of the project are only about $ 45 million- relatively modest as reclamation projects go- and most of the money will be repaid with interest, the benefits to be attained are high. But the important point is this- every year we delay in authorizing and constructing the Dixie project, we are denying the people of this country, and primarily the people of St. George and Washington County, of $ 4 million which could be pouring in their economic mainstream. Washington County and its people seriously need the boost this Dixie project will give them. They will be most grateful to this |