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Show In the early part of this century in the arid West, a water- resources planning engineer would pick a likely spot on a river for a dam. He would consider all possible benefits- as far as his scope of vision extended. Then the dam would be built. There were, of course, direct benefits- but they were governed by the limited technology and vision of the day. By the 1920' s, most of the " easy" ones- the simple projects- had been built. Realization grew that the taming of the Colorado must begin- that its waters must be made subject to the need and will of man. And so a new era for the West began. First fruit was famed Hoover Dam- the first major river plug in the world, and still the highest dam in this hemisphere. Behind it is Lake Mead- one of the biggest manmade lakes in the world. A classic example of this new vision is the Colorado River Storage Project. The bold and sweeping planning for it was not concerned with one dam in one place- it was concerned with the upper half of an entire river basin encompassing four Western States. Not only was it concerned with the main river- the Colorado- and its lower basin, but its many tributaries as well. The use plan for the water was not cast in the singular- it was labeled multipurpose: irrigation, municipal and industrial, power generation, flood control, fish and wildlife- plus outdoor recreation for all the Nation's people. There are four main water- storage and river- regulating units: Flaming Gorge, Curecanti, Navajo, and Glen Canyon. And 11 smaller participating projects are integrated to support the broad and comprehensive plan. Some idea of the scope of this giant project may be had from two facts: When completed- and it is nearly complete- the system will store 35 million acre- feet of water and be able to generate 1.3 million kilowatts of electric power. In direct ways, this powerhouse of western economic development will beneficially affect every person in most of the WTest. In indirect ways, it will be of benefit to every person in the United States. And it will be no burden on the American taxpayer. More than 90 percent of construction costs for the entire project will be paid for by water and power sales- and be returned to the United States Treasury. As the great reservoirs fill with the surplus of highwater years, users of Colorado River water will be freed from disruptive cycles of drought. The reservoirs will hold sufficient water for 4 years of committed needs- regardless of inflow. When the system is complete, damaging floods- large or small- will be impossible. Big Red, the outlaw river, will finally be tamed. Water flowing in the Colorado will be blue and clean, and stay that way. Each reservoir has the designed- in capacity to hold many hundreds of years' silt accumulation, without affecting efficiency of operation. When the Colorado River Storage Project is fully integrated with present plans for the lower basin of the river, the long- cherished dream of full development and use will have come true. page 5 |