| OCR Text |
Show -31- An organization was effected by the election of myself as chairman and Clarence C. Stetson as executive secretary. Subsequent meetings and public hearings were held in March and April, 1922, in Phoenix, Ariz*; El Centro and Los Angeles, Calif,; Salt Lake City, Utah; Grand Junction and Denver, Colo,; and Cheyenne, Wye, A trip was also made to the proposed reservoir site at Boulder Canyon. A large amount of testimony was taken and numerous statements received from officials and parties who were interested in various ways in the development of the river a The final meeting of the commission was held in Santa Fe, N. Mex«, beginning November 9, 1922, and continuing until November 2lj.. On the latter date an agreement was reached and the compact signed by all of the com- missioners and approved by me as the representative of the United States* The original of the compact is filed with the Secretary of State of the United States. A true copy is submitted herewith. The Legislatures of the States of California^ Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have to date ratified and approved the compact. Measures for its approval are now pending before the Legislatures of Arizona and Colorado, and a bill is pending before the Congress (H. R. 13^4.80) looking to> congressi on- al approval. Frequently in the past just such very serious conflicts have arisen on interstate streams resulting in prolonged and expensive litigation and causing long delays in development. This compact, when approved, will be a settle- ment of impending interstate controversies and an adjudication of rights to the use of the water in advance of construction, thus eliminating litigation and laying the groundwork for the orderly development of a vast area of desert land, estimated at some 1+, 000,000 acres; the utilization of river flow now unused in the generation of hydroelectric energy, the possibilities of which are estimated at 6,000,000 horsepower; the construction of dams for the control of floods which annually threaten communities in which over 75*000 American citizens now reside, with property worth more than $100,000,000; the establishment of new homes and new communities, and the creation of a vast amount of new wealth. The primary purpose of the compact is to make an equitable division and apportionment of the waters of the river. For this purpose the river system is divided into an upper and lower basin* following: (1) A natural division-the- two basins varying in topography and being separated by a thousand miles of deep canyon; and (2) Economic lines-the climate, crops, and use of water being different The lower river has immediate need of works for the control of floods, the development of power, and expansion of irrigation. It has concentrated blocks of irrigable land, while the upper basin, which is the source of water supply, will, because of its colder climate and more scattered acreage, pro- bably be slower of development. |
