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DRAFT Dear Mr. President: My report on the Pacific Southwest Water Plan, including the report of the Commissioner of Reclamation which I have approved and adopted, together with the views and recommendations of the affected States and Federal agencies, is transmitted herewith. The report sets forth steps and actions necessary to meet the immediate and long-range water needs of the Pacific Southwest, defined herein as the water service area of the Lower Colorado River Basin including Southern California. It presents an initial plan for approval and recommends prompt authorization of those features of the initial plan for which adequate engineering and economic investigations have been made. Approval of this plan and authorization of the features will start the Pacific Southwest on the road back to water sufficiency. In 1930 the population of the Pacific Southwest was 3 1/2 million. In 1960 it was 10 1/2 million. In the year 2000 it will be about 30 million. In these three statistics lies the crux of the water problem of the Pacific Southwest. The water demands of this arid area, which supports the most rapidly expanding population in the United States, have already outstripped the natural water supply available to serve it and its attendant industry and agriculture. Present water requirements in large portions of the region are being met only by mining rapidly diminishing ground-water banks. Tomorrow's needs will exhaust these reserves and the Pacific Southwest must lookEpson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 14,047,232 byte