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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENTOF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON 25, D.C. January 21, 1964 The Secretary of the Interior Sir: On November 6, 1963, you directed me to supervise the preparation of a revised report to the President and the Congress proposing, on a regional basis, a plan of action designed to deal constructively with the acute water problems of the Pacific Southwest. The attached report of the Commissioner of Reclamation, in which I concur, was prepared under my direction. As you directed, we have been responsive to the views of the affected States, wherever possible. We have maintained coordination with other divisions of the Department, and considered the views of other Federal agencies. The report outlines a plan of action designed to meet the immediate and long-range water needs of the Pacific Southwest, defined in this report as the water service area of the Lower Colorado River Basin including southern California. It presents an initial plan for approval. We recommend prompt authorization of those features of the initial plan for which adequate engineering and economic investigations have been completed. Approval of the basic plan and authorization of the recommended 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 had grown to 10-1/2 million. In the year 2000 it will be about 30 million. 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. In large portions of the region present water requirements are being met by mining rapidly diminishing ground-water supplies. Tomorrow's needs will exhaust these reservesEpson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 13,678,592 byte