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-7- I am advised that Mexico has reduced its irrigated land from about 500,000 acres to 410,000 acres for this year. This is a step in the right direction, for it is quite obvious that in the years ahead when Mexico must look forward to no more than its Treaty allotment of 1,500,000 acre feet plus about a half million acre feet from wells in Mexico, she cannot irrigate even 410,000 acres. There must be a further reduction in acreage in order to have enough water to properly irrigate crops and keep pushing the salt on down. All of our domestic projects, such as the Imperial and Coachella in California, and the Yuma and Gila, Arizona, have found that it takes extra water just to keep the salts moving down in the soil and out of the project through drains. Temporary Relief for winter of 1962-63 As indicated above, the problem has been most critical during the winter months when Mexico has failed to schedule sufficient stored water to dilute the return flows. However, for the period October 1962, through February 1963, the Bureau of Reclamation in its operation of the Colorado River has scheduled approximately 275,000 acre feet of additional water in the Colorado River for badly needed channel regulation and rectification purposes. Incidental to this basic purpose, this added water will provide sufficient dilution so that the water reaching Mexico will be of relatively good quality during the coming winter months. This will provide time for careful and accurate engineering studies and evaluation of the various proposals that have been made by the United States panel for additional works in the United States relating to this problem. Therefore, alleviation of the problem is assured until October 1963. Anticipated Report of United States Panel I understand that the joint panel will file shortly a report which will recommend, at least in principle, additional works in the United States. In meetings with the Department of State the proposal has been referred to as "Alternate 5". Among other things, it proposes the wasting or discharging below Mexico's diversion point certain return flow waters which would not be charged to Mexico. This plan has been conceived within a very short time. At this time I am not prepared to form an opinion as to whether the decree which may be rendered this term by the United States Supreme Court. Any action taken by the United States upon this most basic problem may set a precedent which will affect the use of water on the entire river.Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 1,906,920 byte