Letter Concerning General Program to Settle Salinity Matter

Letter: From William P. Copple to Senator Carl Hayden, September 11, 1964 (photocopy), page 2WESTOVER, COPPLE, KEDDIE & CHOULES ATTORNEYS AT LAW Senator Carl Hayden September 11, 1964 Page Two 4. Even if everything worked, it would be at least five years before every farmer got his land, etc. back in shape. I also found out that the technical experts of U. S. B. R. and U. S. G. S. have now generally agreed that the quality of water from drain tile would be no better than we are presently able to produce with the flexible pumping program now in operation. Mexico has been advised of this. They say that they do not care, that this is natural drainage. They do not want any deep well water returned from anywhere to the Colorado River. As near as I can find out, the money costs being kicked around for the construction work, compensation to farmers, etc. is somewhere between sixty and seventy-five million dollars - and with no improvement in the quality of water in our drainage channel. Also, it is expected that the quantity of drainage water would not be substantially reduced and, of course, with additional acreage, could increase considerably. It should now be obvious to even the State Department that Mexico is not concerned with water quality inthe Colorado but is concerned with establishing and maintaining a principle that no water pumped from wells shall be introduced into the river. This means that the United States would not be able to go forward with their proposed use of deep wells on the Yuma Mesa and in the Yuma Valley and elsewhere as a water recovery program involving 200-300,000 acre-feet a year and that all this underground water would have to continue to flow to Mexico to be picked up by their pumps. Much of the feasibility of the Central Arizona Project as well as future hope of present users lies in the water recovery and compensation plans of the Bureau and involving specifically ground water recovery along the Lower Colorado by deep wells. With the above in mind, I advised Mr. Beatty that the attitude and position of the Board of Directors and, I am sure, of all the farmers in the district is as follows:Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 2,102,099 byte