Memorandum on Report on Proposed Lower Colorado River Project

Memorandum: From Kenneth Holum, to Stewart Udall, "Report on proposed Lower Colorado River Project,: June 10, 1963, page 2A draft of the proposed report was furnished to the interested bureaus and offices of the Department for review. Copies of all the comments received are attached to this memorandum. The attached draft reflects the suggestions made by several of these bureaus as discussed in the following paragraphs: The language and corrected figures suggested by the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife have been incorporated in the draft. We have included the suggested addition by the Assistant Secretary for Mineral Resources concerning integrated conjunctive use of underground reservoirs. The additional inclusion concerning recognition and need for future planning while true and equally applicable to other ares of study, has not been included since it is believed to be inappropriate for the type of report. However, this recommendation will be recognized in preparing our program for future study in the Lower Colorado Basin Area. The Commissioner, Bureau of Indian Affairs, expressed concern over the use of population projection used in the report. The California data was taken from State of California Bulletin 78 prepared by State demographers and the Stanford Research Institute. It has been used as a basisfor justification of the 1.75 billion dollar California Water Plan. The Arizona and other State area projections are a median of a number of sources prepared by and for State and local governmental agencies and accepted for planning purposes. However, the curve shown in the original draft has been replotted to depict more clearly the effect of proposed growth in the future. The use of $58 per acre foot as a benefit value for municipal and industrial water was also questioned, and although the value used is low in comparison to some stated authority, its derivation is consistent with established procedure used in plan formulation. All of the suggestions contained in Commissioner of Reclamation Dominy's memorandum have been incorporated in the revised draft. His principal concern was the transmittal letter which has been redrafted to encompass the latest considerations involved in the Supreme Court decision. All of the suggestions submitted by the Director, Office of Saline Water, have been incorporated in the redraft. 2Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 2,427,684 byte