Letter - Office of the Governor; Santa Fe, New Mexico

Letter: From Jack M. Campbell, to Stewart Udall, April 2, 1964 (photocopy), page 2The Honorable Stewart L. Udall 2 April 2, 1964 Southwest Water Plan, Commissioner Dominy's January 15, 1964 report on the Water Plan says: There is not enough water presently available to the region at economic cost to provide for an expansion of irrigated acreage except on Indian reservation and limited areas having local water supplies available. However, Commissioner Dominy's report goes on to say: --it is contemplated that the authorizing legislation would require the Secretary of the Interior to take appropriate steps to insure that no new lands may be irrigated within the service areas of units authorized under the Initial Pacific Southwest Water Plan except on Indian reservations, the Dixie Project, the Moapa Valley pumping project and wildlife management areas and refuges. Reconnaissance studies by the Bureau of Reclamation show that it may be feasible to irrigate new lands from the Gila River system in New Mexico. A major portion of the Upper Gila River Basin is a chronically depressed area classified 5 (b) under the Area Redevelopment Act of 1961; the irrigation of new lands would serve to improve the economy of this area. The proposed Hooker Dam and Reservoir on the Gila River would make local water supplies available for this purpose. Accordingly, the service area in New Mexico should be included among the areas excepted from the contemplated prohibition of irrigation of new lands. The report on the Pacific Southwest Water Plan proposes the construction of Buttes Dam and Reservoir as a unit of the Central Arizona Project, While my November 27, 1963 letter on the Pacific Southwest Water Plan did not discussEpson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 1,463,600 byte