Pacific Southwest Water Plan - Proposed Draft Letter of Transmittal

Document: Pacific Southwest Water Plan- Proposed Draft Letter of Transmittal- Secretary to the President, December 1963, page 6policies and it must adhere to sound financial requirements. It must provide for existing and future patterns of economic growth. Finally it must so relate these many factors with the basic problem of developing new water supplies for the Pacific Southwest that it will receive maximum acceptance by and support of the widely varied local, State, and regional interests. The Pacific Southwest Water Plan presented in the proposed report which I transmitted to the affected States and Federal agencies for comment on August 23, 1963, pursuant to the Flood Control Act of 1944, was prepared within the framework of these guiding objectives. Briefly, it proposed that the States of the Pacific Southwest put aside old controversies and unite in support of a broad regional approach to assure that water as required would be developed and made available to meet all needs within the region wherever they may occur. It proposed the establishment of a Pacific Southwest Development Fund as the financial foundation upon which the comprehensive plan would be based. To demonstrate how new water sources could be developed for the Pacific Southwest it outlined a plan of physical works in two phases. Phase I, the immediate action program, was recommended for early authorization and Phase II, the continuing program, for further study. Together the works contemplated would erase the existing water deficiencies in the pacific Southwest and meet the needs of future growth to about the year 1990. In both Phases heavy emphasis was placed on the salvage of water and more efficient water use. 6Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 2,751,874 byte