Summary of the Pacific Southwest Water Plan

Document: Hand Corrected Copy of the "Summary of the Pacific Southwest Water Plan", August 1963, page 1REWRITE OF CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE SUMMARY 1. The Pacific Southwest is the nation's fastest growing and driest region. Its present population of 11 million is expected to triple in the next 40 years. After the people, themselves, water is its most precious resource. Water supplies within the region are inadequate to sustain the development that already exists. They cannot, under any circumstances, provide for future growth. Further, ground water supplies are being overdrafted at an alarming rate. Unless additional water is made available, the economy of the region will decline, with serious consequences not only to the immediate region, but to the nation, How, as a nation, we cope with this water crisis will be a severe test of our democratic processes. 2. The water needs of the entire region, both present and future, can be met, and the necessary projects can pay their own way within the traditional payout period for water projects. The California State water Project already indicates what can be accomplished by state initiative, and any future water plans for the region should be fully integrated with such state plans, for it will take a concerted effort of Federal, State, and local agencies -- as well as the advantages of the regional approach -- to adequately meet the water needs of the entire region. This report is an attempt to bring some of the elements of long-range planning into focus.Epson Perfection 4870 Photo, 400 dpi, 8 bit, 2,169,154 byte