LOS ANGELES, CALIF., January 21, 1928. Hon. WILLIAM E. EVANS, House Office Building: Present water supply city of San Marino absolutely dependent upon wells, and growth of city rapidly depleting supply from that source. Future water necessities of said city dependent upon development of Colorado River for additional supply. City of San Marino strongly urges all possible action and speed by Congress in authorizing Boulder Dam project. Hon. W. E. EVANS, R. H. LACY, Mayor. SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF., January 20, 1928. House Office Building, Washington, D. C.: Rapid growth of southern California coastal plain cities has exhausted all available water supply, and future must depend upon water of Colorado River. Unless water from Colorado River is made available for domestic use upon coastal plain of southern California, development must cease. Without such additional supply an interminable controversy will necessarily follow to determine whether use within cities is superior to that of farming communities. Development of both can not continue on the present water supply. The superior use must ultimately dwarf the inferior. Colorado River water is only supply available to this district which will solve our problem. The situation is serious and the demand for this water for domestic use imperative. I. N. GILBERT, Mayor of City of San Bernardino. Congressman WILLIAM E. EVANS, [Telegram] POMONA, CALIF., January 20, 1928. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.: Rapid growth of city of Pomona demands prrovision be made for an adequate amount of watetr necessary for domestic and irrigation purposes this city heartily in favor of Colorado River project. T. R. TROTTER, City Clerk. [Telegram] Hon. W. E. EVANS, REDLANDS, CALIF., January 20, 1928. House Office Building, Washington, D. C.: All southern California coastal plain cities urge that Colorado River water be made immediately available for domestic supply. No other source from which such supply can be made available. Growth has gone forward dependent on this water being made available failure would be disastrous. CITY OF REDLANDS, Congressman WILLIAM E. EVANS, [Telegram] BURBANK, CALIF., January 20, 1928. House of Representatives, Washington, D. O.: Burbank's future advancement and prosperity dependent upon additional water supply Colorado River. Boulder dam positively needed. Speedy action by Congress authorizing same urgently requested. F. S. WEBSTER, City Clerk. [Telegram] Hon. W. E. EVANS, GLENDALE, CALIF., January 21, 1928. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.: Glendale water levels lowering annually. Population increasing rapidly. Present domestic supply critical. Cost of production increasing. We have apparently only one source of relief, the Colorado River. Urge support of Swing-Johnson bill at once. J. W. CHARLEVILLE, City Manager, City of Glendale. [Telegram] W. E. EVANS, ONTARIO, CALIF., January 20, 1928. House Office Building, Washington, D. C.: Domestic needs of southern California cities must be supplied from Colorado River water. No other source of supply. This water must be secured if southern California is to have future development. FRANCIS P. WILLIAMS, Mayor City of Ontario. Congressman EVANS, [Telegram] SAN DIEGO, CALIF., January 20, 1928. House Office Building, Washington, D. C.: I wish to urge upon you the necessity for the future water supply for the San Diego district and request that you earnestly plead with the Irrigation and Reclamation Committee for the favorable and early action upon the SwingJohnson bill. Even now before water will be available the resources of southern California will be stretched to their utmost limits. HARRY C. CLARK, Mayor of San Diego. [Telegram] REDLANDS, CALIF., January 20, 1928. Hon. W. E. EVANS, House Office Building: All southern California coastal plain cities urge that Colorado River water be made immediately available for domestic supply. No other source from which such supply can be made available. Growth has gone forward dependent on this water being made available. Failure would be disastrous. CITY OF REDLANDS, [Telegram] Congressman JOHN EVANS, SAN DIEGO, CALIF., January 21, 1928. House Office Building, Washington, D. C.: San Diego's future growth and development depends entirely upon supply of domestic water. The millions which have been spent and are being spent in water development in this county are not sufficient to keep us abreast with demands being made for domestic water. JERRY SULLIVAN, Jr., President San Diego Chamber of Commerce. [Telegram] Congressman JOHN EVANS, SAN DIEGO, CALIF., January 21, 1928. House Office Building, Washington, D. C.: San Diego and 25 other cities in San Diego County expressed opinion at meeting held last night that they would be unable to supply the water demands being made upon their respective communities after 1932 unless they receive water from Colorado River. Please make this appeal in our behalf. WILLIAM T. HART, President San Diego County Development Federation. Hon. ADDISON T. SMITH, WASHINGTON, D. C. January 14, 1928. Chairman Irrigation and Reclamation Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR CONGRESSMAN: I am inclosing herewith the statement in behalf of the city of San Diego, Calif., that Congressman Phil D. Swing requested I be allowed to introduce into the record of the hearing on his bill which closed to-day. Thanking you for this courtesy, and assuring you of our appreciation of your patience and interest in this great project, and with best personal regards, I am, Yours sincerely, EDWARD H. DOWELL, Councilman. STATEMENT OF E. H. DOWELL, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, CALIF. WASHINGTON, D. C., January 14, 1928. To the Hon. ADDISON T. SMITH, House of Representatives. MR. CHAIRMAN: I have been delegated by Hon. Harry C. Clark, mayor, and the Common Council of the city of San Diego, Calif., to represent the city of San Diego before your committee, and to endeavor in my poor way to impress you with the great interest we, together with the other cities of southern California, have in the Boulder Dam bill. To assure your committee that San Diego officially approves the Boulder Dam bill as introduced by Representative Phil D. Swing, providing for a dam at Boulder Canyon and the all-American canal, and the other propositions contained therein, and to impress upon your committee our imperative need for a dependable and adequate supply of domestic water. You are aware that San Diego is situated in the semidesert area of California. Our annual rainfall averages but 10 inches; rainfall in quantity sufficient to cause run-off coming only in five-year cycles, and our flood season occurring but once every nine years. You will realize that having no live streams of any consequence and with five-year periods of semidrouth, we are compelled to depend for our domestic supply upon the run-off of our flood years, which must be impounded in storage dams of sufficient capacity to insure a nine-year supply, and added to by such run-offs as may occur during the intervening years. Our population, thanks to the activities of the Army and Navy Departments who have established large bases in our city, has increased rapidly and materially. With this growth has come increased demand for domestic water, and as city officials we are hard pressed to secure the increased supply to meet this demand. Our first duty is to provide an ample supply for the use of the naval and military establishments, and we are meeting that demand with a guaranteed supply, but in so doing we fear we shall not long be able to keep in advance of our civilian needs to the extent that safety demands. Together with the officials of other southern California cities we are driven to seek every possible source of permanent supply wherever offered, and at whatever cost to meet the obligation we have to the people of our community. Every gorge in southern California where a study has shown sufficient run-off to justify such expenditure is being dammed. The sands of the river bottoms are being depleted of their stored waters until the water levels have been lowered and many wells rendered valueless. Our present daily net safe yield is 16,500,000 gallons, and for several months during the past summer our maximum demand was 24,000,000 gallons per day. Our need is great and the Colorado River offers a last remaining source of permanent and sufficient supply. And this supply can only be made sufficient and made permanent by the erection of a high dam at Boulder Canyon. With this in mind we earnestly plead with you gentlemen that there be no further delay. As the official representative of the 160,000 citizens of San Diego I urge our need for an adequate supply of domestic water as one of the reasons why this bill should be reported out at the earliest possible moment, and beg that every effort be extended to expedite its early passage. We can not wait much longer. Even under the most favorable circumstances it will be many years before this supply is available, and by that time the resources of southern California will have been stretched to the breaking point. E. H. DOWELL. The CHAIRMAN. This completes the hearings on the Swing bill in accordance with an agreement in the committee several weeks ago. The committee stands adjourned. Mr. SWING. I want to thank the members of the committee for their patience. (Thereupon, at 5.30 o'clock p. m. the committee adjourned.) THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION AND RECLAMATION 5. Conque. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEVENTIETH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H. R. 5773 By Mr. SWING A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN REPORT ON DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN |