Grand Coulee Dam, Washington: For continuation of construction of Grand Coulee Dam, $7,250,000, together with the unexpended balance of the appropriation contained in the Interior Department Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1937;

For administrative expenses on account of the above projects, including personal services in the District of Columbia and in the field, $750,000; in addition to and for the same objects of expenditure as enumerated in paragraphs 2 and 3 under the caption "Bureau of Reclamation"; in all, $23,000,000.

CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT, CALIFORNIA

Mr. SCRUGHAM. We shall take up these three items separately. The first one is the Central Valley project in California, for which $15,000,000 is proposed.

Mr. PAGE. I submit the following in justification of this estimate: Appropriation requested for fiscal year 1938: General fund------- $15, 000, 000 Funds available:

Emergency Relief allocation (1935 act).
General fund

Amount necessary to complete after fiscal year 1938_
Estimated cost---

4, 500, 000 6,900,000 143, 600, 000 170, 000, 000

The Central Valley project as planned by the Bureau and discussed in the following paragraphs is a complete project within itself and not dependent upon the construction of any other features for eflicient use and full benefit to the areas in need.

Location. The area to be benefited by the Central Valley project lies in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys between the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the coast range. It extends from Redding to Bakersfield, a distance of more than 400 miles, and includes the delta lands where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers join and enter San Francisco Bay through San Pablo and Suisun Bays.

Purpose. The purpose of the project is to store and conserve flood and waste waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries, thus controlling floods and using the regulated flow for navigation, irrigation, hydroelectric power development, and protection from salt-water intrusion into the delta region.

More than 800,000 acres of land in the valleys face wholesale abandonment unless a supplemental supply of water is provided for irrigation. Nearly 400,000 acres in the San Joaquin are now suffering intensely from water shortage. One-half of this latter acreage, representing a capital value of $50,000,000 in land values alone, will shortly be depopulated. Irrigation in this section is largely from water pumped from wells, and the water table has been lowering gradually in the last 20 years so that it is proving uneconomical to pump in many localities, and in others salt water has been reached. In this area water will be provided directly for the irrigation of lands and will also serve to raise the water table for pumping, where direct application is not feasible. In the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers are a half million acres of the richest agricultural lands in the State, which lie to a large extent near sea-level. These lands, reclaimed by the construction of levees at a cost of $27,000,000, have been largely subirrigated from the water channels which surround them. The combined effect of irrigation and storage diversions on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and of low rainfall, has resulted in a serious invasion of salt water into the delta channels, at times rendering the water unsuitable for vegetable growth. The lands represent a capital investment of $50,000,000 and annually produce specialty crops with a market value of $30,000,000. Wholesale abandonment must result if the salt-water

invasion is not stopped.

On the shores of upper San Francisco Bay, immediately below the delta, is an important industrial district now occupied by more than 100 industrial plants which have produced annually manufactured products valued at more than $112,000,000. Industries of the region are largely dependent on Suisun Bay for fresh water. Serious damage has already resulted from the invasion of salt

water.

Levees for flood control have been built along the Sacramento Valley but these are constructed of a height only sufficient for the maximum flood that is expected to occur in a 16-year period. A flood of greater volume damages the lands and towns along the banks of the Sacramento River.

Navigation of the Sacramento River is only possible throughout the year for shallow draft boats from San Francisco Bay to the city of Sacramento. Regulation of the flow of the Sacramento River by construction of storage dams will (1) furnish a regulated supply for irrigation in the Sacramento Valley; (2) provide a reliable surplus for export to the San Joaquin Valley; (3) eliminate saline encroachment in the delta region; (4) reduce river floods; (5) improve navigation from San Francisco Bay to Sacramento, and make possible navigation of the river above Sacramento for a distance of approximately 150 miles (the Rivers and Harbors Act, 1935, authorized participation by the Federal Government in an amount of $12,000,000 in the construetion of the Kennett Dam by reason of benefits derived by existing navigation and flood-control projects on the Sacramento River; (6) provide water for generation of hydroelectric power to assist in repayment of construction charges. Description. The general plan of construction of the Central Valley project is to build storage facilities and power plants on the Sacramento River; transmission line to carry electrical energy from the Sacramento power plants to the delta region for use in pumping and other purposes; a channel across the delta from the Sacramento to the San Joaquin River; a conduit to carry water from the lower end of the San Joaquin River to irrigated areas, as well as for domestic and industrial users on the south side of Suisun Bay where saline intrusion has caused great damage; a system of pumping plants, small dams and canals for irrigation of lands in the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley; a storage dam in the upper reaches of the San Joaquin River: and canals covering lands in the southern and central parts of the San Joaquin Valley.

Principal construction features of the project as now planned include the following: Kennett Dam, Reservoir, and power plant on the Sacramento River near Redding; transmission lines, length 200 miles from Kenneth power plant to a load center at Antioch; cross-cut feed canal from Sacramento River to San Joaquin River through edge of common delta near Stockton; Contra Costa Canal, length 40 miles, to serve agricultural and industrial activities with fresh water; San Joaquin pumping system raising water from San Joaquin delta upstream to Mendota Dam on San Joaquin River; Friant Dam and Reservoir of 450,000 acre-feet capacity on the San Joaquin River in Madera and Fresno Counties, 1 mile above the town of Friant; Madera Canal, from Friant Reservoir to serve 140.000 acres around Madera; Friant-Kern Canal, from Friant Reservoir to serve about 500,000 acres between Friant and BakersfieldStorage facilities will be provided on the Sacramento River by a concrete dam, more than 400 feet in height, located at the Kennet site near Redding. Storage in the reservoir will amount to at least 3,000,000 acre-feet. Power will be developed at Kennett in a 300,000 kilovolt-ampere plant. A transmission line will be built from Kennett to a substation near Antioch, thus making power available for the San Joaquin pumping system and for pumps on the Contra Costa division. A considerable amount of power will also be available for the northern and central California markets. It is even now badly needed in this territory. The estimated cost of the dam, power plant, and transmission line is $100,700,000.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin delta cross channel will extend from the Sacramento River at a point about 20 miles below the city of Sacramento to the junction of the Mokelumne and San Joaquin Rivers. It will provide a channel for the carrying of water supplies, furnish by Kennett Reservoir, to the San Joaquin River. The work to be done consists primarily in the dredging of the Mokelumne slough and similar water passages. The estimated cost of the work now contemplated is $1,000,000.

Contra Costa Canal will provide a supply of fresh water from the San Joaquin delta to cities and agricultural lands in the Suisun Bay area. This district requires a supplemental supply of water for agricultural, domestic, and industrial uses which will, in many instances, replace a supply that is now brackish. Giving consideration to the probable increase in industrial and agricultural uses within the district in the next 20 years, a capacity of 275 secondfeet is planned for the canal. It will extend from near Knightsen at the west end of Rock Slough westerly along the south side of Suisun Bay to Martinez. The estimated cost is $3,500,000.

The San Joaquin pumping system will extend from the junction of the Mokelumne and San Joaquin Rivers to Mendota, a distance of about 165 miles. Several plans have been considered, the most favorable of which seems to be the construction of a series of five dams and pumping plants on the San Joaquin River to the mouth of Merced River and four pumping plants and 65 miles of canal on the westerly side of San Joaquin Valley, which will deliver water to Mendota weir on the San Joaquin River, elevation 167 feet. These works will be capable of furnishing a substitute supply of 1,000,000 acre-feet to 285,000 acres of land now irrigated from San Joaquin River. Power transmitted from Kennett will be utilized for pumping. The estimated cost of the system is $15,000,000.

The principal structures in the Friant division are the Friant Dam and Reservoir on the San Joaquin River to store 450,000,000 acre-feet; the Friant-Kern Canal in Fresno, Tulare, and Kern Counties with an initial capacity of 3,500 second-feet; and the Madera Canal of 1,000 second-feet capacity in Madera County. The estimated costs of these features are: Friant Reservoir, $15,800,000; Friant-Kern Canal, $26,000,000; and Madera Canal, $1,500,000.

All of the waters of the San Joaquin River are already being used for irrigation in the valley. That stored at Friant and diverted for use on the lands in the southern end of the valley must be replaced by substitution of water from the Sacramento River. Therefore the Central Valley project must be considered as a unit and not as a group of unrelated features.

Estimated costs and funds available.-The estimated cost of the project is $170,000,000. An Emergency Relief allocation of $4,500,000 and an appropriation of $6,900,000, or $11,400,000 in all, have been made available for construction. A table will be found at the end of the report which presents data of estimated costs, funds available, and funds needed to complete, for the various features of the project.

Repayment.-The Water Project Authority of the State of California, created by an act of the legislature, is cooperating with the Bureau of Reclamation in the construction of the Central Valley project. Under the terms of a contract dated March 25, 1936, the Authority will negotiate contracts, subject to approval of the Secretary of the Interior, for necessary rights-of-way and acquisition of water rights. Contracts for repayment of construction costs will be made under the Reclamation law either with the Authority or with the several irrigation districts before water is supplied for irrigation. A part of the construction costs will be repaid from the sale of surplus electrical energy developed at the Sacramento power plants.

A study made by the Department of Agriculture of the University of California, in regard to the charges which the lands in the project are capable of paying, reveals that the irrigation water costs in the upper San Joaquin Valley range from $0.50 to $25 per acre-foot, dependent upon the source of supply, whether from gravity or from deep wells. This study shows the average charges that could be borne for water delivered to the land are approximately $5 per acre-foot, varying from $3 per acre-foot for vineyards, alfalfa, and other crops, to $15 per acre-foot for citrus fruits. After allowing for cost of conveyance of water from a main distribution canal to the land, it is estimated that the lands would be capable of paying an average of $3 per acre-foot for the supplemental water supplies delivered at the main canal. While the repayment plans of the Bureau are not yet completed, it is indicated that an annual cost for water and rate for power can be established on a reasonable basis and fully comply with the terms of the Reclamation law.

Construction program through fiscal year 1937.-To December 30, 1936, approximately $670,000 had been spent for preliminary and exploratory work. The unexpended balance of Emergency Relief Administration funds will be used to purchase rights-of-way and commence construction in the Kennett division, and to acquire a portion of the water rights necessary for project development. The appropriation for the fiscal year 1937 will be used to purchase rights-of-way for the Contra Costa conduit, Friant Dam and Reservoir, Madera Canal, and Friant-Kern Canal, and to initiate construction of these features.

Construction program for the fiscal year 1938.-For the fiscal year 1938, $15,000,000 is requested (1) for design and location of project works, especially of the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta cross channel and the San Joaquin pumping system; (2) for continuing construction of the Kennett division, the Contra Costa conduit, the Friant Dam, Madera Canal, and Friant-Kern Canal, and (3) the purchase of the greater part of the water rights that must be

acquired.

The proposed allocations of funds to the various features are shown in the following tabulation:

Estimated costs, funds available, and estimate, Central Valley, Calif., for 1938

Mr. LEAVY. Now, going to the Central Valley project in California. is that a new project?

Mr. PAGE. Yes; that is a new project. We started work on that

about 2 years ago.

Mr. LEAVY. By that I mean, Mr. Page, is that raw land that is being converted into agricultural land?

Mr. PAGE. This is a project to provide water for lands which have been irrigated for many, many years, by pumping from the underground supply. The ground water has decreased to the point where it can neither be efficiently pumped on a considerable part of the area, and they can get no regular fresh water. The water has gone salt in many wells.

The Central Valley project is designed to provide better distribution of water in the two great, semiarid, interior valleys of California. State and Federal agencies began studies in 1873 of methods of solving problems presented by unequal geographical distribution of rainfall in central California. The Central Valley project, outgrowth of these studies, provides an orderly development by which the waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers will be conserved to fill two pressing and immediate needs and to serve additional beneficial purposes as well.

The primary purposes of this project are to provide a supplemental water supply for a large area in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, where an old and intensive agriculture is endangered by exhaustion of underground irrigation supplies; and to increase the low flow of the Sacramento River to prevent encroachment of salt water from San Francisco Bay upon the rich lands of the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta.

Storage in Kennett Reservoir of the huge surplus of the Sacramento River, which now fluctuates between wide limits, is contemplated for the purpose of regulating the flow of that stream, thus

providing a reliable surplus for export to the San Joaquin Valley as well as eliminating saline encroachment in the delta region. Regulation of the Sacramento by creation of a large storage reservoir also will improve navigation of the river, reduce its floods, and provide water for generation of hydroelectric power.

More than 400,000 acres of highly developed, settled and producing lands in southern San Joaquin Valley now are dangerously short of water, and are in the process of reverting to desert. In excess of 20,000 acres already have had to be abandoned.

To provide these lands with the supplemental water, we must have a storage dam to be constructed in the San Joaquin River at the Friant site near Fresno. All the waters of the San Joaquin River already are being used by irrigators in its valley. That stored at Friant and diverted for use on the parching lands in the southern end of the valley must be replaced by substitution of water from the Sacramento River, the only source. Regulation of the flow of the Sacramento River will make water available for this purpose which will be diverted into the San Joaquin Valley through a delta cross channel and taken to improved lands in the central and northern sections of the San Joaquin Valley by the San Joaquin pumping system.

In excess of 400,000 acres of very rich lands in the delta are endangered by salt-water encroachment. During periods of low flow in the Sacramento River, salt water penetrates the channels from which these lands are irrigated. Thousands of acres already have been ruined, and losses of varying degree occur every year.

Completion of the Central Valley project will correct both these situations.

Canals will extend from the Friant Reservoir south to the vicinity of Bakersfield and north to Madera, succoring the area where drought is continuous due to failing irrigation supplies. Another canal known as the Contra Costa Conduit will also serve an irrigated area in the Walnut Creek-Concord area, carrying as well fresh water for domestic and industrial users on the south side of Suisun Bay where saline intrusion has caused great damage. The Contra Costa Conduit will obtain its water from the supply made available in the delta by regulation of the Sacramento River.

Principal construction features of the project are the following: Kennett Dam, Reservoir, and power plant on the Sacramento River near Redding; Keswick Afterbay Reservoir and power plant just below Kennett; transmission lines, length 200 miles, Kennett power plant to Antioch; cross-cut feed canal from Sacramento River to San Joaquin River through edge of common delta near Stockton; Contra Costa Canal, length 40 miles, to serve agricultural and industrial activities with fresh water; San Joaquin pumping system raising water from San Joaquin delta upstream to Mendota Dam on San Joaquin River; Friant Dam and Reservoir of 450,000 acre-feet capacity on the San Joaquin River in Madera and Fresno Counties, 1 mile above the town of Friant; Madera Canal, 41 miles long, from. Friant Reservoir to serve 140,000 acres around Madera; Friant-Kern Canal, 157 miles long, Frient Reservoir to Bakersfield; to serve about 500,000 acres.