In considering these projects it must be borne in mind that in this area are approximately 170,000 acres of highly productive agricultural land and about 50,000 acres of fair, tillable agricultural land. The remainder is foothill and mountain land not susceptible to appreciable flood damage and useful only for stock raising. This is a heavy food producing area and must be regarded as vital in our national war effort. The Calaveras River discharges into the Stockton deep water channel approximately 3 miles downstream from the ocean terminal of the Port of Stockton. The maintenance of this channel is a Federal obligation. The peak flows of the Calaveras River under existing regulation carry a large amount of sediment in suspense and deposit it in the deep water channel. This brings about a periodical dredging problem. With greater regulation of the flood flows of this stream, the amount of silt carried into the Stockton deep water channel could be greatly reduced and the dredging burden on the Federal Government considerably lightened. This is another factor that should be given consideration in determining the merits of this project. Convinced that the flood-control structures recommended for these streams by the United States Army engineers are the solution to our flood-control problems, it is the desire and the hope of the people of the area affected by these streams that the Federal Government will secure them against flood and flood damage by constructing such flood-control works as in its judgment shall be found necessary, all of which work shall be done under the Flood Control Act, as adopted by the Congress of the United States in 1936, and amendments thereto. The CHAIRMAN. The following letters and statements will be filed in connection with today's hearings: A statement of the Conservation Association of Southern California, Mr. George H. Cecil, executive secretary; a letter from Mr. G. Albert Mills, city clerk, city of Riverside, Calif., with resolution thereto attached; two resolutions of the Board of Supervisors of Riverside County, State of California. The letters and statements referred to are hereto attached. (The matter referred to is as follows:) STATEMENT FOR THE CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA As the name indicates, this organization is interested in conservation and in southern California conservation means the wise use of water. We therefore approach flood control from the standpoint of the control of run-off. Obviously, the more run-off can be controlled and conserved for beneficial use, the less will such run-off contribute to the flood hazard. To be of maximum effect such control should be as close as possible to where the snowflakes or raindrops hit the surface of the earth. Further, if these drops of water can be prevented from assembling into first rivulets, then into streamlets, and finally into mountain torrents, not only can the run-off be conserved but erosion can be prevented. This is the theory and object of upstream flood control, and the steeper the terrain the greater the need. Perhaps no area in the world, and certainly not in the United States, is or should be more alive than southern California to the importance of the control of run-off at its source. Situated on an alluvial plain but a few miles in width, bounded by the ocean on one side and on the other precipitous mountains rising within a mere 50 miles from the sea to heights almost double any east of the Rockies, lies the richest acre for acre agricultural area in the United States. But this area is not only the richest in agriculture-it supports a population living in cities and towns of well over 3,000,000 people who have made the region one of great industrial development. Under the impact of the war this industrial development has grown by leaps and bounds and today Los Angeles County stands second only to Detroit in the value of its war contracts. Protection from floods is therefore of paramount importance to this community. And second only to this control is the conservation for beneficial use of the floodwater itself. The flood works that have and are being constructed by the Army have as their objective the protection of this industrial and agricultural development. The effectiveness of such works can be augmented and the works themselves protected by retarding upstream run-off and thereby reducing both flood peaks and erosion. We are therefore heartily in accordance with the object sought in the plans of the Department of Agriculture, and strongly urge that funds be authorized for this work. We particularly urge that sufficient funds be authorized for the completion of the Los Angeles River project in its entirety. The project we feel has all of the qualifications called for in a project of major importance. Further, this project has been approved by the Secretary of Agriculture for immediate construction. We are convinced that it fully meets the specifications set up in the preamble of the committee's announcement of the hearing as offering postwar employment in a community which is sure to be seriously affected by the cessation of hostilities. RIVERSIDE, CALIF., February 2, 1944. FLOOD CONTROL COMMITTEE, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. (Attention: Chairman Whittington.) GENTLEMEN: We herewith respectfully present for your consideration a certified copy of Resolution No. 3786 of the council of the city of Riverside, Calif., with reference to flood-control work in the Santa Ana River Basin. Respectfully yours, RESOLUTION No. 3786 G. ALBERT MILLS, City Clerk. RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE, CALIF., WITH REFERENCE TO FLOOD-CONTROL WORK IN THE SANTA ANA BASIN Resolved, by the mayor and council of the city of Riverside, California, in regular session assembled this 1st day of February 1944, that in case the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors and the Flood Control Committee of the House of Representatives cause to be constructed proposed flood-control works on Cajon Creek and Lytle Creek in the Santa Ana Basin, as requested by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside, California, adopted on the 31st day of January 1944, that the said Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors and the Flood Control Committee of the House of Representatives, also cause to be done everything which good engineering practice would dictate as necessary by way of flood control in the Santa Ana Basin and along the Santa Ana River proper, westerly from the intersection of the proposed Cajon and Lytle Creek project with the Santa Ana River, to adequately protect that area from flood hazards which will be inevitably increased by the completion of such project. I, G. Albert Mills, city clerk of the city of Riverside, California, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted by the council of said city, at its meeting held on the 1st day of February 1944, by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen Rawlings, Williams, Carter, Pickett, Dales, Rathgeber, and Harris. Noes: None. Absent: None. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the city of Riverside, California, this 1st day of February 1944. G. ALBERT MILLS, City Clerk of the City of Riverside. I hereby approve the foregoing resolution this 1st day of February 1944. WALTER C. DAVISON, Mayor of the City of Riverside. Certified to be a full, true, and correct copy of the original. [SEAL] G. ALBERT MILLS, City Clerk of the City of Riverside. RESOLUTION Upon motion of Supervisor Pittman, seconded by Supervisor Hill, and duly carried, the following resolution was adopted, to wit: Whereas the Army district engineer at Los Angeles has submitted a complete report on the Santa Ana Basin, including Cajon and Lytle Creeks, which report, we understand, is now before the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors in Washington; and Whereas this Board is informed that during the early part of the month of February the Flood Control Committee of the House will receive and consider testimony on flood-control projects in the Los Angeles area, and Whereas, during the recent years of 1938 and 1943, floods in this general area, and particularly in the region of Cajon and Lytle Creeks in the Santa Ana Basin, were of such proportion as to destroy trackage and terminals of the Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, and Union Pacific Railroads, completely stopping traffic and demoralizing transportation to such an extent as to isolate the Los Angeles area insofar as these transcontinental rail facilities were concerned; and Whereas, under obtaining conditions, in view of the existence of a state of war and the importance of the Los Angeles area in connection with the war effort, another such flood with like resulting conditions would be truly disastrous, all of which clearly indicates that the flood-control measures necessary for adequate protection assume in character the most urgent nature: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Board of Supervisors of Riverside County, State of California, in regular session assembled this 31st day of January 1944, That said board request and does hereby so request that the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors and the Flood Control Committee of the House of Representatives lend every effort and do or cause to be done those things necessary for the immediate realization of the construction and completion of the flood-control works necessary on Cajon and Lytle Creeks in the Santa Ana Basin to protect these regions and the Los Angeles area; be it further Resolved, This resolution having been spread upon the minutes of this board, that the clerk be and he is hereby authorized and directed to forthwith and immediately forward copies of this resolution to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors at Washington, D. C.; the Flood Control Committee of the House of Representatives, attention Chairman Whittington, Washington, D. C.; to Congressmen Sheppard, Phillips, and Poulson; and to the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Bernardino, State of California. Roll call resulted as follows: Ayes: Supervisors Hill, Pittman, Gilmore, and Stanfield. Absent: Supervisor Dillon. The foregoing minute order is hereby certified to be a full, true, and correct copy of the minutes made and entered on the 31st day of January 1944, in book 34 of Supervisors' Minutes, at page 249 thereof. Attest: January 31, 1944. [SEAL] G. A. PEQUEGNAT, RESOLUTION Upon motion of Supervisor Pittman, seconded by Supervisor Hill, and duly carried, the following resolution was adopted, to wit: Whereas the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside, State of California, has this day adopted a resolution requesting that the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors and the Flood Control Committee of the House of Representatives lend every effort and do or cause to be done those things necessary for the immediate realization of the construction and completion of the floodcontrol work necessary on Cajon and Lytle Creeks in the Santa Ana Basin which said creeks are located in San Bernardino County; and 97311-44-vol. 2—13 Whereas, as this board understands the situation, upon the completion of such flood-control work, as indicated, the combined flow of these two creeks, serving an extensive watershed, will be deposited or delivered into the Santa Ana River proper between the cities of San Bernardino and Colton; and Whereas, since the Santa Ana River from this point on its course to the ocean passes through Riverside County and Orange County, through regions in each of said counties which are highly developed and which will be subjected to additional hazards from floodwaters by virtue of the completion of the Cajon and Lytle Creeks project unless some provision for flood control in the Santa Ana Basin and upon the Santa Ana River proper is made westerly from the point where the combined waters of Cajon and Lytle Creeks enter the Santa Ana River at.a point between San Bernardino and Colton: Now, therefore, in view of the above premises, together with the considerations recited in the resolution heretofore passed by this board under even date and hereinabove mentioned; be it Resolved by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside, State of California, in regular session assembled this 31st day of January 1944, That this board does hereby also request that the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors and the Flood Control Committee of the House of Representatives, in addition to doing those things, or causing those things to be done, which are necessary for the materialization of the Cajon and Lytle Creeks Project, also and in connection therewith, do or cause to be done those things which engineering advice indicates as necessary by way of flood control in the Santa Ana Basin and along the Santa Ana River proper, westerly from the intersection of the Cajon and Lytle Creek project with the Santa Ana River, to adequately protect that area from flood hazards which will be inevitably increased by the completion of the Cajon and Lytle Creek project; be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be, by the clerk of this board, immediately forwarded to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors of Washington, D. C.; the Flood Control Committee of the House of Representatives, attention Chairman Whittington, Washington, D. C.; to Congressman Sheppard, Phillips, and Poulsen, and to the Board of Supervisors of the counties of San Bernadino and Orange, State of California. Roll call resulted as follows: Ayes: Supervisors Hill, Pittman, Gilmore, and Stanfield. Noes: None. Absent: Supervisor Dillon. The foregoing minute order is hereby certified to be a full, true, and correct copy of the minutes made and entered on the 21st day of January 1944, in book 34 of supervisors' minutes, at page 250 thereof. Attest, January 31, 1944. G.A.PEQUEGNAT, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, in and for the The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other witnesses who desire to be heard at this time in connection with these two projects? Are there any other interests represented here who would like to be heard? Then, unless there are other witnesses who desire to be heard at this time, the committee will stand adjourned until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. (At 4: 40 p. m., an adjournment was taken until Wednesday, February 9, 1944, at 10 a. m.) FLOOD-CONTROL PLANS AND NEW PROJECTS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1944 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C. KINGS RIVER AND TULARE LAKE, CALIF. The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a. m., Hon. Will M. Whittington (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The Committee will be in order. STATEMENT OF COL. GEORGE R. GOETHALS, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY The CHAIRMAN. Colonel, the report on Kings River and Tulare Lake, in House Document 630, Seventy-sixth Congress, third session, has been before the committee, and the Chief of Engineers, General Reybold, the Assistant Chief, and yourself have testified with respect to that in the hearings in June 1943, which hearings are before this committee presently. You have stated that the report on the Kern River was submitted to the Director of the Budget some time ago but has not as yet been submitted to the Congress. In the hearings last June you gave a summary of the report on the Kern River, did you not? Colonel GOETHALS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Have you any statement in connection with those reports that you would like to make at this time to supplement your former statement? Colonel GOETHALS. On the Kern River; yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. We will be glad to have it. Colonel GOETHALS. Mr. Chairman, in the interval which elapsed between the hearings on June 9, 1943, and those in progress today, the further report of the Bureau of Reclamation became available and local interests conferred with field representatives of the Department with respect to the provisions of local cooperation and the operation and maintenance of the recommended improvements of the Kern River Basin in California. As a result thereof and after due consideration, the report of the Chief of Engineers has been rewritten. It amends these items as heretofore recorded in the following respects: Just to summarize briefly, as recommended, local interests were required to maintain and operate the completed works in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of War and to contribute $785,000 toward the first cost of the work-that sum representing the value of the conservation storage less the capitalized cost of maintaining the |