Imperial Valley press. (El Centro, Calif.) 1907-current, 1930-02-03
APPROVE
POUNDS
POSITION
Meeting Here Yesterday
Takes Firm Stand On
Division OF Water
TO CONFER AGAIN
Local Leaders Will Seek
Meeting With Metro
pOlitan Area Heads

Imperial, Coachella Valleys and
agricultural interests in Southern
California, who have legal rights al
ready long established to the waters
of the Colorado river. amounting to
more than 100000 acre feet, will
not permit the Metropolitan area
to curtail these rights by any agree
ment with Arizona or any other
state, which contemplates an at
tempt to satisfy the irrigation and
domestic water needs of this state
at the expense of these established
rights,
This was the decision arrived at
Yesterday by delegates from the two
valleys d agricultural interests
curing a joint meeting in the offices
of the Imperial Irrigation district.
Earl Pound, president of the I'M
perial district was most emphatic in
his stand. "Our duty as directors of
The Coachella and Imperial districts
IS plain" he told the meeting. 1--WE
must unite in demanding that our
rightful water supply, which is le-
5ally established, be untouched. We
need, here in Imperial and Coachella
Valleys alone, the entire 100000
1cre feet which is proposed to be al
Iotted to California from the Colo
RADIO river. We can operate our All
American canal system, serving the
TWO valleys on 100000 acre feet,
probably, leaving the 100000 addi-
tlonal acre feet for the Palo Verde
and Yuma projects in California.
"We cannot, however" he con.
tinued, Operate both the All-Ameri-
can canal and allow Los Angeles to
operate its proposed aquednct on H.
100000 acre feet of water, and there
Is no use talking about it. We have
our rights already established. We
are the principal factors in formulat-
:ng and accomplishing the Boulder
Dam project. For those reasons, then,
Los Angeles and the METROPOLITAN
area cannot expect to make us the
ones to sacrifice anything in order
that this tri-state agreement may
possibly be advanced"
Pound made several comments on
the recent tri-state conference held
IN Reno, declaring that the proposals
offered for the division of water are
unfair, unjust and entirely un-
tenable." He added that so far as
agricultural interests in California
are concerned, there can be no agree.
ment on the basis suggested. Pound
was one of the California commits.
sioners attending this conference,
called by Secretary of the Interior
Wilbur
Tom Wager, attorney for the
Coachella district, told the directors
at yesterdays special meeting, that
there has been shown on the part
of Los Angeles delegates to the Reno
conference, strong inclination to
accept Arizona's proposal until
Pound took the stand that the agri-
cultural areas cannot be allowed to
suffer any further sacrifices of their
Latural water rights.
Would Sacrifice Rural Area
Wager stated: "In all likelihood
the acceptance of that proposal
would mean in the end serious
, lash between Metropolitan and
I"idl ucNciopHleht IN southern Cail-
fcrnia. Both sections would undouht.
IDLY suffer seriously in the years
0 come and, unless more water Is
AVAILABLE than is provided for in the
present proposal, the construction of
he aqueduet or the All-Ameriean
anal will be made impossible.
One extremely interesting fact
brought out in yesterdays discus
ion was that Arizona is offering
ust sufficient water for the esti-
mated agricultural needs Of Cali
ornia without considering the Los
ANGELES Metropolitan requirements.
is a result of this proposal, the Met
opolitan interests which are also
aced by demand from Arizona for
'ower royalties from the proposed
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