Evening star., 1933-07-13
WATER PROGRAM
! WILL BE PRESSED
Action on s160, 900, 900 Prof.
ect in California to Be
f Pushed in Legislature.
~ the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
SACRAMENTO, July 13.-With the
reconvening Of the California Leglsla-
ture. within few days, final action Will
be pressed on the issuance OF SlbU,-
10000 of revenue bonds to finance a
water development program which
many regard as vital to the continued
well-begin of the State.
More than million and half dol
lars already has been spent in mveStl-
cations and preliminary technical work
and IL years of study has been given
to the project, officially termed the
Central Valley development.
The Importance of the water plan to
California is rated by its sponsors in
the same classification with the Boul-
der Dam and the $220000,000 metro
politan water project which will provide
Southern California with new source
Of domestic and agricultural water from
the Colorado River.
Menaces Great Area.
Many who have studied the problem
presented by the long continued de-
ficiency of rainfall in Northern Cali
fornia declare that unless the steps con-
templated in the project are taken,
thousands of acres of the richest agri-
cultural land in the world are doomed.
MUCH Oh lIllS lies III us ueItd dled vi
San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers,
often termed the Nile of America
Shortage of water, on the one hand,
and the consequent encroachment Of
salt water by tidal action, on the other,
are declared to menace the life of
large section of the lower Sacramento
Valley, agriculturally, and to constitute
an increasingly great obstacle to wealthy
manufacturing districts.
The recent recommendation of Maj
Gen. Lvtle Brown, Army chief of Engl-
neers, that the Government appropriate
$7,700,000 to the project in recognition
of the benefits which would accrue to
navigation has heartened supporters of
the development and efforts will be
made to obtain additional assistance in
the form of loans or grants from the
Federal public works program.
Pending in Senate.
Earlier this year the California As
sembly passed the measure authorizing
the $3.50 100000 worth of bonds and this
bill is penuing in the State Senate.
The development proposed involves
construction Of a series OF dams. the
first of which would be at Kennett, on
the upper Sacramento River near Mount
Shasta
The 460-foot structure would create
q reservoir 1Or the storage Ol Z,SfO,uoo
acre-feet of food waters. Release OF
this during the low water periods would
provide not only sufficient water for
agricultural and manufacturing pur-
poses. but also, it is declared. would pro-
vide a sufficient flow to hold back the
salt water which creeps up from the
ocean through San Francisco Bay.
Water power capacity of Kennett Dam
Is rated at 325 900 horsepower which
would add more than a billion kiloWatt
hours of electricity to the States out
put and help make the project self
liouidating. Navigation on the Sacra-
mento would be increased a distance
of l40 miles.
Network of Canals.
Eventually. it is contemplated. addi-
tional dams would be built; there would
be a network of canals; some of the
surplus water from the upper reaches
of the Sacramento would be transferred
to the San Joaquin River. and part OF
its current would be reversed by pumps
and lifts and MADE to flow South IN its
own channel. instead of North.
This would provide water to an area
of deficient rainfall near Fresno. No
new land would be brought under cul-
tivation.