The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1950-04-14
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Montd71andSa sAGouernor Acts

Montana SAGOUernOr Acts
By JEROME G. LOCKE MvA Regional Engineer
The outstanding service Missouri Valley development
performed by Governor Bonner about ten days bringing
reverberaton Washington and elsewhere AS member of
Missouri Basin neragency Committee the Governor obtained
from the Corps of Army Engineers their estimate of probable
water supply Yankton ey point volumes of be
allotted to various Pck-Soan
Apparently this vital information has not been officially
shared with the Bureau Reclamation Resources Policy
Commission other individual To date has
constituted the hoe card of the Engineers their
that there enough water for all Even
now it can hardly be called an 'ace in the hole"
The volume of water passing Yankton for the 20
ending Sept 3d. 1913 need not be dispute There
may DE some serious OF OPINION ABOUT the amount
of evaporation from Fl Peck Reservoir and about reconcile
men between Sioux City and Yankon also there be
conflicts official figures By large the volumes
flow have been officially determined the USGS by II
of actual at Yankon and other years of
urement at Sioux City go miles below Yankton Amount
of mpoundmen Fl Peck Reservoir which must be added
in is also USGS record.
years preceding these official the Corps
of Engineers has built tabuation of estimated yearly
run-off by process of hypothetical calculations ayman
will better understand these crcumsana evidence In
voved in the research and constant exercise of
in judgment otherwise the showing annual
off, as taken from the Army figures is follows:
1e1e-1e4e (last 80 years. - 81 o5o 600 acre feet
1sss-1s4s (Iast 81 years. - 2s411 900 acre feet
The accompanying letter the future be expected
produce annual flow of % 100000 feet un
off for Fit Benton indicates this showing might have been
age) Corps of Engineers estimates for water
feel
Saints IN flow Oacrefe
m Arm Il Oacre feet
Ian use Oacrefe
Irri gati on and the abb SiouxC
IN acre feet
acre feet
By using the Army Engineers optimistic prediction Of
23500 900 feet annually supply
purlonng for Lower Valley II of the water
posed reserved Upper Valley the OMahoney amend
ment If the future supply greater than
of feet for the 80 then their take
is SO per cent of Western water
Knowing that approximately 40 cent of water passing
Yankon originates Montana and that another 33
originates Wyoming but thru Montana the Governor
took good look the Army Engineer estimates outlined
above Then he issued statement suggesting that
be appropriated to the navigation channel until this
sordid mess has been investigated by Congress-
The 1850 Rivers and Harbors bill has been scheduled for
by the Senate this There golden
opportunity for MVA sponsors the Senate strike telling
blow With Bonners they have@
Justification for reviewing the whole PckSoan fasco and
battle against further appropriations the effect of which is to
rob the Upper Valley of it's water with compromising adj
Vantages to the Lower Valley the nation public airing
the might have the effect of putting Mis-
Valley Senators and Congressman embarrassing
on For instance Montana Senators and Congresmen cannot
we'll be parties scheme that robs the of its water Four
other Upper Valley states in the predicamen Even
Lower Valley states only gain by helping get bad stua
Strengthened out Governor Bonner did his part 1t
what the MVA friends Congress do with the
golden opportunity he has provided