Irrigation Policy for Arid Lands

Abstract

RRIGATION policy for arid lands as a part of an over-all water policy has been the subject of much attention during recent years. Hoover Commission wrote 1280 pages on the subject; the President's Water Resources Policy Commission followed with its three-volume report; the Missouri Basin Commission is the most recent. In addition to these formalized groups, there has been much attention given to the subject by the Budget Bureau, by subcommittees of the Federal InterAgency Reservoir Basin Committee (FIARBC) and by many private or semi-private groups. Probably the recommendation of the President's Water Resources Policy Commission came nearer to being considered by Congress than those of the other groups. As a result of this report, proposed legislation entitled The Water Act of 1951 was drafted. After being reviewed by the various agencies, the draft of the legislation was returned to the Budget Bureau for simplification and clarification. After being simplified and clarified, the act had been increased from about 60 to 120 pages. Even then it was not considered to be in suitable form for presentation to Congress. It is difficult to predict what may happen in the future on the proposal. Action on recommendations of other groups is not promising. above review suggests that something is seriously wrong with current water, including irrigation, policy. simple facts are that we do not have an effective irrigation policy that meets current needs. Federal irrigation policy began with the passage of the Desert Lands Acts in 1877 and 1891. These acts quickly gave way to the Carey Act of 1894, which, in turn, was superseded by the Reclamation Act of 1902. This Act, as modified from time to time, represents the charter under which most of the recent federal irrigation development has occurred.