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Show MILFORD LIONS, FARM GROUPS AND j SCHOOLS ENDORSE AQUALANTES j The Milford Lions Club Wed- nesday evening threw their sup-' port behind the Aqualantes and the Colorado River Storage Project. Earlier in the day, at a meeting of the South Milford Mil-ford Pumpers' Association the group unanimously endorsed the project, and school children in both Milford schools wore acquainted with aims of the Aqualantes and students began proudly wearing the six-pointed Aqualante identification bad';e. Meeting with the Pumpers and Lions Wednesday were Wallace Yardley of Beaver, county chairman; II. L. Tolley of South Milford, Milford chairman: chair-man: Sam Hickman of Beaver, and Jay R. Bingham of Salt Lake City, state representative of the water vigilante group. Mr. Bingham discussed the program, explained the background back-ground of Colorado river water usage including the six-state compact of 1922, and the bone-Tits bone-Tits to the western states and the nation which would result from Upper Colorado river development. de-velopment. Mr. Yardley related the local benefits to be derived, pointing out that the irrigation water from the project would te available avail-able in Southern Utah only as far as Millard County, with a possibility that Iron County would receive some of the water through exchange of present water uses. However, Mr. Yardley emphasized, Beaver County and other Southern Utah areas would benefit, along with the entire state, from the electric power phase of the ' program. Mr. Bingham pointed out i that with increased use of Colorado Colo-rado River water by Southern ' California, Utah is in danger of losing their rights to future use of the water, and emphasized empha-sized that the Colorado River is our last great source of water for irrigation and power development. devel-opment. Although in the first 50 years of Utah's settlement a million acres was placed under un-der cultivation, only 100,000 acres was added to the agricultural agricul-tural development during the next 50 years, and with development devel-opment of the Upper Colorado an additional 600,000 acres of Continued on Back Page HERE'S MORE ABOUT AQUALANTES Continued from Page One desert can be put to beneficial use. Although the Upper Basfn (above Lees Ferry) contributes 90 of the water to the Colo-: Colo-: rado. the Lower Basin states by virtue of four dams and a large canal arc using three t:mes as much Colorado River water as the Upper Basin is able to use. because oT lack of Upper Up-per Basin development. George Jefferson challenged the economic practicability of the Upper Basin development, stating that power generating by the project would sell for a higher rate than it can be manufactured man-ufactured by the Utah Power & Light Co., and that it would cost $2."il)0 to water each acre of additional land through use of Colorado River water stored in the proposed dams. lie charged that the entire project woulel "lose 100 million dollars a year" and stated it "wouid be wonderful to spend two billion dollars for Wyoming and Colorado but we would be helping to pay for it." Mr. Jefferson said Hoover Dam water level is now 122 feet below its high water mark, and "two more dry winters like the last four and Hoover Dam will be a mud puddle." However, he offered to endorse the project proj-ect if he could be slyiwn "that it will benefit the American public instead of being a drag." Mr. Bingham questioned Mr. Jefferson's figures on irrigation costs and lower cost of manufacture manu-facture of power by Utah Power and Light, and offered to forward for-ward to Mr. Jefferson the results re-sults of cost studies made by proponents of the project. Sam Cline, attorney and recognized rec-ognized water authority, told the Lions. that "after 40 years as a water attorney, one thing !l have learned if nothing else," j is that the first party making I beneficial use of water has the first water right. He pointed 'out that although Utah has been 'allocated certain amounts of j Colorado River water, "if the state does nothing to protect 'that water right, we will cer-i cer-i tainly lose it. and that would be tragic for our future generations." genera-tions." Mr. Cline felt that the Milford Lions club should "join in protecting the water rights granted Utah by the 1922 six-state six-state compact, which in itself is not a 'permanent' protection." The following resolution was adopted by the club, with one dissenting vote: RESOLUTION BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that The Milford Lions Club is on record in firm support of enactment en-actment of legislation to authorize auth-orize the Colorado River Storage Stor-age Project, which provides for development of the Upper Colorado Colo-rado River Basin. We urge the Congress to approve this lagis-lation, lagis-lation, because of the great economic eco-nomic benefits it will provide for the stales of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and for the nation as a whole. We endorse this project because be-cause it will aid national defense, de-fense, help the Navajo Indian Tribe, lengthen the life of Hoover Dam, provide water and power for a growing West, and yield countless other benefits. bene-fits. Be it resolved further that our respective members show their support for this project by enrolling as "Aqualantes" or water vigilantes. Be it resolved further that we as members of this organization organiza-tion do take it upon ourselves to become acquainted with the project and what it means, and that we ask our friends in other states to write their congressmen con-gressmen in support of the Colorado River Storage Project. Proj-ect. Be it resolved that Congressmen Congress-men from our state be informed at once of this resolution and of this action. ' This resolution is adopted by this group because the Colorado Colo-rado River Storage Project is in the best interests of all the citizens of this great nation. MILFORD LIONS CLUB |