[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 17, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE COLUSA BASIN WATERSHED INTEGRATED RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1999

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                             HON. DOUG OSE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 17, 1999

  Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Colusa Basin 
Watershed Integrated Resources Management Act of 1999.
  The Colusa Basin drainage area consists of 1,036,000 acres--1,620 
square miles--in northern California within Glenn, Colusa and Northern 
Yolo Counties. The Colusa Basin Drainage District embodies more than 
600,000 acres of the Sacramento Valley, spanning from Knights Landing 
in the south to Orland in the north, with the Sacramento River and the 
Sierra foothills forming the east and west boundaries.
  Flooding in Colusa Basin causes approximately $4.9 million in 
property damage each year. In 1995, a major flood did an estimated $100 
million in damage to private and public property. The costs of these 
floods are borne by residents, local agencies and the Federal 
Government. Large-scale traditional flood-control methods are not cost 
effective in the Basin. Instead, local authorities are focused on 
small-scale structural and non-structural flood control remedies that 
would produce flood protection at a reasonable cost and have the added 
benefit of being environmentally acceptable.
  The Colusa Basin and the Bureau of Reclamation have jointly developed 
an integrated plan that would provide flood protection for cities and 
agricultural areas by reducing peak runoff flooding along streams; 
capture storm water for local uses, groundwater recharge, and wildlife 
purposes; improve water quality; reduce land subsidence; and improve 
the quality and quantity of fish and wildlife habitat in the region.
  The program includes the construction of 11 small, off-stream, 
environmentally sound foothill reservoirs and 10,000 acres of new 
wetlands and riparian habitat. This bill is supported by a wide range 
of interests, including local farm bureaus, cities and counties in the 
Colusa Basin, irrigation districts, the CALFED Bay-Delta program and 
conservation groups such as the California Waterfowl Association, among 
others.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and build 
upon the bipartisan coalition of cosponsors committed to improving 
flood control, water quality, and wildlife habitat in northern 
California.

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