[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1362-S1363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             A CENTENNIAL SALUTE TO THE SALT RIVER PROJECT

  Mr. McCain. Mr. President, as this Congress deals with the large and 
complex challenges facing our Nation in the 21st century, we do well to 
remember local histories and the great public endeavors of our people 
that have helped make America great.
  In my home State of Arizona, we remember and celebrate the vision and 
commitment that, 100 years ago on February 7, launched an organization 
that helped a great metropolis bloom in the desert.

[[Page S1363]]

  A century ago, the Salt River Project (SRP) was formed by settlers to 
sustain central Arizona's small farming communities through times of 
drought, flooding, and heat. Through the SRP, with the assistance of 
the Federal Government, many people worked to build the great Theodore 
Roosevelt Dam which sits on the Salt River, east of the Phoenix 
metropolitan area.
  The dam, completed a year before statehood, stood as the largest 
masonry dam of its day. It provided the lifegiving water and flood 
protection that enabled downstream communities to flourish and grow.
  People of all walks and faiths, including Native Americans and 
immigrant Italian stonemasons, helped build the roads, pack the mules, 
drive the wagons, and carve the great blocks that created Roosevelt 
Dam. In 1911, Teddy Roosevelt, then years past his final term, came to 
Arizona to dedicate the dam and the great labors that made the project 
a reality.
  The water supplies assured by the structure nurtured a growing 
economy, and hydroelectric facilities were developed to power our 
growth. The dam crated Roosevelt Lake, a major conservation and 
recreational resource enjoyed by so many of our residents and visitors.
  Over the years through the SFP's efforts, other water storage 
facilities were constructed helping to provide the water, power, flood 
control, conservation and recreation that sustains our communities and 
one of the Nation's most vibrant economies.
  Today, the SRP serves some 780,000 electric customers and supplies 
water to more than 1.5 million people. It is the Nation's oldest multi-
purpose reclamation project, the largest water supplier in central 
Arizona and a major public power utility, helping to sustain a quality 
of life and economic vigor of which Arizonans are richly proud.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I offer this tribute to the 
Salt River Project and the people it represents. Arizona looks forward 
to a future for the SRP that is as successful as its past and to 
ensuring that our great public works continue to serve the best 
interests of our great people in the hundred years to come.

                          ____________________