[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 14 (Monday, January 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E64]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CENTENNIAL OF THE SALT RIVER PROJECT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF FLAKE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2003

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Salt River 
Project, an institution that is celebrating its Centennial of Service 
to the people of Arizona, including a majority of constituents in my 
own Sixth Congressional District.
  When the Salt River Project, or SRP, was formed on February 7, 1903 
under the name of the Salt River Valley Water Users Association, it 
represented a new and courageous experiment in public-private 
partnership.
  The Association's purpose was to provide a means of pooling the 
assets of central Arizona's pioneering farm communities as collateral 
for a federal loan to construct Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River east of 
Phoenix.
  The dam, made possible by passage of the National Reclamation Act of 
1902, was conceived as a way to bring a reliable supply of water to the 
region now encompassing the Phoenix metro area. Nobody could be sure 
that the experiment would work or that the government would be paid 
back for construction of the dam and canal systems that would bring 
water to central Arizona's desert valleys.
  But vision, courage and persistence paid off.
  Completion of Roosevelt Dam in 1911 and subsequent construction of 
other dams on rivers east and north of Phoenix provided a water and 
early hydropower system that led to a flourishing economy.
  Following World War II, local farms gave way to housing and industry 
as veterans flocked to Arizona to raise their families and launch 
business careers. The loan that had financed Roosevelt Dam was paid 
back in full to the federal treasury. And SRP, which had formed a power 
district during the Depression years, continued to expand its water-
power services to meet the needs of central Arizona's booming economy.
  Today, SRP stands as central Arizona's largest water supplier and as 
the nation's third largest public power utility with more than 780,000 
customers. It has won a reputation as a solidly-run company with a 
strong commitment to the environment, human services, schools and the 
communities it serves.
  Through a partnership between SRP, the federal government, and the 
state and local communities, central Arizona has grown into one of the 
most productive metropolitan regions in the nation with a population of 
more than 3 million and growing.
  Mr. Speaker, as SRP embarks on its second century of service, it 
deserves special recognition for the historic and invaluable 
contributions it has made to the people of my native state.

                          ____________________