[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 14 (Monday, January 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E69]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             A CENTENNIAL TRIBUTE TO THE SALT RIVER PROJECT

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                          HON. JOHN B. SHADEGG

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2003

  Mr. SHADEGG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the Salt River 
Project on the Centennial Anniversary of its founding. Throughout its 
100 year history, the Salt River Project has contributed greatly to the 
growth and prosperity of the City of Phoenix and Central Arizona. Its 
history is very familiar to me, as my father Stephen Shadegg wrote 
several books on the Salt River Project, including its first narrative 
history in 1942, and subsequent works on the importance of the Project 
to Arizona's development. These books include: Arizona: An Adventure in 
Irrigation (1949), The Phoenix Story: An Adventure in Reclamation 
(1958), and Century One: One Hundred Years of Water Development (1969).
  In 1868, Phoenix had a population of 100 people; it is now the sixth 
largest metropolitan area in the United States. All of this growth was 
made possible by the development of water storage and irrigation 
facilities and, since 1903, the Salt River Project has played a central 
role in this development.
  In a desert state like Arizona, access to a reliable supply of water 
is literally a matter of life and death. The early settlers recognized 
this fact and constructed the first of many water supply canals in 
Phoenix in 1868. These early canals relied on diverting water from the 
rivers but did not include the construction of dams to create water 
storage reservoirs. This failure to store water proved to be a fatal 
flaw when drought hit in the 1890's. For three years, there was no rain 
and the rivers ceased to run. The population of Phoenix plummeted and 
conflicts, some of them deadly, erupted over the limited water 
available.
  This devastating drought forced the citizens of Phoenix to band 
together and create an organization capable of financing, constructing, 
and operating a water storage and delivery system. It required the 
highest degree of personal commitment: each property owner in the 
Phoenix area pledged his or her property as collateral to finance the 
construction of the system. In 1903, this organization took shape as 
the Salt River Water Users' Association, now a part of the Salt River 
Project, and became the first water storage system organized under the 
Federal Reclamation Act.
  Today, it is easy to take the necessities of life for granted, 
including the ability to get water by simply turning on a faucet. 
However, the laws of nature still apply and, in a desert, a reliable 
supply of water will always be a matter of life and death. Life in 
Arizona, Southern California, and other desert regions is only possible 
because a guaranteed, permanent supply of water is available.
  While the laws of nature should be self-evident, there are some 
individuals and organizations who refuse to accept them and instead 
advocate the destruction of the water supply reservoirs which make life 
in the desert possible. We are currently locked in a struggle against 
the willful ignorance of these groups and individuals and, while we are 
supported by the facts, we must not underestimate the zealous 
dedication of the other side. We must not allow such destructive 
proposals as the draining of Lake Powell to lead to a repeat of the 
devastation inflicted on Phoenix by the drought of the 1890's.
  As long as people live in the desert, there will be a need for 
organizations like the Salt River Project to supply them with the most 
basic substance needed for life. The Salt River Project fulfills this 
need by delivering water to more than 1.5 million people in ten cities 
in central Arizona. It also plays an important role as a power provider 
by supplying over 780,000 customers with electricity. Furthermore, it 
is a leader in the development of new techniques and technologies, from 
its underground storage of excess water for future use to the cutting 
edge low-impact hydroelectric facility which it will bring on-line in 
February. I commend the Salt River Project for its historic role in the 
development of Phoenix and its continued importance, and wish it a 
happy birthday.

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