[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 78 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1023-E1024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH B. SUMMERS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2007

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, earlier, California lost one of its great 
water experts with the death of Joseph B. Summers.
  Joe was once deemed ``Watermaster'' for several water entities in 
central and southern California. His knowledge, skill and a lifetime of 
experience brought many people seeking his advice on a multitude of 
water issues. His wise counsel is greatly missed.
  Joe was born in Iowa and served in World War II as a B-24 Bombardier 
in Europe. He obtained a degree in civil engineering and began his 
career with the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of Interior in 
Denver where he met his wife, Rose. Moving to California in the 1950s, 
he worked for the Modesto Irrigation District and then was principal 
engineer for Stoddard and Karrer Engineers in Los Banos.
  After establishing his own firm in Kings County, California in 1962, 
he was an engineering consultant for the Tulare Lake Drainage District 
to determine the drainage needs of the area and designing a drainage 
system for the Tulare Lake Bed near the town of Corcoran. At the same 
time, he negotiated contracts with the California Department of Water 
Resources for water supplies from the California Aqueduct, then under 
construction, for water supplies from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta 
to southern California. In addition to those duties, he was principal 
engineer for the Solano Irrigation District in Solano County, 
California.
  During the 1990s Joe undertook one of the most difficult tasks in 
U.S. water history: chairing the oversight committee which crafted a 
$100 million agreement between the Southern California Metropolitan 
Water District, the supplier of water to much of the Los Angeles area, 
and the Imperial Irrigation District. It was one of the most complex 
water negotiations

[[Page E1024]]

undertaken and settled a long-term and previously intractable issue. 
Its settlement was an achievement unparallel in California and U.S. 
water history.
  As recently as 2003, Joe was chairman of two coordination committees 
to oversee the concrete lining of the Coachella Canal and All-American 
Canal in southern California to reduce seepage which will conserve 
thousands of acre feet of water annually. The projects are key 
components of an agreement reached on the allocation of Colorado River 
water among competing entities in the state and helped resolve issues 
among states who are parties to the Colorado River Compact.
  Joe's Iowa farm experience served him when he applied his engineering 
expertise to develop cultivation techniques in the cultivation of his 
walnut farm near Hanford, California. His agriculture leadership was 
recognized as he was the first recipient of the Merriam Improved 
Irrigation Award and induction into the University of Iowa's College of 
Engineering's Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy. Joe's local 
contributions include serving on the Hanford Community Foundation.
  Joe was an inspiration and mentor to young people interested in hard 
work, achievement and having an impact on their chosen professions. His 
friendship and expertise are greatly missed.

                          ____________________