[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              CONGRATULATING THE WESTLANDS WATER DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 22, 2002

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Westlands Water District of Huron, CA, on the occasion of celebrating 
50 years of dedication and service to the communities of the San 
Joaquin Valley of California on Sunday, November 17, 2002. The 50th 
anniversary celebration will take place at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, 
CA.
  Farming in the Westlands Water District began during California's 
Gold Rush era. The first significant irrigation in the Westlands area 
began about 1915 with the drilling of deep wells by individual 
operators on large acreages. In 1942, the Westside Landowners 
Association was established to urge and help finance studies on the 
feasibility of developing and constructing water supply systems to 
serve the west side. In 1952, the owners of 400,000 acres of westside 
land petitioned the Fresno County Board of Supervisors for the 
formation of the water district. On September 8, 1952, the Westlands 
Water District was formed.
  Westlands is one of the largest agricultural water districts in the 
United States, with more than 570,000 irrigated acres of diversified 
crops on some of the most productive soil in the world. Westlands 
provides water to nearly 600 family-owned farms that average 850 acres 
in size. Farms within Westlands produce approximately $1 billion worth 
of food and fiber per year. This translates into $3.5 billion in farm 
related economic activity, nearly one-third of the $12.5 billion 
generated by the agriculture-based economy of Fresno County. In 
addition to food and fiber, Westlands farmers produce jobs, taxes, and 
strong economic core for the regional economy.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to congratulate the Westlands Water 
District of Central California on the occasion of their 50th year 
anniversary. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing the Westlands 
Water District many years of continued success.

                          ____________________