Pueblo Chamber of Commerce
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Industrial Capitol Of The Rocky Mountain Empire Pueblo Chamber of Commerce PUEBLO, COLORADO Phone LI 2-1704 April 23, 1962 Re; Fryingpan - Arkansas Project Dear Citizen: THIS NEXT MONTH IS CRITICAL - TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. ?LEASE COOPERATE •• By agreement, the Southeastern Colorado Water Conserv2ncy District office will concentrate on Washington, D. C., and the Pueblo Charr,ber of Commerce will concentrate on coordinating Pueblo Area activities concerning p2ssage of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Proj ect. Here are two specific things YOU can do in the next month to help win the Fryingpan Project: Step_l. If you know a Congressman personally or have a relative or other friend L any of U. ' sti3 tes who knows a Congressman, ',) lease phonG the Chamber of Commerce, Li 2-j_':"J4 , .: · :_:-2 11.iatcly, a~d give the personnei there the exact particulars. This information from all sources will be cross-referenced at the Chamber, and the coordinating group will contact you as to the next step on personal con tacts. We may want you to either phone the Congressman, see him, or just arrange a letter of introduction for our team in Washington, D. C. St~. Our second effort requires th :J. t YOU, as an informed citizen of Pueblo, request of your friends and business contacts in the other states that they write their Congressmen in favor of the Fry5.ngpan-Arkansas Project. You should do this now and over the next month on your own. Write in your own style and ask your friends to do the same. We don't want a bunch of "canned" material getting to these Congressmen fror.i other states. For your convenience we have attached a list of cri·~p statements of pertinent facts; use one or two of these points, but 121.~~ phrase them in your own language. Also attached is a list of Congressmen by states. Be sure to help your friend by reminding him who his Congres smen are. The Sout~ern and Eastern states are the tough ones - do an extra good job on them. Sincerely, ~",,,___, c:/~"-? Charles H. Boustead Thomas v. Healy Southeastern Water Conservancy Di strict Pueblo Chamber of Commerce .. SOME CRISP AND PERTINENT FACTS ON HR 2206 The. Frying-pan-Arkansas Reclamation P.i;-oject in S.E. Colorado 1. The main purpose of the project is to harness the river and to increase and stabilize the cur- rently fluctuating water supply of the farms and cities of the Upper Arkansas River Basin. The Valley contains 22 °!o of the population of the State of Colorado, yet has only 7 °!o of the State's available surface water-much of it lost in the spring runoff. Annual flow of the Arkansas River at Pueblo over the last 67 years has fluctuated from a low of 188,000 acre-feet in 1934 to a high of 1,052,- 000 acre-'feet in 1957. Monthly flow varies even more: from a low of 3,600 acre-feet in March, 1957, to a high of 397,110 acre-feet in June, 1921. 2. The project plan calls for the diversion of water from the Fryingpan River via a tunnel under the Continental Divide, and an integrated system of reservoirs on the Arkansas River to catch the high spring flows from both the eastern and western slopes for later use in times of need. It will add an additional 163,000 acre-feet of water for use in the Arkansas Valley. It is a multipurpose plan, and includes irrigation, flood control, power, municipal water, sediment control, fish and wildli'fe, and recreation. 3. The project is economically sound. It involves a loan-not a grant. It will return $1.65 for every $1.00 invested. The Bureau of Reclamation figures a cost-bene'fit ratio of 1.64. Total cost is 171 million, local repay ment in cash is 152 million (sale of water, power, etc.), and the non-reimbursibles come to 19 million (flood control, etc.) The big advantage, economic growth on the farms and in the cities, cannot be calculated, but must be considered to have a high federal tax potential as an additional source of repayment. For example, the increase in federal taxes paid by the area in Nebraska developed by the North Platte Reclamation Project amounts each year to $16,000,000, or three-fourths the total initial cost. 4. No new acres will be irrigated-the 280,600 acres already irrigated will just get more water, especially in drouth years. Headgate deficiency will drop from 30 °lo to 16 o/o . The cost of this supplemental irrigation water will be $5.40 per acre-foot, and is cheap crop insurance considering that losses in dry years now range from $50.00 to $500.00 per acre. 5. The cities of the v~lley will prosper. The project will increase their water supply, make it reliable year to year and month to month, and reduce the sediment and the hardness. The population of the Valley is 71 °lo urban, according to 1960 Census definitions. A good part o'f that urban population is supported by the drouth-threatened farms, directly or indirectly. The major portion is gainfully employed in the manufacturing, mining, wholesale, retail and other water using industries. The pre.sent water supplies of the Arkansas River cities are both limited in quantity and of poor quality. The Cities of Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Manzanola, Rocky Ford, La Junta, Las Animas, Lamar, Crowley, Wiley and Eads are the principal ones to benefit. · 6. The western slope benefits in that the runoff water diverted is replaced with stored water in a 100,000 acre-foot reservoir to be built on the Fryingpan 15 miles above Basalt. This reservoir will be paid for by the Eastern Slope and will catch spring flows for dry season Western Slope use. This will more than replace the 69,100 acre-feet of excess spring runoff captured upstream on national forest land and diverted to the parched Eastern Slope. 7. There are other plus factors. Seven hydro plants will have an installed capacity o'f 123,900 kilowatts, and this power will go to public and private distribution systems serving two-thirds of the State of Colorado. The system of reservoirs will help control floods. The 1921 flood killed 78 persons and caused 19 million dollars worth of damage in Pueblo. Constant river flow and the reservoirs will benefit fish and wildlife, and strengthen recrea tion and the tourist industry. It will strengthen national defense by providing needed water and power to an excellent inland location for industries which should, as a matter of national policy, be at dispersed sites. 8. The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project is an investment in the nation's future. Even if authorized this year, it will not deliver its benefits until the mid-1970's. After authorization this year, detailed planning will have to be done, appropriations made, water use contracts negotiated, and construction completed. All will take time. In the meantime the population boom expected to start in 1965 when the World War II babies begin forming their own families will have altered the national picture, and accelerated the need for a developed 'frontier ready and able to support a portion of the nation's population growth. In short, the Project is a workable plan, and a very sound investment in the nation's future. ... MEMBERSHIP OF U. 5. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Address all mail to "House Office Bldg., Washington 25, D. C. Dist. D-R Name Address Dist. D·R Name Addreaa Dlat. D·R Name Addreaa ALABAMA MAINE 12 D Taylor, Roy A., Black Mountain S D Andrews, George Wm., Union Sprlnss 1 R Garland, Peter Adam, Saco 11 D Whitener, Basil Lee, Gastonia l D Daykin, Frank W., Mobile 8 R Mcintire, Clifford Guy, Perham 10 R Jonas, Charles R., Lincolnton 7 D Elliott, Carl, J asper 2 R Tupper, Stanley R., Boothbay Harbor NORTH DAKOTA 2 D Grant, Georire Mcinvale, Troy MARYLAND AL R Nri:aard, Hjalmar, Enderlin 9 D Huddleston, Georse. Jr., Blrminsham 2 D Brewster, Daniel Bauirh, Glydon AL R Short, Don L., Medora 8 D Jones, Robert E., Scottsboro 4 D Fallon, George H., Baltimore OHIO 6 D Rains, Albert, Gadsden 7 D Friedel, Samuel N., Baltimore 9 D A1hley, Thomas L., Waterville 4 D Roberta, Kenneth A., Anniston 3 D Garmatz, Edward A., Baltimore 11 D Cook, Robert E., Ra\'enna 6 D Selden, Armistead Inge, Greensboro 1 D Johnson, Thomas F., Berlin 20 D Fei11:han, Michael, Cleveland ALASKA 5 D Lankford, Richard E .. Annapolis 18 D Hares, Wayne, Fluehin11: AL D Rivers, Ralph J ., Fairbanks 6 R Mathias, Charles C., Frederick 19 D Kirwan, 11,lJchael, Younptown ARIZONA MASSACHUSETTS 10 D Moeller, Walter, Lancaster l R Rhodes, John J ., Mesa 2 D Boland, Edward P., Springfield 21 D Vanik, Charles, Cleveland 2 D Udall, Morris K., Tucson 13 D Burke, James A., Milton 17 R Ashbrook, John M., Johnstown ARKANSAS 4 D Donohue, Harold D., Worchester 14 R Ayres, William, Akron 6 D Alford, T. Dale, Little Rock 7 D Lane, Thomas J ., Lawrence 8 R Betta, J ackson Findlay l D Gathings, Ezekiel Candler, •West Memphis 8 D Macdonald, Torbert Hart, Malden 22 R Bolton, Frances, Lyndhurst 4 D Harris, Oren, El Dorado 12 D McCormack, John W., Dorchester 16 R Bow, Frank, Canton 2 D Mills, Wilbur D., Kensett 11 D O'Neill, Thomas P., Cambridge 7 R Brown, Clarence, Blanchester 6 D Norrell, Catherine Doris, Monticello 3 D Philbin, Philip Joseph, Clinton 2 R Clancy, Donald C., Cincinnati S D Trimble, James William, Berryville 6 R Bates, William Henry, Salem 12 R Devine, Samuel, Columbus CALIFORNIA 1 R Conte, Silvio 0., Pittsfield 6 R Harsha, William, Portsmouth 7 D Coh elan, Jeffery, Berkeley IO R Curtis, Laurence, Boston 6 R Latta, Delcert, Bowling Green 14 D Ha11:an, Harlan Francis, Hanford 9 R Keith, Hastinp, West Bridgewater 4 R McCulloch, William M., Piqua 2 D Johnson, Harold T.