“Water, Water, Everywhere”

FROM sky-scraping Shasta Dam on the north to Bakersfield on the south, beneficiary of water to be carried by canals stretching like tentacles up and down California’s great Central Valley a total distance of 898 miles, it’s a case of “Water, water, everywhere.”

The United States Bureau of Reclamation looks upon the Central Valley Project as holding greater potential benefit, both locally and nationally, than any conservation project attempted in its 88-year history . This undertaking is a multiple-purpose project, involving construction of two huge dams, Shasta and Friant, and five canals, which jointly will: Improve navigation on inland waterways, reduce floods in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River valleys, furnish water to irrigate 2 ,000,000 acres of highly productive agricultural lands, control saltwater encroachment in the delta region of the two rivers mentioned, improve domestic and industrial water supplies in central California, and develop hydro-electric power for municipal, agricultural, industrial, and project uses.