Statement by the President Making Public a Report by the Water Resources Policy Commission.
I HAVE TODAY received the report of the Water Resources Policy Commission which I appointed in January 1950. When I named this Commission I asked it to study and make recommendations to me on existing legislation and policies in the water resources field.
The report of the Commission offers for the consideration of the American people a coordinated national program for the development of our water resources. It is based on the principle that the use of water must be intelligently planned; and that the treatment of water users--industrial, municipal, and agricultural--must be consistent with the best interests of the country.
Recent shortages of water in some parts of the country, and disastrous floods in others have shown the need for united action in planning, developing, and administering our water resources. Water--as essential to the maintenance of life as air--must be captured and stored where it is found in abundance. Yet, any plan for the development of water resources must consider the needs of both urban and rural people, and of industry. Plans for water development can no longer be made successfully by individual interests, whether they are private or public; whether they are local, State, or Federal. To function successfully, all must plan together, irrespective of the construction and operation of facilities. The urgency of wise planning and successful operation is particularly great just now because of the importance of available water to critical defense needs.
This report is the result of several months of intensive labor by the members of the Commission, by a large number of Government agencies, scientific bodies, State and municipal authorities, and by private individuals concerned with water problems. I am grateful to the members of the Commission, and to all the individuals and organizations who worked with them, for their contribution toward the solution of this challenging and important problem. I invite the American people to give it full and careful consideration.
Note: The report, the first of three volumes in a series, is entitled "A Water Policy for the American People (General Report)" (445 pp., Government Printing Office, 1950). The other two volumes, entitled "Ten Rivers in America's Future" and "Water Resources Law," were submitted to the President in February 1951.
The President's Water Resources Policy Commission was established by Executive Order 10095 of January 3, 1950 (3 CFR, 1949-1953 Comp., p. 291). It was composed of the following members: Morris L. Cooke, chairman, Gilbert F. White, vice chairman, Paul S. Burgess, Lewis Webster Jones, Samuel
B. Morris, LeLand Olds, and Roland R. Renne.
See also Item 1.
Harry S Truman, Statement by the President Making Public a Report by the Water Resources Policy Commission. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/230547