Dying of Thirst

To much of the U.S., the spring of 1961 consisted of rain, rain and more rain. But not in the Far West, a land where water is life--and, in many places, disaster is building.

Last week the levels in irrigation tanks sank low from the Dakotas to New Mexico. Montana wheat farmers expected slender harvests this year. Utah ranchers gazed out upon dried-up springs and pondered how to water their herds. In Nevada.

Reno residents went on voluntary water ration. Lake Tahoe was being tapped for the first time, and Governor Grant Sawyer declared: "Our whole state is a disaster area."

Close to Nothing. Fire periled the whole area. NO SMOKING signs went up in Arizona's Apache, Coconino and six other national forests. Such precautions did not prevent more than 120 major forest fires in California,.Oregon, Washington. Idaho, Nevada and Utah. Flames licked through dry grasses and gutted 24 luxury homes in Hollywood Hills. Destroyed were Author Aldous Huxley's two-story house, his manuscripts and mementos of a lifetime. While firemen restrained the nearly blind British author from running into the blaze. Huxley wept like a child.

In a crisis mood, Governors of twelve Western states congregated last week in Salt Lake City for their annual meeting. They brushed over the agenda topics-juvenile delinquency (deplorable), the mining industry (depressed), overall economic progress (encouraging)--and then began to talk about water in the way that starving men talk about food. "In the West," muttered California's Pat Brown, "if you haven't got water, you haven't got anything."

Utah's George Clyde then told his fellow Governors how close the West is coming to having nothing at all. He noted that 200 key Western reservoirs stood at 53% capacity in October of 1957; the estimate for this October is 20%. The Governors concluded that this year's shortage is the product of meager spring rains, low humidity and high winds that literally sucked the moisture out of fields and for ests. But the crisis has been building a long while. For 30 years the Colorado River's water level has been trending downward because of recurring droughts. Southern California is in its third straight spring of drought, and Nevada is in its fourth. Meanwhile, population, industry and farming have grown faster in the West than elsewhere in the U.S.--all of which has increased the pressure for water.

Joining Hands. The states are trying a variety of remedies. Utah has set up conservation districts, and is lobbying hard for federal funds to drill more wells.

Arizona is lining canals with test chemicals to arrest seepage. Virtually every state has promoted storage and irrigation projects, and the terracing of farm lands to get more water into the soil.

Last week the Governors agreed to join hands in a regional conference that will devise new water-conservation projects for the whole area. Such cooperative programs have broken down in the past because of interstate jealousies and political bickering. Future failure could mean that thousands will follow after the owners of California's 1,700-acre San Vicente Ranch, who faced the $10,000 prospect of buying hay for their cattle until next December. Said San Vicente Manager Robert Van Leuven last week: "We're out of business. The ranch has been sold off for subdivision. We're through."

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