Unusual Events And Their Relation to Federal Water Policies

Within the 10-yr period between 1930 and 1940 there were profound changes in federal water policies and more than a tenfold increase in federal activities designed to modify the runoff phase of the rainfall-runoff cycle. The total federal expenditures for all purposes increased only about two and one-half fold during the same decade. During the fiscal year 1940 alone, some $500,000,000 or $600,000,000 of federal money were spent on measures and practices relating to storage and appurtenant works for irrigation, power, flood control, water supply, water spreading, debris control, recreation, and wild-life refuge; upstream engineering, agricultural, and land-use measures and practices; and all related activities designed to obtain beneficial conservation, control, regulation, and use of water. During 1930 the sum of money so expended was only about one tenth as much. The purpose of this paper is to inquire into the basic reasons underlying the changes in water policies and the large increase in activities and to discuss in a general way their extent, aims, and objectives.