December 9, 2002
For Immediate Release
Garrison Diversion requests increased cooperation on Red River Valley Study
Warren Jamison, Garrison Diversion manager, testified Monday in Fargo at a field hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power for increased cooperation between the Bureau of Reclamation and Garrison Diversion on the Red River Valley Water Supply Studies.
"The District has been trying to move things forward with little success," Jamison said. "The District's desire is to work with the Reclamation office to complete the project as quickly as possible so the people of the Red River Valley can be assured they will not suffer devastating impacts when an extended drought occurs."
The Dakota Water Resources Act authorized $200 million for meeting the water needs of the Red River Valley. The legislation includes preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Garrison Diversion.
"Droughts of greater magnitude than those of the 1930s are all around us," Jamison reported at the hearing. "If they should spread to the Red River Valley, we will be in dire straights, and the delays on the Red River Valley Studies will be seen as deadly to the people and the economics of the Valley."
Jamison remarks focused on the need to understand how droughts would effect our region in a more substantial and varied way because of the rapid expansion and urbanization of the area, which has increased water demand in the past decade.
"The traditional mind set of some government entities has been to reach to drought by providing emergency assistance. This effect is ineffective and untimely. The DWRA and the Red River Valley Studies is intended to take the wiser route by forestalling the impact of drought through wise planning and management of water resources."
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For more information contact Maria Effertz Hanson, 800-532-0074(office), 701-652-5776 (cell) gdcd@daktel.com or www.garrisondiversion.org.