Franklin D. Roosevelt

Message to Congress Transmitting a Report Water Conservation and Flood Control.

May 12, 1937

To the Congress:

I transmit herewith for the information of the Congress a letter from the Organizing Committee of the Up-Stream Engineering Conference held September 22 and 23, 1936, with the accompanying record, under the title "Headwaters Control and Use," of the proceedings of the Conference.

This volume of proceedings is a sequel to the report "Little Waters," which was transmitted to the Congress with my message of January 30, 1936. Whereas "Little Waters" was an initial elementary analysis of the relations between precipitation, runoff and soils, and of accompanying problems, the proceedings of the Up-Stream Engineering Conference constitute a more exhaustive treatment of the subject, and bring together under one cover the basic hydrologic data and principles, experience in applying these principles to land-water problems, and appraisals of the significance of this experience.

"Headwaters Control and Use" should be of service to the Congress in connection with its consideration of measures looking toward conservation of waters, prevention of erosion, and control of floods. It is becoming increasingly apparent that big waters are not the only part of our water resources presenting problems and requiring constructive treatment. Little waters also are of critical importance. In fact, with respect to some problems, drainage basins must be treated as a whole, both headwaters and main channels of any river system being brought into an integrated program of regulation.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Message to Congress Transmitting a Report Water Conservation and Flood Control. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209539

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