Statement by the President on the Agreement With Mexico for an International Flood Control Project on the Tijuana River.

THE GOVERNMENTS of the United States and Mexico have concluded an agreement for the construction, operation, and maintenance of an international flood control project for the Tijuana River in California and in Baja California, Mexico. Agreement was reached through the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, which will now proceed to supervise joint design and construction of the project.

Once again we join with our sister Republic of Mexico for the solution of a border problem. The normally small Tijuana River, flowing through the Mexican city of Tijuana and the cities of San Diego and Imperial Beach to the Pacific Ocean, is subject to severe floods. By channelizing the river, the two countries can confine its flood waters in those cities to a narrow, concrete-lined waterway. These cities will be able to develop the river's flood plains without a continual threat to lives, homes, and businesses. Since the new river channel in the United States will be moved southward to a location just north and generally parallel to the international boundary, the United States cities will not have to contend with this river running through their developed areas. Each country will pay for that part of the project within its own territory, thus sharing costs proportionally in accordance with the benefits received. It is estimated that the United States portion will cost $ 15,400,000 on the basis of current prices. Of this amount, the local beneficiaries would pay $4,500,000 and the Federal Government would pay $10,900,000. This arrangement for local participation is the same as though the project were domestic instead of international.

I want to thank the many Members of Congress who supported the legislation last year to authorize this project, and particularly Senator Kuchel and Representative Van Deerlin for their valuable leadership.

At three widely separated points along our almost 2,000-mile boundary with Mexico, in the lower Rio Grande Valley, at El Paso, and now in California, we have new projects under way designed to improve the border region where so many of the citizens of both countries live and share common aspirations.