Los Banos Rotary Club History
Kaljian Explains San Luis Project

Charles Kaljian, local automobile dealer and president of the San Luis Water District, Tuesday noon gave members of the local Rotary Club a concise, up-to-the-minute report on the proposed Trinity-Sacramento-San Luis Project, and what it means to the future of this area in the development of new lands and preservation of a huge acreage of present agricultural lands now faced with the threat of ruin unless new water can be brought in within the next few years.

Kaljian briefly sketched the history of water development on the West Side, the building of the Delta-Mendota Canal to bring exchange waters here to replace waters of the San Joaquin river now being diverted to the southern part of the valley, and the original Central Valley Project plan to make additional water available through construction of the San Luis Reservoir and San Luis-West Side Canal.

There are 1,200,000 acres of potentially rich agricultural land on the west side of the valley, from Los Banos to Bakersfield, that is desperately in need of this new water supply, Kaljian said, including our own San Luis Water District of 50,000 acres.

The proposed Trinity River development, in the north sector of the state, calls for diversion of a portion of the surplus waters from that river southward through a series of tunnels and channels into the Sacramento river watershed, and hence from Shasta dam down through the Delta to the Tracy Pumping Plant.

Trinity area people are anxious to see the project underway, and Congressman Clair Engle is optimistic that with enough support from this portion of the valley, Congress can be persuaded to authorize funds at this session to get the project underway. The active, all-out support of this section is needed now to impress Congress that there is no time for delay, that the need for this project well justifies its authorization.

As to the San Joaquin Project itself Kaljian told of plans to build a million acre-foot reservoir at San Luis, and a high-elevation canal along the west side foothills to permit delivery by gravity south to a point near Bakersfield. Few people realize, he said, the full economic importance of such development to Los Banos and all cities along the line will benefit and grow in exact proportion to development of the unbelievably rich agricultural empire that will surely follow.

State Is Lax

Kaljian was one of six men from this section who attending the congressional committee hearing at Redding Friday to give testimony as to the need and economic feasibility of the project. He said that generally all testimony given at the hearing was conclusively favorable and that the committee was greatly impressed. The one thorn, he said, was in the testimony of State Engineer Edmundson, who failed to support the proposted project, declaring there is no immediate shortage of water in the San Joaquin valley; and further, that his office favors the Feather River project over the Trinity Project. (Estimated water cost to local farmers from the proposed Feather River State development is $11.50 an acre-foot compared with the established cost of $3.50 an acre-foot for the Delta-Mendota canal and possible $5.00 an acre-foot from the San Luis.)

Kaljian said that Senator Kuchel has endorsed the Trinity-San Luis project and promised to give it his full support, as has most of the California congressional delegation. He said that Congressman Oakley Hunter has also promised his support; but said he was disappointed in that Hunter failed to appear at the Redding hearing as he had promised to do. He did, however meet the group at Fresno the following day for the final day of committee discussion.

Kaljian urged that all local groups and individuals get behind the project, and warned that time is very important if action is to be secured at the present session of Congress.

April 23, 1954

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