The other two members of the Board of Engineers gave this testimony:
“Colonel Cosby—I concur fully with the statement of Colonel Biddle. There is not the slightest question in my mind but that this should be used as the source of water supply, and not only that, but that it will be used as a water supply in a very short time independently of whether this project is adopted or not. I think the pressure will be so great to conserve the water up there that it will be used as a storage reservoir. It is by far the best storage reservoir in that section of the country, and water is so valuable there that they cannot afford to let it run to waste. If you deny the use of it to San Francisco, sooner or later the water will be put to other uses. Somebody will be asking for permission to utilize the Hetch-Hetchy Valley as a storage reservoir for irrigation purposes.”
“Chairman—What do you think of the equitable distribution made of it under the terms of this bill?”
“Colonel Taylor—I do not think the irrigation people have anything to complain of in this bill.”
In 1913 the official report of this Board of Army Engineers is stated:
“The Board believes that on account of the fertility of the lands under irrigation and their aridness without water the necessity of preserving all available water in the valleys of California will sooner or later make the demand for the use of Hetch-Hetchy as a reservoir practically irresistible.”
The testimony of the members of the Board obtained great weight because of their unquestioned technical skill and experience and their positions, entirely disconnected from local prejudice and interest.
That the Raker Bill will prove of considerable advantage to nearly all, if not to all, other interests of the State of California outside the Bay section affected by the Bill seems to have been clearly established.
IV. What will be the operative effects of the Raker Bill on the Yosemite National Park?
The total area flooded in the National Park will be 3373 acres. Of these the city owns about 1300 acres. The Government under the Raker Bill will get, by exchange, the difference between 1300 acres and 3142.78 acres, which is 1842.78. The city will take from the Government the difference between 1300 acres and 3373 acres, which is 2072. Hence, the city will trade to the Government as much land as it takes for flooding, lacking 129.22 acres. The forests to be covered by the flooding are in no part of the large redwoods, but are of a size frequently found in a California forest.