The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 51
728 p. : maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Responses to the Challenges of Water Resources
Authority came anywhere near embracing the entire watershed
of a major river.25
Many changes in water resources programs occurred in the
193o's. Also many local water districts were hard-hit by the de-
pression and sought to have their debts refinanced through the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Flood control and drain-
age programs received considerable attention from the federal
government in the various emergency work programs. The Texas
Relief Commission sponsored an entire series of activities to
aid in the prevention of floods and to drain swamp areas.26
The depression stimulated public interest in natural resources,
which resulted in the creation of planning agencies on both na-
tional and state levels. In Texas, the Texas Planning Commission
was established by the forty-fifth legislature. One of its accomp-
lishments was the development of the first statewide plan for
Texas rivers.27
The depression also made the state more economy-minded,
and studies were instigated to find ways to economize. The Joint
Legislative Committee on Organization and Economy in 1933
noted that the work of gathering technical data was duplicated
by the State Reclamation Department and the State Board of
Water Engineers. It recommended that the Reclamation De-
partment be abolished and that its duties be delegated to other
agencies. Accordingly, in 1939 the duties of the Reclamation
Department were transferred to the General Land Office.28
The most significant change that occurred during the depression
was the role the federal government played in flood protection.
A national flood control policy was adopted in 1936, which de-
clared flood control was of national concern and provided pro-
cedures by which programs for its abatement were to be de-
"Woodworth G. Thrombley, Special Districts and Authorities in Texas (Austin,
1959), 50-52; Texas Water Commission, Biennial Report, 1962-1964 (Austin, 1964),
92.
6Texas Relief Commission: A Division of the State Board of Control, Report of
Work Division Activities, April I, 1934, to July z, 1935 (Austin, 1935), 1-83;
Texas Planning Bulletin, II, No. 2, p. 8.
"7General Laws of the State of Texas, 44th Leg., Reg. Sess., 1935, Ch. XXXIII;
Texas Planning Board, Development of Texas Rivers (Austin, 1938).
28Guide to Texas State Agencies (Austin, 1956), 26-27.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/69/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.