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3. ALLEGHENY RIVER

General. The Allegheny has a total drainage area of 11,733 square miles above its junction with the Monongahela at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio. The basin is of a generally rugged nature and rainfall is ample. Flood-control probiems of major importance exist and power potentialities are large.

Projects. The project proposed for Allegheny River includes, among other items, the following:

(a) The extension of the existing 9-foot navigation project at a cost of about $2,650,000, and completion of pending investigations of the desirability of further extending the navigable channel.

(b) The gradual development of a system of eight flood-control reservoirs for the reduction of floods on the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers.

(c) The development of water-power sites as justified by future demand for power.

Recommendation.-While it is conceded that this project possesses much merit, it is considered to occupy a position of secondary importance when all of the projects of the region are considered. The Allegheny project is therefore not recommended at this time.

4. MONONGAHELA RIVER

General. The Monongahela River has a drainage area of 7,384 square miles above its confluence with Allegheny River at Pittsburgh. It drains portions of the States of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. The principal industry is coal mining. The chief uses of water are for navigation, domestic, and industrial water supply, and power development.

Project. The project proposed for Monongahela River includes, among others, these principal items:

(a) The completion of the Tygert Reservoir for the improvement of low-water-flow conditions, primarily for navigation, at an additional cost of $9,000,000.

(b) The improvement of the Youghiogheny River for navigation when and if the need for such facilities becomes urgent.

(c) The construction of West Fork Reservoir for flood control on the Ohio River, when and if undertaken.

(d) The development of the water powers of the basin as rapidly as such power output can be beneficially employed.

Recommendation.-Since most of the above items are contingent upon various considerations, this project seems to be long range in scope and its adoption at this time seems to be premature.

5. KANAWHA RIVER

General. The Kanawha River has a drainage area of about 12,300 square miles at the point where it enters the Ohio at Point Pleasant, W.Va. The basin is rugged and possesses considerable power potentialities. Power and navigation are the principal uses of water in the basin.

Project. The project proposed for Kanawha River includes, among others, these principal items:

.. (a) The completion of the navigation improvement now under way at an additional cost of $7,300,000.

(b) The development of practicable water-power sites as rapidly as outlets for the power can be provided, at a cost of about $150,000,000. (c) The construction of three flood-control storage reservoirs on tributaries in conjunction with the Ohio River program, when and if undertaken.

(d) The restoration of 200,000 acres of submarginal agricultural lands to forest and the eventual extension of the area of publicly owned forest land to 2,500,000 acres.

Recommendation.-Items (b) and (c) above are contingent upon considerations which are at present nonexistent. For this reason the project is not selected for further consideration at this time.

6. OHIO RIVER (MAIN STEM)

General.-The Ohio River, which is formed by the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, is an important tributary of the Mississippi, having a total drainage area of 204,000 square miles. Rainfall is ample for agriculture and there is no serious water-supply shortage. The Ohio Valley is, however, subject to periodic damage from floods.

Project. The project proposed for the Ohio River (main stem) includes, among others, these principal items:

(a) Additions and betterments to existing navigation projects. (b) The progressive construction of a system of 16 storage reservoirs for flood control on the main river, but affording also incidental benefits to water supply and to flood control on the tributaries.

(c) The restoration to forest of selected areas, including abandoned farm lands and denuded areas-about 1,000,000 acres.

Recommendation.-While the value of the proposed improvements is fully conceded, the cost of the work would be large and the benefits probably relatively less than in the case of some other projects. The project is not selected for further consideration at this time.

7. CUMBERLAND RIVER

General. The Cumberland River has a drainage area in Kentucky and Tennessee of 18,000 square miles at the point where it enters the Ohio at Smithland, Ky. The topography is mountainous in the upper portions and hilly or rolling in the lower parts of the basin. Rainfall is ample and well distributed, there being no serious water-supply problem. The water-power potentialities of the Cumberland Valley are notable, but the basin is sparsely settled and has few large cities. Project. The project proposed for Cumberland River includes, among others, these principal items:

(a) Construction of a coordinated system of water-power developments, when and as outlets for power so produced can be found.

(b) Construction of navigational facilities at the power dams as navigation requirements warrant.

(c) The restoration to forest of about 50,000 acres of selected areas of abandoned farms and denuded slopes, and the eventual extension of publicly owned forests to 3,000,000 acres.

(d) The withdrawal from agriculture of from one to two million acres of submarginal lands.

Recommendation.-On account of lack of present and probable near-future demand for power, and the limited demands of navigation, this project appears to lack justification at the present time.

8. BEAVER RIVER

General.-The Beaver River is formed by the junction of the Mahoning and Shenango Rivers and has a drainage area of about 3,040 square miles in Ohio and Pennsylvania at the point where it enters the Ohio about 25 miles below Pittsburgh, Pa. The valley is important industrially Rainfall is ample for agriculture, but on account of the frequent low yield of the streams during dry periods, storage reservoirs have been constructed by local interests to augment deficient water supplies.

Project. The project proposed for Beaver River includes, among others, these principal items:

(a) Improvement of Beaver and Mahoning Rivers to provide a 12-foot channel from the mouth to Struthers, Ohio, with possible incidental benefits to water supply and flood control.

(b) Development of available water-power sites as local demand develops.

(c) Technical assistance and leadership in solving local problems of drainage and land use.

Recommendation. It is recognized that the benefits to navigation might not justify the relatively large expenditure involved, also that the power developments suggested are small and contingent upon local demand. In view of these facts, the project does not appear attractive at the present time.

9. MUSKINGUM RIVER

General. The Muskingum River and its tributaries drain 8,040 square miles in Ohio. It joins Ohio River at Marietta, Ohio. The valley is not only important agriculturally, but is also a highly developed industrial region. Rainfall is ample for agriculture and there is no serious shortage of water supply. A serious flood-control problem does exist.

Project. The project proposed for Muskingum River includes, among others, these principal items:

(a) The construction of the flood control and appurtenant works of the Muskingum Conservancy District including 14 flood storage reservoirs.

(b) The transfer of selected areas totaling about 250,000 acres to public ownership and development as public forests.

Recommendation.-It is believed that the flood-control problem, which is unquestionably serious, offers the only important present justification for this project. Since an allotment of $22,500,000 has already been made by the Public Works Administration for this purpose, it is believed that no further consideration should be given this project at this time.

10. WABASH RIVER

General.-The Wabash River system drains about 33,000 square miles in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. It joins the Ohio about 10

miles above Shawneetown, Ill. The drainage area is both important from agricultural and industrial standpoints. Rainfall is ample for agriculture and there is no serious water supply shortage. Flood control is however an important consideration.

Project. The project proposed for Wabash River includes, among others, these principal items:

(a) The construction of a limited number of levees at selected points.

(b) The establishment of publicly owned forests to cover a total of about 220,000 acres of abandoned farm lands.

Recommendation.-A program of large scale levee construction by the Federal Government does not appear to be justified by the amount of benefits expected to accrue. The project is not recommended at this time.

RÉSUMÉ OF THE REPORT ON THE WESTERN MISSISSIPPI REGION

The report is arbitrarily limited, geographically, to the Mississippi River Valley below the mouth of the Ohio River and the Missouri River Basin. Within this region the climate and natural resources, as well as the social and economic conditions, vary between wide limits. The rainfall is generally greatest near the lower Mississippi and decreases toward the west. Irrigation is of paramount importance in the western part of the region. Flood control and navigation assume their greatest importance in the eastern portion of the area, the former because of the greater concentration of values, the latter because of practicability. Water-power development is of practical importance principally in the uplands of main tributaries. Problems of soil erosion, forestation, and ground-water supply are general throughout the area.

Four of the ten projects proposed for consideration in this region are in the semiarid section where irrigation is of prime importance, although water-power development, flood control, and improvement of navigation are included as essential parts of several of the projects. These four projects are located in the Missouri River, Platte River, Arkansas River, and Yellowstone River Basins. Forestation and other land use adjustments, together with soil conservation through soil-erosion control, are important in each of these basins.

The other six projects proposed for this region are concerned principally with flood protection and water-power development, although uses of water for rice fields and some navigation improvements should receive consideration.

Opportunities for improvement of recreational facilities and the preservation and restoration of wild life may be provided in connection with the other activities recommended for these projects.

The development of these important irrigation, water-power, or flood-control projects would introduce interstate problems regarding the administration of river systems through future years. These problems would require reliable and continuant information with respect to the quantities of water flowing in the rivers and the nature of the ground-water conditions in the tributary ground-storage basins. It is only through the collection and use of these basic data that the broad development of the river basins can proceed in an orderly and efficient manner.

The 10 projects presented for consideration are as follows:

1. LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY

The problem of the lower Mississippi River includes flood protection and channel maintenance, consisting primarily of levees and open river improvements with incidental stabilization and protection of eroding banks. The use of the water for power purposes is not practicable because of the flat slopes and low banks. There is no need for irrigation because of climatic conditions and problems arising from shortage of water are not generally presented in this

area.

The project proposed for the lower Mississippi Valley includes(a) The completion of the existing Federal project for flood control and navigation at a cost of $97,000,000, exclusive of appropriations already made.

(b) The continued study of stream flow and ground-water conditions at an estimated cost of $100,000.

(c) The establishment of publicly owned forests in selected areas to cover about 5,000,000 acres, including a million acres of submarginal land. (No estimate of cost.)

(d) The allotment of $75,000 per year for 5 years to the extension services of Tennessee and of Mississippi for work in connection with soil-erosion control. Five years at $75,000 per year equals $375,000. The estimated total cost of this project is $97,475,000, exclusive of the cost of the forestation.

2. MISSOURI RIVER (EXCLUSIVE OF YELLOWSTONE, PLATTE, KANSAS, AND OSAGE RIVERS)

Due to the great extent of the Missouri River Basin and the extreme variation in its climatic conditions, the relative importance of the various methods for utilization of its water supply varies widely in different parts of the basin. In the western portion, because of lack of rainfall, irrigation is of primary importance. Although numerous power possibilitics exist in that section, opportunities for their successful development are limited by lack of markets for the power. In the more thickly populated castern portion of the basin there is no need for irrigation and power becomes of greater importance. Dependable commercial navigation upon the main river between Sioux City and the mouth would reduce transportation costs in the movement of a large bulk of freight.

The essential parts of this project consist of the following items: (a) Completion of the existing navigation project at a cost of about $107,000,000.

(b) Construction of flood-control works for the protection of cities and towns in the valley at an estimated cost of about $18,687,000. (c) Completion of studies of proposed irrigation projects, so that work may be started when conditions warrant.

(d) The continued study of stream flow and ground-water conditions at an estimated cost of $222,000.

(e) The provision of technical assistance and leadership in the solution of local problems of erosion control and land use.

The estimated total cost of this project is about $126,000,000.

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