Watershed planning assistance had been authorized in 46 States by June 30, 1957. Planning parties have been approved for 42 States and planning personnel assigned to the other States on a part-time basis in accordance with their planning workload. The United States Forest Service has assigned personnel to work with the watershed planning parties in those locations where the forestry program of a watershed requires such planning assistance.

Multiple-purpose works of improvement

Section 2 of Public Law 566, as amended August 7, 1956, authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to assist local organizations to plan and carry out multiplepurpose water and land-management projects in watershed areas of not more than 250,000 acres. Assistance from the Department in varying kinds and amounts is available in accordance with the purposes served by the project. Under the amended act local people may now include in their watershed plans all phases of water resources development to assure the best and most effective conservation use and control of water to meet their needs. In the case of flood prevention works of improvement, the cost of construction is borne by the Federal Government. The cost of irrigation and drainage works is shared equitably between the local people and the Federal Government.

Where works include such purposes as improved municipal and industrial water supply, recreation, fish and wildlife improvement, pollution abatement by streamflow regulation, and saline water intrusion control as an integral part of the total plan for the protection and improvement of the land and water resources of the watershed cost of such features must be borne entirely by the local people.

Local organizations have shown much interest in the multiple-purpose project approach to their watershed problems. Six of the thirteen projects approved for operations between January 1 and June 30, 1957, included purposes in addition to watershed protection and flood prevention, most of which are related to agricultural water management such as irrigation and drainage. This limited experience indicates that future watershed projects will serve the local people even better than in the past through incorporating other needed water-management features with the flood-prevention and watershed-protection measures.

INSTALLATION OF WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT

Agency participation

Allocation of funds to the cooperating agencies of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior for 1957 and 1958 and proposed for 1959 for works of improvement on watershed-protection projects are as follows:

As of December 1, 1957, approval had been given to initiate operations on a total of 60 watershed projects for which work plans had been prepared under authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566, 83d Cong.), as amended. Eighteen of these have been approved for operation since July 1, 1957. It is estimated that approval will be given to begin installation of watershed works of improvement on an additional 42 projects during the fiscal year 1958. There would thus be 102 Public Law 566 projects sponsored by local organizations in operation by June 30, 1958, and receiving

financial assistance from the Federal Government. In addition, it is anticipated that 60 additional projects will be approved for operation in 1959. The Federal Government's commitments for all of these projects are estimated as follows:

At the close of the fiscal year 1957, there were 54 active pilot watershed projects in 32 States. Operations were terminated at the request of the sponsors in three projects during the year. The schedule for completion of works of improvement and the Federal Government's commitments for these pilot projects are estimated as follows:

Good progress has been made in working toward completion of the original 58 pilot watershed projects on which work was initiated. As of June 30, 1957, 1 project had been fully completed, 3 were discontinued, 19 were 90 percent completed, and 25 were from 50 to 90 percent completed. Only 10 were less than 50 percent completed. Installation of planned watershed-improvement measures is scheduled for completion on all pilot projects by the end of the 1961 fiscal

year.

At the close of the 1957 fiscal year, the following major structural measures were contracted for or had been installed in pilot watersheds :

Floodwater-retarding structures___

Stabilizing and sediment-control structures_.
Channel stabilizing and improvement (miles) ---

231

502

234

The following table shows, by State and watershed name, descriptive information concerning each pilot and Public Law 566 watershed approved for installation of a program of works of improvement by June 30, 1957:

Project installation complete on date shown; special evaluation of the effect of flood-size storms will

continue for a limited number of years.

Project not authorized, no local sponsor.

Terminated before completion at sponsor's request.

Terminated Dec. 31, 1956.

Terminated June 30, 1957.

21494-58-pt. 3-24

Practical problems confront watershed project sponsors

Sponsors of watershed projects among other things are required to provide all necessary easements and rights-of-way for structural measures to be constructed under each watershed work plan. Sponsors are often confronted with unexpected refusals to grant easements or with complex problems of land ownership and absentee owners requiring considerable time and expense to secure the needed approvals. Delay in clearing all necessary easements for a structure can disrupt the work schedules seriously.

For example, more than 200 easements are needed for the 42 floodwater retarding and other structures in the Big Wewoka Creek watershed of Oklahoma. Field activities of Service employees have been suspended in the Chimacum Creek watershed in Jefferson County, Wash., until the sponsors secure the needed easements and rights-of-way and make the necessary financial arrangements. Work on the Ball Creek, N. Y., pilot watersheds was terminated on December 21, 1956, with none of the planned structural work accomplished because the sponsors found it impossible to secure the needed easements. One property owner in the Clear Creek watershed of Jackson County, Ala., has delayed the starting of work on the planned 4.6 miles of stream channel improvement by his refusal to grant or sell the necessary easement. The sponsors now propose to take legal steps to secure this easement.

The Payne County portion of the Long Branch watershed in Oklahoma failed to be annexed to a conservancy district because of landowners opposition to conferring eminent domain rights. Securing easements and rights-of-way is the soil conservation district's biggest problem as project sponsors. State legislation specifically granting the power of eminent domain to watershed associations and soil conservation districts has been proposed or enacted in many States as a result of this common problem.

Soil surveys and farm conservation plans in watersheds