Works of improvement reduce flood damages in Texas About $165,000 of floodwater and sediment damage was averted in the spring of 1957 alone by the land-treatment measures and flood-prevention works of improvement installed in the 4 pilot watershed projects in Texas. Although only 37 of the planned 44 floodwater-retarding structures were yet in place and the installation of land treatment conservation practices has been hampered by severe drought since the projects were started in 1953, flood damages were reduced from a probable $603,000 (without the improvement measures) to estimated damages of $437,200 during the April and May 1957, floods. In the Escondido Creek pilot project with 10 of the 11 planned floodwater dams and 47 percent of the planned land-treatment measures installed, damages were reduced from a possible $39,000 without the installation to about $9,000 from the April 20-21, 1957, storm. In the Calaveras Creek pilot watershed with 8 of the 9 planned floodwaterretention dams and only 10 percent of the planned land-treatment measures installed probable damages of $36,000 without the project were reduced to $14,000 from the storms of April 19 and April 29, 1957. In the Green Creek pilot watershed with all 13 planned floodwater-retarding structures working and 51 percent of the planned land-treatment measures installed, damages from the April 26, 1957, storm with rainfall from 3.7 to 4.8 inches were reduced from an estimated $45,000 without the installations to about $7,000 actual damage. Damage reductions in this project were about $33,000 in 1955 and $74,000 in 1956 when the planned structural measures were only partially installed. Two storms in April 1957 would probably have caused $205,000 damages in the Cow Bayou watershed pilot project before the project work was done. With 6 of the 11 planned floodwater-retarding dams in place, damages from these 2 storms were estimated to be $175,175. Five inches of rain in April and 8.3 inches of rain again on May 11, 1957, centered above the completed dams and caused about $232,000 in damages downstream. Had the land treatment and 6 floodwater dams not been installed, damages would probably have been $277,000 or more-a reduction of $45,000. Rainfall amounts and intensities expected only once in 96 years were recorded at 1 rain gage stationed in the Cow Bayou project where only about half of the planned work was installed. Storms affecting the entire Cow Bayou watershed similar to the one of May 11, 1957, are expected only once in about 64 years. The installation of the remaining structural works of improvement planned in these four projects is scheduled by the end of 1958. Because of the continuous severe drought, the land-treatment phase of these watersheds will need to be continued beyond 1958 to complete the planned work. LOANS AND RELATED EXPENSE REVISED LAW AUTHORIZES LOANS Under section 8 of Public Law 1018, 84th Congress, which amended Public Law 566 of the 83d Congress, loans are authorized to be made to local organizations to defray the local share of the cost of watershed protection projects. Since this law requires that all of the costs allocated for flood-prevention purposes except the costs of easements and rights-of-way be paid from Federal funds, most of the loans are expected to be made for the local share of the cost of multiplepurpose projects. The Farmers' Home Administration will make loans under the provisions of this act for watershed projects which have been approved for the installation of works of improvement by the Administrator of the Service or by the appropriate committees of the Congress, if required. Project sponsors usually make local arrangements to secure funds needed for the costs of easements and rights-of-way and the costs of contract administration although some applications for loans have included funds for this purpose. No loans will be made under this authority for the local costs of land-treatment measures installed in the project primarily for watershed-protection purposes even though the cost of these measures is usually a large share of the total cost of the project. These land-treatment measures benefit the lands upon which they are applied and the costs are normally borne by the individual landowners rather than by the sponsoring organization. Federal cost sharing is available for most of these measures through the Department's agricultural conservation program and the soil and water conservation loan program. No loans had been made under this authority by December 1, 1957, although more than 20 recent inquiries have indicated the need for financial assistance. Applications for loans have been accepted ever since the loan program was authorized. Loan program procedures and regulations have been issued and preparations are being made to service loan applications in the field offices of the Farmers' Home Administration. EXAMPLES OF LOAN APPLICATIONS MADE The Locust Island Meadow Co. and the Thoroughfare Meadow Co., cosponsors with the Salem-Cumberland Soil Conservation District for the Silver Lake-Locust Island watershed protection project in New Jersey were early applicants for a loan of $30,000 to finance their share of the project costs. This project was approved for operations on May 22, 1957, and the sponsors expect to complete the loan arrangements in time for construction of the planned structural works to be started early in 1958. The construction work will consist of two large dikes with sluiceways to provide both flood-protection and drainage benefits. The total cost of the structural works is estimated at $181,692. The local share of the estimated cost is $32,775 including the cost of easements and rights-of-way and contract administration. The local share of the cost is allocated for the drainage benefits on the private lands of the members of the mutual, nonprofit Meadow companies. The Meggett-Hollywood Irrigation District of Charleston, S. C., has already made application for a loan of about $1,500,000 for the construction of an irrigation canal and appurtenant works in the proposed Toogoodoo Creek watershed protection project although the preliminary work plan is not yet complete. The planned canal will convey irrigation water for the production of vegetables and other high value crops. The Tackett Creek watershed drainage district of Holmes County, Miss., a cosponsor with the Holmes County soil conservation district proposes to borrow funds to defray the local share of the costs of the proposed Tackett Creek watershed project. The local cost share of the structural measures estimated at $37,566. This includes the costs of easements and rights-of-way, contract administration and the local share of the cost of channel improvement. The 6.5 miles of channel work will benefit the local landowners in the drainage district by providing drainage outlets. SURVEYS AND INVESTIGATIONS OF WATER RESOURCES AGENCY PARTICIPATION Funds for surveys and investigations of river basin areas for interagency program coordination purposes have been allocated to the cooperating agencies in the Department as follows: Section 6 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566, 83d Cong.), as amended, authorizes the Seceretary of Agriculture to cooperate with other Federal, State, and local agencies in making investigations and surveys of the watersheds of rivers and other waterways as a basis for the development of coordinated programs. The Department is represented on the Interagency Committee on Water Resources which has been established to facilitate the coordination of water and related land resource activities by the various member departments and agencies. Much of this work is done in the field. This requires that the Department maintain representation on various river basin interagency committees, which serve as points of contact between representatives of this Department and of other member departments and agencies and the States in these basin areas, to keep all concerned mutually informed of the activities of the member agencies. The Department in 1957 maintained such representation on committees in the Arkansas-White-Red, Columbia, Missouri, Northeast and Pacific Southwest areas. In addition, surveys are being conducted in the following major river basin areas: Lower Mississippi River and tributaries project The Department of Agriculture is cooperating with the Mississippi River Commission in its review of the Corps of Engineers' lower Mississippi River and tributaries project. This project proposal is of substantial importance to this Department because it would have a major influence upon the agriculture of the area and is closely related to watershed improvements needed on watershed lands. The Soil Conservation Service, Forest Service, and Agricultural Research Service are participating in the work with funds made available under this item. Work plan parties have assembled data, made field investigations, analyzed data and gotten underway a flow of reports to the Mississippi River Commission on the estimated effects on agriculture of proposed flood control, major drainage, and other improvements by the Corps of Engineers in various subareas. Nine reports on such subareas have been completed and others are in various stages of completion. The remaining subarea reports are expected to be completed during the current fiscal year. A report summarizing the material developed and the probable overall effect of the proposed improvements on the agriculture of the lower Mississippi River area has been started during the current fiscal year. Upper Colorado River storage project The Department is cooperating with the Department of Interior in a reappraisal of the direct agricultural benefits expected to be produced by the participating projects of the Colorado River storage project. Work is progressing in accordance with schedules established by the Bureau of Reclamation. The impacts of that project upon lands and improvements administered by this Department and the relationship between features and appurtenances of the projects surveyed and the watersheds in which they are situated have also been considered. The Soil Conservation Service, Forest Service, and Agricultural Research Service are the primary Department agencies participating in the work under this item. The land-grant colleges are cooperating. Representatives of the Farmers Home Administration and the State agricultural stabilization committees and of various concerned State agencies have provided valuable nformation and advice. Reports have been completed and transmitted to the Secretary of the Interior and the Director, Bureau of the Budget, on the Vernal unit of the Central Utah project in Utah on the Paonia project in Colorado. A field draft report has been completed on the Hammond project in New Mexico. Fieldwork has been nearly completed in connection with the reappraisal of the Seedskadee project in Wyoming. Some soil and other data have been obtained about the Emery County project in Utah and the Smith Fork project in Colorado. Delaware River Basin The Department has responded to a request from the Corps of Engineers for cooperation in a survey and preparation of a Delaware River Basin water resources survey report based on a projection of at least 100 years. The Soil Conservation Service, Forest Service, and Agricultural Research Service are participating in the work. Most of the cost of this survey has been paid for by the Corps of Engineers. Information is being developed on the present and estimated future water requirements for domestic, livestock, irrigation, and other rural uses for water and how these requirements can be met; on the effect of land treatment and structural measures for flood prevention and watershed protection on high and low streamflows and on sedimentation; and on the impact of possible reservoir inundation upon agricultural production capacity and resources. Kansas River Basin in Kansas The Department has agreed to cooperate with the Kansas State Water Resources Board in a survey of that portion of the Kansas River watershed that lies in the State of Kansas to develop information on economically feasible upstream water-storage opportunities for agricultural and other local uses and for flood-prevention purposes. This information will be useful to the State of Kansas in making overall plans for use and development of its water resources. It will be useful to the Department in connection with providing assistance in the development of work plans for small watersheds under the provision of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. A work plan for the survey has been developed and the survey is underway. Cape Fear watershed in North Carolina In response to a request from the United States Corps of Engineers, agreement has been reached to cooperate with the Corps of Engineers and the State of North Carolina in a survey of the Haw River (a tributary of the Cape Fear River) Basin to develop information on economically feasible water storage opportunities there, together with sufficient examination of other tributaries of the Cape Fear River to ascertain the effects of possible projects and measures therein to determine their relationship with and impact on possible plans for the Haw River Basin. Information developed will be used to show the needs for water resource development in the Haw River Basin, various economically feasible development possibilities on the Haw, the degree and location of benefits to be provided by each, and estimates of the costs and benefits. A work plan for the survey has been developed and the survey is underway. Columbia River Basin Information was developed by the Forest Service and made available to the Corps of Engineers on the relationships between various proposed reservoirs of the Corps of Engineers and the watersheds of streams upon which they would be located that lie within the national forests and upon the effect that the reservoirs would have upon the use and management of the affected national forests and other forested watershed lands. Similar information relating to a few additional proposed reservoirs is being developed this year. Yazoo-Mississippi River Basin In response to a request from the Board of Water Commissioners, State of Mississippi, agreement has been reached to cooperate with that board in a survey of the Yazoo-Mississippi River Basin to develop and obtain through surveys and investigations necessary information to be used by the Soil Conservation Service in coordinating its programs with soil conservation districts and other local organizations, agencies of the Mississippi State government, and other Federal agencies, and to be used by the board of water commissioners to effectively administer and assist in planning the physical aspects of water use and management in the Yazoo-Mississippi River Basin. A work plan is in process of development. Work is expected to begin about the middle of the current fiscal year and continue for about 3 years. Other cooperative surveys The Department in cooperating with the Chicago, Ill., division office of the Corps of Engineers in surveys on various streams in that division area to develop information for use by the Soil Conservation Service in providing information to soil conservation districts and to the Corps of Engineers on the effects of Corps of Engineers' major drainage projects on land use and management. A request has been received from the Corps of Engineers for cooperation in a survey of the portion of the Des Moines River watershed in Iowa above the Red Rock Reservoir. There are also prospects of requests for cooperation in surveys and investigations of the watersheds of the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers. |