OCR Text |
Show made available to highway agencies long enough in advance to permit integration with the regular high- way construction program. The Bureau of Public Roads reports that much wasted effort in highway planning has resulted. Where programs are blown in advance, present practice does not permit water development agencies to pay for highway relocation until construction of the water project begins. The State cannot undertake highway work near the site until the project is under way, which sometimes means a delay of several years. Construction.-The construction of Federal proj- ects in the Central Valley has raised several prob- lems in coordination. The timing and sequence of construction of various units of a comprehensive plan must be given consideration on a basin-wide basis, but this is more properly a problem of the planning phase. The rate of construction progress is largely dependent on congressional appropria- tions, and to that extent is beyond the control of the constructing agencies. Federal agencies, how- ever, have not always agreed on the assignment of responsibility for constructing major projects, as on the Kings or the Calaveras Rivers. The Folsom Project, where the Corps of En- gineers is constructing the dam and the Bureau of Reclamation is authorized to construct the power facilities, is an example of the need for coordina- tion in appropriations. Numerous conferences be- tween these two agencies have been necessary to insure orderly economical prosecution of the work. To this end the Corps and the Bureau are consider- ing including in one contract the powerhouse sub- structure excavation and concrete work for the main dam. They are parts of the same structure, and they should be built concurrently. Operation.-Various projects for control and use of water in the valley will require coordinated operation for maximum benefits. For flood con- trol, such coordinated operation is normally re- quired from November through June. However, during this period the flood control operation may require accurate and rapid decisions as to reservoir releases. Irrigation also requires coordination seasonally, usually from April through October. Because of the transfer of waters from one basin to another, coordination is required. The time element is not so critical for the irrigation operations as for flood control. Irrigation releases can be predetermined, permitting operation more or less in accordance with fixed schedules. In irrigation operations the type of crop in the local service area is an important consideration. Releases may be used for replenish- ment of ground water supplies as well as for surface application. For most efficient hydroelectric power operation, the outputs of existing and proposed Federal and non-Federal plants should be physically integrated into a common system. Therefore, a closely co- ordinated operation of reservoirs which release water to downstream power plants will be neces- sary, on a daily or hourly basis, throughout the year. Some coordination with steam-electric plant facili- ties in the system will also be required. Other project purposes which must be given at- tention include fish and wildlife, recreation, do- mestic and industrial water supplies, pollution, navigation, and salinity repulsion. Although some coordination is required for these functions, they are of a more local character. Most interproject coordination in such cases would be limited to a few projects within a sub-basin. Intraproject coordination is necessary to achieve maximum benefits from multiple-purpose projects. Shasta and Millerton Lakes, for example, are being operated in the joint interest of irrigation, power, and flood control, as well as other functions. Independent operation, at least for some years, is thought to be advisable for certain purely local projects, some of which are single-purpose flood control reservoirs, and some multiple-purpose proj- ects. Examples are the existing and authorized flood control reservoirs on the Merced County streams and the authorized Solano Project on Putah Creek. It is also quite likely that an irriga- tion and flood control project in the Cache Creek drainage would be operated independently of other units in the Central Valley for an initial period. Eventually, however, full development of the So- lano and Cache Creek areas will require additional water supplies which can best be obtained through coordinated operation of these with other Central Valley projects. Conclusions Complete coordination and integration of the planning activities of all interested Federal, State, and local agencies in the Central Valley should be attained. This is necessary to insure full use of available data and specialized personnel, to avoid duplication of effort, and to give all concerned full opportunity to participate in planning. It is neces- sary more particularly to assure the best use of resources for all purposes. 143 |