| OCR Text |
Show recreation and fish and wildlife features in reservoir areas; key water conservation and flood control works; irrigation works for supplemental water to sustain existing local economies and to provide sup- plementary feed for the livestock industry; and ex- tensive hydroelectric and steam power development. Coordination of Operation As the ultimate development approaches comple- tion a high degree of coordination between projects and functions will be required. Most of the proj- ects in the ultimate plan are related in operation to other projects at least by some function. Irrigation normally is on a basis of specific irri- gation works served from a given reservoir or lim- ited group of reservoirs. Flood control operation of reservoirs will vary from local operation for a small flood, to day-to-day operation or hour-to-hour operation in major basin floods. Power demands must be met, but the interconnection of hydroelec- tric power plants by a backbone transmission net allows flexibility in water management. It allows production of power at chosen plants for most effi- cient multiple-purpose use of all units, in coordina- tion with steam and other power. Other functions concern trie effect of units on recreation and wild- life, and the relation of operating facilities to pollution abatement. As the development period covers several decades there will be not only a chance but the necessity for changing operation criteria. This will require that the operation be flexible to meet changing condi- tions. One of the principal missing items for effi- cient planning of operations is the absence of a measure or guide to the relative importance of the many various interests involved in most of the proj- ects. This leads to the necessity of establishing various combinations of criteria and making studies to indicate capabilities of a reservoir or system of reservoirs under different sets of criteria. Only after this has been done can the effects of various operation procedures be measured against needs for the many interests concerned and the most efficient and equita/ble plan of operation selected. The many interests involved in the basin program will require coordination for maximum efficiency and beneficial results. Care must be taken that operation of projects is not allowed to get out of balance in favor of any one interest or any one lo- cality or region. A close balance must be main- tained with respect to all needs and beneficial effects. To achieve optimum benefits from the program as the various elements are completed, means for unified operation of all related water regulation or utilization facilities will be provided. Means will further be maintained for coordination of all plans as they develop, all programs or activities which can influence water use, and all activities which are dependent upon water use. In the operation of such a far-reaching develop- ment as is proposed, an operating schedule must be developed for all functions, so that each schedule will form an integral part of a master operating schedule for all of the project works, to the end that maximum control and use of the resources and potentialities can be obtained and that every func- tion can be maximized. Such an operating organization will be complex, consisting of experts in all of the project functions, anxious to cooperate and mindful of the many con- flicts that will arise between the various functions. The objective will be the control of the river from its sources, to create the maximum benefits en route and carry it through its channels without damage. The keystone of such an operation program must be adequate information on all stream flow condi- tions in the entire basin; the snow melt today on the Rocky Mountains in Montana may be in storage in Fort Peck next week, and later contribute to floods in Missouri. Runoff must be delayed en route so as not to synchronize with storm runoff in South Da- kota and Kansas. Fully coordinated operation rules should be pre- pared for the operation of each unit in the system for the general guidance of the system operation, and the operators at each unit, providing for flexi- bility in times of emergency at the direction of a chief operator. The operation of the entire system should be un- der the river basin commission for the basin, recom- mended by this Commission. The Future Basin The transformation of the character of the basin in the end should be pronounced. With the full development of land management, flood con- trol, drainage control, irrigation, hydroelectric power, water supply sources, pollution control, fish and wildlife conservation, navigation and land transportation, the Missouri Basin should achieve a high degree of stability and economic and social well-being. 280 |
