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Show on which payment has been temporarily suspended, ap- proximately 54,000 are currently being farmed, to work the alkali out of the soil and make the land useful. The remainder awaits further remedial measures to permit their agricultural use. It is contemplated that all of these lands will be restored to a paying class when their productivity is brought up to satisfactory levels. Beneficiaries of the same type are treated entirely dif- ferent depending upon the legislation under which a project was constructed. In most, other than irrigation projects, the beneficiaries are not charged for the cost of preliminary surveys and investigations, but all such costs are a direct charge to those on irrigation projects, and this amount is often an important element of the cost. If an early study reveals an irrigation project infeasible but a subsequent study finds it feasible due to changed conditions, the costs of both studies are charged to the beneficiaries. Some agencies can charge beneficiaries for collateral benefit, such as land enhancement, but others do not. The planned development of the Point Park and the Gateway Center development of the Point Area in Pitts- burgh, made possible by the flood control reservoir develop- ments in the Upper Ohio, is an example, in which the beneficiary did not contribute directly toward the con- struction cost. Also, in the New Haven Harbor project, waste material from the channel excavation provided a filled area to be used by the State highway department at a saving of at least $1 million as well as enhancing other property. The communities within and adjoining irrigation projects benefit greatly by such developments but bear no appreciable part of the project costs. Simi- larly, the beneficiaries of most navigation projects pay nothing directly toward their costs, but contribute in- directly through Federal taxes. III. The General Lessons Learned Past experience has resulted in major contributions to the improvement of procedure and policies for water re- source development and will continue to do so. That mistakes ha_ve been made is inevitable. This has not precluded the success of undertakings of the kind re- viewed, which have added so materially to the economy of the Nation. Nor should the inevitable mistakes of the future, as new and untried procedures and policies are applied^ preclude the advancement of worthwhile undertaking's. Whether the lessons learned are effectively applied is the important question. This has been done promptly in the case of physical structures, as their adequacy or inadequacy can be quickly determined, and the develop- ment agencies have full freedom to apply the experience in the design of subsequent structures. In cases of water- resource development such as those involving economic and social problems, there is no such ready determination of adequacy, agreement on the character of remedial measures needed, or freedom to undertake these measures. The result lias been a slower, more cautious application of experience in these latter fields. The increase in experience and the improvement of procedures and policies have been a gradual evolutionary process. It is not revealed by the isolated reviews of individual projects. These tend to emphasize, on the one hand, examples of deficiencies which promoted efforts toward subsequent improvements or, on the other, suc- cesses in wliich are incorporated the results of past ex- perience, good and bad, without indicating the subsequent or antecedent steps. The folio-wing discussion has been arranged, therefore, to present a summation of principles and policies which have evolved from past experience. The conh;1 .t'r: : made to many of the policies by experience on m dividual projects discussed above will be apparent, but the presen- tation is not limited to isolated lessons learned only from those examples. Nor is distinction made as to the ex- tent to which individual principles and policies are cur- rently being applied. Some represent present practices of all agencies in the water-resource-development field, whereas others will require additional legislation before their application or uniform adoption is possible. Finally, it should be recognized that they represent a guide for the near future, and that the subsequent and continuing summation of experience may indicate desirable modifi- cation. Basin Development Alternative and possible future developments on a stream have long been considered in planning individual projects. The need for more comprehensive surveys of all potentialities has been demonstrated, however, as de- velopments in a given basin have progressed. Alterna- tives have decreased in number, the interrelationship of remaining possibilities has become closer, and the costs of projects left for development have become relatively high. These conditions have made it imperative that individual projects be made part of the most efficient and economical plan for development of the entire stream basin. 1. The following recommendations for the formulation of basin plans are drawn from experience demonstrating the need for such basin plans and experience in their preparation and application: 408 |
