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Show A Citizen's View In an attempt to simplify thinking on the evaluation of water resources projects and pro- grams, one might try to imagine how a citizen would decide whether a given program, involving relatively large public investment, should be au- thorized. Let it be assumed that it is a com- prehensive program, involving a series of conser- vation storage reservoirs, to control the annual runoff of a neighboring river basin, in such a way as to contribute to the greatest possible use of the water for water supply, irrigation, naviga- tion, power, pollution abatement, and recreation. The benefits would be presented to him along the following lines: 1. The height of floods in given cities in the basin will be reduced by so many feet, with corre- sponding protection to property values of so many dollars as well as to so many lives. 2. Improvement in low stream flows at given points will reduce the cost of pollution abatement, and of treating water for municipal and industrial supply. It will also make possible a better de- velopment of the river for navigation, reducing transportation costs, and opening the way for better fishing and recreation. 3. Opportunity will be offered for replenish- ment of ground water reserves through recharg- ing at places and times which will contribute most to the supplies available to municipalities and industries. 4. Provision of water supply for new or sup- plemental irrigation will make possible increased agricultural production, protection of rangelands against over-grazing, and the availability of addi- tional opportunities for farm living. 5. Development of the river's continuing water power resources, with a preference to nonprofit distribution agencies in the distribution of the power, will mean lower residential, rural, and in- dustrial electric rates in the region, thus pro- viding a stimulus to the region's economic de- velopment and new conveniences for its homes. 6. The reservoirs and the entire river system will offer new opportunities for recreation. The interested citizen, advised that such a pro- gram is being considered at a cost so many mil- lions of dollars in Federal investment, might want general answers to such questions as: How serious have the floods been, and what protection would be afforded against them? What kind of lands would be flooded by the reservoirs as compared with the property to be protected? How much farm production, and how many new farms, would the irrigation mean; what would be the regional and national effect? What are the probabilities of getting a really clean river? Would electricity be available to people not now getting it? Would the power be cheaper? How much saving in electric bills? What improvement might be expected in busi- ness and employment opportunities? What would the program offer in terms of evening, week end, and vacation enjoyment, to how many people? Will it increase taxes and by how much? On the basis of the answers to these questions, the interested citizen would decide whether the program at the cost indicated is a good thing. He would want to see as many dollar figures as possible, but these would not necessarily fit into a strict benefit-cost equation. In fact, he is quite used to thinking in other terms about the building of a new church, or a city auditorium, or a park. He will probably weigh a number of general benefits as well as those expressed in. dollars, in general considering it worth quite an. investment to- Abolish the threat of serious floods. Bring more land into production, permitting more people to farm if they want to. Make sure that wells do not run dry. Clean up the river. Get new industries into the region, so that sons and daughters can support families near the old home. Improve business and real estate values. Get lower electric rates, to permit the use of more electricity in homes and on the farm. Be able to drive to a lake or riverside on a summer evening, or for a week end, and do some 911609-5( 63 |