OCR Text |
Show stances to enter solution in those streams, except where such practice does not handicap other water uses. Where Canadian interests are involved, a joint study of the problem should be undertaken to determine restraining methods acceptable to both countries. Where the release of gases from ore reduction plants threatens watershed cover so as to create sedimentation problems, it should be obligatory to keep those gases under control. C. The Character and Rate of Development 1. Basic Data Essential to Future Detailed Plans for Development The Problem The data essential for efficient planning, con- struction, and operation in the Columbia area and time of availability in relation to other activity. The Situation Judgment on essential basic data needed in the Columbia River Basin must take into account the following phases: (1) requirements for prelimi- nary investigations; (2) requirements for purposes of general survey investigation (general coverage); (3) data requisite for definite project investigations (specific coverage); and (4) data for construction and operation which can appropriately be obtained as required in the course of those activities. Data already available in phases 1 and 2 have permitted the drafting of a comprehensive plan for physical development of the river. Initial units can and have been selected from this for development with assurance that they will form integral parts of the ultimate full development. Likewise, data in phases 3 and 4 were generally adequate for detailed planning and construction of existing- projects. Data in category 4 above have been or are being obtained for projects under construction. These data include such items as detailed topography of structure sites and reser- voirs, detailed geologic exploration of dam sites, detailed classification of lands in accordance with suitability for irrigation, and detailed economic studies of prospective farm economy on irrigable lands. Nevertheless, completion of development will require substantial additions to basic infor- mation. Although about 20 percent of the basin has been covered with topographic surveys, good maps are available for perhaps only 5 percent of the area. Cadastral surveys, which serve to determine the land lines and property lines of many public and private lands, have not been made for a large area of the mountainous part of the basin. Although the geology is known in a general way and a con- siderable area is mineralized, for most of the area the geology has not been studied. Soils informa- tion is available for only a portion of the area now developed. The physical properties of some of the soils, their availability for agriculture under sus- tained irrigation, and the kind and character of drainage they will need if developed, are unknown for many undeveloped parts of the basin. Hydrologic data are more satisfactory, but here also are significant gaps in knowledge. This results from the relatively recent settlement of the basin and the large areas of semiarid and mountainous terrain. About 40 percent of the ultimate facilities for collecting precipitation data have been installed, and much remains to be done in putting the avail- able data in form for general or widespread use. About 60 percent of the estimated needed number of snow surveys are currently in operation. Per- haps as many as three-fourths of the needed stations to obtain evaporation and associated data have been installed. A somewhat similar situation exists for surface water. Although one record on the Columbia has been in compilation for 70 years, relatively few sta- tions have had a long enough life to furnish com- pletely reliable information on the behavior of the stream or the quantity of water expected under fluctuating climatic conditions. About half of the number of needed stations have been installed to date. Processing of the available data would make them generally more useful. Although some information is available on water quality and on ground water supplies, data on sani- tary quality of water are inadequate in many areas. State and Federal agencies have recently intensified the collection of sanitary water quality data. Em- phasis must be given to defining sewage and in- dustrial waste pollution problems and to establish- ing additional sampling stations for collection of sanitary water quality data. Research on land management problems asso- ciated with the proposed development in the basin has generally been below that in most other areas. Sedimentation data in the basin need to be ex- 54 |