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Show water might change the known adjacent aquifers from relative abundance to deficiency. Extensive use of ground water, therefore, can be safely under- taken only with expert professional hydrologic advice. Flood Protection Area Protected, Character of Works, Amount of Storage Damaging and often severe floods have recurred throughout the history and settlement of the Con- necticut Valley. Flood hazards are found on flood plains of nearly all reaches of the main stem and its tributaries. The communities of greatest flood losses have been Middletown, Hartford, and East Hartford, Conn.; Agawam, Springfield, West Springfield., Chicopee, Holyoke, South Hadley, Hadley, Northampton, and Hatfield, Mass.; Keene, N. H.; and Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Windsor, and St. Johnsbury, Vt. Nearly all of these communi- ties contain highly developed industrial, com- mercial, and residential sections. Much produc- tive cultivable land on the flood plain is also subject to flooding. Locally constructed dikes and other works were erected in many of these areas more than 50 years ago. They provide protection for limited areas against all but the greatest floods. Several of them are large and expensive. Five flood control reservoirs, controlling floods from 615 square miles, are being operated by the Corps of Engineers. The total storage used for flood control at these reservoirs amounts to 191,400 acre-feet. Construction of local flood protection works at the principal centers susceptible to damage is sub- stantially completed. Facilities in Construction and Authorized The only flood protection project presently under construction, in the Connecticut River Basin is the Mad River Channel Improvement at Winsted, Conn. Congress Inas authorized construction of 21 flood control reservoirs, of which five have been con- structed thus far.4 To provide protection for the 4Knightville (Westfield River), Birch Hill (Millers River), Tully (Tully River), Surrey Mountain (Ashuclot River), Union. Village (Ompompanoosuc River). principal damage areas against major floods that might be reasonably anticipated, the Corps of Engineers reports that it will be necessary to con- struct all of the reservoirs presently authorized or suitable substitutes. Approval of three reservoirs has been given by the States at Barre Falls (Ware River, Mass.), Ball Mountain, and Townshend (West River, Vt.). Construction awaits appropria- tion of funds. The authorized plan calls for the construction of 13 more reservoirs on the principal tributaries. Situation at End of Present Program The Corps of Engineers reports that upon com- pletion of the presently authorized program, a high degree of flood protection will have been provided along the main stem and along those parts of the tributaries lying below the flood control reservoirs. On the other hand, if the projects listed in table 2 are found to be feasible as a partially alternative program, it is estimated that major floods would be reduced more than 16 feet at Alcott Falls, 11 feet at Bellows Falls and Turners Falls, 5 feet at Holyoke, and 7 feet at Enfield. Watershed Control Upstream and Related Land Programs The Present Situation Three salient statistics are of major importance in plans for the management of watersheds in the Connecticut Basin: (1) Forest lands make up 67 percent of the total land area of the basin, (2) over 90 percent of the land is in private ownership, and (3) the great majority of private holdings range in size from 100 to 500 acres. Consequently, any watershed land treatment program must be adjusted to function in a framework of small, private holdings, two-thirds of which are in forest. Under current watershed management practices, the hydrologic conditions of the area are unsatis- factory. Overuse of pasture lands, especially in the lower half of the basin, lack of conservation practices on many agricultural lands, and abuse of forest lands have resulted in accelerated runoff, decreased low-water flows, erosion, and sediment pollution. A Federal fire-control program for the past 25 years has brought about noteworthy improvement 480 |
