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Show Chapter 3 Water Development Needs, Opportunities, and Programs Planning for the full use of the water resources of the Alabama-Coosa River Basin is primarily a problem of determining the best long-range pro- gram rather than one of meeting emergencies as they occur. The needs of the basin are great because of the large number of people who must find employment in some endeavor other than agriculture if the pro- duction per man in farming is to increase enough to permit satisfactory living levels. Harnessing this river promises to create important opportunities for employment because water is abundant, and the many good reservoir sites make possible the storage of large quantities of water which can be controlled to generate power. Conflicts arising from inunda- tion of land and communities are minimized since storage reservoirs can be built in valleys not yet densely settled and where agricultural use is limited. Present water-use structures on the Alabama- Coosa include six hydroelectric plants owned by the Alabama Power Co. and the Federal hydro- electric plant at Allatoona Reservoir. The pri- vately owned plants generate about 25 percent of the potential power of the river system. Allatoona Reservoir is operated for flood control and regula- tion of river flow as well as for power. Other water control facilities include four local flood control projects. In 1945, the Congress approved a program for the Alabama-Coosa Basin in accordance with plans of the Chief of Engineers. This plan provides for establishing a 9-foot navigation channel from the Gulf to Montgomery with ultimate extension to Rome, tripling the hydroelectric power capacity, re- ducing flood stages throughout the basin, increasing the dependability of water supply for municipal and industrial use and for dilution of sewage and indus- trial wastes, and increasing the recreation resources. Plans for watershed control, sediment reduction, and related land improvements which complement water resources programs have not progressed in step with plans for project construction. In 1944, Congress authorized a watershed program for the portion of the Goosa River watershed above Rome. The natural resources of this area are abundant and only partly developed. Their planned develop- ment, therefore, becomes of increasing importance not only to the Alabama-Coosa Basin, but to the entire southeastern region and the Nation. Water stored in reservoirs can be used to generate energy for use throughout the Southeast. Integrated con- trol of the entire Mobile River system, supple- mented by possible diversion of some water from the Tennessee River, might provide for an addi- tional 10 billion kilowatt-hours of dependable energy. Hydroelectric Power Capacity, Yearly Production, Areas Served Hydroelectric power was developed early in the century at the Fall Line on the Coosa and Talla- poosa Rivers. As demands for power grew, steam- electric power was developed using coal mined in the area. Later the Martin Reservoir was built by the Alabama Power Co. to make the hydroelec- tric power generated on the Tallapoosa River more dependable. Thus, steam and hydroelectric power grew up together, each supplementing the other. Table 1 shows the existing hydroelectric power de- velopments in the Alabama-Coosa Basin, their in- stalled capacity, and annual energy output. Total usable power storage capacity at existing hydroelectric developments in the basin is 1,751,000 533 |