OCR Text |
Show technology and expansion of new industries may stimulate increased mining, as will a national emergency in which fuels are again in short suppply. Development of water resources will take account of mining needs, and the water and waste disposal needs of this industry. Because coal mining opera- tions also constitute a pollution hazard to the streams, the elimination of acid coal mine drainage is an important element in plans for water resource development. Although other mineral prospects, particularly of zinc, manganese, and some nonmetallics, occur throughout the basin, these deposits are considered submarginal, under present technological and eco- nomic conditions. Any exploitation, however, will introduce new possibilities for industrial pollution which must be considered and guarded against in a full plan. Rate of Development Pressing Needs Need will be the primary feature determining the rate of development of the Potomac River Basin. While there is today no federally approved com- prehensive plan for the basin, there are some ele- ments of the comprehensive plan of water resource development about which much is known today and which must be undertaken as rapidly as budgetary considerations will permit. Other features will only be fully understood in the future. The long- range basin program, therefore, will be sufficiently flexible for adaptation to changing conditions. The urgent and pressing needs for basin improve- ments will outline the pattern of the comprehensive basin plan and the rate of development. The correction of land practices and reforestation should proceed at a rapid rate. Appropriations for this purpose should be made in a manner which recognizes the importance of these actions. Proper watershed management is an important preliminary to construction of some major works and should be so approached. The need for pollution abatement, with special attention to the industrial Cumberland and to the Washington metropolitan areas, is presently most keenly appreciated by the public and the agencies concerned, and is high in the order of priority for attention. Similar needs for acid mine control exist in the upper basin. Flood control is an important need involving both local protection projects and regulating reservoirs, with priority in this field to be given to protection of the Washington area and to acute local flood protection problems. Water supply problems, which are of immediate importance in the industrial areas of the western portion of the basin, must receive early attention. The expansion of treatment facilities of the Wash- ington Aqueduct should go forward to early com- pletion. The need for additional recreational facilities in the Washington area is extensive and acute, espe- cially for the many who cannot travel to Chesa- peake Bay, the ocean, and other relatively distant resorts. Additional electric power is needed and multiple- purpose projects which include hydroelectric power should be placed high in the rate of development. A reservoir serving the same purposes as the pro- posed Riverbend would serve as a key project for flood control, power, water supply, and recreation, and should be among the first constructed. The regrouping and segregation of commercial and recreational shore facilities in Washington Harbor and Alexandria are a part of proposed im- provement of the water fronts of the two harbors, and can receive early attention. The provision of additional shallow-draft harbors and connecting channels in the tidewater section of the Potomac River Basin for the fishing fleet, and as harbors of refuge for transient vessels and pleasure craft, can proceed under an orderly program. The rehabilitation of tidewater fisheries through control of silt and pollution and other measures will be a long-range program which must be under- taken at a rate consistent with those physical fea- tures of the program which have a direct relation to these fisheries. The program for the control of the water chestnut should be continued. Land drainage problems are minor and generally confined to tidal areas. The needs are not press- ing and do not require priority of attention. Existing Plans and Authorizations in Relation to Elements of Future Plans A study and report by the Corps of Engineers for the development of the water resources of the basin was submitted in 1946, with the recommen- dation of the Division Engineer for construction of 14 dams in 11 stages for flood control, hydro- electric power, and allied purposes. This plan, subject to certain modifications, particularly in the 620 |