OCR Text |
Show replace two existing structures. These facilities are initial developments in a replacement program to modernize the inadequate existing facilities on the Monongahela and Cumberland Rivers. Navigation locks and dams have been authorized at 12 places primarily for replacement of obsolete and deteriorated facilities. No construction has been initiated on these projects which are located in the Youghiogheny, Monongahela, and Cumber- land Rivers and on the main stem of the Ohio River. From the longer range view, the provision of new or improved navigation facilities should take into account the possible draft of larger vessels to be used. Controlling depths on the Great Lakes system and for oceangoing craft are 25 feet. It may be considered desirable in the future to provide a waterway with depths which would accommodate Great Lakes and oceangoing vessels and which would connect the Great Lakes, the Ohio, the Mississippi, Cumberland, Tennessee, and Tombig- bee waterways. Additional Needs and Proposed Programs The greatest immediate need, insofar as water- borne commerce in the Ohio River Basin is con- cerned, is the replacement of existing locks and dams in the Ohio River which are inadequate to meet the demands of modern water transportation. This problem is under study, and a tentative system of locks and dams is proposed to replace existing struc- tures when they require excessive maintenance or become obsolete. Main lock chambers 110 feet wide and 1,200 feet long are proposed to replace the present 110-foot by 600-foot locks, to meet the de- mands of future tow formations and new navigation equipment. Another feature is the tentative adop- tion of relatively high-lift, nonnavigable dams for the reach of river between Pittsburgh and Cincin- nati. This would reduce the number of lockages, would provide longer, deeper, and more stable pools, and would permit more efficient operation of ves- sels. It would also make possible the development of hydroelectric power at these, high-lift dams. Studies now under way will determine the feasi- bility of deepening the channel from 9 to 12 feet. Two projects recommended to Congress for au- thorization would provide major extensions to the navigation system. One of these would provide a connecting waterway between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. This would require canalization of the Beaver and Mahoning Rivers to above Warren, Ohio, a cut through the divide between the Mahon- ing and Grand Rivers, a summit reservoir in the Grand River Basin for water supply, flood control, and navigation, and a flight of locks to Lake Erie. The other project would provide a modern naviga- tion system on the Big Sandy River and Tug and Levisa Forks, extending beyond the limits of the present system into additional coal fields. Both of these proposals are being reviewed to determine their present-day costs and economics. Hydroelectric Power Capacity, Yearly Production, Areas Served There are three Federal hydroelectric plants, Center Hill, Great Falls, and Dale Hollow, in the basin, excluding the Tennessee Valley Authority area. These have a total installed capacity of 202,860 kilowatts. All these are in the Cumber- land Basin. Private utilities have built hydroelec- tric power plants at Federal navigation projects under Federal Power Commission licenses at Ohio River locks and dam 41 (Louisville), at lock and dam 7 on the Kentucky River, and at each of the three locks and dams on the Kanawha River. Non-Federal public agencies or private utilities operate 14 hydroelectric plants of 2,500 kilowatts or more installed capacity. These have a total in- stallation of 376,405 kilowatts. The largest of these plants are Ohio Falls at lock and dam 41 on the Ohio River, operated under Federal Power Com- mission license by the Louisville Gas & Electric Co.; Claytor, Buck, and Byllesby on the New River, op- erated by the Appalachian Electric Power Go.; and the Lake Lynn plant on the Cheat River, operated by the West Virginia Power & Transmission Co. The total installed capacity of the 17 existing hydroelectric plants is 579,265. See table 8. In addition to the 17 plants listed in table 8, there are 15 small utility plants of less than 2,500-kilowatt capacity with 7,844 kilowatts installed capacity, and eight hydroelectric power plants of industrial establishments with 113,800 kilowatts total installed capacity. About 1,337,000 acre-feet of active storage capac- ity is provided at existing hydroelectric projects in the basin. Great Falls, Dale Hollow, Center Hill, Dix River, Claytor, and Deep Creek Reservoirs provide most of the storage. A possible market area for existing and pros- 647 |