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Show Chapter 4 Economics and Financing of Projects Although the Ohio River Basin probably has the most diversified economy of any major river basin in the United States, it has much in common with many of the other basins from the standpoint of the economic and financial aspects of water resources projects. Federal interest in the water resources of the basin began in 1824, when Congress instructed the Corps of Engineers to improve the river for navigation. Before 1900, Federal expenditures in the basin for navigation improvements totaled 37.4 million dollars. These were the only Federal water projects in the basin. Since 1900, Federal activities have been expanded to include a reservoir pro- gram, a local flood protection and levee program, and a more extensive navigation program. The cost data cited here are based upon the Corps of Engineers programs only. An economic summary of authorized Federal water resources programs in the Ohio Basin is pre- sented below:1 [Millions of dollars] Completed projects Projects under construction Projects not yet started Total authorized program Federal.......... Non-Federal...... 602.2 13.9 384.9 10.3 1, 417. 8 92.6 2,404. 9 116.8 Total...... 616.1 395.2 1,510.4 2,521.7 1 These include multiple-purpose reservoirs, local flood protection works, and navigation projects. Program as a Whole The total estimated cost of the authorized Federal water program in the Ohio River Basin, including existing projects, projects under construction, and projects authorized but not yet started, is approxi- mately 2.5 billion dollars, of which about 117 million dollars is non-Federal. Of this total, the largest single item is for the reservoir program for which the total cost allocation is 1.1 billion dollars, of which about 12.8 million dollars (1.2 percent) is non-Federal cost. The local flood protection program totals 718 million dollars, of which 615 million dollars repre- sent Federal costs and 104 million dollars (14.5 percent) is local cost. The total cost allocation to navigation is 706 million dollars of which $104,000 (0.015 percent) is non-Federal. Reservoir Program Of the 80 authorized reservoir projects, 24 have been completed at a total cost of 179.8 million dollars, of which 7.9 million dollars was non-Fed- eral. The Federal share of 171.9 million dollars has been allocated by the Corps of Engineers ap- proximately as follows: 107.5 million dollars for flood control; 48 million dollars for hydroelectric power; 4.6 million dollars for navigation; 9.2 mil- lion dollars for low-flow regulation; 1.5 million dol- lars for recreation and fish and wildlife; and 1.1 million dollars for water supply. The 1.1 million dollars for water supply represents capitalized cost of the annual amount local interests will pay for specific water supply from multiple-purpose reservoirs. These completed reservoirs have estimated an- nual carrying charges of 8.5 million dollars of which 655 |