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Show Chapter 6 Elements of a Plan for Full Development The Ohio River Basin is the central portion of a much larger region in which it plays a dynamic role. Basin activities are tied into the commerce of the metropolitan areas to the east, into the industry in the Great Lakes region, into the farming on the productive lands of the Mississippi and Missouri Basins, and into the endeavors of the increasingly important Southern States. The river is a great stream. This largest water producing tributary of the Mississippi serves as a main transport route for coal, steel, oil, and other products. It is the open sewer carrying the wastes of hundreds of cities, thousands of industries, and millions of citizens. The river is also a source of dread and concern, for its terrible floods exact fear- ful tribute from those who live within its reach and who defy its powers. The basin has many resources. These, together with its proximity to large population centers, its great rail and highway network and water trans- port routes, its abundant fuels and copious waters, have made possible an expansion of industry that has surpassed in value its bounteous agriculture. Coal, oil, and gas are the important natural fuels. A wide variety of minerals has given rise to great chemical industries. Its forests have made the area an important furniture and pulp and paper center. Its clays are the basis for a famous ceramic industry. Only recently have the people of the basin be- come disturbed over their water problems. Al- though some cities are protected from floods, recur- ring floods still do great damage to towns and rural communities. Rainfall is abundant but, at times of normal low flow, the upper river and many of the tributaries become highly polluted. In certain areas the quality of the water and its high tempera- ture from repeated reuse make it unfit for industrial and cooling processes and its high acid content makes it destructive of steel. The river is no longer a place to fish or swim. Yet the river is the source of domestic and industrial supplies in many places. In some localities partially developed ground water supplies are no longer adequate and new supplies will be more costly. While the supply of electric power is keeping ahead of demand, only a start has been made in the development of hydroelectric power. The future of the basin is bound more or less closely with what happens to the water resources. Plans for the control and use of the water resources therefore are associated closely with the growth of population and expansion of industry. Because those plans have so many facets, touch so many interests, and affect so many people in many ways, they are important to all citizens of the basin. They are complex plans because they must be de- veloped within the existing framework of current uses, and of Federal and State policies. The plans presented here are not final. They suggest the possibility of unified programs, greater coordination, wider acceptance of responsibility, the need for increased interest and understanding by the people of the basin, and further study. How nearly they will answer future needs will depend upon the foresight of the pepole and their leaders. Although they affect the residents of the basin most directly, the ties of the Ohio basin to the rest of the country are so close that these plans will affect much of the Nation. Elements of a Program Many elements enter into consideration of water resources programs. Nearly all purposes toward which they are directed enter into the plans. Fore- most in this basin are pollution abatement, flood control, navigation, and hydroelectric power. However, other essential elements such as water- shed management cannot be overlooked or for- gotten. 697 |