New-York tribune., 1910-01-31
TUCONSERVE POW Ell
Continued from first page.

from low water conditions to power pro-
ducers on the Hudson. The market for
power, which may be developed directly
In connection with the Sacandaga dam.
is found in Albany. Troy. Mechanicville,
Fort Edward, Sandy Hin, Glens Falls.
Utica, Schenectady and other communi-
+, ties within the zone of economical elec->
trical transmission.
RESERVOIR TO COST S4.65O,0OO.
The estimated cost of this reservoir,
without power development. is $4,65O.-
600. the total yearly fixed charges and
maintenance $237. 700. and the estimated
annual gross earnings S427 500. leaving
an estimated annual net revenue to the
state of S1S9.8O0. On this basis the cost
of the reservoir could be refunded to the
state In fifty years, leaving it the sole
owner of the works. subject thereafter
only to the low cost of maintenance and
operation and yielding a perpetual In
come from the sale Of the stored water
at rates subject to periodic revaluation-
Among other projects specially men
toned in the report is the regulation OF
the waters of the Genesee by the con-
struction of the Portage reservoir. The
cost of the dam and reservoir complete
would be S4.51S.00O. if the dam were at
the site regarded as most favorable from
an economic point of view, but it's con-
struction as a business proposition rests
on the extent to which a market can be
found for the 10000 continuous horse
power which would be developed at the
dam and the extent to which the bene-
ficiaries of flood prevention and the dilu-
ton of Rochester sewage can be assessed
their due proportion of the cost.
The Black River. in point of developed
power. is spoken of as second only to
the Hudson" and it is recommended
that surveys and designs for storage and
power on its tributaries be made during
the coming year. as this is among the
chief rivers of the state in respect to
existing power developments and the
need and possibility of regulation.
THE state should seize this oppor-
tunity to mark out a policy with respect
to it's waters which shall establish once
and for all the principles and procedure
for their use and control, whether for
curing the incidental benefits to naviga-
tion and to the public health and safety
which are sure to result" This is one
of the conclusions of the commission,
and the report adds that in the past the
state has had no policy of power devel-
opment either under public ownership
or by encouragement and regulation of
private or corporate development. and
that "as adequate reservoirs cannot be
generally constructed for power purposes
by private enterprise without a consti-
tutional amendment. and possibly not
then. the better way to accomplish this
object is for the state itself to announce
its policy and undertake it's performance
In the interests of all classes and citi-
zens."
ADVANTAGES OF STATE CONTROL.
The commission recommends that the
work be undertaken by the state. be-
cause under state control the necessary
funds can more economically be pro-
vided and the people be absolutely safe
guarded in their right to have the nat
ural beauty Of their streams and lakes
maintained at the highest degree con-
sistent with the necessary and proper
measures for the regulation of water
flow and the utilization of water power,
under a pre- established plan by which
growing needs may be progressively met
without impairing the eventual COM
pleteness of the development. The need
of state supervision over the construc-
tion OF dams to insure their safety and
stability is emphasized.
The total number of acres of state land
that would ever be flooded on all the
principal Adirondack streams. if all feas-
ible storage reservoirs were constructed.
would be $1,000. The report says:
This is most exhaustive figure in
cluding many reservoirs likely to be built
which would not be built in case Of the
construction of alternative reservoirs on
the same stream, and also taking into ac-
count state lands under waters already
stored for regulation purposes. Even this
total of $4,000 acres is only S.9 per cent
of the states holding in the Adirondacks
The commission has no hesitation in as
serting that the state in carrying out this
project may safely put a limit On its own
action by providing that not more than
43,500 acres of land now in possession of
the state should be flooded in order to
ing Of state lands.a
QUESTION AT ISSUE.
In recommending the adoption of a
state plan of development of water pow