The people's voice., 1948-10-08
Conclusions From AN Engineering Study Of Missouri Valley Development

$4,000 acre feet The period included nine drouh
years with total precipitation below sixty year
I average. When adjustment is made for this, prob
able future average annual runoff at Yankton is
' 1884, 600 feet All water computations
herein based on these figures, figures SINH
ary arrived at for key points throughout the valley
4 13. The O'Mahoney amendment to Flood Con-
troll Act of 1914 (the legislation that author
lied PckSloan plan) provides that priority for irri-
cation and other upper valley be given to all
water originating west of the 98th meridian (98th
meridian crosses Missouri river thirty miles west of
Yankton South Dakota, with live tributaries be-
tween) If effective, this amendment covers 49,
$4,000 feet passing Yankton, about LAG, 900
acre feet of James River headwater and approx
mately 3,715,0 900 feet that originates in upper
parts of Platte and Kansas River basins and reaches
the main stream at Plattesmouth Kansas, and Kan
sas City, Missouri. Probable future runoff of Mis-
souri, river at Hermann, Missouri 600 miles above
mouth) is 49,370000 acre feet Of this total 27
175000 feet or ffty-five per cent, is not COW
cred by the O'Mahoney amendment.
IA. For the past thirty years Missouri valley run
off has averaged onethird less than did for forty
preceding years. study of precipitation and run
off records since 1880 leaves in doubt as to
whether this decrease in flow is due to a larger
volume of water depletion by consumptve use than
has been previously assumed, whether it is due
to long range cycles of high and low flow. Since
neither condition be overcome, it is not prudent
to plan a water program requiring more than
18,334,O 900 feet annually past Yankton.
Is. Dsregarding the possibility of long cycles
of high and low flow, about which nothing can be |
done, there are shorter cycles that can be largely
equalized by providing storage facilities. These
generally run from two to thirteen years. Garry
over facilities by storage we'll be provided so as
to permit of about nnetyfive per cent of water
supply in any long cycle of low flow, up to fifteen
year period To do this, assure full flood protec-
ton, provide an irrigation supply for 10 100000
acres stabilize streams for efficient power produc
tion for silt deposits and make provision for all
+hAr 1pnp will a.I1irn
POSSIBLY 125, 900 000) feet of reservoir capa-
city, including dead storage. This in addition to
approximately 31,000000 acre feet of existing
storage.
16. Half the population of Missouri valley is de-
pendent wells. Supply from artesian flow
and superficial ground water. Over large areas the
supply has been gradually failing for fifteen years
of it constitutes major and pressing
problem that will entail draft surface water
supply OF 10000 acre feet more, per year This
should out of reservation of at least 900 900
acre feet set aside for this purpose soil conservation
arm ponds, and other minor consumptive uses men
Toned in Items 16, II and 18. r
IT, Missouri Valley Inclusive of all North and l.
south Dakota( covers about 352,000000 acres.
Under rapid and destructive advances of soil erosion
his may be classified as follows
2OOOOOO0 (6 cent? ancient bad lands"
tain tops, and valueess scab Iandsbeyond repair. a
4O000,0OO I'll per cent? mostly due to =
recent erosions- of these
1500O00OO 43 cent? moderate to ero-
sion-can be checked and partially repaired S
142O0OOOO (4O per cent? visible to slight f
erosion be repaired and preserved n
Planning and organization for intensive soil con-
ervation is well advanced; actual accomplishment
begging down and must be re-invigorated if Mis-
our valley is to finally escape the dead and sterile
estruction of dozen ancient civilizations Such a
rogram will put rainfall into the soil and /
epete surface runoff in proportion to the intensity
f the program. c
49, Primeval forest originally covered forty per tt
ent of continental United States; now less than b.
even per cent is covered. Total of all wooded m
nds including second and third growth and old a.
urns is less than fifty per cent of its original acre