Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-10-23
River bendDarl
Held Vital 10
Water Supply
Aud Worms Costs
Due to Growth Moy
Rule Out Reservoir
BY JOHN w. STEP

4
neering Department.
Mr.. Aud. one Of whose chief
concerns is distributing an
adequate drinking water sup
ply TO the Nations Capital and
some Of its environs. explained
that, If too many years are al
lowed TO pass. housing develop
ment In that section Of suburbia
viii make the cost Of property
acquisition prohibitive.
He counted the dam. last
proposed in 1916 by the Army
Engineer Corps. as essential
in assuring SUFFICIENT water for
the area in the future.
The District Official made
his observations as a member
OF a panel discussion spon-
sored by the Citizens Council
for Q Clean Potomac.
Supported and Opposed
There was support as well
as opposition TO his argument.
Michael w. Straus. retired
head Of the Federal Bureau Of
Reclamation. asserted his
solemn advocation" Of a River
Bend dam as the "key to the
whole development Of the Po-
tomac River watershed"
Frederick Gutheim, q WASH
ington area planner. and Harry
Thompson. assistant to the di-
rector Of the National Park
Service. discounted the need
for q water storage dam and
deplored the effects OF such
q dam inundating thousands
Of acres Of farm and wilderness
land.
Curiously enough, all Of the
speakers seemed to assume the
Washington Engineer District
of the Army Engineer Corps
win certainly recommend a
high dam in the River Bend
area. about three miles up
stream from Great Falls. The
engineers are still in the midst
of q review study Of the 1916
report and have not yet COM
mitted themselves to a Potomac
watershed dam at any location.
Objectives Modified
Under a congressional man.
date Of the early 1940s. the
Washington District Engineer
placed first study emphasis on
hydro-electric power and flood
control development in the Po-
tomac Valley. The latest man.
date imposed by the legislators
instructs the technicians to
consider multiple-purpose de-
veloppment. with primary en-
Iphasis on supplying water for
domestic use.
Mr.. Gutheim attacked the
motives Of the Army engineers.
This is a single-purpoSe
agency working in a multi-pur-
pose area" he said. Despite a
"long and distinguished his
tory" in the Potomac Valley.
he added. the engineers 'in-
creasingly appear to be an
agency that is becoming obso-
lete."
Mr.. Gutheim scoffed at an
1880 recommendation by the
Corps to build a water supply
dam in the Rock Greek Valley
that would have impounded a
reservoir all the way upstream
to the vicinity Of Walter Reed
Army Medical Center.
Lone Action Opposed
Mr.. Thompson said he would
like to see a "triumvirate" Of
Federal agencies-rather han
the Engineer Corps alone-sur-
veying the Potomac watershed.
The other two parts would be
the Reclamation Bureau. like
the Park Service a branch Of
the Interior Department, and
the Agriculture Department.
"The Engineer Corps study
cannot be lop-sided." Mr.. Auld
countered. The engineers. he
said, have been consulting with
numerous other Federal agen-
cies In their survey as ordered
by Congress.
He won general agreement
when he observed that the cur
rent study is starved" for
funds. Everyone should help
to get the job done and in
time" Mr.. Aud added.
Other Uses Discussed
Recreation and hydro-eiec-
trio uses Of the Potomac came
In for extended discussion.
Mr.. Straus surprised no one
when he advocated hydro
power uses to provide the only
hard cash to offset construction
costs Of a multiple-purpose
dam near River Bend.
Mr.. Thompson. however.
caused a few eyebrows to be
raised when he commented
that the Potomac In the WASH
ington area lis being used as
much as people want to use it."
The Park Service official said
he feared the expense involved
in the recent recommendation
for developing a water recrea-
ton basin upstream from the
Fourteenth Street Bridge by
creating a tidal barrier.
From the floor, Leland Olds, |