The Nation's River Part 14

(b) Application of additional measures necessary for controlling estuarial pollution still present after maximum feasible waste treatment, including advanced waste treatment, has been provided in the area.

(c) Continuing rea.s.sessment of the effect of reservoir releases on water quality in the flowing streams of the Basin, after the highest practicable degree of waste treatment has been provided.

Such a.s.sessment will involve:

(1) Reevaluation of the opportunities for obtaining improved water quality objectives through management of reservoir releases and stream flows as individual reservoir projects are considered for construction, in the light of advanced waste treatment, means of coping with agricultural runoff and drainage, and other alternatives made available by that time.

(2) Development of the Federal water resources policies which will provide for the most effective application of the streamflow regulation provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, including equitable cost-sharing arrangements, to a.s.sure that streamflow regulation a.s.sumes its proper role in relation to other pollution control alternatives for the Basin.

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2. For the control of sedimentation and erosion and their effects, the following action will be needed:

a. Cooperative Federal-State-local efforts to accelerate land-use adjustment and land treatment in the Basin.

b. Adoption by State, county and munic.i.p.al governments of good strong statutes and ordinances for the control of erosion from construction sites and other sources in urban areas.

c. Completion of current experiments on Rock Creek in the reduction of storm water turbidity by means of coagulants, and extension of such research to the Potomac estuary.

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B. With primary reference to problems of water supply and flood damage in the Basin, steps must be taken to cope with present or looming munic.i.p.al and industrial demands and to guard against future troubles:

1. Large-scale or general problems call for large or general actions:

a. We recommend that major Basin water supply problems, including the need for some storage to restore and protect the quality of the water in the flowing rivers and the needs for flat-water recreation, be dealt with as follows:

(1) By prompt funding and construction of the authorized Bloomington Reservoir on the Potomac North Branch, for benefits in that region and downstream, including the Washington metropolis.

(2) By completing action on the reports on the several additional major reservoirs which, together with Bloomington, will const.i.tute a "package" of drought insurance against the Basin's most critical expected water demands during at least the next 20 years. Three of the additional reservoirs are those on Town Creek, Little Cacapon Creek, and Sideling Hill Creek, recommended in the _Potomac Interim Report to the President_ of January 1966 and detailed in subsequent studies, for benefits in terms of downstream water supply and exceptional recreational opportunity. Another reservoir, North Mountain on Back Creek, was considered to be essential for meeting these needs by the Governor's Potomac Advisory Committee in its consideration of the 1966 _Interim Report_ and was recommended in the Corps of Engineers _Potomac River Basin Report of 1963_.

Additional reservoirs include the Sixes Bridge Reservoir on the Monocacy and the Verona Reservoir on the Middle River tributary of the South Fork of the Shenandoah, also recommended in the Corps of Engineers 1963 report and currently being restudied in detail to meet present projections of local and downstream needs.

According to present data, for maximum usefulness and safety, Bloomington should be completed on an expeditious basis and the others at appropriate intervals thereafter in relation to growth of demand.

To make certain that desirable flexibility in planning will be maintained, the following conditions should be borne in mind by all Federal, State, or interstate agencies with present or future concern with Basin affairs, and by the United States Congress and the State legislatures, and should be taken into consideration in the shaping of authorizing legislation:

(a) Individual reservoirs should be susceptible to reevaluation and modification during design stage in light of new techniques of water supply--including demonstrated feasibility and acceptability of the upper estuary for this purpose--and of water quality control, or unforeseeable modifications of aims or expected demands, should such change be determined to be beneficial to the overall well-being of the Basin.

(b) Prior to construction of any reservoir with benefits for recreation and water quality downstream, responsible State and local agencies should be required to furnish a.s.surances that the recreational and scenic qualities of the banks of the rivers so benefited will be amply protected.

(3) By the continuing a.s.sessment by the Corps of Engineers of the water supply needs of the Washington metropolitan area with the objective of meeting future demands as they develop.

(4) By research and investigation to ensure a sound scientific basis for future action in relation to the Basin's water resources and to provide maximum flexibility of choice to technicians, planners, and decision makers:

(a) A full-scale and continuing water data collection program to be conducted in the Basin by the U.S. Geological Survey, with the object of building and keeping up to date the facts relevant to the river system and related aquifers.

(b) Specific and continuing research by the Department of the Interior as well as other agencies into the nature and feasibility of a full range of possible alternative sources of water supply in the Basin, including new technological approaches.

(c) A special study should be made, based on extension and coordination of studies now authorized or under way to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using the upper estuary as a future source of domestic water to supplement the water supply for the metropolitan area. The States of Maryland and Virginia, the District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Council of Governments should also be a.s.sociated with this study.

b. To begin to cope with major or general flooding problems in the Basin and to prevent future potential flood damages, the following actions should be taken:

(1) a.s.signment of high priority, by Federal, State, and local interests, to flood mapping and flood plain information studies which will provide complete coverage of the main stem of the Potomac River from c.u.mberland, Maryland, to below Alexandria, Virginia, including the Washington metropolitan area, with the purpose of defining flood hazards along the river for use by planners, investment agencies and Government agencies at all levels. Elsewhere in the Basin, priorities for such mapping and studies of all significant flood plains should be a.s.signed and the program undertaken as soon as practicable, with primary attention to those areas where pressures for flood plain development and potential flood damage are greatest.

(2) Action by the Corps of Engineers to define a program of active and pa.s.sive flood alleviation measures for the Washington metropolitan area, and all possible emphasis by other concerned Federal agencies on flood-proofing and other devices for averting flood damage at and around the capital city.

(3) Continuing study by all agencies of the problem of adjusting current policies so as to stimulate reasonable, fair, economic, and esthetically desirable action toward flood damage reduction not only in the Potomac Basin but elsewhere in the nation, in line with the principles enunciated in the 1966 report of the President's Task Force on the Federal Flood Control Policy.

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2. Water supply or flooding problems in localized areas may often be solved with headwater reservoirs which may be included in watershed plans developed by local sponsoring organizations with a.s.sistance from the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture. Such plans provide for the conservation and development of both the soil and water resources of the watershed. Preliminary studies indicate that headwater reservoirs are needed and feasible in 61 small watersheds in the Basin. These small headwater reservoirs, designed primarily for local flood prevention, may include storage for sediment, water supply, water quality control or recreation.

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II. Action relating specifically to the protection and restoration of the Potomac Basin's scenic and natural a.s.sets, and to their enjoyment by the public:

A. At the critically important level of local planning, governments need to provide incentives toward wise and decent treatment of the environment in all possible ways, including:

1. Careful examination of all Federal and State programs and policies directly or indirectly influential on the landscape, to make certain that their effects are beneficial or their adverse effects are minimized and that they encourage rather than disrupt local efforts to avert blight even while achieving sound growth.

Obvious connections exist between good local environments and such things as planning aid programs and grants for parks and recreation areas, but other grant programs, public works, road and utility routings, tax and mortgage practices, the proper or improper design of government facilities, and many other Federal or State activities have relevance in this respect.

2. Dissemination of knowledge about strong, effective planning tools and procedures, as such knowledge acc.u.mulates. Of particular Basinwide interest will be the results of the application of Soil Conservation Service watershed programs in controlling erosion in urbanizing stream basins in the Washington metropolitan area, and the lessons learned therefrom. The Geological Survey's investigations of the resources of the Basin are a continuing source of essential information for planning. For example, the studies of the effects of urban development on streams and sediment will be especially pertinent to land-use planning.

B. The lifelines of the Basin's landscape, its flowing rivers and streams, badly need protection against rapidly increasing encroachment along their banks, and should be made more available for public use and enjoyment. For these purposes, the following measures are strongly recommended:

1. Prompt legislative authorization, funding, and establishment of a Potomac National River complex consisting of Federal, State, and local components to provide a "green sheath" of varying width for the main stem of the river from Washington to c.u.mberland, Maryland.

The preservation of this portion of the river and its banks, and their accessibility, are clearly of importance and warrant such treatment. The National River, studied and refined in the light of much government and public comment received since its initial mention in the _Potomac Interim Report_, is detailed in the legislative proposal now being considered by Congress.

2. Completion of the long-deferred restoration and improvement of public facilities along the C. & O. Ca.n.a.l, a project which can be begun immediately and will mesh with the Potomac National River proposal, since the Ca.n.a.l will be a part of the proposed River.

Certain of the old C. & O. feeder dams should be rehabilitated or rebuilt, sections of the Ca.n.a.l rewatered, and better public access provided.

3. Studies of the Cacapon, Shenandoah, and South Branch Potomac Rivers to determine the most feasible way to preserve all or portions of these scenic and important tributaries in a relatively unspoiled state. Possibilities here are protection under State legislation, or the establishment of a new Federal category of pastoral or scenic rivers as a protective measure for streams in settled regions such as would be authorized under legislation pending in the Congress.

4. Encouragement of local action to preserve the banks of smaller free-flowing streams by zoning, park acquisition, or other means.

5. Provision, under auspices of State fish and wildlife agencies or otherwise, or better facilities for public access to all main streams--including, where appropriate, roads, trails, parking areas, boat launching ramps, and public transportation.

C. The historic Potomac estuary, with nearly a quarter of a million acres of water surface and hundreds of miles of varied and scenic sh.o.r.eline, is a rich recreational and wildlife a.s.set as well as a fisheries resource of enormous value. Even after water quality programs rescue its upper reaches from the heavy pollution to which they are presently subject, however, more knowledge will be needed than presently exists to make certain that its intricate processes continue to function productively; protection of its sh.o.r.es against growing inappropriate encroachment will be an urgent problem; and the possibility of its use by the public for recreation will need to be a.s.sured:

1. A cooperative study should be undertaken by Federal agencies, the States of Maryland and Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, coordinated through the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, to identify recreational and other open s.p.a.ce and specific resources along the tidal Potomac downstream from Chain Bridge that should be established as estuarine units of a Potomac National River, as State or county parks, or as units of a system of recreation areas for the District of Columbia and its metropolitan environs. The Department of the Interior is a.s.sisting the Department of Defense to determine how military establishments along the Potomac might contribute toward meeting regional recreational needs, including public access and use where feasible. These studies should be completed and the findings reported to the Congress and to State and local governments at the earliest possible time.

2. As an initial measure toward achieving protection of the concentrated productivity of the estuary's marshes and wetlands, Federal, State and local agencies, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, under the leadership of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, should undertake a study, to be completed within three years, to identify key areas of this sort; where possible, acquisition of such areas should proceed under existing programs.

In view of the recreation potential generally a.s.sociated with marsh and wetland areas, this study should be coordinated closely with the study recommended under item 1 above. The Department of Defense should examine its land holdings along the estuary to determine if zones of conservation for fish and wildlife in the marshes and wetlands can be established immediately.

3. Action should be taken as quickly as possible to acquire the National Wildlife Refuge on Mason Neck in order to consolidate the protection of vital open s.p.a.ce on that peninsula. Fiscal year 1969 appropriations for the Department of the Interior include funds to begin such action.

4. It is urgently to be hoped that legislation aimed at protecting American estuaries and increasing human knowledge of their processes, currently before Congress, will be pa.s.sed in the most meaningful possible form, to the benefit of the Potomac estuary as well as all others.