a neg rather indeterminate at the present time. The present commerce is almost all in-bound to Frankfort and Camp Nelson, with only ligible amount out-bound to the lower or the upper river. The trend indicates that the commerce on the lower river will probably retain its present volume and may increase somewhat. It appears that future commerce on the upper river is contingent upon the develop-s ment of minerals and other natural resources in the fork area or e around the headwaters of the main stream. About 85 percent of the mountain area of the Kentucky River can be used for the production of forests only. The transportation of timber by river, in there t future, is somewhat problematical due to the rather extensive develop-en ment of railroad and highway transportation systems. The major Kentucky River coal reserves lie in the headwater regions in the pop area drained by the three forks, beyond the head of the present d navigation improvement. All of these reserves are at present tapped, t or can readily be tapped, by the rail facilities existing in that area. tion An adequate system of pipe lines has replaced the river as a means of transporting oil from the fields to the refineries. It is reasonable to assume that new fields opened in the future will be served by an extension of this pipe-line system. Therefore, any increase in com- all ple merce for the upper river can hardly be expected. It appears that future commerce on the lower river below Camp Nelson would generally comprise that now existing and may increase in volume somewhat or fluctuate within narrow limits. s prov bl r 100. Navigation facilities for future development.-Both the floodcontrol plan and the combined flood-control and power plan involve the existing navigation project. Although navigation facilities could enst ante ec 102. II 99. Vessel traffic. Data are available on the number and various types of craft using the navigation project for the period 1925 to date.re These data clearly show the change in the use of craft. For example, ut $53 the total number of commercial craft passing locks Nos. 4 and 14 in 1925 amounted to 1,050 and 1,008, respectively. Likewise, the number of passenger craft passing locks Nos. 4 and 14 in 1925 amounted to 100 and 42 respectively. The number of Government craft and small craft, most of which are pleasure boats, passing these points in 1925, was negligible. Similar data for 1939 indicate that the total number of commercial craft passing locks Nos. 4 and 14 amounted to 700 and 10 respectively. No passenger craft passed these points that year. Government craft passing locks Nos. 4 and 14 in 1939 amounted to 170 and 42 respectively. Small craft passing those points in the same year, amounted to 380 and 141. Thus, it is seen that except bied for the lower river the trend of traffic has been from commercial to pleasure craft. The maximum draft of vessels using the river is 6 feet. The majority of the vessels using the project have drafts of 3 feet or less. eir sup pulatio Birtare o have menit ese resu be included in the Jessamine Dam they would be unduly costly because alth Se of the very high lift involved and the necessity of selecting a longer dam site. No detailed analysis has been made for the cost of includ ing navigation facilities because of the negligible use of that portion of the river affected by the reservoir, and because of the results of previous studies made in connection with the Kentucky River "30" Report. Detailed investigations were made of the cost of navigation facilities in this reach of the river. It was estimated in that study that for a set of locks about 60 feet less in lift that the cost would ree of entucky cerned. almed e furth Fm the U water re insof e amount to about 1 million dollars. Thus it is seen that the provision of navigation facilities for commercial traffic in the proposed Jessamine dam would have an annual cost of at least $100,000. Passage of small pleasure craft could probably be accomplished by the provision of a barge lift or similar facilities at a less cost. Based upon investigations of costs of barge lifts for other projects considered previously in the Engineer Department, it appears that such facilities would cost not less than $1,000,000. In either event, however, it would be necessary to continue the maintenance of the seven locks and dams above the Jessamine site in order to permit continued navigation between the proposed dam and the head of lock No. 14 pool. 101. Economic value.-As indicated above, navigation facilities in the proposed Jessamine Dam, capable of handling commercial traffic, would have an estimated annual cost of at least $100,000. Since present utilization of the existing navigation project, particularly that portion above Camp Nelson, is negligible, and since it is improbable that its utilization will increase, it appears inadvisable to provide commercial navigation facilities in the Jessamine Dam. Moreover, the provision of a barge lift, or similar facilities, for the passage of small pleasure craft past the dam, appears to be too costly for the intangible benefits to be derived. Abandonment of that portion of the existing navigation project above Camp Nelson is believed to be warranted. Such abandonment would not only eliminate any necessity for navigation facilities at the proposed Jessamine Dam but would also effect a material saving in the annual cost of operation and maintenance of the existing facility. This annual cost now amounts to about $55,000. D. ALLIED SUBJECTS 102. Water supply.-Sufficient water was available during the drought period of 1930-34 for communities and industries drawing their supplies from the Kentucky River. The city of Lexington (population about 60,000), previously obtaining its supply from four reservoirs on a small tributary drainage area, constructed a 20-inch pipe line to the Kentucky River in October 1930 which alleviated the shortage of water in that city. The flood-control plan outlined above will have no effect on the present water supply within the basin. The combined flood-control and power plan, because of its regulated flows, would increase the supply of water available to down-stream communities during periods of prolonged drought. However, no provision has been made in either plan for the retention of water for purely water supply purposes. 103. Abatement of stream pollution. At the present time the degree of pollution, bacterial count, and sanitary condition of the Kentucky River is being investigated by the United States Public Health Service in connection with the Ohio River pollution survey. These results have not as yet been published. The flood-control plan will not alter the flow of the river insofar as stream pollution is concerned. The combined flood-control and power plan, with its regulated discharges, would provide additional low water flows and thus further dilute the agents of pollution. A preliminary report from the United States Public Health Service indicates that increased low water flows on the Kentucky River would have no monetary value insofar as that basin and the Ohio River below the mouth of the Kentucky River was concerned. The report further states that aquatic life would be benefited. 104. Protection of caving banks.-There is some caving of banks in the upstream tributaries, but the magnitude of the damages caused thereby is insufficient to warrant any study of protective works. 105. Conservation and recreation.-A conservation pool having a minimum area of 150 acres and a volume of not less than 1,900 acre-ca feet is proposed for the Jessamine Reservoir in the flood-control plan. The power pools under the combined flood-control and power plan would provide adequate storage areas and volumes for conservation and recreation, and the construction of these reservoirs should materially increase the utilization of the basin for these purposes. nou 106. Flood channel delineations.-The Kentucky River below the proposed Jessamine Reservoir is canalized, being a navigation projecte B under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. Therefore, adequate authority over encroachments on the stream channel already exists. At Jackson, on the North Fork above the navigation project, encroachment such as to endanger the effectiveness of the proposed cut-off is not anticipated. However, it is expected to require as a condition of cooperation adequate local policing and protection.d 107. Malarial control.-There is little likelihood that the proposed run reservoir in the Kentucky River Basin would add to the breeding s places for the malaria mosquito. The period required for the mos-fo quito to mature (from egg to adult) is about 3 weeks. During this thr 3-week breeding period, practically stagnant water is necessary for els propagation. Since the proposed operation of the reservoir does notare contemplate the maintenance of storage for such periods, and since the conservation pool would be no greater than that now provided by the navigation pools, the reservoir should not furnish additional breeding places for this mosquito. majo 108. Silting. The deposition of silt, insofar as it affects the capacity genera of existing reservoirs in the Kentucky River Basin, hardly seems whic significant. An examination of Dix Dam Reservoir on the Dix River Frak tributary, which was constructed for power purposes, when it was drawn down about 50 feet, showed that silting over a period of 7 years was negligible. The pool areas of the navigation dams in the lower 95 miles of the Kentucky River have been in existence over 90 years and to date present very little consequential evidence of silting. In view of the above, and since Jessamine Reservoir would not store appreciable amounts of water over extended periods, serious siltation med does not appear likely. ash doo heeks, s tar be aver ated to stof t many ld be Emprise 109. Relation of area activities to the Nation.-In a restricted sense, activities in major portions of the areas subject to flooding are of little or no significance to the Nation as a whole, since pursuits are directed pecial primarily toward supplying local needs. In a broader sense, however,ently which considers the interdependency of the general welfare, the Nation 11 is definitely interested in the major pursuits of the basin as a whole namely, coal mining, liquor distilling, tobacco growing, and race-and saddle-horse breeding. Considering the size of the basin with respect to that of the entire country, its major activities occupy important places in the national economy. Not priz 110. Effect of flood situation on national welfare.-As compared to localized adversities, past floods in the basin have created no analogous of national problems, but in contradistinction to this, the Nation as a ens of t friwhole is impaired as a result of injury to such component parts, and it is principally from this standpoint that the situation is of interest to the Federal Government. Of the basin's major industries, coal mining, first, and then distilling, are probably affected most by floods. However, production and distribution of both of their products has been sufficiently independent of even the major floods of the basin to avoid causing any semblance of widespread economic repercussions, which could conceivably happen only in case of other coexisting curtailment of national supplies of catastrophic proportions. While usually no mines are flooded, transportation of coal may be temporarily, though infrequently, interrupted. Any national-defense program or operation might be hampered to the extent that related essential industries may be adversely affected by floods in the Kentucky River Basin, or by floods in the Ohio River Basin as aggravated by contributory run-off from the former watershed. X. DISCUSSION 111. Flood conditions.-Due to rugged topography, both rural and urban developments, with their interconnecting transportation and communication lines, are largely confined to the narrow bottoms of the various valleys within the Kentucky River Basin. An exception to this is found in the Bluegrass region where developments extend to the gently rolling uplands. Developments are often proximate to stream channels, sometimes encroaching thereon. Urban and rural areas alike are subject to rather frequent moderate flooding and to occasional serious inundation. However, due generally to sparsely populated rural areas and the scattered nature of urban developments, the monetary damage from floods is not particularly great. Seldom, if ever, are major floods simultaneously severe throughout the entire basin. In general, the flood problems are more serious in the North Fork Valley, which includes such damage centers as Jackson and Hazard, and at Frankfort and Beattyville on the main stem of the Kentucky River. The average annual direct and indirect damages for the basin are estimated to be $169,500. Measures for the prevention or elimination of most of these damages are feasible from an engineering standpoint, but, in many cases, such steps cannot be justified economically at the present time. Relief for small tributary watersheds suffering from severe flash floods caused by intense thunderstorms and cloudbursts, such as occurred in July 1939 over the watersheds of Quicksand and Frozen Creeks, seems indefinitely hopeless. In addition to the flood problems of the Kentucky River Basin, the flows of the Kentucky River may contribute materially to flood stages on the Ohio River. Any appreciable reduction in Kentucky River flood flows would, consequently, aid in alleviating the situation on the Ohio River. 112. Plans of improvement.-Four reservoir sites were found which could be developed economically when considered individually. These comprise: Jessamine on the main stream, Booneville on the South Fork, Athol on the Middle Fork, and Laurel Branch on the North Fork. Local protection works for various damage centers were also considered. Of the plans investigated, only those for Jackson and Frankfort were found to be economically justified. However, the town of Beattyville would be afforded considerable protection by any 1 Not printed. one of the reservoirs on the forks of the river. Likewise, the construc tion of the Jessamine Reservoir at the proposed spillway elevation would provide full protection and preclude the necessity for local protection at Frankfort. Of the four reservoirs, Jessamine shows the most favorable ratio of costs to benefits and the least cost per acrefoot of storage capacity. As shown in table I of appendix E, all potential combinations of flood-control reservoirs show benefits commensurate with the cost, but the additional benefits derived by two or more reservoirs over those obtained by a single reservoir are much less than the additional costs. An analysis of the four sites for power development alone indicates that none of them could produce power economically. Investigations made of combined flood-control and power developments indicates that Booneville Reservoir could be so developed economically. Likewise, it was found that a system of in the Jessamine and Booneville Reservoirs could be developed economically d for combined flood-control and power considering the system as a whole. However, the additional flood-control benefits derived from able the system over those obtained from Jessamine Reservoir alone, are not now sufficient to justify the construction of Booneville Reservoir. Based upon the results of the analyses, two plans of improvement for the Kentucky River Basin have been developed. These are: de h (approximately $55,000 per year). 113. Comparative analysis of plans.--An economic comparison of the flood-control plan and the flood-control and power plan, is given in table No. 21 below. Not printed. ure d e dood val and (a) Flood-control plan.-Construction of Jackson cut-off and construction of Jessamine Reservoir to elevation 630 feet (mean sea level) for flood-control purposes only. (b) Combined flood-control and power plan.-Construction of combined flood-control and power developments for Jessamined Reservoir to elevation 630 feet (mean sea level) and Booneville The Jes Reservoir to elevation 790 feet (mean sea level). rect co opi Ri The details of each of these plans have been presented in the precedingen sh section. The combined flood-control and power plan may be accomod plished after construction of the flood-control plan by providing lands pen stocks in the Jessamine Dam at the time of its construction. ction Either plan involves the existing navigation project above Campbe Nelson. Although navigation facilities could be included in the prerelo posed Jessamine Dam, they would be unduly costly because of the very high lift involved and the necessity of selecting a longer dam site. Based upon the data and analyses presented in the preceding section and in appendix G,' it appears that the existing navigation project between locks Nos. 8 and 14 now has little or no economic merit; nor does it appear that its economic status will improve in the future. Consequently, it appears inadvisable to provide navigation facilities in the Jessamine Dam. In fact, it is believed that the existing na gation project above Camp Nelson should be abandoned. Such action not only would eliminate any necessity for navigation facilitete at Jessamine Dam but also would effect a material saving in the annual costs of operation and maintenance of the existing improvements of Fr C rimarily ar the Trene all The con to a com anied b his licen દાખલો. 115. D ffords p prote lly at t consti struction Not prin |