Benefit-cost ratio: 2.2 to 1. With secondary and redevelopment benefits excluded, the benefit-cost ratio is 1.4 to 1. Area benefited: 21,005 acres. Number of beneficiaries: Owners and operators of 279 farm and woodland properties. 1 This is primarily the cost of applying land treatment measures by landowners. Cost sharing from Federal funds appropriated for the agricultural conservation program may be available if included in the county program developed each year in consideration of approved State and National programs and the annual authorization by the Congress. 2 Consisting of construction cost for drainage, $232,765; land, easements, and rights-of-way, $126,948, administration of contracts, $9,300. 3 The value of measures already installed ($599,185) increases this to 61 percent. Prorated P.L. 566 Structural Cost Per Acre Benefited: $22. Carrying out the Project: Screven and Effingham Counties assume all local responsibilities, in their respective counties, for installing, operating and maintaining the structural measures. The estimated annual cost of operation and maintenance is $16,555. The CHAIRMAN. I presume, Mr. Graham, that you are taking over Mr. Wetzel's place who has been before this committee for a number of years? Mr. GRAHAM. Yes, Mr. Chairman. He was Director of the Watershed Planning Division prior to becoming Assistant Deputy Administrator. The CHAIRMAN. We were all grieved to lose Mr. Wetzel, but we are glad to have you with us today, Mr. Graham. We are pleased that you are here to present this project. You may proceed. Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the Ebenezer Creek watershed is located in Screven and Effingham Counties in southeast Georgia, about 25 miles north of Savannah. The streamflow is generally to the east and south, into the Savannah River. It is in the lower coastal plain and has the drainage area of 153,000 acres. The local sponsoring organizations are the Ogeechee River Soil and Water Conservation District, and Screven County and Effingham County. The soil is primarily sand and sandy loam, and in some of the areas of the watershed it is very poorly drained. The land use in the watershed is: 21,700 acres of cropland; 125,000 of woodland; 4,000 acres of pasture, and there are no public lands in the watershed. The forest lands constitute the major agricultural enterprise followed by livestock, soybeans, and corn. There are 810 farms in the watershed, with an average size of approximately 187 acres. The average annual rainfall is about 45 inches. Most of this falls during the summer months. Watershed problems consist of flood water damages to pasture, crops, roads, and bridges; an accumulation of excess water on flat areas and sinks, which adversely affect the growth of desirable trees and prevent access to dry areas for managing and harvesting; and there is a lack of planned channel development in the upper reaches of the watershed. This entire area along here [indicating] is very flat, with ill-defined channels, and in some cases no channels exist. Without these outlets, the farmers in the watershed cannot install proper land treatment measures. Flooding occurs in this watershed from three to five times each year. The slow rate of downstream movement of floodwater or surface water results in flooding and saturation of crops, pastures and woodland for extended periods of time. Under normal conditions, about 21,000 acres are adversely affected by flooding and lack of outlets. However, in August, 1964, approximately 50,000 acres of the watershed were flooded during an intense rainstorm. The work plan includes land treatment measures such as conservation cropping systems, drainage, tree planting, and timber-stand improvement. The total estimated installation cost of these measures is $549,878. The structural measures shown here on the map in blue include 106 miles of multiple-purpose channels for flood prevention and drainage. This is an area where no floodwater retarding structures are available in this extremely flat property. These channels are located and designed to serve groups of land owners. The total estimated installation cost of the multipurpose channels is $1,149,000. The total cost of the project, including land treatment measures, is $1,699,000, of which $900,000, or 63 percent of the project costs, are Public Law 566 funds. The annual benefits from the project are estimated at $121,000. The owners and operators of 259 farms and woodland properties will benefit from the project directly. The prorated Public Law 566 construction cost per acre benefited is $22. The land values in the watershed average approximately $125 an acre. The estimated cost of the operation and maintenance is $16,550 annually, which is a local cost. The benefit-cost ratio is 2.2 to 1, and with the secondary and redevelopment benefits excluded, the benefit-cost ratio would be 1.4 to 1. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Graham. Are there any questions? Mr. TEAGUE of California. I have just one, Mr. Chairman. I am a little curious about what the secondary and redevelopment costs are. Is that highway and ditches, primarily, or what? Mr. GRAHAM. The secondary benefits are benefits that stem from the project to local suppliers, wholesalers, processors. In this case about $31,000 of the secondary benefits will come from treatment of 18,000 acres of woodland in the benefited area. This will require plant bed preparation, on farm roads and bridges, and on farm drainage ditches to achieve the project benefits. In this manner other local people benefit. Mr. TEAGUE of California. How about the redevelopment? Mr. GRAHAM. The redevelopment benefits are benefits that result from the additional employment as a result of project installation and for operation and maintenance. Mr. GATHINGS. I would just like to say that I have read over this biographical sketch of Mr. Graham's background and experience, and it seems that he is eminently fitted for the position that he is assuming. I would just like to ask you, Mr. Graham, just what type of work will be installed. According to that map there, you have quite a lot of perpendicular as well as vertical lines. Would you tell us just what type of structure will be placed there? Mr. GRAHAM. The blue lines on this map represent the proposed multiple-purpose channels which will remove surface water faster from the flat areas, where, under present conditions, it causes the soil to be saturated, and the landowners cannot achieve maximum benefits because of reduced yields and destruction of crops. The ditches under present conditions are too shallow and sometimes hardly exist, so that runoff water simply stands or moves very slowly off the land. By installing deeper ditches, water can be removed so as not to adversely affect crops and pastures. The multiple-purpose ditches are the main structural measures to be installed. Mr. GATHINGS. It seems to me that all this channel-improvement work would not be along the stream at all. You have lines there going all across the map. I do not see how you are going to get drainage. I know something about drainage work. We dig a ditch deeper, and let the water go on out. Mr. GRAHAM. In this area, as water moves from these very flat upland areas down to the main tributaries, the channel development is deep enough and does not require any improvement. This is the difference in this area in Georgia and the area that you are acquainted with in Arkansas. These are more defined channels at the lower ends, and, therefore, has the capacity to handle the water. This is the reason for the little spotty areas of treatment. Here is the top of the watershed which is the flat area [indicating]. The channels down to about this point [indicating] are shallow; then enter into an area where the channel is deep enough to take care of the runoff. Mr. GATHINGS. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Are there any further questions? If not, we are very much obliged to you for that explanation, Mr. Graham. We have a letter which we have received from Mr. Hagen which will be made a part of the record at this point. (The letter dated February 15, 1967, follows:) CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D.C., February 15, 1967. Mr. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN: I wish to reiterate my personal interest in two watershed projects you are considering today-the Eli Whitney Watershed in Chatham and Effingham Counties, Georgia, and the Ebenezer Creek Watershed in Screven and Effingham Counties, Georgia. The serious and extensive crop losses experienced this past year by farmers in the areas the aforementioned projects would affect, again points to the need for more adequate drainage which these projects would provide. In view of these facts. I sincerely believe that positive action by this committee on these two watershed projects is indicated. I will appreciate your favorable consideration. G. ELLIOTT HAGAN, Member of Congress, First District of Georgia. ELI WHITNEY WATERSHED, GEORGIA The CHAIRMAN. Our next project is the Eli Whitney watershed. Before you start, I should like to say Mr. Williams, that so far as I am concerned, I appreciate this kind of a format on these projects. It tells me what we are looking for. This is a good example of what we need to show us where these projects are. I recognize that this type of format gives you somewhat of an understanding of the whole works, but it does not identfy anything, and this type gives you absolutely nothing. I cannot tell anything from it. It might as well have been in Iceland as in Kansas, so far as identifying anything is concerned. It does not show you where the project is. It does not show you anything about the structure of it. So, I would like to commend to you this type of format [indicating] or this type shown on the Tennessee and Kentucky projects. I hope that we might get some uniformity on these things that would show us just where they are in these States. Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Chairman, it will be a pleasure to work in that direction. We might put a sunflower on the Kansas one. The CHAIRMAN. That is right. You probably should. We will be glad to hear you on the Eli Whitney project now. ELI WHITNEY WATERSHED WORK PLAN Size and location : 119,437 acres in Chatham and Effingham Counties. Sponsors: Ogeechee River Soil and Water District, Coastal Soil and Water District, Effingham County. Total watershed land use: Cropland Grassland Woodland Wildlife Miscellaneous Water privately owned, 94%; Federal 4%; Non-Federal Public, 2% Size of Farms: about 300 acres average Purposes: Watershed Protection, Flood Prevention and Drainage Principal measures: Soil conservation practices on farms; and structural measures consisting of 235,200 feet of stream channel improvement Annual benefits: Benefit-cost ratio: 1.8 to 1.0. With secondary benefits excluded the benefitcost ratio is 1.6 to 1.0. Area benefited: 8,936 acres. Number of beneficiaries: 201 farm and woodland landowners. 1 This is primarily the cost of applying land treatment measures by landowners. Cost sharing from Federal funds appropriated for the agricultural conservation program may be available if included in the county program developed each year in consideration of approved State and National programs and the annual authorization by the Congress. * Consisting of construction costs for drainage, $119,918; land, easements, and rights-of-way, $66,098; administration of contracts, $2,825. 3 The value of measures already installed ($269,522) increases this to 60 percent. Prorated P.L. 566 Structural Cost per Acre Benefited: $22. Carrying out the Project: Effingham County assumes all local responsibilities for installation, operation and maintenance of the structural measures. The estimated annual cost of operation and maintenance is $8,496. Mr. GRAHAM. This watershed is located in southeast Georgia, in Chatham and Effingham Counties. The southern boundaries of the watershed are just north of Savannah. The watershed is in the lower coastal plains and has a drainage area of 119,400 acres. Most of the principal streams in this watershed flow to the east, into the Savannah River, and much of the area, along the Savannah River, in the lower reaches of the streams, is in fresh water marshes. That is this entire area. This is the Savannah River here [indicating]. Most of this area along here in the lower reaches of these streams is fresh water marsh. The land use in this watershed is cropland, about 10,000 acres; grassland, about 3,600 acres; woodland, 89,700 acres; and then there are 14,000 acres in wildlife and miscellaneous use. In this area there is a wildlife refuge that is located between the Savannah River and the State of South Carolina. |