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The Buffalo Creek project was authorized for operations
December 22, 1944, and completed in June 1964. It was the first of 11 authorized
flood prevention projects to be completed. This project covers Erie and Wyoming
Counties, including 13,440 acres within the city of Buffalo, and was jointly
sponsored by the Erie County and the Wyoming County Soil Conservation Districts.
About 95 percent is private land and 5 percent public forest. About 44 percent
is cropland, 20 percent woodland, 19 percent pasture, and 10 percent idle land.
The rest is in urban areas, roads, or other uses.
The principal objective was to reduce sedimentation where the Buffalo River runs
into Buffalo Harbor by controlling erosion on streambanks and farmland. Land
treatment measures included conservation cropping systems hay planting,
stripcropping, and farm ponds. More than 59 miles of actively eroding
streambanks were stabilized by rock riprap and vegetation.
The Forest Service in cooperation with the new York State Conservation
Department completed 35 forest management plans. These plans included planting
trees, marking a large wooded area for timberstand improvement or harvest, and
controlling erosion on logging roads.
Area: 4,613,120 acres
Counties: 16
The Middle Colorado River project covers about 4,613,000
acres in the middle of the watershed of the Colorado River in Texas. It has 17
subwatersheds. The sponsors are the local soil conservation districts and some
of the county and city governments.
The principal problem is flood and sediment damage to farmland. Almost all the
farmland is privately owned.
Throughout the watershed, landowners needing land treatment measures have been
given priority for financial assistance under the Agricultural Conservation
Program and the Great Plains Conservation Program.
Area: 1,339,400
Counties: 20
This project, which was begun in 1946, has 16 subwatersheds.
More than 130,000 acres in national forest.
The Atlanta, Coosa River, Limestone Valley, and Upper Chattahoochee River Soil
and Water Conservation Districts, and the Georgia State Highway Department
sponsor this project.
The principal objective is to reduce erosion and flood and sediment damage to
farmland and county roads. Conservation measures to solve these problems include
planting pine trees, grass, and legumes to provide protective cover.
This project was completed and closed in 1981.
Area: 1,740,800 acres
Counties: 13
Eight soil conservation districts sponsor this project. Four
others have a limited interest. All are represented on the Little Sioux Works
Committee, which provides overall guidance for administration of the program and
established priorities for assistance. There are 130 subwatersheds in the Little
Sioux which have potential for development as watershed projects.
Soil erosion is the major problem. Gully erosion has affected the economy of
many farms on both the uplands and the bottomlands along the Missouri River.
Crops on the 200,000-acre floodplain have been damaged by flooding and channels
of the complex drainage system frequently choked by sediment.
The federal government assists farmers in planning land treatment measures to
minimize runoff and erosion and in installing structural measures where most
need.
Area: 963,977 acres
Counties: 8
This watershed is in north central Mississippi, About 80
percent is private land and 10 percent is national forest. The rest is covered
by the Sardis Reservoir, a unit of a comprehensive plan for flood control on the
Yazoo River. About 45 percent of the watershed is woodland, 25 percent cropland,
9 percent pasture, and 21 percent idle land or land in miscellaneous uses.
This project has 18 subwatersheds, each of which is sponsored by a water
management district and the Tallahatchie River Soil Conservation District. The
principal objective is to reduce flood and sediment damage to farmland.
Land treatment measures on cropland consist of rotating crops, terracing, and
revegetating critical areas; on pasture, constructing contour furrows, seeding,
sodding, fertilizing, and fencing; and on woodland, planting trees, planting
kudzu in gullies, constructing brush dams, and constructing diversion terraces
where necessary.
Area: 536,960 acres
Counties: 1
The Los Angeles River flood prevention project has 13
subwatersheds. Structural measures are planned for all subwatersheds. About 73
percent of the area is private land and the rest is part of the Angeles National
Forest.
The Los Angeles County Flood Control District sponsors this project. Local
cooperating agencies obtain all rights-of-way, arrange for and bear the entire
cost of relocating utilities and replacing existing improvements. They operate
and maintain the completed flood control measures. The federal government meets
costs of all works on federal land.
Because of rapid urban development in the area, land treatment measures have
consisted mainly of installing street drainage systems and storm drains. These
have been planned and constructed entirely by local agencies.
In this watershed, erosion is particularly severe when high intensity or long
duration rainstorms follow brush fires. Because of increased urban expansion and
development, fire prevention practices are essential.
Structural measures include improving storm channels, protecting streambanks,
stabilizing grades, and constructing debris basins, highway bridges, outlets,
inlets, and other appurtenances.
Completed channel work has been highly effective. Storm runoff is adequately
controlled, and water that previously overran natural channels is now carried
harmlessly to impoundments and to the Los Angeles River.
Area: 4,205,400 acres
Counties: 17
The Potomac River project covers parts of Virginia, West
Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Subwatershed planning has been confined
mainly to the tributaries of the upper Potomac River in Virginia and West
Virginia. Works of improvement have been approved for eight subwatersheds in
Virginia and seven in West Virginia.
The local soil conservation districts sponsor this project. They are joined in
some counties by county and city governments.
The principal problem is reducing flood and sediment damage to farmland and
flood damage to towns, highways, and bridges. The remedial program includes
conservation measures for cropland, pastures, and forests.
Area: 576,000 acres
Counties: 1
This project is sponsored by the Lompoc Soil Conservation
District and Santa Barbara County. It has nine subwatersheds; structural
measures are planned for six of these. About 85 percent of the area is privately
owned.
Flooding was a major problem in the Santa Ynez River area. Floodwater generally
damaged houses, highways, railroads, and defense installations as well as
farmland used for vegetables and flower seed production.
Land treatment measure are aimed mainly at preventing erosion and improving soil
fertility on farmland and rangeland. They include terraces, drop spillways,
cover crops, and farm ponds.
Structural measures, designed to protect entrenched gullies against erosion and
to confine floodwater to channels, include constructing diversions, stabilizing
channels, deepening stream channels, and establishing vegetation in critical
areas.
Structural measures have been functioning as planned; they afford protection to
farmland, houses, roads, and defense installations. Fields that formerly were
subject to flooding are now used for tuck crops, and farm-to-town roads are kept
open and free of water and debris.
A floodway of reinforced concrete and a debris basin provide protection for
farmland in the lower part of the valley and for part of the Pacific Missile
Range of the Navy.
Landowners in the watershed community have granted rights-of-way at no charge
and have assumed responsibility for the maintenance of installed improvements.
Many have agreed to follow a farm conservation plan that provides for the needed
land treatment measures and for use of the land within its capability.
The local sponsors prepared the work plans for the subwatersheds and are
responsible for constructing bridges, relocating utilities, erecting fences, and
paving streets.
The Forest Service operates a fire prevention and fire control program. It helps
local people build and maintain firebreaks, fire lanes, heliports, trails, and
utility rights-of-way.
Area: 8,424,260 acres
Counties: 28
The Trinity River project has 40 subwatersheds. The
principal objective is to reduce flood and sediment damage to farmland, almost
all privately owned.
Land treatment measures include a program of water flow retardation and erosion
control developed on a farm unit basis. Under this program, land is put to the
use for which it is best suited, cropping systems are improved, and mechanical
structures are installed.
Washita River Watershed, Oklahoma and Texas
Area: 5,095,040 acres
Counties: 23
The Washita River project has 60 subwatersheds. Local
cooperating agencies, such as watershed associations and soil conservation
districts, promote activities in each subwatershed. Guidance is furnished by the
Washita Council. About 94 percent of the area is in Oklahoma and 6 percent in
Texas.
The problems along the 60 tributaries include controlling erosion on the uplands
and reducing flood damage on 265,000 acres of floodplain. Protection is needed
on 112,000 acres along the main stem of the river.
The recommended remedial program is primarily one of land use adjustments aimed
at controlling flood flows and sedimentation, conserving soil and water, and
establishing permanent agriculture. Land treatment measures include improved
cropping systems, proper land use, cover crops, and minor structures to increase
the effectiveness of land treatment.
Structural measures include floodwater retarding structures, multipurpose
reservoirs, and channel work. Severely eroded areas are stabilized either by
vegetation or structures. Reservoirs store water for irrigation or municipal and
industrial use or they can be used for fish and wildlife. More than 1,150
floodwater retarding structures are planned.
In the Washita River watershed about 84 percent of the farmers and ranchers have
developed a soil conservation plan with their local soil conservation district,
and many of the needed soil conservation practices have been applied.
Landowners bear the cost of preparing the land for deeding or sodding and for
planting trees and shrubs, cultivating woodlots and shelterbelts, constructing
contour furrows and ridges, erecting fences, and controlling rodents. They also
pay for three-fourths of the terraces and one-half of the terrace outlets.
Federal funds are now being used to cost share in treatment of critically
eroding areas.
Yazoo River Watershed, Mississippi
Area: 3,942,197
Counties: 16
The Yazoo River project has 74 subwatersheds. It is
sponsored by 16 soil conservation districts and other local organizations. About
39 percent is woodland, 25 percent cropland, 20 percent pasture, and 16 percent
land in miscellaneous uses. Only 7 percent or 227,975 acres is public land.
The principal objective is to reduce flood and sediment damage to farmland. Land
treatment measures include conservation cropping systems; planting trees, grass,
and legumes; diversion terraces; debris basins; and stabilizing roadbanks.
Landowners are bearing part of the cost of land treatment measures on both
cultivated land and pasture. Federal and local governments are sharing the cost
of erosion control practices on roads.
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