182 MULTIPLE PURPOSE RIVER DEVELOPMENT 



lack the completeness and relevance essential to answering the 

 question: "Is the proposed plan of development the most efficient 

 plan?" However, there are sufficient data to permit rather loose 

 comparisons which, while not answering the question posed above, 

 suggest an answer to another question: "Is the plan of develop- 

 ment more or less efficient than some alternatives available for 

 comparison?" Inferences drawn from such data can be used to 

 supplement our conclusions, which are based largely on a priori 

 propositions. 



First, Alabama Power Company's plan of development may be 

 compared with the U. S. Corps of Engineers' plan for the same reach 

 of the Coosa River. The applicant's four proposed river structures 

 above its existing dams on the Coosa are roughly equivalent to the 

 Corps' proposed structures in the reach between Alabama Power 

 Company's existing Lay Dam and the confluence of the Etowah 

 and Oostanaula rivers. To make this comparison, however, several 

 adjustments must be made. 



First, the data relevant to the Corps' plan were presented in 

 terms of 1949 cost levels and must be adjusted to take account of 

 rising costs. Because of improvements in construction engineering, 

 we increase the investment given for 1949 by only 17.5 per cent, 

 despite the increase in construction materials and wage rates of 35 

 to 40 per cent. Secondly, the Corps' plans included the estimated 

 cost of navigation locks,^^ whereas the Alabama Power plan does 

 not include such costs, even though provision is made in the design 

 of structures for their inclusion if locks become justified at some 

 subsequent time. However, the Alabama Power Company's plans 

 do provide for approximately 688,000 acre-feet of controlled sur- 

 charge storage for flood control purposes, whereas the 1950 version 

 of the Corps' plan has only 268,200 acre-feet of live storage, none 

 of which is provided for flood control, but only for power genera- 

 tion.^^ Accordingly, to analyze alternate plans in terms of a com- 



^' The originally estimated costs of the navigation locks for Leesburg, Patlay, 

 Howell Mill Shoals, and Fort Williams Shoals were respectively 9 million, 6 

 million, 12 million, and 5 million dollars in terms of 1949 price levels. Adjusted 

 upward by 17.5 per cent they would appear as 10.8 million, 7.1 million, 14.1 

 million, and 5.9 million dollars respectively. Source: Letter from the Office of 

 the Chief of Engineers, dated March 28, 1957. 



" Alabama-Coosa River Basin: Report to the President's Water Resources 

 Policy Commission, op. cit., Table i. 



