Contror Proposal 



Illinois River Basin Flood Plan Requires 

 Purchase of 142,700 Acres of Land; 

 Total Estimated Cost of Project: $112,000,000 



OF INTEREST to a number of Illinois 

 farmers is the proposed fiood control 

 plan for the Illinois River basin an- 

 announced recently by the War Depart- 

 ment. 



The plan developed by the U. S. Army 

 Engineers proposes the construction of 

 1 5 reservoirs, the improvement of 406 

 miles of channels tributary to the Il- 

 linois River and the construction and im- 

 provement of 315.7 miles of levees and 

 flood walls. 



The plan has been submitted to the 

 Board of Engineers for Rivers and Har- 

 bors. 



Only action taken by the board of di- 

 rectors of the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation up to April 5 was as follows: 



1. Requested an extension of 30 days 

 for the filing of statments or suggestions 

 with the Board of Engineers for Rivers 

 and Harbors. This extension has been 

 granted, and the deadline for filing sug- 

 gestions is April 30 with the Board of 

 Engineers in Washington. 



2. Requested that oral hearings on the 

 proposed improvement and plan be held 

 in the area involved. Notice has since 

 been received that a public hearing has 

 been called for April 30 at 10 a.m. at the 

 Board of Engineers for Rivers and Har- 

 bors No. 2, New York Avenue, N. W. 

 Washington, D. C. 



Legislation by Congress 



3. That the proposed plan be discussed 

 at the Springfield meeting of Illinois 

 Farm Bureau leaders March 22. Such 

 discussion was held. 



The public relations committee of the 

 lAA board has been advised that the 

 procedure for such projects is as follows: 



1. Investigations and surveys are made 

 by Army engineers and a report is pre- 

 pared. 



2. Interested persons and groups are 

 given an opportunity to express their 

 views and make suggestions concerning 

 the report and proposed plans. 



3. The Board of Engineers for Rivers 

 and Harbors receives the report and the 

 suggestions and makes recommendations 

 to the chief engineer. 



4. The chief engineer reviews the re- 

 port and transmits it to Congress. He 

 also transmits a copy of the report to the 

 Governor of the state involved, for any 

 suggestions from the state. 



5. The Congress passes enabling legis- 

 lation including any necessary appropri- 

 ations. 



6. After Congress has passed the legis- 

 lation and made the appropriations, the 

 v'ork is undertaken. 



According to this outline, the pro- 

 posed Illinois River basin project is in 

 the second stage of the procedure. 



Cost Over $112,000,000 



According to the report of the plan it 

 provides for the acquiring of some 142,- 

 700 acres of land in 16 counties of Il- 

 linois by the federal government for use 

 as water storage areas along the Illinois 

 River and its tributaries. Excess water 

 would be impounded during flood periods 

 and drained out slowly as water levels 

 lowered. 



The government would buy the land 

 for the basins, which would be flooded 

 during certain periods. During the long- 

 er periods of low water levels, the land 

 would be leased to farmers for cultiva- 

 tion. 



According to the lAA public relations 

 committee, the estimated cost of purchas- 

 ing the land for the reservoirs and con- 

 struction would be in excess of $1 1 2,000,- 

 000, and that the aggregate average an- 

 nual benefits from reduction in flood 

 losses is estimated at only $2,377,270. 

 These estimates are based upon 1940, and 

 land acquisition costs and construction 

 costs would probably be much higher to- 

 day. 



With a federal debt in excess of 275 

 billion dollars, and continued federal 



deficits, the lAA has advised that the 

 project should be given careful scrutiny. 



The map on the opposite page shows 

 the sites of the 1 5 reservoirs proposed. It 

 does not show the construction proposed 

 for other counties. This is only a map 

 showing where land is to be acquired for 

 the reservoirs. 



Here is a list of the counties and acre- 

 ages to be required for reservoirs: Wood- 

 ford, 11,200 acres; Peoria, 3,400; Taze- 

 well, 1,600; McLean, 5,900; Knox, 22,- 

 100; Hancock, 7,300; McDonough, 1,- 

 400; Logan, 2,500; DeWitt, 10,850; 

 Piatt, 5,100; Champaign, 6,100; Macon, 

 5,100; Menard, 4,300; Christian, 21,100; 

 Sangamon, 34,350; Shelby, 400. 



Opposition is Voiced 



At the Springfield leaders' meeting 

 only three persons offered discussion on 

 the proposed project from the floor. 



John H. Taylor, Cass county, who said 

 he represented farmers along the lower 

 half of the Sangamon, read a statement 

 favoring the flood control plan. The 

 statement pointed out the large annual 

 losses from floods suffered by farmers 

 and townspeople in his area, and said that 

 they had been interested in a flood con- 

 trol project for many years. He said that 

 the project was a matter to be settled 

 locally, but that it also was a national 

 problem. 



Evan Taylor, president of the Sanga- 

 mon County Farm Bureau, voiced oppo- 

 sition to the project asserting that it 

 would dispossess many people, would 

 disrupt farm to market channels and 

 school districts. He also questioned the 

 expenditures of such a large amount of 

 money by the government in considera- 

 tion of the benefits to be gained and in 

 view of the huge federal debt. He also 

 raised the question as to whether the 

 federal government had the right to 

 take such lands as contemplated in the 

 plan. 



Bert Downey, Piatt county, suggested 

 that proper operation of .soil conservation 

 districts over the state could reduce flood 

 damage. He suggested good conservation 

 practices rather than the proposed flood 

 control project. 



A representative from Knox county de- 

 clared that the farmers in his area were 

 opposed to the government project and 

 said he subscribed to the statement of the 

 Sangamon count)- representative. 



APRIL. 1946 



