TABLE I.—Availability of emergency supplies for areas where critical drought-related problems exist DROUGHT IMPACT ON AGRICULTURAL AREAS Pasture, row, and hay crops in the area from West Virginia and northern Virginia, northward through New England were kept growing by light to locally heavy showers the first half of August and received a big boost from appreciable rains after the 15th of the month. Current plant conditions appear to be equal to, or better than reported August 1. The recent rains have been expecially beneficial for the sizing of later maturing fruits, especially apples and peaches. Vegetable crops are maturing and supplies are ample. Prospects for the Aroostook, Maine, potato crops are very favorable. Soybeans in New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware have generally made favorable development. Pasture grasses have made some growth and increased grazing was being obtained over much of the area; compared with earlier in the month, however, supplemental feeding continues in the dryer localities. Roughage supplies for the winter will be short. Although much of this area is experiencing one of the most prolonged droughts on records, the fair-to-good crop conditions have been made possible by the timeliness of the showers. Figure No. 3 shows pasture feed conditions on August 1, 1965. Actions taken.-The Secretary of Agriculture in response to State requests has authorized emergency programs to meet the drought situations as follows: 1. Made available emergency loans in 178 counties in 11 States. 2. Authorized grazing and making hay on conservation reserve lands in 123 counties and 6 States. conservation assistance available to reestablish 3. Made emergency vegetation in 53 counties in 5 States. 4. Offered Government-owned feed grain at reduced prices to eligible farmers in 81 counties in 6 States. The number of counties, by States, in which emergency assistance has been authorized is shown in the following tabulation and on figure No. 4. Number of counties, by States, in which emergency assistance has been authorized In addition, in accordance with the President's directive to focus on the problems in the Northeast, the Secretary of Agriculture has emphasized Department programs in this area by Encouraging local sponsoring organizations of Public Law 566 watershed projects to make arrangements for use of water stored in project reservoirs to relieve drought conditions. Twenty-two of these reservoirs will provide water supplies for 173,000 people in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia. Providing technical assistance to individual landowners and to small towns and rural communities to plan and install small water storage reservoirs which will supplement available storage. For example, in Broome County, N.Y., which is in the critical drought area, there are 200 requests for this type of technical assistance outstanding. Here and elsewhere Department resources are being directed to the maximum extent to provide this help. The Department provided some top fire consultants to assist the State forester on a serious forest fire which occurred in Maine early in August. The fire burned over approximately 13,000 acres of private forest land and threatened several local communities. The fire has been controlled. Fire control action conducted by the State of Maine Forest Service was assisted by forces from the State foresters of adjoining States in accordance with provisions of the Northeastern States Forest Fire Compact and by the Canadian Province of Quebec. The Department is continuing its surveillance of the fire potential in view of the continuing drought situation. Staff arrangements have been made to provide additional forest fire consultants as required. ADDITIONAL FEDERAL ASSISTANCE Department of the Army.-The Corps of Engineers has under active consideration informal requests for conservation storage in other Corps of Engineers projects. The Office of Civil Defense is providing assistance through its engineering stockpile to alleviate suffering and hardship in the drought-stricken areas. Directors of the Office of Civil Defense regions 1 and 2 have maintained constant liaison with State authorities. They have used existing authorities to loan 34 pumps, 5 chlorinators, and 55.4 miles of pipe to 40 communities in 7 States during the period of July 1, 1964, through August 19, 1965. Results of the water supply equipment inventory indicate that steel pipe, valves, and accessories are available in large quantities, 4- to 30-inch sizes. Portable pumps and motors are available up to 12-inch discharge. This type and size of construction material is primarily useful for diversion of available streamflow to communities of smaller size. In accordance with directions from President Johnson to the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Engineers, including provision for additional funds, work is being expedited on several Corps of Engineers water supply projects in the drought area. Three of these are authorized multiple-purpose reservoir projects in the Delaware River Basin in the preconstruction planning stage: Beltzville, Blue Marsh, and Tocks Island. Schedules for those projects are being reviewed with a view to expediting construction. Construction of Beltzville will be initiated this fiscal year. Preconstruction planning schedules for two other multiplepurpose reservoir projects in the Delaware River Basin, Trexler, which has not been started, and Prompton, which would require a major modification, are being prepared in anticipation of appropriations in fiscal year 1966 which will permit initiation of design on an accelerated basis. Through allocation of Appalachian funds received in May 1965, the corps is expediting planning at Bloomington Reservoir, Md., in the Potomac River Basin; and Raystown Reservoir, Pa., in the Susquehanna River Basin which also include storage for water supply and/or downstream flow augmentation. Federal Power Commission.—The Commission has continued to analyze possibilities for the alleviation of the effects of drought conditions through modified operation of reservoir projects. A review has been made of all non-Federal projects of the drought area, exclusive of water supply reservoirs, having usable storage capacities generally in excess of 20,000 acre-feet. The majority of the projects are under Federal Power Commission license, or the owners have license applications pending or under preparation. Data were collected on 49 projects having a combined total usable storage capacity at full reservoir elevation of 7,349,000 acre-feet of which 4,451,000 acre-feet, or 61 percent of full capacity, was available on August 1, 1965. Most of these reservoirs are contributing substantially to the regulated low flows prevailing at the present time throughout the region. However, the studies to date have not revealed any critical situations, outside of the metropolitan areas of New York and New Jersey, which might benefit at this time from modifications in the operation of the reservoirs. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.-The regional offices of the Department in Boston, New York, and Charlottesville are conducting 10 projects and several established programs which involve 90 percent of the total surface water in the drought area. Information on water quality and quantity problems is being compiled for inclusion in Federal assistance programs and to aid the States in developing comprehensive water pollution control programs. Data gathered by the Department is supplied to other Federal agencies to aid in their projects. Information has been provided to the Corps of Engineers for use in physical hydraulic models which simulate actual conditions in the examined rivers and basins. Data is also supplied for the planning of low sill dams to prevent salt intrusion into river systems. The Department has intensified efforts to determine sources of pollution and possible abatement measures. This has been undertaken in cooperation with the States and other Federal agencies. The problems of water quality have compounded because of the developing shortage of water supplies. The effect of the higher degree of pollution resulting from the drought has had a deleterious effect not only upon municipal and agricultural water supplies, but upon industrial and recreational water uses. The Department's Sanitary Engineering Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, has collected, analyzed, and developed needed data. This data not only assists the Department's short-term emergency procedures, but aids in the creation of longrange plans to develop a sustained safe yield for water. The Health, Education, and Welfare staffs are available in each of the drought regions to assist in plans for emergency water supplies. Their experience in the planning of design, construction, and operation of emergency facilities for water purification can be applied as a partial solution to the water crisis in affected areas. Department of the Interior.—The U.S. Geological Survey has provided data and knowledge about the nature of the water resources of the region. Technical assistance has been given to State and local agencies on a variety of problems related to the drought emergency, as requested-ranging from selection of suitable sites for wells to measurement of water diverted for emergency supply purposes. Although desalting plants could not be constructed in sufficient time to be of assistance in the immediate crisis, they are viewed as a long-range possibility for drought proofing the area against critical situations such as that now being experienced. On August 11, President Johnson asked the Secretary of the Interior to report in 6 months on the potentialities and possibilities of desalting in the Northeast. A task force composed of representatives of Federal agencies has been appointed to work with the city of New York and the State of New Jersey in the development of prefeasibility studies of dual purpose desalting and power generating plants. The Federal agencies represented include the Office of Saline Water, the Geological Survey, and the Office of the Secretary, all of the Department of the Interior; the Atomic Energy Commission; and the Federal Power Commission. The studies are primarily concerned with capacities, probable costs, sources of fuel and suitable sites. After the current studies are completed, which will be about October 1, a decision will then be made as to whether additional detailed feasibility studies are warranted. Development of water supply systems. While major attention has been given to the critical situation in large cities, the survey of the impact of the drought on water supplies in smaller cities and towns and rural areas indicates many serious problems. The analysis of available water supply sources shows that in many cases there are available water sources which could be reached by improved water supply and distribution systems. During the next 2 or 3 years, as communities plan to meet these local problems, they may wish to look into the availability of Federal grant and loan programs for assistance in planning and construction of water supply systems. It is well to reemphasize that present planning should assume a fifth year of drought. The Department of Agriculture is authorized to make loans to individual farmers and to nonfarm rural residents for the development of facilities for the conservation and more efficient use of water. It also is authorized to make loans to associations of farmers and rural residents such as small towns, water districts, water companies, and other similar organizations for the development of central community water facilities. The Housing and Home Finance Agency, Community Facilities Administration, has authority for interest-free advance for planning and of loans at reasonable interest rates for constructing essential public facilities, particularly water supply and sewage disposal systems. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has authority to provide grants to State and interstate agencies enabling them to initiate or expand study, investigation, and training programs dealing with pollution problems; to provide grants to public and private nonprofit institutions to expedite the application of basic research on pollution practices; and to provide grants to State, municipal, intermunicipal, and interstate agencies to assist in construction of municipal sewage treatment facilities. APPENDIX I This includes the following documents relating to emergency actions taken during the period August 7 to 18: August 7, 1965-Report to the President from Secretary of the Interior on the Northeast drought. August 11, 1965-White House press release: Remarks of the President before the Water Emergency Conference. |