Report on the Platte River Basin, Nebraska Level B Study

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recommended plans as they were formulated. Each member and alternate of the advisory committees was assigned to a task force to provide input from a local viewpoint and to carry information back to the interest groups being represented. Procedures A Plan of Study developed early in 1972 defined task force assignments, established schedules for their completion, and provided a budget estimate for each federal agency during the entire study period. The interrelation between task forces was defined from initial assessments and used to establish a study control schedule. The Plan of Study, including the study control schedule, served as a guide for study management. REGIONAL PLANNING GOALS In July 1972 public meetings were held across the basin to secure public input in establishing sub - basin planning goals. The broad goals thus estab- lished were reviewed and refined by each of the four subbasin Citizens' Advisory Committees. Later, a public attitude survey described earlier in this chapter, further aided in establishment of plan- ning goals and priorities. Collectively this resulted in establishment of similar subbasin goals; however, the means of achieving them varied between subbasins. The following goals were es- tablished without any ranking preference: • Reduce damages from flooding and high water table on urban and agricultural land. • Stabilize the economy through agricultural and recreation development. • Provide outdoor recreation opportunities. • Satisfy municipal and industrial water de- mands. • Satisfy rural domestic and livestock water de- mands. • Provide opportunities for enhancing fish and wildlife. • Meet state water quality standards. • Provide land conservation and sediment con- trol measures. • Maintain or enhance environmental quality. MULTIPLE OBJECTIVE PLANNING When the study was initiated the tentative national guidelines of the Water Resources Council called for planning objectives including "Regional Development ". This objective was later deleted. Currently and as finally used in this study, the multiobjective planning concept outlined in the Water Resources Council's Principles and Stand- ards calls for planning to meet two major objec- tives— national economic development (NED) and environmental quality (EQ). Alternative plans each emphasizing either national economic develop- ment or environmental quality were formulated. The beneficial and adverse effects of elements included in those plans are displayed in four accounts: national economic development; en- vironmental quality; regional development; and social well being. A Recommended Plan formu- lated by tradeoffs between the NED and EQ Plans is also displayed and evaluated. Various kinds of effects are displayed in the four accounts. The national economic development account focuses on changes in economic efficiency and the value of output of goods and services. The contributions added to or subtracted from environ- mental quality by various plan elements or programs are displayed in the environmental quality account. The local and regional effects of a program on employment, population distribution, income, economic base, and environmental con- ditions of special regional concern are shown under the regional development account. Those effects related to life, health, safety, real income distribu- tion, education, recreation, and culture are dis- played in the social well -being account. ALTERNATIVE FUTURES Alternative future conditions were analyzed to determine the range of possible conditions and also the sensitivity of water and related resource demands to different population estimates. All water -use functions were analyzed with respect to projected changes in population and none were found to be significantly influenced by the pro- jected future population range. Alternative futures were also used in projecting the rate of ground water irrigation development. The sensitivity of these alternatives on water use was much greater than the alternative population future. STANDARDS Several standards were established for use in conducting this study. These included: 1. Current normalized Nebraska prices as pro- vided by the Water Resources Council, dated October 1974, were used in estimating benefits where agricultural products were involved. For other products, 1974 prices also were used. 2. All cost estimates were based on April 1974 prices except for power plant development which were based on 1970 prices. 3. The-,,interest rate used in discounting future costs and benefits was 57/8 percent.