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<br />Learn-Assess <br /> <br />Throughout the second half of this centmy, the <br />number and size of structural flood control projects <br />have been decreasing. High construction costs <br />coupled with increased cost-sharing requirements <br />for nonfederal sponsors of projects have made <br />some structures unaffordable. Structural measures <br />also have been criticized for destroying riparian <br />habitat, scenic values, and water quality; creating a <br />false sense of security; resulting in eventual loss of <br />flood storage capacity due to sedimentation; and <br />inducing development in flood-plains. These <br />criticisms have been coupled with greater <br />recognition that humans should attempt to adjust to <br />floods and not just try to control them. <br /> <br />It appears likely that the rate of construction of <br />new flood control projects may hold steady or <br />decrease slightly and that relatively few large flood <br />control structures will be built in the future. Local <br />and private construction of smaller flood control <br />projects is certain to continue and may even <br />mcrease. <br /> <br />One issue that the nation must face in the coming <br />decades is how to deal with the aging inventory of <br />existing flood control structures. Many dams and <br />reservoirs are nearing or even past their design <br />lives, and the flood control capacity of many <br />reservoirs has been reduced by sedimentation. The <br />financial resources are not available to undertake <br />all required remedial actions. One option being <br />actively considered and already used on a limited <br />basis by the Soil Conservation Service and others <br />is breaching small dams that are no longer <br />functional. <br /> <br />Investment in Flood Control <br /> <br />The Flood Control Act of 1936 established the <br />federal interest in controlling floods on the nation's <br />navigable waters and their tributaries. Under this <br />Act, $310 million was authorized for carrying out <br /> <br />Page 10 of36 <br />