WSP01521

• File Number: 8443.400
• Description: Narrows Unit Reports
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 6/15/1974
• Author: US DOL BOR
• Title: Draft Social Assessment of the Proposed Narrows Unit and Alternatives Thereto
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

a corollary to this, there
n ~ ') ~.
'!l~~t which "indicators"

is only limited experience to

or data are most appropriately

gathered to "measure" and "forecast" social impacts. Econo-

mics as a science has more experience in both measurement

and forecasting, but even this discipline is faced with sig-

.

nificant challenges.

However. economics has the advantage

of using a uniform measure, namely dollar values, in comparing

..

the costs and benefits of such decisions.

Social assessments,

and to a certain extent environmental assessments, generally

cannot restrict themselves to such a single measure at this

time. Finally, a third gap in knowledge exists at the program

level. That is, few federal agencies involved in infrastruc-

ture developments have staff who are experienced in scientific

inquiry into social matters.

There are, however, two aspects of agency operations

which provide some initial directions to the concept of

social assessment. These include policy directives and plan-

ning procedures. With respect to the first resource, there

are a variety of policy directives which have been issued

both by Congress and by the Executive Branch which suggest

that social assessment should be directed toward assessing

public investment impacts upon individuals, families and

.

communities in terms of such concerns as their health, life

style, security of life and property, etc. Thus, policy

.

statements can serve as a source of guidance for indicating

some of the dimensions entailed in "social" impacts. The

second source of some direction comes out of the emerging

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