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farmers in providing improved land and water manage- ment practices was inaugurated. This assistance was strengthened and enhanced as a result of the drought of the 1930's and was stimulated and accelerated by local actions under provisions of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954. Federal participation in flood control started shortly after the Flood Control Act of 1936. Of special importance to development of the water resources of the Missouri Basin was the Flood Control Act of 1944 which adopted the comprehensive plan for water resource development, and which stimu- lated creation of the Missouri Basin Inter-Agency Com- mittee in 1945 to foster natural resource development basinwide. In considering the potential for further progress in development for the social and economic we II-being of the people of the Missouri Basin, water resources constitute one of the most basic ingredients. Thus, framework planning requires an appraisal of both the quantity and quality of the surface and groundwater resources remaining for utilization. SURFACE WATERS The first measurement to determine the magnitude of surface water flow in the Missouri Basin was a recorded flood measurement on Clear Creek at Golden, Colo., in June 1876. What is believed to be the oldest recording streamgaging station in the United States was established on the Cache la Poudre River near Fort Collins, Colo., in 1884. However, the longest continuous record of stream- flow in the Missouri Basin is on the Osage River near BagneIl, Mo., where records are available .since 1880. Streamflow records are available for about 1,800 gaging stations, with individual periods of record from AIIocating A Valuable Resource - Water - Requires Factual Streamflow Records 56 less than 5 years to over 80 years. About 900 of these are in the current network of active stations. Records of 483 stations within the basin and 57 peripheral stations were selected for the framework study analyses on the basis of length of record, degree of streamflow control, areal coverage, and data needs for analysis. Daily records of streamflow at these stations were processed for electronic computers. Flow-duration tabulations, high- flow sequences and low-flow sequences were prepared for each gaging station on the computer. Other hydrologic analyses were accomplished as necessary to appraise the quantity and quality of surface waters already committed and those remaining for further development and use. Historic Streamflows Runoff which enters the streams of the basin varies widely from place to place, and from year to year. In parts of the basin, and particularly in the plains area, the average annual runoff is less than an inch, while in the southeastern part of the basin and the northwestern mountainous areas average annual runoff as streamflow exceeds 10 inches. Figure 23 illustrates the generalized estimates of mean annual runoff as derived from the streamgaging records selected for this detailed analysis. A measure of the total surface water resource is the streamflow passing out of any basin. All streamflow from the Missouri Basin is concentrated finally in the Missouri River at the mouth and this has been measured since 1898. The average annual flow of the Missouri River at Hermann, Mo., was 56.7 million acre-feet for the period 1898 to 1966. It was only during the latter part of this period that the flow was subject to major storage regulation on the main stem. Annual extremes in streamflow recorded at Hermann ranged from as high as 105 million acre-feet in 1915 to a low of 22 million acre-feet in 1934. Daily variations are more pronounced, ranging from 615,000 cfs recorded in July 1951, to a minimum of 4,200 cfs in 1940. Variations in the annual historical flow at Hermann are shown in figure 24. Current Streamflow Analysis Historic stream flows, discussed earlier, reflect the constantly changing effects of water resource devel- -opmenr--and- -strearnflow-depletio n-:-'fo-be-use f ul-as-a measure of surface water supply availability, historical streamflow data must be adjusted to reflect the current level of development and uses of water. Historical streamflows show the effect of artificial diversions, water storage, release of storage water, and the other works of man only to the extent of such developments and depletions prior to the time of water measurement. Thus to be useful for determining the current availability --- ----