WATER RESOURCES STUDY
WILLAMETTE RIVER BASIN
MONMOUTH-DALLAS PROJECT
OREGON
Study of Potential Needs and Value of Storage for Water
for Municipal, Industrial,and Quality Control Purposes
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH,EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service, Pacific Northwest
Region IX, Portland, Oregon
APRIL 1962
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REPORT ON WILLAMETTE RIVER BASIN"STUD~IBS
RICKREALL CREEK WATERSHED :
Preliminary Investigation of Municipal and Industrial
Water Supply and Stream Quality Control Requirements
and Benefits Associated with Multiple-Purpose Studies
of the Proposed Monmouth-Dallas Project
Polk County, Oregon
Prepared at the Request of and
in Cooperation with the Area Engineer,
Lower Columbia Development Office,
Bureau of Reclamation, Salem, Oregon
U. S. DEPARTMENT OP HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
Water Supply and Pollution Control Program, Pacific Northwest
Region IX, Portland, Oregon
April 1962
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TABLE Qg COOTEKTS
Page
b
•i
A-I
SUMMARY ... ....... ' ................. A-3
ASflO PMgQSB . . . . ............ "... A-4
STUPY OBJUOIVBS AND PMCEPmSS ............... . B-l
ABSA (OaBGD^) PBBLIMIHARY • ECONOMIC
RSCOKKAESSAKCB AND ESTimTE 0? CBCaiH. 1960-2010 ..... . 'C-l
I^TROBUCTICN . . , ....................... C-l
PAST G2JEJTH ......... c ................ C-2
.... ................ c-4
. C-6
SUBTLY- ....... , . . . ...... ' ........ D-l
'•••' ...... E"1
BISCUSSIOSi ......... ................. F-l
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INTRODUCTION
This report represents .a preliminary examination of present and future
municipal and industrial water supply and stream quality control needs
in the Rickreall Creek area of the Willamette River Basin with particular
reference to the feasibility of including provisions for satisfying
these needs in the Bureau of Reclamation's proposed Monmouth-Dallas
Project, Polk County, Oregon.
Request for the investigation and report was made by the U. S. Depart-
ment of tha Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Columbia Development
Office, Salem, Oregon by letter dated August 28, 1961 asking for
assistance in carrying out provisions set forth in the Water Supply
Act of 1958 (Title III, P.L. 500, 85th Congress) for implementation
of water supply programs and for an evaluation of needs, requirements,
and benefits applicable to flow regulation for control of stream quality
as provided in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of
1961.
.The report identifies uses and sources of water in the project area and
describes sources of waste, waste treatment practices and the effects
of waste effluents and land drainage materials on the quality of
specific reaches of Rickreall Creek.
Included also is a preliminary economic evaluation of the area, the
findings of which have formed the basis for estimating future municipal
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and industrial water supply needs and for approximating the effects
of future wastes and land uses on stream quality.
Siaee thio -investigation has been mads in advance of study schedules
plamaed for establishment of a Comprehensive Water Supply and Water
Quality Control Program for the Columbia River Basin, certain materials
presented tauat necessarily awaitxlater confirmation.
It is believed, however, that the conclusions on municipal and indus-
trial water cupplioo, the low flow requirements for quality control,
bsaofito as given possess a degree of finality suitable for
ainary project planning and use in determining project feasibil-
ities and Justifications. • • '
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SUMMARY
1. Whereas Rickreall Greek waters downstream, from the City of Dallas
are frequently composed only of sewage treatment plant effluent and
waters of questionable quality originating from agricultural and
other land drainage sources, increased stream flows would be essential
to the maintenance of sanitary, aesthetic and aquatic conditions
throughout the lower thirteen miles of Rickreall.Creek and would
improve stream conditions at points of diversion, recreation and
population downstream and along the Willamette River.
2. The benefit associated with.provisions for maintaining continuous
stream flows of 9.5, 11.0 and 13.5 cubic feet per second downstream
from Dallas and out through the mouth of Rickreall Creek for the
years 1960, 1980 and 2010, respectively, is estimated to be in the
order of $50,000-$60,000 annually.
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PROJECT ABBA AM) PURPOSE • •
The MoKSiouth-Ballas Project is situated in the southeastern corner
.of Polk Couaty, Oregon. The area io about 12 miles long and 5 to 6
E»ileo uide. Tha Uillesaetta River flood plain forms the eastern
boundary and the low rolling foothills of the Coast Range form the
limit on the wast. The towns of Honmouth, Independence, and Dallas
are the .urban centers within the area. About 12,000 acres would
coma under development.
purpooo of tha investigation is to obtain feasibility data on
irrigation potentials, drainage requirements, municipal and industrial,
water supply and stream quality control by low flow augmentation.
Water supplies to the area will be drawn from existing Federal
reservoirs, the releases from which will flow down the Willamette .
River to a point ol withdrawal about one mile 'below the town of
Buena Vista. A main pumping plant and canal, two relift plants and
an' extension canal comprise the major features of the project plan.
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STUDY OBJECTIVES AND PROCEDURES
The objective of this study and report is to establish, by use of
existing and projected data, preliminary conclusions on the feasibility
of providing in the proposed Monmouth-Dallas Project water for municipal
and industrial supply and flow regulation for stream quality control
and to enumerate where practicable the benefits that would accrue to
the project with these purposes included.
Existing sources of municipal and industrial water supply are examined
and with projected demand data, the adequacy or suitability of these
sources in meeting future demands is estimated. Where warranted, alter-
nate supplies to either replace or supplement the developed sources
are identified and explanations are given on procedures to be followed
for determining whether use of the Federal project, in lieu of other
development possibilities, would be feasible or justified and if so,
on what basis benefits may be derived.
Plow regulation requirements relate to the control of specific quality
parameters and achievement of specific objectives as governed by the
beneficial uses enumerated and the particular quality required to
satisfy these uses. Whereas flow regulation for quality control is
regarded as a supplement to conventional waste treatment or other
measures of control at the source, computations involving needs for
additional waste assimilation capacity and dilution in the stream
reflect provisions for such treatment. In cases where the quality of
irrigation return flows may be suspected of contributing significantly
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to reduced stream quality, i.e., nutrient or mineral enrichment
(excessive slime and algal growth), toxicity,' turbidity, biochemical
oxygen demand, etc., a statement to this effect is included with an
explanation of the intent of the Public Health Service to conduct
studies and surveys at a later date on which to base recommendation
for possible further means of control.
Inasmuch as the flow regulation requirements for quality control include
allowances for reasonable degrees of waste treatment, the alternate
method and hence, the benefit assignable to the storage associated with
such regulation is considered equivalent to construction, operation
and maintenance costs involved in the development of the least costly
single-purpose alternate facility so designed as to provide the
recommended regulation. Although, for example, such alternates as .
waste distillation ,or underground disposal would accomplish similar
control, these methods are not at this time considered to be feasible
or equivalent alternates. Annual benefits assignable to the project
for quality control, therefore, may be based on amortized costs plus
annual operation and. maintenance expenses involved in achieving similar
regulation by the cheapest single-purpose flow regulation method.
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MONMOUTH-DALLAS AREA (OREGON)
PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC RECONNAISSANCE
AND ESTIMATE OF GROWTH. 1960-2010
•INTRODUCTION
This analysis is intended to provide a preliminary estimate of antici-
pated population growth in the portion of Polk County in the area of
Dallas and Monmouth.
Several limitations apply to this study. The first is that it is .
intended only as a preliminary estimate of the outlook for the subject
area's growth. Subsequently, in connection with the Columbia River
Basin Project for Water Supply and Water Quality Management, an analysis
will be made on an industry-by-industry basis of the growth potential
in the various sub-basins. At that time, this preliminary estimate
will be reviewed, and revised if necessary.
Another limitation is that this study is intended for use particularly
in assessing future water needs. Individual industries have been
considered only insofar as t^iey may have a significant effect on future
*« t
population. The study is ndt submitted as a detailed industrial forecast,
It should also be noted that this study was made before employment data
from the 1960 U.S. Census had becomeavailable.
Estimates of future population of cities are subject to a wider margin
of error than those for areas such as counties or river basins because
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of the additional variable of possible annexations to the cities.
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In the case of the three cities discussed in this.report, no attempt
has been made to separate the portion of their past growth due to
annexations from the portion due to development within previous bound-
aries. It would appear that there are some limited possibilities for
small annexations around each of these three cities in the future.
It is assumed, in the following projections, that future growth will
represent about the same mixture as it has in the past of (1) annexa-
tion and (2) more intensive development of the older area.
PAST GROWTH
Table I shows the history of population growth from 1920-60 in the
three cities that are the subjects of the report and the comparable
grox7th in the rest of Folk County. Table II shows this same growth
in terms of a percentage rate, compounded annually.
By far the most rapid growth in Polk County .has occurred in West Salem.
This was part of the national trend toward urbanization, accentuated by
the growth of state government employment in Salem. Monmouth has also
had above average growth, a result of growing expenditures on education
and tedcher training—the Oreg6n College of Education is the principal
industry in Monmouth. Dallas, the county seat, grew at the same rate
as Polk County as a whole during the period 1920-60. Independence has
grown less rapidly than the county as a whole, and actually declined
during the decade 1950-60.
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Table I
Growth of Population. 1920-60
Principal Cities of Polk County
Area
Dallas
Independence
•Konmouth
West Salera
Rest of County
Total County
1920
2,701
1,143
582
208
9,547
14,181
1930
2,975
1,248
906
974
10,755
16,858
1940
3,579
1,372
965
2,225
11,848
19,989
- 1950
4,793
1,987
1,956
3,053
14,528
26,317
1960
5,072
1,930
2,229
3,897
13,395
26,523
Table II
Rate of Growth of Population, 1920-60
Principal Cities
Area
Dallas
Independence
Monmouth
West Salem
Rest of County
Total County •
(d) Decrease
Annual Rate,
1920-30
1.0
0.9
1.5
16.7
1.2
1.7
Compounded
1930-40
1.9
0.9
0.6
8.6
1.0
1.7
of Polk County
Annually, Per
1940-50
2.9
3.7
7.3
3.2
2.0 •
2.8
Cent
1950-60
0.6
-0.3(d)
1.3
2.5
-0.8(d)
0.1
(40 years)
1920-60
1.6
1.3
3.4
7.6
0.9
1.6
Table II shows that recent growth in Polk County has been sharply irregular.
The decade 1940-50 saw rapid growth in all cities and parts of the county,
as agricultural and lumber production increased with the war effort and
in-migration to Oregon. During 1950-60, however, total population in
the county remained almost stationary. A decline in rural population and
in the population of Independence was just offset by increases in urban
population, particularly in. Salem and Monmouth. •
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Polk County is part of an area defined, for purposes of the Columbia
River Basin Project, as the Mid-Willamette Basin. Table III shows that
Polk County's growth lagged behind that of most of the counties in
this sub-basin during 1950-60.
Table III
Population Growth in Counties in the
Mid-Willamette Basin. 1950-60
Annual Rate. Compounded Annually. Percent
County Annual Rate. %
Benton 2.2
Linn 0.8
Marion 1.8 .
Polk 0.1
Yamhill -0.3(d)
Total Mid-Willamette Basin .1.2
(d) Decrease
PRESENT ECONOMIC BASE
The difference in growth rates among the various counties shown in
Table III can be,explained by their respective economic bases. A
significant part of the economy of Benton County is associated with
Oregon State University, which has had a rapid growth. Marion County's .
growth has received impetus from employment in state government at
Salem. Linn County's growth has been largely due to its relatively
k
.diversified economy centereo at Albany, where metal research and
manufacturing is located. Polk and Yamhill Counties, on the other hand,
are dependent almost entirely on agriculture and two types of manufac-
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turing: lumber-wood products and food processing. In Polk County,
as of April, 1960, food processing and lumber-wood represented about
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80 percent of all manufacturing employment in the county. The only
other element in the county's basic economy is the Oregon College of
Education at Monmouth, employing about 300 persons.
The economic base of the three cities which are the subjects of this
study can be seen more'specifically by listing some of their typical
manufacturing firms, as shown in Table IV. The table emphasizes their
great dependence upon agriculture, food processing and lumber-wood
products manufacturing.
Table IV
Selected Manufacturing Firms in
Dallas. Independence and Monmouth. 1961
All Manufacturing Firms Employing More than Number of
City Ten Persons Employees
Dallas DeGraff Church Furniture Company 15
Friesen Core Company (wooden spools) 11
Gerlinger Carrier (lumber handling equip.) 252
LaCreole Lumber Company . 17
Tracy Co. (fruit and vegetable canning) 30 to 130
Willamette Valley Lumber Company 400
Independence Holt Equipment Co. (farm and lumber equip.) 85
Interstate Shingle Company 25
Mountain Fir Lumber Company ' 61
Rein Lumber Company 16
Monmouth None (Monmouth1s economic base is almost
entirely dependent on the Oregon College of
Education.)
Source: Oregon State Department of Planning and Development, 1961
Directory of Oregon Manufacturers.
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The only other distinctive element in the economic base of any of these
cities is .the fact that county government is located at Dallas. Each
of the cities, of course, derives some support from providing trade and
service facilities for the surrounding rural area.
FUTURE GROWTS
An initial appraisal of the outlook for growth in the five counties in
the Mid-Willamette Basini' during 1960-80 is that the rate of increase
will be considerably above that of the 1950-60 decade (1.2 percent per
year), but less than that of the 1940-50 decade (3.7 percent per year).
However, most.of this growth is expected to be associated with Salem,
Albany, and Corvallis. Polk County is likely to continue to grow at
a much slower rate than the Mid-Willamette'Basin as a whole. Within
Polk County, it appears likely that most of the growth will be in the
portion in or near Salem.
Of the* three cities under consideration, only Monmouth has a present
economic base which appears to be capable of considerable enlargement.
Growth at the Oregon College of Education might parallel growth in
state population, for which a preliminary estimate is 2.0 percent per
year for the period 1960-80, 1.7 percent per year for the period 1980-
2000, and 1.5 percent per year for 2000-2010. While the need for
teachers ncy grow more rapidly than population, Monmouth's share of
total teacher training in the state may decline with the growth of
Portland State College. .
I/ These preliminary evaluations are based, on a judgment of the distri-
bution among the state's sub-basins of population forecasts for the
state as a whole.
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Dallas' population growth might parallel, as it did over the 1920-60
period, that of Polk County, for which a preliminary estimate is 0.8
percent per year for 1960-80, 0.6 percent for 1980-2010. This rate
of growth would be very much higher than Polk County's growth from
1950-60, though only about half of its average for the period 1920-60.
Such growth in Dallas would probably be built upon expansion of food
processing and wood manufacturing.
Growth for Independence is more difficult to foresee because an
economic base upon which such growth might be built does not appear
to exist at the present time. Its chief asset is its location on
the Willamette. However, abjove and below it on the Willamette are
Albany and Salem, with more'attractions for industrial location. For
purposes of these projections, it is assumed that Independence might
grow at a rate of 0.1 percent per year (the rate for Polk County during
1950-60) during the period 1960-80 and 0.2 percent per year from
1980-2010;
On the basis of these assumptions, the following table shows the future
populations of the three cities that might reasonably result.
Table V
Preliminary Projections of Population. 1980 and 2010
Dallas, Independence and Monmouth (Polk County)
Area 1960 Census 1980 Estimate 2010 Estimate
Dallas 5,072 5,900 7,100
Independence 1,930 2,000 2,100
Moiucouth 2,229 3,300 5,400
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WATER SUPPLY
In considering the Moninouth-Dallas Project as a source of municipal
.and industrial water-supply, it is believed that use of this source
In view of those presently available to the cities of Dallas, Monmouth,
asid Independence would not be feasible. Such factors as anticipated
futu™Q demands, water treatment costs, and appurtenance involved in
tho usa of project water, have led to this conclusion.
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QUALITY CONTROL
Augmentation of low flows in Rickreall Creek downstream from the city
o£ Dallas would ba beneficial in alleviating .critical stream conditions
arioias froa sewage treatment plant effluents and agricultural and
©fchar lazsd drainage materials? attributable to an over-appropriation
of the natural summer stream flows. For example, the flow in Rickreall
Creek -at the Dallas sewage treatment plant outfall has been observed
to be non-existent during the past two irrigation seasons.
Is addition to the usa made of Rickreall Creek for carrying pollu-
fcioaal ssaterials, water rights have been issued for domestic, municipal,
industrial, -irrigation, fioh and wildlife uses. The aesthetic, sani-
tary and quality values associated with these and other uses including
sum-fishing recreation in downstream Rickreall Creek and Willamette
River areas would appear to justify provisions for stream quality
in this -area.
It is believed that minimum stream flows to maintain dissolved oxygen
levels in Rickreall Creek of no less than six parts per million would
offer tho extent of quality maintenance necessary to protect all water
vaoeo . Following are the minimum rates of stream flow estimated to
achieve this objective between the Dallas waste outfall and mouth of
Mckreall Creek:.
Minimum Flow Requirement
Year _ c.f.s.
1%0 9.5
1980 11.0
2010 13.5
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A study of available streara flow data indicates that these flows
would be required from June 1 through October 15. On this basis,
4,180 acre-feet of additional water would be needed to fulfill
this requirement. It should be understood that the extent of regu-
lation required to maintain suitable dissolved oxygen levels would
provide, by means of dilution and increased assimilative capacity,
significant control of the effects of land drainage as well as con-
trol of the effects of residu'al materials not removed from wastes
by knox^n conventional trea unisnt means.
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DISCUSSION
The protection of public health through the provision of a safe water
. supply has long been a matter of primary concern to the public health
profession and has been a significant contributing factor to the high .
health standards'of the Nation. However, the problem of providing
adequate amounts of safe potable water has become increasingly difficult
due to the pyramiding water demands of a rapidly expanding population.
Furthermore, the resulting increase in waste flows has caused a gradual
degradation in the quality of the Nation's waters. While improved
methods of treatment and disinfection of both wastes and water have
served to maintain the quality within tolerable limits, the progress
in pollution abatement and water treatment has not kept pace with this
population growth and industrial expansion.
The familiar problems of pollution by bacteria, organic matter, and
chemicals of known toxicity and behavior have been further intensified
and complicated by problems of mineral enrichment due to water reuse
and by new types of contaminants associated with our chemical and atomic
age. The effects of these newer contaminants on water treatment
processes and on the human consumer are largely unknown. The defi-
ciencies in knowledge and the prospect of even greater quantities of
yet more complex pollutional materials reaching our surface waters
emphasize the urgency of intelligent water quality management.
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Inasmuch as maintenance of a high level of water quality for all uses
is basic to public health and the general well-being of the populations
and economy, planning for future water demand and uses requires the
utmost of care with application of a reasonable degree of optimism.
This is especially true when planning for needs many years in advance
as is the objective of this evaluation.
Although the Rickreall Creek Watershed and Monmouth-Dallas area con-
stitute only a very small fraction of the Willamette River Basin system
and area within the State of Oregon, its importance as a potential
and growing contributor to the widespread economy of the region is
believed sufficient to Justify, where reasonable and practicable,
provisions for maintaining an acceptable sanitary environment and a
means whereby the water resource may be preserved for the continuance
and expansion of any and all legitimate and/or riparian purposes.
Whereas Rickreall Creek waters downstream from the City of Dallas are
frequently composed only of sewage treatment plant effluent and waters
.of questionable quality originating from agricultural drainage and
other land sources, provisions for increased stream flows by use of
higher quality waters from any available or reasonable source would
introduce dilution factors and natural self-purification properties
essential to the maintenance of satisfactory sanitary, aesthetic and
aquatic conditions throughout the lower thirteen miles of Rickreall
Creek and would improve conditions at points of diversion, recreation
and population downstream and along the Willamette River. .
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• c
It is believed that the Bureau of Reclamation's Monmouth-Dallas Project
could be designed to include stream quality control as a project func-
tion and that benefits accruing from such provisions could be applied
toward project justification, especially as waters pumped from the
Willamette River to the project area are associated with upstream
storage.
Inasmuch as the minimum flows established for Rickreall Creek incorporate
provisions for conventional waste treatment (85 percent BOD reduction)
in meeting quality objectives, and reasonable or equivalent alternatives
other than increased stream flow are not available to supplement this
treatment, it is suggested that the benefit associated with low flow
.augmentation for quality control, in the absence of an evaluation of
direct benefits, be the equivalent.of single-purpose costs to provide
the required regulation.
It is. recognized as only problematical that in the absence of the
Bureau project, increased stream flow in addition to waste treatment
and control of land drainage effects would be provided on a local level.
It is believed less probable, however, that methods of control such as
waste distillation, underground disposal (this would interfere with
downstream water rights), or auxiliary waste treatment would be provided
in the absence of the project.
Benefits derived from single-purpose costs to provide increased stream
flow, however, should be tempered or substantiated by judgment based.
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on beneficial uses of the stream, land values to be protected, and
relative importance of the resource to the economy and well-being
of the particular region.
It is suggested, even though waste distillation and auxiliary waste
treatment may be unrealistic, that these costs and equivalent effects
be compared with single-purpose costs to develop stream flow for
purposes of facilitating further judgment in the assessment of reason-
*
able benefits. It is estimated, for example, that costs to treat the
projected Dallas treatment p'.ant effluent by distillation as this
process is now known, would rangi ir. ths neighborhood ox $182,000
to $355,000 annually. Au^il^ary ••._ _^. cncnt of Dallas wastes based
on the difference in cost ostween primary cr.c secondary waste treatment
for further renovcl of biochemical oxygen demand is estimated to range
from $10,000 to $15,OCG anauslly and tho least costly single-purpose
development of increased stream flovj (puuping project from Willamette
River to deliver 4,180 acre-feet c£ uatar) as determined by the
Bureau of Reclamation is estimated to be $62,2CC Annually. This value
does not include the annual storage cost for uhi 4,180 acre-feet of
water ($9,400 estimated by the Corps of Zngineers) which would be
associated with Corps of Engineer storage projects. Neither the
distillation nor auxiliary treatment ..2thod would provide the kind
or extent of quality maintenance th-t '.:ould be achieved by
increased stream flow.
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In view of the many uses made of Rickreall Creek, the relative
reliance of the area on a protected water resource, and the rela-
tionships of the area to downstream Willamette River conditions
and activities, it is suggested that the benefit assignable to
the proposed Monmouth-Dallas Project for quality control be in
the order of $50,000 to $60,000 annually. Water quality mainten-
ance values* are both tangible and intangible and may not be as-
signed to specific beneficiaries, and -are held to be "widespread"
•;
in nature..
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