Download PDF Analytical Methods And Approaches For Water Resources Project Planning

Sinopsis

For nearly two centuries, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has planned and constructed much of the nation’s civil works projects for navigation enhancement, flood damage reduction, and more recently, ecosystem restoration. As the nation’s water resources needs and preferences have shifted, the Corps’ mission has become more complex. For example, in the early twentieth century, the Corps focused largely on constructing channels and harbors, locks, and dams. By contrast, at the close of the twentieth century, the Corps was operating in a more complex legal context (including the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, the 1973 Endangered Species Act, and various Clean Water Acts), was addressing a broader range of water-related needs such as recreation, and had assumed a new environmental restoration mission.

As the Corps’ mission has evolved, the methods and techniques used in its project planning have become more sophisticated and more detailed. Corps of Engineers planning studies today often include economic models, long-range economic demand forecasts, and assessments of environmental impacts and benefits. In addition to analytical challenges posed by integrating economic, engineering, and environmental theories and methods, the Corps is striving to respond to input from stakeholder groups that may not be consistent with scientific principles or with the agency’s planning procedures. Moreover, many Corps planning decisions today do not focus on a traditional emphasis of new civil works construction, but rather on operations of existing projects, which frequently entails the very different task of resolving resource trade-offs among competing interest groups.

Content

1. CORPS OF ENGINEERS MISSIONS, PROJECTS, AND PLANNING
2. FEDERAL WATER RESOURCES PLANNING OBJECTIVES AND GUIDANCE
3. ASSESSING BENEFITS AND COSTS OF CORPS PROJECTS
4. STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION
5. ENGINEERING
6. A NEW NATIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
7. REVISING THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS PLANNING STUDIES
8. EPILOGUE

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