Comprehensive Master Drainage Plans

Comprehensive master drainage plans are not a new concept in engineering. Engineers for decades have been planning drainage projects encompassing many of the facts of what is called comprehensive plan­ ning. The difference between the past and the present is the availability of high speed computers and that now these facets have to be included and documented for public and private acceptance and review. The reason for this is because of the advent of public awareness in our environment. I t is not uncommon now to read in the newspapers that another public works project has been stalemated because of interven­ tion of a conservation group or another member of the private sector. W ith this and with the advent of systems analysis and the high speed computer, comprehensive water drainage plans have formally ar­ rived. A comprehensive master drainage plan is a formulation of the drainage problems now and those expected in the future and the sub­ sequent testing of recommended alternatives with respect to any com­ bination of or all of the following variables: geologic, geographic, topographic, hydrologic, hydraulic, ecologic, socio-economic, transporta­ tion, sedimentation and erosion, political, soils, operation and mainte­ nance, construction methods and materials, planning, present and future land use, and zoning. After the alternatives are tested, one or more are selected as feasible and recommended and a project implementation schedule is formulated. There is no question that this type of formal approach to drainage problems is here to stay. Currently the federal government and other governmental entities are funding research projects of this type all over the country. Most commonly, these research projects are oriented to­ ward urban drainage problems and are funded through the W ater Resources Research Act of 1964, Title I and T itle II and the Depart­ ment of Housing and Urban Development 701 (b) program. Today’s scientific and technologic literature is filled with articles on various