Study Examines Many Beneficiaries of Waterways System
The Waterways Council
27 October 2011
Barge Transport Claims Only a Portion of the Benefits Our
Navigable Waterways Make Available to the Nation
The National Waterways Foundation (NWF) has produced a new
brochure – “Waterways: Vital to the Nation” – capturing the key
findings of the January 2011 study, “Toward a Full Accounting of
the Beneficiaries of Navigable Waterways,” by the University of
Tennessee Center for Transportation Research.
The study addresses the broad range of beneficiaries of America’s
inland waterway pools and channels. Specifically:
- Creation and sustainment of jobs for American
workers: America’s inland waterways system provides
thousands of family-wage jobs in related industries that help
to move the 624 million tons of waterborne cargo transported
on the waterways system annually.
- Shipper savings: For the entire U.S. inland river system,
the estimated national shipper savings was $7 billion, which
is passed onto consumers who pay less for key commodities such
as electricity. This is especially important in a
down-economy.
- Flood control: Dams and tributaries collect runoff and
help maintain navigation pools. Recent flooding on the
Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers demonstrate the value of
this flood control system.
- Recreational boating opportunities: In 2009, more than
382,000 recreational vessels passed through navigation locks
free of charge.
- Hydropower generation: Supported by our inland waterways
navigation system, the nation’s hydropower plants generate
billions* of green, sustainable kilowatt hours (KWH) annually
(*$4.90 billion/year)
- Industrial and municipal water supply: In 2008, municipal
and industrial users withdrew a total of 23.3 billion gallons
of water daily from navigation pools on the Ohio River system
alone, representing an estimated value of $953.5 million per
year.
- Waterfront economic development: Study findings on one
Tennessee reservoir indicates that elevation increases in
water levels yielded a direct increase in the value of
waterfront property.
Our waterways system supplies the nation with multiple benefits
today and can for the future. But only proper investment and
judicious care will allow those benefits to Keep America Moving!
“The Foundation’s brochure, based on this important study,
underscores the various beneficiaries of our waterways system, of
which commercial users are just one part.
Without continued investment in our waterways infrastructure, the
waterways benefits may be lost and our economy negatively impacted
in many ways,” said Mike Hennessey, National Waterways Foundation
Chairman.
The mission of the National Waterways Foundation is to develop the
intellectual and factual arguments for an efficient, well-funded
and secure inland waterways system.
http://www.nationalwaterwaysfoundation.org
Web links can be found at:
http://www.waterwaysfoundation.org/study/Current_NWF_benes.pdf
http://www.waterwaysfoundation.org/study/BeneficiariesofNavigableWaterways14Jan11Ver.pdf