The Portsmouth inquirer. [volume] (Portsmouth, O. [Ohio]) 1849-1855, 1850-10-07
] Improasna1t 81 Ia ONO Rlv.r.


iect Of making the Ohio river nayigaHe ati
all seasons, blythe construction Of extensive
reservoirs, committee was appointed 10
enquire into the subject. Mr.. Underwood,
as Chairman of that committee, has report
ed favorable to Mr.. Els project, AS this
is an enterprise in which we are all or
iessiptetssted, we give The following facts
which we find in the report:
The plan proposed by Mr Elletis exceed
ingly simple, and may be explained in few
words. He alleges, truly, that the navigaZ
ton Of the Ohio, and that many other
rivers flowing into the Mississippi, is always
good when the channel is we'll supplied with
water; and that it is often interrrp pied, and
some times for very long periods, by a great
er or less deficiency Of the natural supply
of water, He proposes, therefore, to cor
rect the faults Of the navigation, simply bs
furnishing water to the river in times Of
drought, and this he maintains can be easily
and cheaply accomplished, BY constructing
extensive reservoirs on the tributary streams,
in which an ample store may be collected in
times Of food, and from which it may be
discharged by appropriate sluices and valves
whenever 1t is needed TO replenish the fail
ing channel. The physical questions which
arise in deciding on the practicability or Pro-
priety Of adopting this plan are:
First, what is actually the quantity Of
water which it would be necessary to supply
per hour, OF per diem 10 maintain the nayi-
CATION at any given height during the ordi-
nary droughts of summer? and,
Secondly, where can this water be col
lected and stored in sufficient volume TO Sc
cule full supply during the sixty or eighty
days Of low water which frequently occur
in the summer months? TX
On the first point, the testimony offered
by Mr.. Elet, was entirely satisfactory TO
the committee. ltis founded on actual OBJ
servations and surveys made by himself, on
the discharge of the Ohio river over the bar
at Wheeling, in almost every navigable con-
dition of the stream The facts obtained
from these measurements he has carefully
applied TO authentic records Of the daily
height Of the water in the channels Wheel
ing SO as todeteImine the number Of cubic
feet which flow past that point, day by day,
through period Of six consecutive years.
The results Of this inquiry demonstrate
that the volume OF water which is annually
discharged by the river would be sufficient, il
| ii passed off uniformly, to maintain a con-
stant depth Of nine feet on the Wheeling
har. The fact is thus established that there
| is abundance Of water supplied by nature to
secure permanent navigation on the river
| if il be in the power Of man 10 control, or
| only partially to control, and regulate its
discharge. =,
To secure depth Of nine feet is not ne
cessary, even were il possible, and Mr.. Ell
let's tiention was especially directed to tht
possibility Of securing depth Of three feet
during the season Of drought. From certair
data and calculations made by him, ant
givenin the report, il is ascertained that tt
maintain depth OF three teet on the bar a
Wheeling which will be equivalent to the
maintenance of full three feet on any par
of the river below Wheeling, and very nea
that amount above Wheeling must b.
able to draw l 400 100000 cubic feet from
the reservoirs every week. The problem
therefore, seems to be reduced, says the re-
port, to the simple determination Of the di
mensions Of reservoir capable Of furnish
ing this quantity Of water at the head Of tht
Ohio, and the possibility Of finding space in
the upper valleys for the creation Of sucl
reservoirs. This is really the whole problem
for, if we can create reservoir that vii
supply draught of three feet for one week
we may, by multiplying such reservoirs, sup
| ply volume sufficient TO maintain the same
depth for one or more months; and hence
throughout The droughis of summer.
| But it is known that reservoir only ogt
mile square and so feet deep will hold near.
ly l,400, 1000. 900 cubic feet Of water, and will
be BILE, therefore, Of maintaining dep pth
Of three feet in the Ohio during a period Of
seven days.
These reservoirs the committee propose
to find on the waters Of the Allegheny river
and probably on the waters of the Monon
gahela, though it is not mentioned. The re-
port says that it is obvious that dam, 81
feet high, on the Allegheny, would create ;
pond or lake 25 miles long, of which tht
ayerage depth would be 25 feet, and tht
ayeage width certainly onefourth Of a mile
Such reservoir will contain 4,000, ,000, ,00(
cubic feet, or three times al, much water a
has been found to be necessary to support I
navigation OF three for a period Of sever
days. In fact, such a lake would suffice L
keep up depth Of three feet during space
Of three weeks together-allowins nothin,
for the contents Of the lateral branches
which the lake would form in this space o
IS miles.
The report states that pools equally large
have been formed on the Kentucky rive
and at other points in the United States, 70
the purposes of slack water navigation, ant
| that dams more formidable have been bull
| in various parts Of the world, The projec
does not involve the construction of an,
description Of works which have not alread
been built in this country and Europe, an,
the committee are decidedly Of the opinion
| that the plan is feasible. Z, ~,
| The committee, while entirely convince
of the practicability Of the scheme, are no
prepared 10 present sufficient evidence Of tn
cost of preserving any particular depth Q
water. In the opinion OF Mr.. Ellet, dept
a of three feet can be secured throughout th
ordinary summer droughts for sum not e1
ceeding $3.50, ,000; and depth Of four fee
which will be sufficient to Aoat the Pitt
burgh and Cincinnati packets, for sum nc
Exceeding $500, 10000. OF the sufficiency {
these sums Mr.. Ellet expresses much conf
dence but it is not necessary, in the judt
ment Of the, committee, that they should b
correct 10 iIstifv the construction of III