Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-04

through the upper portion of its course hence we
ma az the mead OF Grand Island hump in the food
| profile OF the river. The two channels as they ex.
st, are not of sufficient capacity to carry away the
| floods which could be brought to them from above
| by the main channel as it exists but this main
channel Is shoallng for some distance above the
point OF division, that it is being adjusted TO the
| decreased capacity below and this effect will, of
| course, gradually work up the river There can
be no doubt that the leyees in this DIVISION particu
larry at the head OF Grand Island, should have been
| set further back to m3ke way for ordinary floods
though their present position cannot be made ac-
countable for the shoaling which is going above
| the point OF bifurcation.
EIGHTH DIVISION.
| From Grand Island to the point of junction
with the San joaquin river, opposite Collins
| vile, distance OF 1873 miles, the river flows
in one channel, except in the short distance
| opposite Rio Vista, where Wood Island makes
/ a division OF som what more than mile. The
waters brought down by the Old river and Steam
boat slough channels unite at this division as also
those brought through the Yolo basin, west OF the
river, from the overflow of the Sacramento on that
side below Knights Landing, and, from the floods of
| ache, Putah and other creeks, which drain the
| Coast Range on the west. Thus, should the Cache
4 slough, which drains the Yolo basin deliver as
much water at its mouth as escapes from the Sacra
mento river above, at the time of maximum food,
the channel through this eighth division would be
doing full duty under present circumstances, in
crrying 1t. These are the las waters tributary to
| the Sacramento.
The channel in this division is generally of
| good alignment but it is very uneven in
width and depth, with enc notably narrow point,
| and another wide and shallow reach both of which
changes are material distractions to the flood flow
The banks are for the most part low and, compare
lively speaking, swampy, with the exception of
where the river sweeps close to the high and firm
upland which it does at several points the mort.
ern side.
On the south side of the river there is levee
throughout this division which has been found gen
orally efficient where constructed high enough. 1t
Is STILL comparatively speaking, low levee and has
been overopped on several OCCASIONS to be referred
to hereafter On the north side there is no evee of
Importance, and the marsh land is quite low
Generally the river in this division is a very large
| one Compared to the channel at any point
above, 1t Is more nearly proportional to the duty
| 1t would have to perform were all the waters
confined to one channel and more easily improved
in fiood-carrying capacity than any other division,
Tor the distractions here purely local and OF
character easily removed.
| NINTH DIVISION.
From Collrnsville to Suisun bay the Sacramento is
| IN one channel with the San joaquin river. This is
wide, open estuary and it is difficult to say where
| the river ends and the bay begins The shores
salt marsh Tidal action Is here at its tull both
| high and lOw-water stages of the river Shoals
exist, one notably opposite Consvle, just at the
point of junction OF the two streams and this shoal
is obstruction to the escape of flood waters from
the Sacramento river Further than this the ninth
division Of the river has not been examined by this
| department 1t was in part resounded by the Coast
| Survey in 1872 but the results of this work have
not been secured for study in time to be considered
in this part of my report, and will be considered
| hereafter.
LEADING DEFECTS OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER.
After this examination OF the river throughout
its valley course, ii we glance the field we find
a channel which, in It's present condition, is not in
any one single division OF its course capable OF al
| fording passage to the maximum volume OF the
ordinary high floods of the valley they would be
presented to it if confined between banks with the
levees all brought to hight uniform with the aver
age OF those which now exist in the several divisions
and in most divisions, even if the levees were
| brought to hight uniform with the highest that
| exist.
We find moreover several divisions of small ca
| pacity generally throughout their length as, for
| instance, the third and fourth-from Butte Slough
to the mouth of the Feather-defcieut in grade and
width and suffering from excessive bend resstance
the flood flow by reason OF its tortuous course And
| again the upper end Of the seventh and the lower
end OF the eighth division, where the river is re-
strcted in capacity by the effect of the division Of
its waters at Grand Island, and the construction of
levees close up to the banks of streams already too
narrow. 1t should be understood that these re
marks although true to certain extent, applica-
| Bile to the past and present. are especially meant
| to apply should the attempt be made to the
channels up to their maximum capacity by uniform
| system OF eyeeing
And still again. we find serious local Instructions
OF long standing in certain divisions as for instance
! the DIN Nile snOal III Ine HlIn DIVISION, the
Haycock" shoal in the sixth the 90 Hogs back
! in the seventh; the "Newport" shoal in the eighth
and the "Consve' shoal in the ninth division.
| Hence to conclude that before providing
for that portion of the waters OF ordinary foods
which the river generally is not in condition
to carry, there certain special defects of its chan
mel to be rectied, in order that it may work a
drain up to uniform standard Of efficiency through
out its course, and then the question of disposal of
surplus waters will come up on its merits. Shall
this channel be made large enough to carry these
waters. shall it be supplemented by other lines of
esca. e?
THE FLOODS OF THE VALLEY.
As there are in the Sacramento Valley two great
sources OF waters, heretofore explained,
there two great seats of overhow-one above the
mouth OF Feather river, in which the Colusa Butte
and Suffer basins especially involved, and
below Feather river, in which the Yoo and Ameri-
can basins and all lands bordering the river from
Sacramento to the foot of Grand Island, threat
ened. The first may be called the upper valley
| flood and the second the lower valley flood.
The upper valley foodmay be oceasioned under eX-
listing circumstances altogether by waters from the
northern streams. 1t is due directly to INSULT
cient capacity of the river in the second and third
divisions OF its coursefrom Stony creek to Knights
Landing; indirectly, of course, to insufficient
pacity in divisions below. Or partial flood may be
| occasioned IN this upper valley by high water in
the Feather river alone when the greater part OF the
Suffer basin would be submerged by back water,
principally entering near its lowerend. Such a flood
would be due directly 10 an insufficient capacity in
the Feather river below the mouth of the Yuba, and
| in the Sacrsmento-ffth division-from the mouth
of Feather river to the mouth of the American, and
indirectly to deficient capacity in the Sacramento
divisions below.
The lower valley food may be occasioned alone by
the waters of the Sierra streams-the Feather and
its tributaries and the American river. That is
say, there may be more water presented to the Sac
ramento river by these streams when the upper Sac
river is only at it's ordinary winter stages
than it is capable of carrying through its fifth,
sixth and seventh divisions, without submergng the
American and Yolo basins, event. existing deep gaps
IN the leveeS and banks were closed and no water
cape until it overtopped existing levees at some
| points. Though, OF course, the American basin
would be partly submerged by back water from its
| lower END, where there is no levee at ALL
| A lower va ley flood may then be almost entirely
independent OF one in the upper valley, though, of
course, this is not generally the case and further
more, an upper valley flood might occur if the
general overflow was produced by the waters of the
Sacramento while the Feather remained low, with
out occasioning flood i'll the lower valley If exist
ing gaps were closed though, OF course, as in the
previous case, the American basin would be partly
| filed by back water, for the channel below the
mouth OF the Feather river is OF sufficient capacity
t. carry the maximum quantity of water which
would reach it, under circumstances, from
ordinary upper river food wave.
Though, things are, the American and
Yolo basins ordinarily receive large volumes OF
water through existing creyasses before the greater
volumes come from the upper valley, the ordinary
high flood waters called, in the river below the
|
the northern streams the upper Sacramento river
and its tributariesthe most distant source of sup
ply, whose maximum flow arrives at the head of the
lower valley flood region from 80 to 40 hours later
| than those from the eastern streams.
In addition to these two primary seats of inunda-
ton and threatened flooding, there are the low
islands below the seventh division of the river,
which might not be endangered if evenly leveed
throughout, though there overflow in the flood
regions up the valley. Particularly under existing
circumstances in the seventh division of the river
might there be an inundation OF considerable mag
nitude in the upper flood region, involving also the
American basin and threatening all lands east aud
west of the river below the American, without pre-
| ciptating volume into the river below Grand
Island, which it could not carry if the overflow into
the Yolo basin was prevented. This will be more
! fully explained hereafter.
EFFECT OF LOW LAND BASINS.
In the present condition of the river and acent
country the ordinary foods seem much mole formi
dable than they really are. They spread over wide
area and make great appearance of water, but
it all confined to channel, and made to pass
off as rapidly as it came down-not allowed to
cumulate in the low basins from one freshet to
another-the aspect would be quite different.
These basins become partly filled by the first