The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-03-03
Freshsfs and Their Origin.
New York World. !

Lieutenant Commander Gorringe, who has devoted much attention to the hy- draulics of rivers and the causes of fresh cts. was called upon by reporter of the Hoyid last evening and asked to kindly explain. what, in tis opinion, were the reasons for the disastrous overflow of the Ohio which has caused so much suffer ing and damage in the west during the past week.
 Mir. sGorringe replied "The prime cause of the fTcshets which have created so much distress in Europe and of late years in this country IS the destruction of forests"
 Then the preservation of our forests would proven, the occurrence of de- structiYe riycr frcshets ~
 ..Ycs because the melting of snow in a thiokly timbered region Is protracted. while in a tlmbcrless region II occurs in q comparatively short time ard the natural drainage oi the country IS ovcreharged.
 "Bat are there not other and more ar- tihcial causes which operated n the case of the floods at Cincinnati and Louis vilic =
 "The rivers iha, have given most trouble are those flowing through pop uleas regions. as do the Rhine. he Nlo- sci and the Seine n Europe and the 0hio in America. The natural waterway ot these rivers have been materially roduCcd in capacity by the construction of bridge plets in their beds and qud1s ana ~li4IAes and other structures along theiT banks. These structures occupy space that na- tute intended for surplus water during lgeshe,s. 'TWo bodies cannot occupy the same space at the sa,ne tiaae, ai4d if NC erect cAiensivc pieis ln the bed, of Eivers We must expect the watess 10 rlse above the lcvel of former years. Another lm- portant elemen; is the accumulation oi debrls III the waterways ot rivers in the neighborhood of large cities. This further reduces the capacity of the river 10 carry off the surplus water of d flood. This IS particularly the case in Cinoin- na;i, where all the elements of disturb anee have been at work and the causes of this disaster have been gradually ao- for some years. The bed of the Ohio a, this point is occupied by number of large bridge piers: the drain age from the city IS deposited on the bot tom and the natural banks have been en- Croathed upon untll ii last the water. hn4ing the place nature allotted to |; al ready occupied. rlscs hi. her and higher untIi Il hnds room enough to pass Ii sweeps away. or breaks oFei at! obsla- tie,.
 4H ye .lsse9; : preventive af fa- tatt q, -as-tf- o; ffE> E.stGsc:
 Inc remedy. n my eFaien l. ;e sieeHaclH tac u..tef-WfH es dfeagina c! albef meaa<. s4 u | sc>.#9e its aias.IA fsf e.ttHs 5si-. aH tae 5sfF.as water. Ashei= ever a 6rdse-pier IS built there Is ae u- mutation oi silt and sand on the lower ssoeatnd these aeeumuiaiions, of course ec,ap} more space. This cannot be well avoided, but the waterways between the piefs and below them should be deepeneo and the natural capacity maintained. Otherwise, similar disasters will recur an nuaily.
 "butis not the volume of water in the river-bed increased naturally at certain seasons ~
 ~ot course it is. The gist of what l have in mind is this: By the destruc- ton of forests the volume ot water pass ing through the river $ increased at q gwen tune al certain seasons. while the capacity oi the river to carry off il is d. minished bs the constructions M hich have been erected Tn the bed of the rNer and along Its banks.
 Why IS 1t that the Mississippi over ilaws III places where there are no bridges and cliies!'
 The low lands bordering all r.vers in the world are ovcrflowed during frcshets In order to prevent this along the Missis- sippi river leyces have been built in- tenGcd 10 coniine the water. But the de posils that were formerly spread over the vast area ot these lowlands by successive oYsrlio~s are now largely retained in the riyer-bed, thus reducing its capacity b, an elevation of the bottom and the form atlon of bars. The result of this gradual reduction in the capacity of the water way IS that the levees are now too low and the water flows over them or breaks through the weak spots where the ca pacity of the waterway has been com paratively most reduced"
 Gan these overfiows be prevented =
 By raising and strengthening the levees and dredging the river where the waterway is most obstructed by bars, they can be. do not believe in he letty system. You may deepen the mmedi- ate location by contracting the channel, but the material swept ou, by the in- creased current will be deposited lower down and form other obsiructions that will have to be again dealt with. Half of the money required to carry out the plans of the Mississippi river commission would be enough to dredge every bar on the river to depth adequate for carry ing of the fullest freshets, and if the dredged material was deposited on the banks to strengthen and increase the height of the levees the object arrived a, would, in my opinion. be most econom- lealiy and rapidly accomplished"
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