Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-02-25
HOW 70 IMPROVE A RIVER-soME
INTERESTING DEMONSTRATIONS.

In the North american Reyie,0 for March
Mr.. Robert S. Taylor presents a paper en-
titled Chow to Improve the Mississippi.
The article in nearly every respect applies
in its recitals and in the principles enunci-
ated directly to the Sacramento river and
its improvement.
The subject of river improvement and
the duty of the Federal Government to
preserve the navigability of navigable
streams is attracting wide attention. So
overshadowing is it as related to the
Mississippi that no political party would
now be so bold as to go before the country
in opposition to the proposition TO preserve
that great free highway and heritage of the
people. The question of the improvement
of the Sacramento will presently come to
be equally as weighty matter in this
State.
It will be profitable to glance at the
points made by Mr.. Taylor Their appli-
cation to the Sacramento will be evident
without comment, further than to say that
as the Government must eventually-and
we believe very soon, perhaps the present
year-begin to reform the river banks so
as to close the breaks in the levees, it
behooves river towns and cities to so adjust
themselves as to place no reliance what.
ever upon the deceptive and temporary
easements of the river made by breaks in
levees opposite to them, as, for instance, in
the case of Sacramento, and also to consider
the danger to the stream in permitting
canals to be fed from it.
Mr.. Taylor says the agreed plan for the
Mississippi is to utilize the securing power
of the river to cut away bars; to apply
the energy of the river to this work by
narrowing the channel and concentrating
the current upon the bars. Bars are uni
versally coincident with excessive width.
Reformation OF bars is to be prevented by
protecting the caving banks above them
from which most of their constituent ma
terial is taken. In the case of the Sacra.
mento, however, an artificial deposit fur.
pishes it. To preserve the energy of the
river, sssimpaired 5y outlets or Subdivisions
Of is rolsme. THE italics are ours) This
is the plan upon which all river improve
ments must proceed, because it is in the
direction of the natural effort and labor of
streams. At ordinary stages rivers, says
Mr.. Taylor, should flow in one undivided
channel of as uniform width as is practical
bic. But it is settled by experience, also,
that to confne the flood volume within
the channel by artificial additions to the
natural banks is sound policy.
All rivers naturally tend to scour out
the bottom and upbnild the banks. What
ever, therefore, will assist the process is
desirable, and consequently whatever re-
tards 1t should be removed. Bank-build-
ing, however, as is obvious, must
precede any considerable excava-
ton by securing. A thin OF
unconfned stream has no securing capsc.
ity. It is impossible for water to carry q
deposit of sediment to the elevation of it's
own surface, but natural bank. building
must be by sedimentary depositions. So
food of given hight cannot build banks
high enough to conine a succeeding flood
of equal or greater hight, but may carry
them high enough to con6ne succeeding
foods Of less hight.
Dat of these facts arises the necessity
for making artificial additions TO the bank,
which we call levees. 1t must be clear
that where the river is charged with a
great excess of artificial sediment. as is
the case with the Sacramento, the bank