The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-04
THE TROUBLE WITH TEE CANAL
Engineer Blandford Explains What
Ought to bs Done With Cuyler
EWamp Dra!nage.

Engineer Blandford Explains What
Ought to bs Done With Cuyler
swamp Drainage.
Assistant County Engineer R. A. Bland
ford moved his camp into the city yesterday.
A MORNING NEWS reporter asked him about
the present condition of the Casey canal, Of
which some accounts have been published
by the MORNING NEWS during the last few
days.
Capt. Blandford made a special report to
the county commissioners upon the con-
dition of the Casey canal over year and
half ago at she time OF the survey for the
county map. The report called attention
to the imperfect construction Of the
canal, that its bed was not prop
erly graded, the levels being of
irregular hight. Inone portion Of the canal
for nearly a mile there ID no fall in the bed,
except occasional holes, where the water
gathers in stagnant pools and aquatic plants
flourish and obstruct the flow.
One of the chief faults that Engineer
Blandford found with the canal was that IL
was dug through q hill or ridge for a dis
tance Of q mile and half alongside the
CIyler swamp, when 1t should
have been run through tho swamp
1t consequently fails to drain a large por-
tion Of the swamp. He recommended that
an arm of the canal be dug through the bed
of the swamp to dram it ca ,isfactorlly. inns
portion being deep cut through hlIl the
banks are caving in all the time, ming II
up and requiring constant attention 70 keep
it open.
Engineer Blandford's recommendations
were not adopted by the county cotntnls-
sioners and no improvement has been made
in the canal siEc9 that time.
The same conditions exist now as when the
report was made upon the canal nineteen
months ago
Engineer Blandford says the Casey canal
is too small to drain its large area OF terri
tory. il being about five and a half miles
long and varying from fifteen to thirty-oue
feet in width. One recent cause Of the over
flow is that considerable drainage has been
done upon the highlands, the bitches from
which lead into Cuyler swamp, which pre-
cipitates an increased amount Of water into
tie swamp to be carried of by the Casey
canal, already too small for the demands
upon it and In poor condition to do its work.
The Casey canal is Que Of the longest and
one of the most important in the county,
draining almost the whole section southwest
Of the city, except that section still farther
east drained by Timber Landing creek,
which discharges into the Wilmington
river. The head of the canal is near the
Catholic cemetery, where the Coast Line
crosses the Thunderbolt road, and empties
into the Vernon river north Of HAMMERS
bridge The canal has sufficient fall, Mr..
Blandford says, to fully drain its territory,
If it were opened up.
Engineer Blandford says that the canal
needs to be cleaned out, graded, enlarged
and changed in many places.
There has been considerable complaint of
the Musgrove creek, or Springfield canal,
which drains a considerable territory on
the west OF the city.
Capt. Biandford says that on account Of
the low level OF ths canal, If it we're not for
the dikes and dams along its course the wa
ter at mean high tide would 60 back into
the swamp for 23l miles. He says it is not
large enough to carry of the present flow
Of water and its trunk is entirely too small
to permit the water to discharge itself. If
more drain bitches are led into this canal
more water will be thrown into it than the
canal can possibly carry off. However
the canal can be put in such condition.
Engineer Blaudford says that it will do all
the work required of it in a satisfactory
manner
The stagnaut waters OF the Cuyler swamp
and other places along the Casey canal and
the Musgrove Creek canal are a menace not
only to the health of the people residing
near the canals but to the city,