Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-08
A LONG LEVEE ASKED
To- Protect Titusville From a Recur-
renee of the June Flood.
ESTIMATES OF AN ENGINEER.
He Thinks Only $4,000 Would Cover the
Cost Very Easily.
THE PLANS FOR THE PROPOSED WORK

of Titusyille, waited on the Governor to-
dav and presented him the following memo
rial prepared by Mr. Smith for the COM
mittee:
To the Citizens Relief Committee Of the City Of
Tftusville;
GExrLEMEN-Agreeably to your request, I
herewith submit plan of that portion of
Tftusville inundated by the flood of June D,
1892 showing the location of the industries
DESTROYED by fire and damaged by flood, and
the changes made in the channel OF Oil
creek. Also this report embodying my sug-
gestions as to the cause and the work neces-
cary to prevent serious damage in the event
of future recurrence OF similar natural
causes -.
The valley of Oil creek above Titusville
embraces in fits water shed the townships OF
Bloomfield, Sparta, Rome, OIL Creek anu
parts of Athens and Stuben, an area OF
about lsO SQUARE miles. The area is fan
shaped, being about Is miles wide at the
northern part, converging to 7miles at the
southern.
The Branches of Oil Creek.
The principal branches of ilereek are
the western branch, having Its main head In
Lake Canadohta, a natural lake of about 200
acres in area, in Bloomfield township, l6
miles from Titusville, aud the eastern
branch, rising in Sparta township, l9 miles
from Titusville, where is constructed dam,
forming an artificial lake of about 400 acres.
The heights of these two points above tide
are given. Lake Canadohta, ,4l2 feet, and
Spartansburg. LASS feet; 2lS and 26l feet re-
spectively above Titusville. The streams
from these lakes unite at Centerville, ten
miles from Titusville. At Hydetown, three
miles above Titusville, Thompson's run, an
other large stream, comes in from the east,
these three streams being the prfnciDal
tributaries. On all these streams are several
dams for mills. but none OF them form reser-
voirs of extended area.
Flats on Both sides of Creek.
Through Titusville tile creek flows in
southeasterly direction, with an average
fall of IA feet per mile. The channel of the
creek is mostly at the base of the hills on
the south side of the valley, the ordinary
channel being about 100 feet wide, and from
seven to eight feet deep. On the north side
of the channel is broad level fiat, averag-
ing about one-fourth of mile in width, be-
yond which is another rise of about 10 to IL
feet, to another wide plateau, on which the
business streets and residences are con-
structed. On the lower flats are the rail-
roads, and most of the manufacturing and
refining plants, with quite number of
houses occupied by persons in moderate
length of the city Oil creek makes a sharp
turn to the south, receiving Pine creek and
flowing through contracted valley.
The Flood of Last Month.
On the afternoon of June 4. 1892, a severe
electrical storm and rain took place in
Titusville and north, being especially Sc
we're across the broad part of the water shed
in the townships of Bloomfield and Sparta,
sufficient to raise the surface of the water in
Lake Canadohta and the artificial lake at
Spartansburg four FEET in six hours; this in
addition to the water that ran away while
the rain was falling. Observers in the vi
cinitY of these parts say that open vessels
situated where they would receive the ac-
tual rainfall collected from to IL inches of
water in that time. Allowing but inches
as the average rainfall and 125 square miles
as the area on which it fell, we have 2,323,-
200. 600 cubic feet of water deposited on the
water shed in six hours which must be taken
care Of
Buildings Obsfruct the Flow.
To go back to Titusville: cross section
of the stream taken down Washington
street from high water mark, shows Sec
tional area OF $685. square feet. The current
here was obstructed by buildings and was
probably not a fair average. A cross section
taken at the Emerson farm, one mile above
Titusville, where there was nothing to OBJ
strucr the flow, shows q sectional area of
4695 square feet.
Oil creek was overlooking her banks about
"a hours. If that body of over two billions
oh enoiG tben @ fee aown IN
passed each hour; or the speed of the cur
rent must have averaged 9-l0 miles per
hour. Some parts were comparatively still
ceeded five miles per hour for "a hours; dur
ing the extreme height it must have been
greater
Not Caused by a Dam Giving WAY
1t has been reported that the disastrous
food was caused by the giving way of the
Spartansburg dam, and the dam at the out
let of Lake Canadohta, but as the evidence
shows that but a small portion of the dam at
Spartansburg gave way, and that the water
was pouring over the top of the dam about
one foot deep on the morning of June s. and
the dam at Canadohta did not give way
until after the extreme high water al Titus
vile had passed, it would seem that the ex-
treme rise in the creek cannot be attributed
to these causes, but rather that they de-
tsined the water and prevented it from
reaching higher point.
In Titusville the water flooded the whole
lower fiat as shown on the accompanying
map On this fiat are the tracks and stations
of the Western New York and Pennsylyania
and Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pitts
burg Railroads. nine oil refineries, one large
tannery, furniture factory, radiator works,
cooper shop and AZ houses, causing the loss
of GO lives.
Work of the Flood Alone.
Aside from the fire the food carried en-
tirely away nine houses and seriously dam
aged "a Others and caused damage to manu-
facturies. stores, etc.. to a large amount 1t
cut into the high bank on the south side of
the creek, completely carrying away one
street and depositing the gravel from the
bank into the channel below, turned the en-
tire channel of the creek, so that it now
passes through the center of the lot formerly
Of phe Crescent Oil Works. 1t also raised
the bed OF the channel to where the banks
were before, thus endangering other prop
erty along the banks.
1t intercepted Church run about 400 feet
above the former point OF discharge, and, the
creek bed being higher, the additional flow
OF water caused back water in the run for
about 800 feet, making a sluggish stream
where before was rapid current
Temporary Relief Being Granted.
Church run is the outlet of the entire sew.
erage system of the city, and the change is
of such nature as to cause a deposit of the
sewerage in the bed of the run, seriously
threatening the health of the city. So i'm
portant is this matter that the Relief Com
mittee, at the suggestion of the Board of
Health are now expending about $1,000 to
temporarily turn Oil creek above the mouth
of the run to relieve the danger for the
present.
tory from future devastating floods il pos
sible As / have said, it includes all the
railroad tracks and nearly all the manu-
factories; no other place in the city will
OF the city shows that similar floods have
occurred every few years, although none SO
high and disastrous as the last. In 1865 and
1883 they were occasioned by the snow and
ice melting in the spring. In July, 1862 by
heavy rams. All these caused damage and
loss by delay in business.
A Long Lavee Is Wanted
: To protect this district will require about
10, 500 feet of levee of varying height. From
the water works, above the upper end of the
city. to the dam at the entrance of the mill
race, the banks are comparatively high and