The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-25
ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI
..es-a. RESERVOIRS.
NEGOTIATIONS AT, GULL LAKE.
WORK ON THE PROJECT DELAYED
PENDING AN AGREEMENT
WITH OWNERS.
STAGE OF WATER AT ST. PAUL
Average Depth Last Summer q Lit.
tie Over Two Feet-Leach Lake
Dam Weak.

WASHINGTON, July 24-Col. Jones,
engineer In charge of the construction
Of reservoirs at the headwaters of the
Mississippi, has rendered his annual
report to the chief of engineers. At
Pokegama reservoir no work was done
owing to legal complications over
awards for lands. The report says
that this reservoir has sufficient ca
pacity to carry the water from it's
own watershed, and it is suggested
that subsidiary reservoirs be estab-
l.sihed at Deer and Bass lakes. The
capacity could also be increased by
dredging a deeper channel between it
and the river.
Col. Jones says that preparations are
being made to negotiate with the land
owners at Gull lake reservoir to pay
for the overlooked lands in accordance
with the last sundry civil bill. Work
ON this project has been commenced.
An examination of the upper Crow
Wing basin discloses the fact that a
reservoir with a capacity Of 6,753,000,
600 cubic feet may be created by the
construction Of dam twenty-five feet
high one mile below Shell river The
report says there is no single locality
where large quantities of water dis
charged from the Crow Wing water
she'd can be stored, and this will
necessitate a resort to a number Of
| small reservoirs.
Continuous neurological records
have been kept at the reservoir dams
since the completion of each structure
These records show that the rise on
the signal service gauge at st. Paul,
due to the reservoir water, for ninety
days during the low water navigation
period, has been from twelve to eigh-
teen inches.
Col. Jones reports that a part of
Leech lake dam Is weak and should be
rebuilt. The same condition obtains at
Lake Winnibigoshish dam. At the
latter a full reservoir is fourteen feet
above low water of the lake, but this
year the limit of safety was placed at
less than eleven feet. In consequence
$3.50, 000, 900 feet of water was wasted
between May % and June 80. He
urges appropriations for strengthen
ing both dams.
In the Chippewa river the report
says the high water since the ice went
Oul has uepCH VI water Will
out need Of works of improvement
but several bars show indications of
becoming troublesome before low wat
er is reached. 1t lis expected to work
on them during the fall.
On the ST. CroiX river, owing to the
excellent condition of the channels, no
operations were undertaken except the
assembling of materials for repairs to
the dams at Hudson bar Lake ST.
CroiX, and examinations and surveys
In the Minnesota river additional
dredging was done in the chute and
the dam was raised one and one-half
feet. The permanency of this work
depends ON the future appropriations
The Red River of the North opera
lions during the year were confined to
dredging between Grand Forks and
Goose Rapids.
Work on the Red Lake river will be
begun earlier this fiscal year
The gauge readings at st. Paul show
that the highest water in the Missis-
slpp1 last summer was sos feet, July 1,
and lowest TO- ON two days in Au1
gust and one day in September. The
average depth was about 81 feet