The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-01-08
WORK ON THE HousAroN1c.
The Report of the Chief of Engineers
Valuable Statistics.

The Report of the Chief of Engineers
Valuable Statistics.
Through the kindness Of Congress-
man N. D. Sperry the annual report of
the chief of engineers covering naviga-
ton surveys and work for 1896 has been
received, Among the items of interest
to this locality is one Of more import
ance than any other, and that is the
Improvement of the Housatonic river
from the sound to Derby, the head of
navigation.
The report says in substance that the
naVigable part of the river extends
from Long Island sound to Derby,
Conn.,, distance of thirteen miles, and
was originally INSTRUCTED by q bar at
the mouth and several bars in the
river, upon which the low water depth
was about four feet.
In 1871 q project was adopted for
making a channel seven feet deep at
mean low water and from $50 to 200
feet wide, by dredging, removing rock,
building a jetty in the river and
cost $404,961.
In 1883 the project was modified to
reduce the width of the proposed chan
Eel In the river and to construct the
breakwater, to be about $3.50 feet long,
wholly of riprap, and the estimate for
completion was revised, making the
cost 100000 from that time, or from
the beginning in 1871 $275,000. The an
nual cost of maintenance of channels
was estimated at $4,000.
The present project is, therefore, to
make channel seven feet deep at
mean low water from Long Island
sound to the head of navigation, to be
200 feet wide over the bar at the mouth
and 100 feet wide in the river, by
dredging, removing Drew's rock, build
ing two small jetties and a break
water about $3.50 feet long to protect
the entrance channel.
Up to July /, 1895, Drew's rock had
been removed, the jetty at Sow and
Pigs reef had been built, 555 feet of a
small jetty below Stratford had been
built, and the breakwater had been
made 5,325 feet long. Channels of the
required depth had been several times
dredged in the river, but had shoaled,
the channel at the outer bar having
the required depth in narrow width
The total amount expended was $780,
53S.65.
The report says that the commerce
consists mainly of coal, iron, building
materials, oysters, raw material for
manufacturers, and miscellaneous
iorht "a aha mn
tons a year.
The work done and being done has
enabled vessels to enter the lower
river in safety instead of waiting for
| high tide in an exposed situation out
! side the mouth of the river.
| In the matter of Improvements the
| the report says that at Derby the
Housatonic receives the discharge of
the Naugatuck, a. small, rapid river.
| This point, which has been regarded
as the head Of navigation, is nearly
| the head of tide water.
| The original depth on the worst bars
| in the river, six In number was from
| 3.5 to As feet at mean low water; there
was also a bar across the rivers mouth
| with about four feet low water depth.
The mean rise of tide at Derby Is about
4 feet 2; at the mouth of the river it
about 6 feet 2.
The improvement of the Housatonic
river, as devised by the projectors and
backed by the engineers, extends from
Milford Point to Derby and Shelton.
During the past year operations have
| improved a portion of the channel but
lack of funds has prevented a widen
| ing such as would make the river a
navigable stream. Under the contract
now in progress the channel over the
outer bar will be widened to about $50
eeet.
The report says that future appro-
priations should be applied to repair
ing and enlarging the breakwater, to
extending the dixie and to deepening
J the channels at the several bars which
intervene between the mouth of the
river and Derby
|