The record-union., 1899-12-29
CANNOT HELP THE LEvEES.
so SAY THE ENGINEERS FOR
THE GOVERNMENT.
Letter Stating Why No Work Can
Be Done on the Levees
at Nicolaus.

| in the Feather River, near the town OF
| Nicolaus in Suffer County, throwing
| the waters of the stream against the
bank and causing an erosion of the
| levee which bid fair to break and il
undate the low lands adjoining, and
| to impair the navigability of the
stream.
| The United States Engineers sta
| toned at San Francisco, it will be re-
membered, were instructed to examine
the Feather River at the point threat
ened, and in a recent letter to ]. O..
Coleman, Secretary of the Sacramento
Chamber of Commerce, Congressman
De Vries of this district stated that a
report had been made by the engineers
and that he would forward copy OF
the same as soon as he could get it.
/ Congressman De VrieS writing concern
| ing the matter said:
In my judgment, whatever improves
the Feather River, improves the Sac
ramento River, and the theory upon
which the improvement of the Sacra-
mento has been urged, is that such
work should be constructed as would
confine the waters within a channel.
thereby utilizing the natural securing
capacity of these waters as an engine of
Improvement. 1t is patent that if the
waters of the Feather which contribute
so largely to the waters of the Sacra-
mento, from the junction Of these rivers
to the bay, are allowed to escape as
they do at Nicolaus, they will be lost
to the Sacramento River, and the
securing motive force will be alb
sent. This is the theory which I have
always entertained, and I believe it to
be the correct one, and one which will
| justify the expenditure of State and
Federal moneys, at any point upon any
river. The ultimate result will be to
bring within the channel of the Sac
ramento large quantities of water
which will scour that channel"
The theory of Congressman De Vries,
which was shared in common with a
great many persons interested in the
work of river improvement, did not
meet the views of the Government en-
gineers, as is shown by the report.
copy of which the Congressman Sc
cured and inclosed with his letter. The
report of the engineers, though adverse
to what was hoped, makes interesting
reading ana may serve as a precedent
upon similar matters which may arise
IN the future. 1t follows in full:
San Francisco June Is, 1899.
| Brigadier General John M. Wilson.
Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., Washing
ton, u. General: The Board of En-
glneers for the improvement of the
sacramento and Feather Rivers. Call
fornia, proceeded to and examined. on
June IL, 1899, the levee on the Feather
River near the town of Nicolaus. SUIT
ter County, Cal, and has the honor to
submit the following report thereon:
This levee was built in 1868. 1t has
hight of approximately ten feet above
the natural bank, crown width Of
about eight feet, and gentle exterior
and interior slopes. The earth for it's
construction was taken generally from
pits inside the levee, which required a
haul of seventy-five to 100 feet. The
country adjacent is divided into levee
or reclamation districts, and the people
are taxed from to per cent. of the
assessed value of their property. by
which means a fund is created to build
and maintain levees.
1t is apparent that the sole object of
the levees is for reclamation purposes,
and to protect land and other property
against injury from river overflow
Both banks of the Feather River are
protected by levees extending from
Marysville to the mouth of the river "a
distance of about thirty miles, The
extreme vertical range of the river at
Nicolaus is about seventeen feet; the
crest of the flood in March, 1899. came
within few inches of the top of the
levee. The low-water width of river
at Nicolaus is $50 feet. A channel
having a least depth of eighteen feet.
with maximum depth of twenty-six
feet fhe channel being fully 100 feet
in width and 2.400 feet in lengtn. ex-
lists close to the left or concave bank
of the river.
On the right bank of the river, OPP
posite Nicolaus, a large sandbar has
formed, which crowds the water over
against the Nicolaus shore. has caused
an erosion of the bank. and has eaten
into the levee to such an extent that
it's exterior crest for a little less than
100 feet of length is now Cat six feet
above low-water stage) a portion of
the bank of the river 1t is quite prob
able that unless this bank be protected
before the floods of next winter occur
crevasse will result. hundreds-per-
haps thousands-of acres of land will
be inundated, and thousands of dollars
of damage will be inevitable This can
be remedied or prevented either by set
ting the levee back or by protecting
the banks against further erosion by
judicious piling and brushwork Either
remedy involves considerable ex-
nenditl1re of money for the nrotectjOn
of private property.
We do not feel warranted in recon-
mending the expenditure of Govern
ment funds for building or repairing
levees nor for bank protection unless
such expenditures be warranted in the
interests of navigation. In this partic-
ular case, in the event of the occurrence
of crevasse, we are not certain that
the navigation interests will materially
suffer Statistics furnished show that
| in the last three years the tonnage of
the Feather River has only averaged
about 5000 tons per year. Nicolaus is
/ ten miles above the mouth of the river,
and it is reported that during the past
two years only one boat has gone above
this point for cargo of freight. Prac-
tically all freights going down river
! is destined for Sacramento and points
below The freight rate is said to be
| 81 per ton. Precisely the same rate is
charged from Vernon, just below the
mouth of Feather River, to Sacramento,
a. distance of about twenty miles. 1t
| is doubtful if steamboats, avoid Feather
River so much on account of scarcity
Of water and bad navigation as on ac-