The times., 1901-04-22
AN OVERFLOW NOT LIKELY.
Washington in No Danger From "a
Flood at PreseRt.

A rumor to the effect that the Potomac
River would be affected by the heavy
rains that have been falling for the last
week and which was credited as fact by
a number of persons having interests on
the river front, was positively denied by
the officials of the Weather Bureau last
night The probable cause of the alarm
is said to come from the fact that the
food tide has been unusually high for the
last four days. In some localities along
the water front the merchants have been
so thoroughly convinced that the Po-
tomac will rise that merchandise has been
moved from the wharves. and every pre-
caution taken to prevent the recurrence of
the disastrous floods that have several
times inundated the southern portion of
the city and caused the loss of thousands
of dollars worth of property.
There is no possibility of the Potomac
rising to any great height this year. a
weather expert told a Times reporter last
night. The people have become unneces-
sarily alarmed. 1t is a fact that there
have been serious overhows in this city,
but there is no cause for a food this year
1t will be remembered that in years past
the inundations have always followed
very severe winters. Now it would hardly
be possible to cali the past winter severe
We had little cold weather, and on only
one occasion was the water frozen hard
enough to permit skating.
The floods here were caused by the
jamming of the ice at the Long Bridge
This impeded the flow of the water and
caused the river to back up in the sewers
The consequence was that the lower por-
tions of the city could not be drained.
This year there was little ice and no mat
ter how great the volume of water flow
ing from the upper Potomac may be, it
will hardly cause an overflow of the
banks. The tides are high, as a matter
of course, They always are in the spring
but there is no danger of q flood. and
the fears that have been expressed are
groundless."
The agitation resulting from the spread
of a rumor that the Potomac is rising is
the result of bitter experience on the part
of persons having property within dam
age distance of the water front. Many
times the floods have been so great that
traffic on portions of Pennsylvania Ave
nue. has been stopped and the only means
of communication was by boat. The last
great flood was in 1889, when thousands
of dollars worth of property was lost
and great damage done TO the founda-
~tions of buildings in the low districts.
The portion of the city which suffers
the greatest damage is between First
and Seventh Streets and Pennsylvania
and Missouri Avenues northwest. This is
some distance from the river front, but
the level of the streets is below the level
of the sewer outlet, and as the water is
backed UP in the sewers 1t flows out into
these streets Every time there is q
very heavy storm and a greater volume
of water than usual flows into the sewers
the streets in the vicinity of the Sixth
Street depot are flooded, sometimes to a
considerable depth.
Along the water front the greatest
damage is done by food to the lumber
merchants whose stock is piled along
the wharves just as it is unloaded from
the schooners that bring it up the river.
The lumber floats off the dock and down
the river
The officers of the Harbormaster OF
flee have not noticed any great rise in
the river this year except the usual high
tides that come every spring. Few OF
the other persons having business along
the river front have any definite grounds
for the fears that have been expressed,
but they have stated that they do not
want to be caught unawares by flood
if one does come, and consequently Will
take all precautions.