Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-12-10


RECLAMATION
OF ARID | ! LANDS 4. !. !
THE RELATION or tn & GEoLo G-
lcAL SURVEY TO DRAINAGE
WORK u.
Synopsis Of remarks o George Otis
Smith, director y. s. Geological Sur
Yey, before the National Drainage
Congress, Baltimore, Md. SIS
AS a national prob lam the reclanla-
ton of the swamp lands of the United
States is awakening as much interest.
as the reclamation of the arid lands
of the west. We might trace the his
tory of this movement and not that
the earliest work III America swamp
reclamation was that of Col Byrd
and George flashing on, both Of
whom made surveys before the revolu-
ton Of the Dismal Swamp and plan
ned drainage projects. 1t is only with
in the past few years. however, that
the full imp rtance of the problem
has been realized. The first contri-
button Of the u H. Geolocmfwyept
button Of the u. S. Geological Survey
to this great work was made over
twenty years ago, when Director Pow
ell assigned the study of the swamps
of the Atlantic coast to- Professor
Shaler. The latter called attention to
the great value Of these. lands, but
particularly the need of securing thor
lough knowledge Of all natural con
ditions before planning extensive
works. In two branches Of it's regu-
lar work., the Geological Survey is
! contributing the data which is so es.
lsential to the proper solution of the
! drainage problem, xiv: topographic
! maps and the records of stream
Eguagings. Topographic mapping has
been extended over nearly one-third
of the area of the U. S., and the maps
made in recent years ars based upo1
4 such detailed surveys as to be Of thu
greatest value for engineering pur
4 poses. They show where this swamps
y oecurr and their relation, to the ma
4 tural drainage channels as well a.
4 the topographic conf guration Of tn,
i surrounding country, which is of tn,
greatest Importance in planning til,
drainage of swamp areas With thes,
maps in the hands Of the drainage en-
q gineers, the works can be economical
Il " constructed where formerly hund
reds of thousands of dollars wer
Wastefully expended because of tf1i
& very lack Of accurate general know
y ledge of the problem
Importance of Stream Guagina
Mo less important are the record
of stream measurement and the stud
Of river flow, based thereon in rel:
ton to the drainage problem A nj
cesary preliminary to any intelligen
drainage work is the study Of tn
run-off Drainage involves ain increas
of run-off SO that the rainfall for til
area must be known and a study mad
of channel capacity. ..S Il !
in word, just as the irrigation
:! work OF the reclamation service wa
Il based upon the earlier hydrographi
and topographic work of the geolog
cal survey, so now the integrity Of an
great drainage works must ultimatel
rest upon the preliminary work Of tn
photographic and topographic branch
es Of the geological survey.
Specific Work Of the Survey
/ wish to pass by many invitin
drainage problems which might b
/ discussed and speak simply of til
work OF the survey in three states
Mississippi, California and Minnesota
the IN u azoo delta, Miss, a party o
topographers, acting in cooperation
lEwith the state has just finished SUI
Veying 325 square miles, the resul
Of which proves beyond doubt tn
Feasibility Of draining every acre q
this most fertile section. The resul
ing map VIII serve the purpose of
relinlsinary drainage survey, and wit
It before him, the engineer can pla
the broad features OF the project, Il
cation of canals and bitches with tn
ass,,ralce that he is not oyerIookin
some feature or condition in the SUI
rounding country that may work dis
aster to his drainage system vs. Trh
cost Of this survey has been but on
and TIRES tenths cents per acre /
California the federal survey tops