Putnam patriot., 1908-05-29
Storage Reservoirs.

\ plan has been proposed te stop fof. ever the costly spring floods ii Pits burg and other places along the rivers which dtain the Appalachian Noun tnins. These annual des astations are so certain in their recurrence that they have come te be considered almost in- esitabIe. All the efforts nf the govern Inent with dams. restraining walls and other engineering works have proved inadequate to control thelstfeams when they have hecn swollen with the melt ing winter SHOWS On the other hand ihc government projects haNe proved unaNaling to maintain these same ris- CTS Il \ depth great enough to permit unhampefed navigation later on in the year, N hen the flood waters have spent themselves This latter trouble possi- bly causes gfeat. financial loss to the south than the Hoods, hut as ii k not concentrated Into hftet speetaculaf outburst. lcss is heard ot il lhrougt the papers. It Was, indeed lhe prob. lem ot nav igalion that gives rise to the present scheme.
 II k now proposed to go te the seat ot the eNil-to the headquarters of the tisef~@a and apply there two remedies First, the maintenance ol a forest cover which Will Keep the ground porous so that Il shall not shed ali the N ater from iis surface al once but will soak il up and release II gradually. second, to es- iahli,h stefaee fesctAoirs al strategic points which wiii retain surplus iiow when il k not aselal bal only does dn. mage hy teinN ai owed lo run free, q aig pay II out. Il tie hy utIte, later ,e., @hen it k satelA needed.
 The United states has spent 'o,oAsl,, tssi to impfoee aAk lgatiau on lhe riycfs which have lbeig upland sources in the southern Appaiaehtans and work Al ready undertaken Ntil cost at least s,e .ea,is0 before Il k finished 'fhis deys not include the chic proper e hieh K largely supplied with water ftom thesc sources, on which more thaa se .tsA,oa has been spent. Despite this outlay naV tgation k NJ precaflens on many of these rivers, especially in the upper stretches, during several months every year that steamboat lines have Ia suspend operations and many campa- nies have abandoned the lield hccause with the light-dtaft vessels thes are forccd to use they can not compete with railroads, although steamboat transror- lation K normally much cheaper than railroad rates The government has slftNen foF 4.ioul depth er esen in some pacss los a 2-fool stage and been unable to maintain II throughout the year,
 Experts frum the Geological ~arNes, with the storage reservoir scheme in mind, last year made a careful study oi the rivers which How from both sides of this watershed. located reservoir sites, computed the amount af water they would hold, the heights ot the ne- ccssary dams, and the periods during which the fivers coula be maintained st Narioas depths atsose their low-wstsr levels during the dfN seasons The r,- suits oi thls study sre published under the tille 'sihe Relation ot the southern Appalachian Mountains to Inland Ma ter Navigation, as Circular iss of the Fors, Service, and ean he obtained free hs writing ,o the Forester al N ashins- lon.
 The Initial cost oi these reservoirs woald l'e greater than the works under she present system. bat the authors ot the circular sas that the storage reses- ! voirs would gsve the relief. hoth in re- gard 10 navigation and to floods, which the present presvsts iail 10 supply and