Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-06-03
THE APPALACHIAN RESERVE.
Storage Reservoirs to Prevent Floods
and Aid Navigation.

"A pioh hoo uSeh plOpOSeu 10 STOP
forever the costly spring floods at
Pittsburg and other places along the
rivers which drain the Appalachian
mountains. These annual devasta-
tions are so certain in their recur-
renee that they have come to be CON
sidered almost inevitable. All the
efforts of the government with dams,
restraining walls, and other engi-
neering works have proved made
quate to control the streams when
they have been swollen with the
melting winter SHOWS. On the other
hand, the government projects have
proved unayailing to maintain these
same rivers at depth great enough
to permit unhampered navigation
later on In the year, when the flood
waters have spent themselves. This
latter trouble possibly causes q
greater financial loss to the South
than the floods, but as tits not con-
centrated in to brief spectacular
outburst, less Is heard Of 1t through
the newspapers. 1t was, indeed, the
problem Of navigation that gave rise
to the present scheme.
1t Is now proposed to 60 to the
seat Of the evil-to the headwaters
Of the rivers--and apply there two
remedies: First, the maintenance Of
a forest cover which will keep the
ground porous SO that 1t will not
shed all the. water from It's surface
at once, but will soak 1t up and re-
lease it gradually; second, to estab-
lish storage reservoirs at strategic
points which will retain surplus flow
when 1t is not useful, but only does
damage by being allowed to run free,
and will pay 1t out, little by little,
n q on 10 o1xy
The United States has spent $780,
100000 to improve navigation on the
rivers which have their upland
sources in the Southern Appalach-
ians, and work already undertaken
will cost at least SOC 100000 before
it Is finished. This does not include
the Ohio proper, which is largely sup
piled with water from these sources,
on which more than $6,0O0,000 has
been spent. Despite this outlay nav
| igation is so precarious on many Of
these rivers, especially in the upper
stretches, during several months
every year that steamboat lines have
to suspend operations and many COM
panies have abandoned the field be-
cause with the light draft vessels
they are forced to use they cannot
| compete with railroads, although
much cheaper than railroad rates.
| The government has striven for A.
foot depth or even, in some places,
for 3-foot stage and been unable to
maintain 1T throughout the year.
Experts from the Geological Sur
vey,wf the storage reservoir scheme
| In mind, last year made careful
study of the rivers which flow from
both sides Of this watershed, located
reservoir sites, computed the amount
Of water they would hold, the heights
of the necessary dams, and the pc
riods during which the rivers could
be maintained at various depths
above their low-water levels during
the dry seasons. The results of this
study are published under the title
THE Relation Of the Southern Appa-
| lachian Mountains to Inland Water
Forest Service. and can be obtained
free by writing to the Forester at
Washington. The initial cost of these
reservoirs would be greater than the
| works under the present system, but
| the authors of the circular say that
| the storage reservoirs would give the
| relief, both in regard to navigation
and to floods, which the present pro-
jects fail to supply and they point
out that the relief so gained would
be permanent, whereas under the
system now in operation there Is
continuous expense in dredging the
channels which become clogged with
sand and silt washed down by the
spring floods, especially from the un-
forested areas around some of the
rivers.
In the long run the storage reser-
voir method would be cheaper as well
as more effective, for, as one of the
sponsors Of the plan says. it Is bet
ter business 70 add to the tops of the
rivers and get what you want than
to keep digging out the bottoms In
an attempt to get river deep enough
to float boat.