Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1909-04-08
FLOODS and THE KANSAS RIVERS.
One phase of this subject apparent
The KaW from Its Source to Mout
By Prof. Erasmus Haworth.


building of the bed OF the stream
which itself is immensely objection.
able. Could the Kansas river be
leveed five feet in height from juno
ton City to its mouth, 1t is practical
ly certain that such a process would
increase the tendency of the stream
to silt up from the bottom.
AS the water in the stream in
CT eases in depth there Is an increas-
ing at water variation in the velocity
of the water at top and at the bot
tom. The water near the surface
cuts the banks and supplies itself
with silt in accordance with its car
rying capacity determined by its We
locity. A stream twenty feet deep
las a larger absolute amount of wat
err near the bottom flowing slowly
than the same stream would have
when but five feet deep. The silt
gathered from near the top grad
ually works downward and on ac-
count of the low moving water be-
low sits up the bottom Of the river
much faster than would be done If
the stream were only half as deep.
The filling done by one flood simply
helps the stream to overflow its
banks and the more readily during
subsequent floods, and therefore be-
comes menace.
AS just stated, leyees undoubtedly
are serviceable and satisfactory for
mild floods. 1t is surprising, how
ever, how many engineers. overlook
the fact that levees must be inordi-
nately high in order to accommodate
all the water of great floods. Sup
pose we should try to levee the Kan
sas river to hold it within its banks
during a flood equal to the one Of
1903. At Lawrence the water was
more than five miles in width with
an average depth of about five feet.
The cross section area, therefore, of
the flood water was so great that
levees would have to be built more
than ten times as high as is usually
mentioned in order to provide chan
mel which would contain all the
water. According to newspaper &C.
counts one of the leading engineering
firms of Kansas City made surveys
up the Kansas rived beyond Law
renee and made a report to a citi-
zens' committee, who employed them,
which report in turn was sent to a
government engineer. According to
these same newspaper accounts both |
the Kansas City engineers and the
government engineer advised build
ing levees to a height only little
greater than that to which the water
rose, mind you, on the superstition
that it would protect the valley land
from flood water in the future, omit
ling entirely to take into considera-
lion the vast amount of water spread
nut over the valley. They are said
o have estimated that such a system
If levees could be built for about
ia 900 per mile on each side of the
liver. 1t cannot be believed that en-
,ineers of the reputation of the ones
eferred to ever would subscribe to
Iuch fallacious doctrine. The in
luence on the public mind, however,
las been wrought and the unscien-
life land owner situated in the river
alley is likely to believe that the
ewspaper accounts are correct, and
hat, therefore, such system of lev
es should be built. Z
1t should be noted here also that
be tendency of the stream to mean
er its channel would be just as eff
ective in times of flood with the
Iood currents working against the
wees as though they we're working
gainst a natural bank. The soft
Materials of the freshly made levees
-ould melt away under such influ-
noes with surprising rapidity and in
rder that such levees be maintained
ractically it would become necessary
, keep a strong force of men at
-ork along the entire distance leveed
throughout each period of high
fater.
Somewhat similar to levee building
a process of raising the grades Of !
ailroads recently INDUCED In to such
n extent in many places along river
alleys. If railroad grade is par
llel with the stream, raising the
rade will be beneficial to the road.
I, however, 1t is transverse to the
ERECTION Of the water current, 1t
erves as a dam and only makes a
ad matter worse. 1t is beyond my
bility to understand the actions OF
ONE railroad engineers in this re-
pect. Here and there we find rail-
Dad grades virtually forming dams