Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-11-10

great improvement on Union street.
CONTROL AND UTILIZATION OF
WATER IN THE UNITED STATES.
Timely Report by the Geological Sur,
vey.
Recent discussions of water powers
water rights, and stream control in
the United States have attracted at
tention to the Geological Surveys
Water Supply Paper 234, on the con-
servation of water resources, which
is made up of several short papers
reprinted from the report of the Ma
tfonal oncervation Commission. Most
of these papers were prepared by
members of the Survey. The sub
jects discussed are rainfall, floods,
control of catchment areas, DEVELOPED
and undeveloped water powers, land
denundation, and irrigation, and the
authors are Henry Gannett, F. H.
Newell, NJ. o. Leighton, w. c, Mend
entail, H. N. Parker, w. NJ. Steuart,
R. B. Dole and Herman stabler.
Mr.. Gannett discusses the distrfbu.
ton and amount of rainfall and pre-
sents two maps, one showing the
mean annual rainfall in all parts of
the United States. the other show
ing the percentage of annual precip-
itation in the six warmer months, APP
ril to September, inclusive.
The increase of floods on rivers in
the United States is shown by Mr..
Leighton and is attributed chiefly to
The destruction of forests. The es-
timated annual damage By floods in
! this country has increased progress
sively from 45,OOO,OO0 in 1900 to
1897 200. 900 in 1908.
Mr.. Leighton also discusses the
developed and undeyeloped water
powers of the country. Out of about
81 900, 900 horsepower available at the
minimum flow of streams but little
more than 100000 has been deyel
oped, or about one-seyenth of the
minimum of available power. A fair
" complete census of developed wat
er powers has been obtained but the
lndeveloped powers are determinable
only by estimate. The State of New
York has the largest development,
with ss5,S62 horsepower, California
standing next, with 466.774 horsepow-
er. The section of the country fur
fishing the greatest possibilities OF
water power development is. the
northern Pacific region, including the
basins of Columbia and Sacramento
i rivers. Mr.. Leighton presents very
complete statistical tables covering
all sections and states The tables
showing developed water power were
compiled by w. NJ. Steuart, of the
4 Bureau of the Census.
Mr.. Newell's brief paper on irrlga
ton shows an increase in acreage o
land irrigated from 3,631,SSl acres il
1889 to about II 900, 900 acres in 1907
and fixes the limit of the irrigabl
area in the arid region at about 45
s 100000 acres, or more than four time
the area now irrigated. The project
; now under way will serve about 2.7O'
900 acres. Mr.. Newell's proposed W.
ter code and his sketch of the waite
i laws now in force should be of ger
+ eral interest.
Mr.. Mendenhall's paper on unde
5 ground waters discusses the uses an
= waste of ground waters, their relatio
to stream flow. and their consery
ton.
The paper on denundation |
Messrs. Dole and Stabler, shows TIL;
7S3, 100000 tons of earth and roc
measured as soil, are removed eve
year from the surface of the Unite
States. About 22O tons per squa
mile of the area drained by stream
emptying into the Atlantic Ocean
annually swept away from the soil
to the sea OF its tributaries
A table showing the catchment
e. cas-, annual water consumption, a
Of money Investment of the waterwor
d systems of AZ cities in the Unit
It States. by H. N. Parker, is incorp'
r ated in the report.
IN Water-Supply Paper 234, as a wht
le is a suggestive discussion of some
nd the larger economic problems viii
m are pressing for solution in Il
&c country. The paper may be obtain
ss- by applying to the Director of
Survey at Washington.