Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1910-09-28
LEVEE AND DRAIN
AGE IN TEXAS
Prof. NagIe Returns to A. & M. Col
lege from Trip to Lower Rio
Grande-Comparison of the
Work There to That in
Brazos Bottom.

toi'S' sotdilOnt IcAdsf otpt. -.
James c. Nagle, professor of civil en-
gineering of the A. & NJ College of
Texas, has just returned from visit
to the proposed levee district of the
state which lies along the lower Rio
Grande, and which promises to be a
big thing when II Is well under way.
Up TO this time the largest levee
system OF the state of Texas, which
has been inaugurated under the pro-
wilson's OF the Improvement district
act passed by the Thirty-first legislaN
Fture in January, 1909, is that known
AZ "Burleson County Improvement
District No. l." 1t is now nearing
completion. This district will protect
approximately $4,000 acres OF land as
fertile as any TO be found anywhere
in the United States or anywhere else.
An attempt was made TO organize this
district under the provisions of the
Griggs drainage act in 1908, but the
attorney general of the state ruled
that the primary object of that act
being the prevention of foundations,
instead of the removal OF surface wa
Atts NHt uiNAllti hdH llOl tUtllltu " lut
benefits of the Griggs act. Previously,
however. the bonds of Matagorda
County Drainage District No. had
been approved and work had been in
progress nearly two years. The Mata-
gorda county work involved some
what more drainage ditch construc-
tion than did the Burleson county
work, though the primary object in
both cases was food prevention. The
engineer on preliminary surveys and
construction work for the Matagorda
county work is A. r. Leckie. a former
student of the A. & NJ College of
Texas. and for the Burleson county
Improvement .di strict the engineer on
both preliminary surveys and con
struction work is J. G. Nagle, who
has been professor OF civil engineer
ing at the A. & NJ. College for twenty
years. He expects the Burleson coun-
~ work TO be finished about the mid
die of November. although because of
legal delays ground was not broken
until about March ] of this year. The
I total cost of construction will approx
innate 100000
Because of his connection with the
I Burlesou county work Mr. Nagle has
recently been called into conference
with the consulting engineer of the
very much larger system in Hidalgo
county. organized about two years ago
under the provisions of the Griggs act.
This district. now designated as Hi
dalgo County Drainage District 10. l..
will cover about $4,000 acres of al
| luvial land on the Texas side of the
/ Rio Grande. extending about forty
miles along the meanderings of that
stream, which forms the international
boundary The marvellous develop
ment OF this region during recent
years so far only suggests the possi-
| bilities which the combination cf most
fertile soil and almost tropical eli
mate. which obtain there, cause every
one who visits the section to prophesy
for it.
Conditions along the Rio Grande
as regards leyee construction should
not differ materially from those on
the Brazos. Colorado and other Texas
streams. so Mr. Nagle states. as all of
these may be expected to show sud
| den food periods of short duration
following long periods of low water
The river banks on the Rio Grande are
much lower than those on the Brazos
and Colorado, however, and the chan
mel of the Rio Grande is more tor
tuOus on its lower reaches. In addi-
tioG there is possibility that interna-
tional complications may arise in case
changes of the natural channels fol-
lowed by this river should be caused
by any artificial construction on either
side However. ii is not expected that