The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1913-12-19
IS NEED Or MORE
CANALS IN 'GLADES
OLD REPORT RECALLED BY THE
PRESENT AGITATION ON SUB
JEcT OF DRAINAGE.
BOARD MADE PROBE IN 1909
View Taken Then That If State Dug
Enough Waterways Everglades
Could Be Drained.

Tallahassee.-In connection WIN
the agitation over the drainage OF the
Everglades, report made by a board
of engineers of the war department
and now in the private files at the
department, is of interest. This re-
mort was made under the river and
harbor act of March 8, 1909, by Col.
Dan C. Kingman, Maj, G. P. Howell
and Capt. j. R. Slattery. 1t is Of
unusual interest now, because 1t finds
objections to the states plans or
drainage. For instance, it says. in
| part:
plans for the drainage Of the EV-
erglades should certainly be based on
the maximum run-off that could reach
the lake due to severe storms and
heavy rains, which will require a
much greater system of canals than
would average run-offs, such as as
sumed by Mr.. Wright. This drainage
scheme, based on average run-offs,
must fail, just as would bridge de-
signed for only average loads, or a
sewer designed for only average dis
charges, or a levee system designed
for only average water states. Many
more canals than those called for in
the states plan will be necessary in
order to drain tie Everglades.
"The board found that the water in
the Fort Lauderdale Canal stood ap
parently at the same elevation as in
the Everglades. This canal has been
practically completed. Discharge
measurements were taken at the en-.
trance to the lake at the smile point
and at the 1O-mile point, and from
these measurements the discharges at
all three points were found to be prac-
tically identical. If this canal were
draining the glades, the discharge
should increase as one goes down the
canal. The fact that no such in
crease occurs indicates that the canal
is not having any appreciable effect
upon the drainage of the Everglades,
| The board is therefore of the opinion
that unless the state digs many more
canals than those contemplated at the
present time its operations will have
but little effect on the Caloosahatchee
river, the Kissimmee river and other
tributaries of Lake Okechobee. If a
| sufficient number of canals are con-
structed the level of the lake can be
| lowered and the Everglades drained.
The effect of this lowering of the lake
would materially decrease the availa-
BILE depths in the lower Kissimmee
river, and in the lower reaches Of 9th.
er streams emptying into the lake.
THE lowering of the lake level
would decrease the discharge into the
| Caloosahatchee river and would to-.
tally prevent navigation in the up
per Caloosahatchee, unless the chan
mel in the upper river were deepened
| so that the same amount of water
would flow through it with the lake
at the proposed level as does now with
| the lake at its natural level Origi-
nally there was no well-defined chan
mel from the lake to the Caloosa-
hatchee river, and the construction of
| the present channel has resulted in
an increased amount of water being
brought into the Caloosahatchee river,
which is already unable to care for
the rainfall of its own valley. This
is disadvantageous at high water not
withstG4 ding the fact that the amount
of water that can be taken from the
| lake by canal of the size constructed
forms only small percentage of the
food discharge of the Caloosahatchee
river, and hence can have no great
effect upon the height and duration of
floods, because any addition whatso-
ever to the amount of water to be
cared for by the river is to be de-
plored; and if the elevation of the lake
is reduced to 16, it would be disad-
vantageous at low water because of
the danger of further reducing the
lake level"