The San Francisco call., 1913-12-06
DREDGING PLAN
AROUSES BIC
:. INTEREST
Colonel Rees' Project Draws
Serious Consideration of
Many. Big Owners

While a few persons in the east bay
scfties considered Colonel Rees' plan at
first glance too large a project, closer
investigation of his proposition has
convinced these skeptfcs that the
scheme is not only highly feasible but
an economical one. The amazing rev.
oIution that has been accomplished in
harbor work in the last five years
through the invention and introduce
tion of the suction dredger has made
possible at small cost and in COM
paratively brief time work that for
merly took years and an expenditure
ofs fsmany millions.
The immense modern dredger whose
powerful pumps draw mixed sand and
water from the bottom of the channel
TO be dredged and throw them through
pipes a half mile to form solid land,
is capable of accom- mplishing in one day
what hundreds of men and teams
would fail to do on dry land. Some
suction dredgers in service of the gov-
ernnent in Panama move 12,000 to
$4,000 cubic yards of earth in "a
hours, or enough to cover from seven
to 10 acres with earth a foot in depth.
With such machines and a large pro-
ject. such as Colonel Rees outlines, the
cost sper cubic yard for channel ex-
cavation. the construction of the pro-
tecting dyke and the reclamation of
sland IS comparatively small. Colonel
Reess has made an estimate that for
the entire cost of dredging q channel
from near the end of the broad gauge
mole 10 Point Richmond, the construc-
tion of a rock faced dyke and the
reclamation Of land viii be between
$4,000, 600 and $4,000. .000. and for this
and docks 1t is obvious that there are
many sources from which this money
can be drawn. There are the cities of
Oakland, Emeryvflle. Berkeley, Rich
mond and also the national govern
ment.
PRIVATE OWNERS TO HELP
In addition, besides the municipali-
ties, there are many private owners
of submerged lands who will unques-
tionably contribute a considerable
amount toward the reclamation of
their holdings, thus cutting down the
expense of dredging operations. This
has been the case In the past in
dredging in the estuary. where dredg-
ing companies have made arrange
ments with owners of Alameda
marsh lands whereby certain amounts
were paid for filing in, the remainder
of the work being done by the gov
ernment Furthermore, there is one
important factor that has up to the
present time been but little discussed.
The bureau of yards and docks OF the
navy department, en- January 10, 1918.
rendered a report on the navy yard
facilities in san Francisco bay in
which it recommended the following:
The needs of the navy require that
IL shall construct, own and operate a
large dock in San Francisco bay"
Pursuant to this recommendation,
Captain Pond, commandant of the
twelfth naval district. has rendered a
report to Washington. formally rec
ommending the submerged lands
fronting on the town of Albany as
the site for the proposed government
dry dock and naval base. Captain
Ponds original scheme contemplates
a ehapnel direct to deep water, but 1t
is understood that after consultation
with Colonel Rees it was decided that
the scheme will involve the dredging
of a single channel from Point Rich
mond TO the proposed dry dock site,
suitable for both naval and CONNER
cial purposes. That the navy depart
ment will assume the burden of dredg-
ing this channel for it's own naval
base goes without saying. and this
fact alone viii cut the cost of Colonel
Rees project by more than $1,000, 600.
So it becomes apparent that the
whole plan is indeed feasible one.
and the effect upon the future of the
bay cities is beyond conjecture. But
1t is safe to say that with the com
pIetion of these great projects Oak
land and the adjoining towns will
undergo an era of development and
progress unparalleled in the past, and
that realty values in these cities will
increase by leaps and bounds.