The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1913-01-29
DAM SCHEMES ARE HARD HIT.
Engineers of United States Army
Severely Condemn Plans.

II will be pleasing news to residents oi
this entire section of Pennsylvania to
learn that the plan of the Pittsburg Flood
Com mission to build number of dams
on the upper Allegheny, the Clarion
river and Tionests creek for the purpose
OF controlling flood waters has received
the severe condemnation OF United States
Army engineers. The Associated Press
report from Washington says:
The United States Army engineers, in
a report submitted to Congress Tuesday
by Brigadier General W. h. Bixby, op.
pose the plans Of the Pittsburg Flood
commission to harness the high water in
the Allegheny, Monogahela and Ohio
rivers and by the same system impound
sufficient water to secufe a navigable stage
in the rivers during the seasons ofdrouth.
An interesting feature OF the report
is the fact that private capital has
under consideration the building of
water power plants along these rivers,
one mentioned in particular being at the
headwaters of the Cheat river in West
Virginia. The engineers say their infor-
nation on this subject was received from
confidential sources and they therefore
cannot reveal the identity of the tinsn-
ciers interested, the extent to which they
might invest or the ultimate purpose Of
the promoters.
The investigation of the engineers
covers the entire scheme of IL reservoirs
for the three rivers, and estimated to cost
S2l 900, 900. While this sum is not ques-
toned, there is a wide difference of opin-
ion as regards the land and property
damage involved in the undertaking.
The Flood commission estimates the
damage at s.. .656, 400 and the engineers de-
clare the SUN would be at least three
times that amount, or in the neighbor-
hood of so 100000. The general plan of
building the reservoirs, their capacity al
food time and the probable benefit TO
navigation, is gone into at length.
The engineers question the advisabilily
VI ioi1 Jug upou ioSci WIS iOi 'ho uuai
purpose of harnessing the high waters
and of supplying sufficient water to make
any perceptible effect upon the lower
Ohio river during drouth. The reser-
voirs in their opinion, could not be so
utilized, and they declare that to solve
both problems would require two sets Of
reservoirs, one to harness The Hoods and
the other to furnish a water supply when
the rivers are low.
The utter sbsurdity of the Pittsburg
scheme is shown in the following extract
from the Engineers report: "In order to
be used for the benefit Of navigation
reservoirs must be kept at all times full
as possible. In order TO be useful to pre-
vent n noods, reservoirs must be kept at
all times as empty as possible, so to be
ready for the floods when they occur.
These two uses are thus seen to be quite
incompatible, and where reservoirs are
actually used for both purposes, it will be
found that a certain amount of the total
capacity is reserved for flood purposes
and the remainder is all that is actually
useful for navigation purposes. A state
of affairs which does not differ in princi-
pie from having one system of reser-
voirs for flood control and another for
navigation PURPOSES"