Licking Valley courier., 1917-12-06
may CHANGE ROUTE
Engineer Has Plan to Stop Floods
On Mississippi River.
Would Provide Shorter Outlet to Sea
by Using Atchafalaya to Carry
SiIt.Bearing Water.

The levee system on the Mississippi
river from Cairo to the Gulf of Mexico
was intended to protect the cultivated
lands adjacent to the river. This sys-
TEN has resulted in building up the bed
of the river from year to year by rea-
son of the fact that all of the trlbu.
tary streams running into the Mlsss-
sippi river have greater velocity, and
consequently sediment brought into the
main river, whose current is slower, is
deposited in the river between Cairo
and the Gulf. This Is the main
cause Of the flood line going higher
each year with given rainfall.
Now, the most practical and cheapest
remedy for this Is to make a shorter
outlet to the sea for this vast volume
Of silt-bearing water, and this outlet
is via the Atchafalaya river, the
source Of which Is near the mouth of
the Red river, where it emptles into
the Mississippi, writes NJ. f. Jefferdo
in Popular Mechanics Magazine. The
Atchafalaya river runs straight to the
tidewater of the Gulf, distance of
about 100 miles, whereas, via the Mis-
sisslppi river the distance from the
mouth of the Red river to the Gulf is
200 miles. The fall Of the Mississippi
river from the mouth Of the Red river
to the Gulf is about one-tenth Of q
foot per mile; Of the Atchafalaya
about three-tenths Of q foot to the
mile.
The increase in velocity from the
mouth of the Red river to the Gulf via
the Atchafalaya would probably lower
the grade line of high water to two
tenths Of foot per mile, which would
reduce the high-water line for that
point (mouth of Red river), 20 feet or
more. This reduction In hlgh-water
mark would probably extend as far
north as Memphis. or even Cairo; thus
-it-can. he seen that thep levee as now
built from Memphis to theN6 'f would
be Of ample height and strehs-i to
give safety to the adjacent county for
probably 100 years or more.
Would this improvement leave New
Orleans an inland city? No. For the
slowing down of the velocity Of the
water in the Mississipp from the
mouth of the Red river to the Gulf via
The old channels would result in all
he sediment being carried to sea via
he Atchafalaya, leaving the old chan
lel clearwater channel, which could
De maintained at all times by a little
lredging such as is necessary now at
he jetties. The railroads entering
Sew Orleans could then bridge the
Mississippi river there and would profit
n the long run by Ovlatlng the flood
ng of their tracks.
The jetties at the mouth Of the Mis-
lsslppl could be dredged to depth Of
0 to 80 feet and remain so, for no sedi,
lent would be going out that way to
II them up. The high-water line at
lew Orleans would hardly exceed ten
eet ABOVE low water.
The low-water line at New Orleans
eing only one foot above sea level,
18th a depth of so to go feet of water,
can be seen that not only would
lew Orleans be secure from floods in
he future, but that the largest vessels
the world could enter Its harbor.
The Mississippi river, from the Jet
es to the mouth Of the Red river
ould be a canal, navigable at all
mes, with a little dredging, perhaps
etween Baton Rouge and the Red
lver, and all that rich country on
ther side of the river from the mouth
the Red river to the Gulf would bt
bsolutely secure from floods.