Evening star., 1918-02-16
Ice and Floods Put George
town Back From Main
Part of Potomac.
new STREAM GROWS
DEEPER HOUR BY HOUR
Will Take Thousands of Dollars for
Dredging to Make Georgetown
Channel Navigable Again.

That Georgetown may be left some
distance from the main channel of the
Potomac river by reason of the cutting
Of a deep channel between Analostan
Island and the Virginia shore is one OF
the possibilities in the wake of the flood
and the ice jams that still make solid
dam across the Georgetown channel of
the Potomac river from Highway bridge
to a point opposite the foot of S4th
street.
The ice in the Georgetown channel,
riyermen say, is packed solidly to the
bottom of the river from the District
side to Analostan Island. The result
of the formation of this dam has been
that the water has cut a channel
through the stream known as Little
river, and the current, the heavy foes
of ice and the quantities of driftwood
have cut this new channel to an esti-
mated, depth of at least thirty feet.
The new channel is approximately ESQ
feet wide, and practically all of the
water flowing down the stream is pass
channel deeper every hour.
New Channel in Three Days.
Rfyermen today declared that the
new channel cut in the last three days
Is now deeper than the Georgetown
channel. and that the latter stream
will require the expenditure of thou
sands of dollars for dredging before
II again can be made navigable.
Little river is at least thirty feet
deeper than it was before the ice start
ed down day before yesterday" said
Capt. Moore, a veteran boathouse man,
whose place above AQueduct bridge was
smashed to kindling wood by the big
ice jam. "All the big ice from UP the
river went down through Little river.
It Is at least ESQ feet wide now, per-
h2ps wider, and the action of the water,
ice and driftwood is securing it deeper
and wider every hour OF course, mo-
from the looks Of it and from the size
Of the ice pans that have gone down
there it appears now to be deeper than
Georgetown channel was before the
food"
Ice Jam Loosened by Gale.
Yesterdays gale 1oosened much of the
fam that had formed on the George
town side Of the river and carried 1t
cut Today only a strip of ice about
100 feet wide was left along the north
bank Of the river from the Three Sis
ters to the main jam starting at the
foot Of 34th street and extending to
Highway bridge. This strip, however.
is packed solidly and anchored on the
bottom, and last nights freeze further
solidif1ed it Men familiar for years
with river-front conditions expressed
the belief that lit will remain until con-
tfnued warm weather melts 1T out, es-
pecially since the new cut-on between
Analostan Island and the Virginia side
has set the current far over toward the
Virginia shore.
More Damage to Buildings.
Release of some of the pressure
AGAINST the lighthouses and clubhouses
above and below Aqueduct bridge
further damaged the buildings yester-
was apparent today that all that keeps
the buildings from collapsing and fall
fnE into the river is the weight of the
ice that still remains jammed against
their fronts
Water in the river was still falling
today. having gone down about five
feet since yesterday mornings fall of
about three feet. or a total fall Of be-
tween eight and nine feet. Little ice
was coming down the broad channel
now open and extending from the Vir-
ginfa shore to point about 100 feet
from the Georgetown side.
Current Working Under Ice.
"A Ine 1lSnWdy DTlUSe tne current
seems to be working under the ice in
the channel A hole in the ice pack a
hundred feet or more long and as wide
rs the draw opening has been made on
the south side of the draw by the wa
ter. The current is slowly cutting the
Ice loose, but at the present rate OF
progress it will take a day or two to
work down to the railroad bridge. Ex-
cept for this change. ice conditions at
the Potomac bridges are the same as
yesterday
The water level was about two feet
below that of yesterday at ! o'clock.
It is now but level with the top of the
Potomac Park seawall,eand the Corin-
THAN Yacht Club grounds on the Vir-
ginia side of the river are entirely free
of water, about foot of the bulk
head, at which the launches are
>berthed. showing above Che surface.
The swift current moving through the
hole in the ice under the Highway
bridge draw has picked up the teie-
graph and telephone cable and there is
serious danger that it will be broken.
The railway power cable on the north
side of the bridge is unaffected as far
as can be seen, but should it go. the
emergency wires now being erected will
be ready for service and the electric
railway schedules into Virginia will
not be interrupted. The tug Minerva
has been moved farther down toward
the bridge and is lying on her side in
shoal water with much of her house
gone tter machinery ana nun Will pos
sibly be saved. The big dredge and
other vessels which are hung up in the
ice have not moved.
The jam at Giesboro is holding firm
Three naval tugs are again today bat
tering at it with all their power, and
may succeed in forcing a passage
through it this afternoon. but this is
doubtful The Norfolk and Washing
ton line steamer Northland and the In
dian Head steamer Boothbay, which
were caught in the further end of the
dam, succeeded in getting out yester-
DAY and are lying at Alexandria await
ing the opening of the channel so that
they can come to this city.
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