The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1922-11-04
OF BAYOU PROBLEM
Continued from page l.

or. BY Kuttter's formula, | estimate
that, with a two foot head, 80 cubic
feet water would enter Bayou
Teche per second, through such
canal as We have outlined. This
would take 38.5 days to replace 800
million cubic feet. These are OF
course approXimates, as they are
based upon promises which are not
very accurate. They serve however,
as a pretty good guide. In the past
rs years, the lowest water at Mel
Vile was recorded twice in August,
four times in September, eight times
in October, eleven times IN Novem-
her and three times in December, SO
we can expect the minimum of slope
and consequently volume to flow In
October and November. This is I'M
fortunate because of the operations
Of the sugar houses at that time,
however. it must be remembered that
the stream will be pure when sugar
making begins which is not the case
now, and the pollution Of the water
will be very much slower than now
and over as soon as the water be-
gins to rise in December. | can not
beIp believing that the benefits to
sanitation will be very great even n
sugar making.
IRRIGATION AND SANITATION.
Water usually begins to rise IN
the Atchafalaya in December ana
rises into May when it begins to re-
cede and reaches dead low In the
late Summer and Fall. Throughout
the Winter and Spring and early
Summer there will be good head
Of water flowing into Bayou Teche
through the canal. This would have
the tendency to drive the hyaclnth
out and with little help it is en-
tirely practicable to remove every
sprig Of hyacinth from Bayou Teche.
This would greatly purify the water
as the chief cause of pollution IN
Summer Is the fermentation Of the
hyacinth dying from being bruised
or other causes. This fermentation
kills the fish and the dead fish, in
turn, increases the pollution. This
rotten water GIBBS and flows little
with each change of tide but never
goes anywhere and there is so little
drainage into Bayou Teche that it
requires a very heavy rain to send
the corrupted water to the sea. IT.
rigation always takes place when
there is a good head of water in the
lake, hence, the more water is
pumped out the faster it will be
replenished as the lowering process
increases the slope and correspond
ingly speeds up the flow. This canal
would insure an abundant supply Of
water for all irrigation purposes on
Bayou Teche. At ordinary Spring
stages Of water on the lake, there
would be no difficulty of getting
10000 to $4,000 cubic feet of water
per second, which, without allowing
for absorption, would put 8 inches
of water on 10000 acres in "a hours.
FLOOD DANGER.
The low water cross section of
Bayou Teche gradually increases as
you go down stream. If, however,
water could enter the bayou at the
point designated for this canal, the
high water cross section would in
crease very rapidly at the upper end
but more slowly as you go down
stream. Hence, at high water, the
cross section would approach uni
formity and with it the slope and
velocity.
The highest water in Bayou Teche
this year at Gonsoulin's bridge was
only .21a feet below the highest wa
ter in Lake Dauterive, this year and
81 feet below the high water Of
1912 and 612 feet below the high
water of 1882. As 1882 was such an