Evening star., 1927-05-02
The Levee Problem


Combining relief work in the flooded
areas Of the lower Mississippi Valley
with a survey Of the conditions to de.
fermine methods OF preventing future
visitations of this character. Secre-
tary Hoover has returned TO Washing
fon. In conjunction with Gen. Jadwin,
Chief Of Engineers of the Army. he
has made survey of the needs of
the area, and these two officials have
issued a statement which summarizes
their conclusions as to means Of fu.
ture protection against floods. This
statement is epitomized in the follow.
ing concluding sentence: "Ievees are
the practicable, feasible and economi-
cal means for affording flood protec-
tion for the valley as a whole"
This statement of Secretary Hoover
and Gen. Jadwin negatives the pro-
posal for the creation of great storage
reservoirs to impound surplus waters
at times of freshet. Such plan. they
feel, would be enormously expensive
without assuredly affording relief.
Reservoirs would be of value in the
upper rivers in the regulation Of local
floods to help the navigation and for
power purposes, but, conclude these
officials, they would have but small
influence on the great floods in the
main trunk of the Mississippi from
Cairo to the Gulf.
Levees have been the mainstav of
protection for many years, but they
have not prevented floods That is
probably because they have not been
built with sufficient strength. The
present floods are due in the main to
the breaking of these barriers. In a
few instances the waters have flowed
over the tops Of the embankments
without breaking them, but the dam
age has been chiefly done through
breaches in these walls, through which
torrents have poured to inundate vast
areas.
1t is fallacy, point out the two Of
f1cials who have just surveyed the
situation, that the building of levees
has caused the raising of the bed of
the stream, tending to transform it
into a steadily rising trough. The bed
of the stream may be rising, but it is
mainly due to the silt washed down
into it from the tributaries. Dredging
, operations on vast scale may even
tually be necessary to redeem the
Mississippi from this condition. No
Slention is made of this possibility in
the present report. But considering
that irSalculable quantities of valu.
able soil have been deposited in the
bed of the river during many years it
would be perhaps an economic advan-
tage, Indeed a rich investment in fer
tility, as well as move to increase
the channel capacity of the river, to
undertake dredging operations, pump.
ang the reclaimed soil into the areas
behind the levees.
{ It is, in any case, evident that meas.
Ures on large scale must be adopted
TO lessen the danger. The losses that
have been incurred so far in the
course of this present flood are beyond
computation. Great sums must be ex-
pended by the United States to repair
and strengthen and expand the levee
system. No great amount of time
should be necessary to determine the
best method. Gen. Jadwin and Secre.
tary Hoover have already outlined a
proposal. Reforestation and reservoirs,
and perhaps contour plowing, to lessen
the risk of soil securing, may in ad-
dition be eventually undertaken. But
there is no doubt that at least the
strengthening Of the levees must be
undertaken and on large scale, re.
gardless Of the present cost.