The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-02-18
A PRACTICAL PLAN FOR DEVELOP
MENT IN FRENCH BROAD VALLEY

MENT IN FRENCH BROAD NALLEl
DIR. w. w. Carpenter of Hendersonville
has initiated consideration OF a project
that would prove as profitable to Transyl-
vania, Henderson and Buncombe counties
as any public enterprise on which the ted'
eraI government could spend money in this
section of North Carolina.
This is the proposal to clear the channel
of the French Broad river of distractions
and put it in condition to prevent over
flowing of flood waters. A large amount
of damage is done almost every year IN
the valley of this river in the three coun-
ties by high waters. Land is damaged and
crops are destroyed when the floods come
In addition to these losses, additional losses
are sustained where fertile land lies idle
because the danger of overflow makes the
gamble of cultivating it Improbable
DR.. Carpenter would have the federal
government improve the channel OF the
French Broad so that it will carry what
ever volume of flood water comes down
the valley, prevent overflow, and safe
guarding the lowlands and the crops Oh
the farmers along the river. The lmpor-
lance of the proposal is obvious and if a
first class job was done the people of the
French Broad valley in the three counties
would reap many thousands of dollars IN
benefits in the years to come.
The clearing and lowering of the chan
mel of the French Broad would be long
-. 4,,,oxI +bo ,,roDer draipaUa Of tha
valleys traversed by the numerous smaller
streams in this section. For example, it is
said that much of the overflow in the Mud
Creek valley is due to the fact that the
level of the French Broad is so high it pre-
vents the flow of water into the larger
stream. The result is that distractions and
sand accumulates in Mud Creek and con-
ditions in that stream steadily become
worse.
If the channel of the French Broad was
. put in proper condition, in the course of a
few years the smaller streams would be
improved by natural drainage.
This proposal is a conservation and
reclamation project which would be Of
Broad is under control of the federal gov
eminent, it is necessary that the people of
the section go to the government with any
plans for improvement of the river.
A few years ago, government engineers
made public an elaborate survey and plans
for vast amount of government work on
the French Broad river. 1t was proposed
that a power dam one hundred feet high
be erected near Biltmore, among other
things. 1t was said that this dam would
back the waters of the French Broad al
most to Brevard and up all the smaller
streams of the section,-for example, il
Mud Creek up to the city of Henderson
Vile. This project would cover the larger
part of the lowlands of Henderson county
with vast lake, which would extend VI
the French Broad valley into TRANSPLANT:
county. ....
As there is no particular demand for ;
lake of this extent in this section, and the
citizens of this county would seriously OBJ
iect to being deprived of their lands FOL
the purpose of converting them to thi.
purpose, The Times-News suggests that i
the federal government desires to do some
thing practical for the people of three
North Carolina counties, the opportunity i
presented in the plan of Dr. Carpenter
The job that gentleman wants done is yer.
small in comparison with the job dreamed