Evening star., 1944-01-11
Proposed Dams
Offer Threat
Great Falls
Park Commission
And Army Engineers
Plan Friday PorIey

flood control, water power, waite
supply and recreation purposes vii
be discussed in conference Frida,
between officials of the Army en-
gineers' District Office, and tn
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission, it was learned today.
The engineers who are making tn
study, will bring the matter befor
the commission prior to completion
of comprehensive study of the Pc
tomac River and its tributaries, be
ing made under authority of 1873
f1ood-control act.
The conference, it Is understood
will dwell on problems concerned
with waters in the District ant
nearby territory. The National Parl
Service and Interior Department ar,
understood to be concerned also be
cause, the park service owns the C.
o. Canal from Washington to Cum
berland, Md. 1t was purchased sew
eral years ago for its historic, scenic
and recreational value. Big dams il
the river might flood parts of tht
canal.
The conference will be of a pre-.
liminary nature, inasmuch as tht
engineers report is not yet con.
cluded. 1t is being rushed" to COM
pletion and may be ready in the
spring. 1t will be submitted to the
regional engineers Office, and after
being reviewed there will 60 to the
chief of Army engineers.
One of the dams under consider
alton would be located in the vicinity
of Chain Bridge. This would back
up the river into the Potomac gorge
to form a big lake, mundating much
land on either shore. 1t probably
would obliterate part of the c. & o
Canal in that vicinity. If the dam
we're erected higher than the present
Chain Bridge it would replace the
bridge and carry a highway along
the top of the high level dam.
Two or three sites have been un-
der consideration, it is understood
for the next dams upstream. There
had been talk of one at Carderock
or at so-called Whitewater both OF
which are south of Great Falls
These probably would back the
water up to the precipice which is
Great Falls itself.
Another planWas for a dam across
the Potomac just above Great Falls
which would back the river up for
many miles. Some estimates said
it might form lake almost as far
upstream as Harper's Ferry.
The location of a dam above Great
Falls would be designed to preserve
the beauty of Great Falls, according
to its proponents. But, on the other
hand, it is feared by champions of
he beauty of Great Falls that so
little water would be left to trickle
over the rocky precipice that it
would ruin the scenic grandeur of
the waterfall, which is rated as one
of the outstanding features of its
kind in this part of the country.
Construction of other dams far
ther upstream and in the tribu-
taries of the Potomac would be for
flood control and power purposes
and would serve cities and agricul-
tural communities far distant from
Washington.
Opposition Develops.
Some opposition is developing tc
the proposal for any more dams in
Washington and immediate vicinity
Among those who were reported to-
dov to bo onrocad m tho r>roiactc c
here is Frederick Law Olmsted, for
mer member of the Park and Plan
ming Commission, who now is an ad-
wiser to National Capital Parks. Mr.
OlmSted made a survey of the gorge
of the Potomac with view to its
scenic and recreation value many
years ago. 1t is understood he
strongly opposes construction of any
dams near Washington now.
Other opponents are understood
to oppose such dams because they
would spoil the natural scenic gran
deur of the gorge and because nc
further waterpoWer is needed here
at this time.
The possibility of hydroelectriC
power for Washington developed
out of the Potomac River has beer
under consideration for many years
but has never reached the stage Of
construction. The land at Great
Falls on both the Virginia anc
Maryland shores is owned by the
Great Falls Power Co., which ir
turn is owned by the Potomac Elec-
trio Power Co. The local power
company is understood to take the
position it does not need hydro
electric power now, as it is able tt
meet the needs not only of hte ex
panded National Capital, but alst
of some large nearby Government
projects.
Arguments Advanced.
Proponents of the dams advance
the arguments that they may be
needed not only for power, but fol
flood control, and extra water sup,
ply for the expanding Capital. They
also point to recreational advan'
tages of huge lakes which would
be formed in the Potomac Valley.
The Act of 1886 under which the
Army engineers are making theil
investigation provides that any dams
constructed must be self-liquidating
Congress provided in 1928 that the
Federal Power Commission could mo-
issue permits to any agency fo
power plants in the Great Fall!
vicinity without referring the mat.
ter back to Congress for approval
The Park and Planning Commits
sion reported later there was ne
need for power, and recommended
that the gorge of the Potomac
should be preserved. Congress au-
thorized acquisition of both side:
of the Potomac River in Maryland
and Virginia from Mount Vernon
to Great Falls, for development Of
the so-called George Washington
Memorial Parkway. Much of the
land has been acquired on the Mary
land side, including the canal, anc
some of it has been purchased or
the Virginia shore.
Already some opposition has de.
veloped in civic circles to the pro-
posed dams. The Association o1
Oldest Inhabitants of the Distric,
of Columbia adopted a resolution