Evening star., 1952-05-07
Water Supply
Here Is But One
Army Headache
District Engineer
Also WrestIes With
Floods, Chestnuts
By Hugh Humphrey
you've got q problem?

! suppose you naO 10 Iace IeW
of these headaches every day:
/. Supply 179 gallons of water
to every man, woman and child
in Washington.
2. Plan and supervise all Army
construction in a triangle bounded
by Staunton, Va; Cumberland,
Md. and a point just west Of
Baltimore.
3. Handle all flood control. har-
Dor improvements and other river
problems in the same area.
4. Keep the Potomac River clear
of those (ugh) pesky japanese
water chestnutS.
5 Maintain and patrol about IS
miles of what was intended as a
private road but which now has
become a main public thorough
fare.
Only Two Officers.
6. Meet these demands-and
many others-with a staff of two
Army officers and 910 civilian en-
ployes.
That's the Army district engi-
neer Office here. With headquar-
ters at Mcmillan Reservoir, Just
off Michigan avenue NV, it's
commanded by Col. Alan j. Nc
Cutchen. His executive officer,
and only other uniformed man in
the place, is Col. G. G. Brinkerhoff,
just back from duty in Japan and
Korea.
1t could happen only in Wash
ington. The business of supplying
a city with water is a divided
responsibility here-half Federal
and half municipal. The Army
engineers take care of the supply.
and the District Water Division
looks after distribution.
Operation Waterlog begins at
Great Falls. The engineers tap
the Potomac there and shove it
through pipelines into Dalecarlia,
Georgetown and Mcmillan reser-
voirs. After publication, the Army
literally washes its hands of the
whole affair. If you're not get
ting enough water, blame the Dis
trict Water Division. That's the
outfit responsible for delivery to
your home.
Top Water Users.
According to the engineers,
4 Washington's population should
be the cleanest anywhere. The
per capita daily consumption Of
179 gallons is far above that of
any other city.
Although water supply is the
continuing major function of the
: office, military construction Is
occupying most of the engineers
time this year. With two big
secret projects underway at Camp
Ritchie and Camp Detrick in
Maryland, the total construction
in the engineer district is well
above $50 million. Andrews Air
!; Force Base is eating up about
SIS million of that amount, and
: there's a batch of lesser work go
ing on all over the area.
j Flood control-a subject dear to
all residents of the Peace Cross
: bailiwick-is constant operation.
!, The engineers have a plan all
!, worked out for Bladensburg and
its environs. but no money. Some
day, they point out, amphibious
} vehicles won't be needed to cross
, the Peace Cross area. They're
going to straighten and widen the
!, IAnacostia River in the area, pump
out the marshy sections and build
, levees to contain the flood water.
| Repeat Procedure.
I When? They don't know, but
there's rule of thumb for financ-
ing such engineer projects. Con-
!. gress first approves the JOHN
principle. Then the engineers ask
for funds. Naturally. they don't
get the money the first try. So.
they repeat the request each year
until somewhere along the line,
congress grows weary of deny
ling the plea and approves. the ex-
Ipenditure.
The Potomac water chestnut
headache has been reduced more
than somewhat by an ingenious
, engineer gadget for cutting them
periodically under the river sur
face. A few fishermen to the
: contrary, the engineers say that
problem is under control.
The next time you drive out
Macarthur boulevard beyond the
District, remember: You're travel
ing on Federal property under
management of the engineers.
I, They control that highway and
look on it as an access road to
Great Falls for their own pur-
poses. AS many speeders know,
the Engineer Police Corps keeps
a close watch on fast drivers.
They also enforce the load limit
to the hilt, but with good reason.
! Could Break Aqueduct.
j Running under Macarthur
boulevard at many points is one
lof the country's oldest aqueducts.
Put into operation in 1868, it still
remains Washington's source of
!, water. If overloaded trucks were
permitted on the boulevard, the
entire area might wake up some
morning with its water cut of
because of breakage in the aque-
duct.
Despite all these daily problems.
the engineer Office has few real
crisis. Flash floods create a few.
Especially If they threaten water
supplies. The toughest nut to
crack, however, is the personnel
ceiling imposed by law.
1--WE get a special project" the
engineers say, with a priority
order. We ask for more help and
get the bruSh-off. So we have to
juggle our workers around, some
times satisfying all demands:
sometimes ignoring a few"
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