The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1961-06-30
| ENGINEER CORPS
NOTES BIRTHDAY
FLOOD CONTROL
Flood Control Program in United
States Began rs Years Ago

this week that the national flood
control program carried on by the
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
is % years old on June %, the
Silver Anniversary of the date on
which the Flood Control Act of 49,
SO became law.
Prior to that time, he said, the
Corps of Engineers responsibility
for construction of flood control
works had been confined to specific
projects in various parts of the
United States, including the Allu-
vial Valley of the Mississippi river,
the Sacramento River in California,
and Lake Okeechobee, Florida.
Since that time, flood control
programs have been established in
most of the larger river basins,
under Congressional authorizations
progressing year to year.
In reviewing the progress made
in the control of floods in North
Carolina, Colonel Davidson said
that this state has benefited more
from Fedaral flood control projects
than is generally recognized. He
pointed out that the Roanoke River
basin is protected by the Kerr and
Philpott dams located in Virginia;
construction has started on the
Wilkesboro Reservoirs in Wilkes
County, and two other large res
ervoir projects, one on the Cape
Fear and one on the Neuse River,
are under study. In addition, num-
erous local protection projects have
been constructed within the past
few years. These include bikes in
Pasquotank County which protect
5000 acres of farm land from flood
waters Of Dismal Swamp; a combi-
nation Of bikes, canals and pump
ing plants in Hyde County which
protect about 10000 acres of land
near Lake Mattamuskeet; and the
lPantego-Cucklers Creek project,
now nearing completion in Beau
fort County, which impoves drain
age and affords flood protection
to 1890 acres of farm land. Still
another important small project,
on which construction will soon
begin, involves building a dixie for
Is miles along the east side of the
Cape Fear River in the vicinity of
Lock and dam No. 1.
Channel improvement is another
means of flood control which has
been used extensively by the Corps
of Engineers in Eastern North
Carolina. Since 1866 several hun
dred miles of river and creek chan
nels have been cleared of snags and
debris and some have been dredg-
ed to increase channel capacities.
Nation wide, the Authorized
Flood Control Program embraces
over 900 projects which have been
completed, are now under construc-
ton, or have been authorized for
construction but have not yet been
started. These total about SO bill
lion in estimated Federal cost, and
the construction program is APP
preaching the halfway mark, as
measured by appropriations.
| Among the projects completed
or under construction throughout
the United States are 220 reservoirs
with nearly 80 million acre-feet of
FLOOD control capacity; over 5000
miles of levees and floodwalls; and
more than 7,400 miles Of channel
Improvements.
i Additional projects authorized
but on which construction has not
yet started, would provide an ad-
ditional 40 million acre-feet of flood
storage capacity in 120 additional
reservoirs, almost 3,100 miles Of
levees and floodwalls, and $500
miles of channel improvements.
i The benefits from projects built
or now under construction, extenc
a steady increasing degree of pro-
lection from floods along the river
valleys. Such projects, including
numerous partly-completed works
not yet in service, have involved
Federal appropriations for floot
} lcontrol of about 81 billion and al
READY have prevented flood dam
lagos of the order of $40 billion
indicating a return on Fedora
first cost of $3.50 for each dollar
appropriated.
i Loss of life due to floods ha.
j decreased to marked extent. From
'l19O0 to 1910 floods causing the loss
of 100 or more lives occurred on the
average about every three years
. Since 1910, the frequency of such
floods has averaged about once il
10 years.
!; Potential flood damage now aver
age over $500 million per year, al
though the Corps of Engineer pro
Ijects in service are now preventing
an additional $500 million per yea
on the average. The losses prevent
led include benefits to considerable
property in protected areas which
might not have been built on tn,