Fishing is practiced in the coastal waters and the catch is packed in the Puget Sound area for shipment. 7. The larger cities and towns are located on waterways and are connected by main line railroads and State highways. Seattle and Tacoma are the main industrial and shipping centers. Three transcontinental railroads cross the Cascade Mountains from the Puget Sound area. PRESENT DEVELOPMENTS 8. Navigation.-Puget Sound has large areas of protected waters of great depth adjacent to the shores except at the mouths of the streams where large tidal flats are found. There are five deepwater ports, namely, Bellingham, Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia Harbors, with controlling depths ranging from 26 to 34 feet. The tidal sections of the tributary streams have controlling depths of 2 to 8 feet and these sections are used extensively for the floating of logs to the mills and rough lumber and finished products are shipped to foreign and coastwise markets from the deep-water ports. 9. The combined commerce during 1932 over the tidal sections of the rivers was about 790,000 tons, of which 60 percent consisted of rafted logs, and the commerce of Puget Sound ports totaled approximately 10,500,000 tons, of which approximately 30 percent consisted of rafted logs. 10. Power. The large precipitation and the steep slopes of the streams offer excellent opportunities for hydroelectric power developments. At present there are 14 developed hydro plants, with a combined capacity of about 495,000 kilowatts. The city of Seattle has developed 90,000 acre-feet of storage and three hydro plants with a combined installation of 176,000 kilowatts on the Skagit River. The ultimate plan of the city of Seattle contemplates 2,518,000 acre-feet of storage and a total installation of 835,000 kilowatts. The only other municipal power developments in the area are on the Nisqually River and at Lake Cushman, where the city of Tacoma has a total installation of 110,000 kilowatts in three plants. 11. Irrigation.-No irrigation works have been constructed in the Puget Sound area, as precipitation is abundant for the crops now raised. 12. Flood control.-Flood damages are caused by erosion and bank caving on the upper reaches of the streams and by flooding in the deltas where the rivers as a rule flow in unstable channels. The main items of loss due to current action are destruction of levees and bank-protection works, washing out of highway and railway fills, and erosion of valuable lands. Flooding in the deltas is often serious, causing loss or damage to crops, injury to public and private property, loss of life and livestock, and serious interruption of communications. In most localities the flood of December 1933 was the most severe of recent years. The estimated average annual flood damage and the damage caused by the flood of December 1933, for the streams under consideration, are shown in the following table: 13. Diking districts have been organized in many localities, but no general flood-control organization exists and the works constructed, consisting mainly of bank protection and levees, are, in general, uncoordinated and the protection afforded from such works is inadequate. The Inter-County Improvement Association of King and Pierce Counties has done some work along the Puyallup River and has diverted to this stream the White River, which formerly flowed into the Green River. Existing storage reservoirs on the streams control only a small portion of the drainage area and, in general, do not materially reduce flood crests in the areas susceptible to damage. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 14. Navigation. The existing waterways are adequate for present and immediately prospective commerce. The controlling depths in the deep-water harbors should keep pace with the demands of ocean navigation. The tidal reaches of the tributary waterways are important arteries for the movement of logs to the mills located on Puget Sound and existing controlling depths over these sections should be maintained. 15. Power. The development of hydroelectric power has more than kept pace with the market. Upon completion of present authorized projects in the tributary area the future power demand of the Puget Sound area will be met for many years to come. 16. Irrigation. Due to the abundant precipitation it is not likely that irrigation in the area will ever be practiced to any extent. No works in the interests of irrigation are contemplated. 17. Flood control.-Construction of upstream storage reservoirs in the interests of power would tend to reduce flood heights, but reservation or construction of storage in the interests of flood control is, in general, not economically feasible. The best plan of protection in most cases appears to be the clearing of channels, cut-offs, channel enlargements, bank protection, and the raising and strengthening of existing levees. Before a comprehensive plan is adopted complete surveys and additional investigations are necessary. 18. Preliminary investigations on the Green River indicate that channel enlargement and extension of the existing diking system combined with channel rectification might give adequate protection. The most satisfactory protection for the Skagit River consists of the |