Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

because the extent of its development may be severely curtailed, no estimate will here be presented of either the amount or cost of such development. Costs for irrigation are roughly estimated as follows: Small ditches__

Storage reservoirs to provide supplemental water for canals privately built, at present and in future___

$40, 000, 000

30, 000, 000

Small projects; canals and storage, with some incidental power development..

60, 000, 000

Large projects; canals and storage with some incidental power development..

100, 000, 000

Total...

230, 000, 000

24. This total does not include anything for transmountain diversions which are included in the western Mississippi and Gulf regions where the diverted water would be used.

25. For the lower basin, a better estimate is presented and the estimate as to the main stream includes the full development below Grand Canyon National Park.

Required to complete works under way, in addition to approved

allotments:

Total___

New units or projects:

Boulder Dam_.

All-American Canal_.

Parker Dam (past fund is a loan of $2,000,000 to Metropolitan
Water District of California).

[blocks in formation]

Bridge Canyon Dam, power plant and transmission lines.
Bullshead Dam, power plant, and transmission lines....
Colorado River Indian Project (Parker Valley), diversion
dams, canals, drains, etc. --

Gila Valley project, pumping plants, canals, drains, etc.
Miscellaneous small areas....

Total...

Grand total, upper and lower basins____

533, 000, 000

26. First step in development.-Aside from completion of the Boulder and Parker Dams, and the All-American Canal, now under way, the most urgent need is for continuation and broadening of the scope of investigations to prepare a comprehensive plan of development for the entire basin, including surface and underground waters and their utilization. In the upper basin there is need for several reservoirs of moderate size to provide supplemental water for areas now irrigated. There is urgent need at this time for a first unit of the Gila Valley project to protect the water rights, and for an extension of irrigation on the Colorado River Indian Reservation. The cost for the first step, in addition to the completion of construction under way, would be as follows:

Continuation and extension of investigations for comprehensive plan of development..

New work:

Reservoirs in upper basin to furnish supplemental water__ Canal from Colorado River to irrigate lands in Gila Valley, first unit only...

$500,000 10, 000, 000

Diversion for Colorado River Indian project in Parker Valley,
partial development__.

9, 000, 000

3, 000, 000

Total___.

22, 500, 000

PUGET SOUND DRAINAGE AREAS

The introduction contains a general discussion of the problems of the utilization of the water resources of the Pacific region as a whole and should be considered in connection with the chapter on the Puget Sound drainage areas.

1. Description.-The Puget Sound drainage area lies in northwestern Washington between the Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound. It is bordered on the north by British Columbia and extends southward to Mount Rainier and Olympia, Wash. The main streams, with a combined drainage area of approximately 9,000 square miles, have their sources on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains and empty into Puget Sound or its connecting waters. Pertinent data relating to these streams are shown in the following table:

[blocks in formation]

2. The elevations of the area vary from sea level at the mouths of the rivers to a maximum of 14,408 feet at the summit of Mount Rainier. In general the upper portions of the watershed are forestcovered mountainous regions with steep slopes and the lower sections are flat alluvial plains bordered by low ridges.

3. The climate is mild except for a short period of freezing in the winter. Annual precipitation ranges from 30 inches on the sound to 80 to 100 inches in the Cascade Mountains. The heaviest precipitation occurs from October to April, and most of it in the higher altitudes falls as snow. July to September is generally the dry season. The worst floods occur from November to February and are usually caused by warm rain on melting snow.

4. The principal resource of western Washington is its large tracts of standing timber. The main variety is Douglas fir. It is estimated that there are 72 billion board feet of standing timber in the area, about 27 billion feet of which are in National and State reservations.

5. There are five counties in the drainage area which have a total population of about 800,000 and a total area of about 9,732 square miles. The most important cities in order of population in 1930, are Seattle with 365,518; Tacoma, 106,885; Bellingham, 30,602; and Everett, 30,498. (See accompanying map.)

6. Lumbering is the main industry. Practically all of the mills are on tidewater, and the lumber products are shipped mostly by water. Besides the manufacture of lumber the manufacture of other wood products, such as plywood, doors, shooks, shingles, barrels, pulp and hogged fuel, are important industries. Farming and dairying, with their related pursuits, are carried on in the deltas of the streams, the resulting produce, to a large extent, being consumed locally.

[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]

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:

[blocks in formation]

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

« ZurückWeiter »