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3. Sacramento and Feather rivers, California.-The project was made in 1874 and had for its object the improvement of the low-water channel by wing-dams, bar scraping, and the removal of snags and trees. Up to June 30, 1889, there has been expended for this purpose $342,632.01 which includes the construction of a dredge, snag-boat, and two barges. Thus far Congress has appropriated for these streams $465,000, but by act of July, 1884, prohibited the expenditure of $100,000 of these funds until the Secretary of War should be satisfied that hydraulic mining bad been stopped, and $13,890.03 additional have been reserved for legal expenses in the suppression of hydraulic mining.

Before improvement began, in 1875, the Upper Sacramento River was much obstructed by snags, navigation was dangerous, and freight and insurance rates were very high. Snags accumulated annually; at firs they were removed by contract, afterwards by our own snag-boat and hired labor at less than half the cost heretofore paid. Railroads wer built upon both sides of the river; thereafter and after the removal o the snags, freight rates were reduced fully one-half and navigation wa rendered perfectly safe. It is not assumed that the improvement o the river alone produced the reduction in freight rates and insurance Competition with the railroads was an important factor in this reduction but had the snags not been removed, navigation would have been im practicable, and in all probability these rates would have been increase instead of being reduced. The last appropriation of $20,000 for con tinuing the improvement was so worded that it could only be used fo dredging and snagging work. This was unfortunate, as dredging in thes rivers is only of temporary benefit to the low-water channel, and bette results are produced by wing-dams at less cost and in less time; but a no funds could be used for wing-dams, only snagging operations coul advantageously be applied during the past fiscal year.

The suag boat worked about ten weeks in 1888 and removed all th troublesome snags in the river, and thus permitted navigation to go o uninterruptedly. She also repaired a wing-dam near the city of Sa ramento. The transportation company furnished the material (ol barges) with which the repairs were made. The snag boat now need extensive repairs, estimated to cost about $8,000, and until these r pairs are made will be unfitted for further service. She is again i commission, and must complete the work for this summer on which sh is now engaged, which will probably exhaust all the funds availabl The legislature of the State of California, in March, 1889, empowere the governor to appoint three engineers as an examining commission rivers and harbors in California. The legislative act referred to say the commission shall determine what steps are necessary for the rec fication and improvement of such rivers and streams, and shall mak or cause to be made, such surveys, examinations, maps, designs, dra ings, estimates, specifications, etc., as will enable Congress to clear understand the condition of such rivers and the cost and expense properly rectifying the same. Reference to printed annual reports sin 1874 shows what is necessary to improve and maintain the low-wat navigation of these rivers, and the improvement and maintenance of lo water navigation is all that the Government engineers have attempte of which Congress has been fully informed and for which funds ha been appropriated and judiciously expended. Snags will re-form a will have to be removed annually, hence no final estimate for the co pletion of the work can be made with any degree of accuracy.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, $48,000 can be expended good advantage in snagging and building low wing-dams,

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July 1, 1889, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of

liabilities outstanding July 1, 1888..

July 1, 1889, outstanding liabilities

.$115, 387.13 20,000.00

135, 387. 13

$11,635. 66

1,383. 48

13, 019. 14

122, 367.99

July 1, 1889, balance available...................

Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1891 4,000. 00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867.

(See Appendix R R 3.)

4. Petaluma Creek, California.-The project adopted in 1880 had for its object to straighten the channel by cut-offs and secure, by dredging for about 8,000 feet below Petaluma, a channel 50 feet wide and 3 feet deep at low water. Before improvement the channel was very crooked and bare at low water. Work was completed in 1884, at a cost of $27,656.91, leaving a balance available of $2,343.09.

In the spring of 1888 the channel had refilled to such an extent that the bottom of the creek was in places at low water 2 feet above low-tide level, and vessels could only enter the creek at high tide. In June, 1888, with the small balance available, dredging was done by contract, and in July the work was completed by removing about 8,000 cubic yards of material from the channel and depositing it on the banks. A channel 1,800 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 1 foot deep at lowest low water was obtained, thus relieving the immediate wants of the navigation interests. The cost of the dredging was $2,116.39.

The channel thus formed can only be maintained by occasional dredg ing. The commerce of the creek is sufficient to warrant a channel 4 or 5 feet deep, and to get this depth the estimated cost is $30,000. The work can be done in one year, and once done it is believed that the channel can be maintained in reasonably good condition by dredging once in five years at a cost of say $5,000.

July 1, 1888, amount available....

Amount appropriated by act of August 11, 1888....

July 1, 1889, balance available....

Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1891 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867.

(See Appendix R R 4.)

$16.46 2,000.00

2,016. 46

10,000.00

5. Humboldt Harbor and Bay, California.-The project for the improvement of the bay was adopted in 1881. Its object was to obtain by dredging a channel 13 feet deep and 200 feet wide, to the upper end of the wharves in Eureka, and to dredge channels 10 feet deep and 100 feet wide to Arcata and Hookton. The project was completed in 1884. It has since deteriorated. In 1882 a project was submitted and adopted to improve the entrance to Humboldt Bay by building a training-wall to the level of low water, extending from the South Spit in a northwesterly direction. The estimated cost of the training-wall was $600,000. Before improvement the channel to Eureka had a depth of 7 feet; those to Arcata and Hookton had depths of 6 feet.

During the past year proposals for building the training wall and necessary shore protection were invited, and the contract for doing the work was awarded to the American Bridge and Building Company of

San Francisco, the lowest bidders, at the following rates: Rock, $2.00 per ton; brush work, $1.85 per cubic yard; for pier and track over water, per linear foot, $5.50; for railroad and track on shore, per running foot, $2.75. In May, 1889, they began building the walls, and in two months at the end of the year had completed 1,605 feet of shoretrack and 999 feet of pier over water, had completed 1,152 running feet of shore-protection wall composed of brush and stone, the brushwork varying from 15 to 22 feet in width and from 18 to 26 inches in height, the rock-work on top of this 15 to 20 feet wide and 4 feet high in the center. In the water (between high and low water) the brush-work varies from 22 to 36 feet wide, 26 to 38 inches high, which is covered with rock for its entire length; the average height of completed wall (272 feet long) is 4 feet. Thus far 6,206 tons of rock and 3,303 cubic yards of brush have been placed in position. The contract with the American Bridge Company is for $250,000 worth of work at above rates, and they are required to complete their work on December 31, 1889, at which time about all the funds available will be exhausted. As the work of improving the bar channel has but just commenced, no results in the way of improvement have been obtained or expected. To make a success of the work this submerged training wall should be pushed to completion as rapidly as possible. When this is done it may become necessary to increase its height, and in addition, walls to prevent erosion may become necessary on the North Spit. No estimate has yet been made for additional work, but should it become necessary, the cost will be at least as great as that of the submerged training wall now in course of construction. The total amount expended on the improvement of Humboldt Bay to June 30, 1889, has been $96,061.55.

July 1, 1888, amount available

Amount appropriated by act of August 11, 1888

July 1, 1889, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of liabilities outstanding July 1, 1888..

July 1, 1889, amount covered by existing contracts.

July 1, 1889, balance available

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337,500.00

(Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project..... Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1891

200,000.00

Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867.

(See Appendix R R 5.)

EXAMINATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT, TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS OF THE RIVER AND HARBOR ACT OF AUGUST 11, 1888.

The required preliminary examinations of the foilowing localities were made by the local engineer in charge, Major Heuer, and reported by him as not worthy of improvement, with facts and reasons for such opinion. The Chief of Engineers, concurring in the conclusions reached in these instances, has given no instructions to make further survey with a view to their improvement:

1. Eel River, California, entrance and inside bars to head of naviga tion.--(See Appendix R R 6.)

2. Klamath River, California, entrance and inside bars to head of navigation. (See Appendix R R 7.)

3. As to the necessity for the establishment and maintenance of public moorings for the protection of shipping in the open and exposed ports on the northern coast of California at Fort Ross, Fisk's Mill, Fish Rock, Shelter Cove, Trinidad, etc.--(See Appendix R R 8.)

IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENTRANCE TO COOS BAY-IMPROVEMENT OF YAQUINA BAY. OF COQUILLE RIVER, OF UMPQUA RIVER, AND OF TILLAMOOK BAY AND BAR, OREGON.

Officer in charge, Capt. Willard Young, Corps of Engineers. Division Engineer, Col. G. H. Mendell, Corps of Engineers.

1. Coquille River, Oregon.-At the time the work of improvement was begun, the entrance to the Coquille River was considered very dan gerous. It was by a long, tortuous, and narrow channel skirting the south headland, studded with rocks from beyond the bar on the outside to a distance of one half mile inside. The depth at low water over the bar was only about 3 feet; and the position of the channel was constantly shifting. The channel sometimes, at long intervals apart, broke through the north spit and ran directly out to sea, just south of Rackliffe Rock, but did not remain long in this position. The entrance at such times was comparatively safe, and the channel was at its very best. The mean rise of tide was 4.1 feet.

The plan of the improvement is to construct two parallel, high-tide stone jetties, 800 feet apart, running out to sea a sufficient distance to open and maintain a channel over the bar, with a least depth of 8 feet at low water; the north jetty starting from Rackliffe Rock, and the south jetty from a point on the left bank inside the entrance.

The amount expended to June 30, 1888, including outstanding liabil ities, was $49,510.43; 1,926 feet of temporary jetty had then been constructed. The channel through the north spit was opened in 1882, after the construction of about 1,000 feet of temporary jetty, since which time a depth of 6 feet at low water has been maintained.

During the year ending June 30, 1889, 4,000 cubic yards of stone was quarried and placed in the jetty, and an additional 3,000 cubic yards of stone was blasted out ready for use; 1,994 feet of tramway was built; one powerful derrick was erected; one locomotive, irons for two derricks, and rails, spikes, fish plates, switches, etc., for 3,025 feet of track were purchased.

Other operations consisted in the storage and care of property.

The depth of water on the bar during the year has been 6 feet or more at low water. During the months of January, February, and March a depth of 20 feet at high water was maintained. This was due to the fact that the north spit extended out the whole length of the jetty and parallel to it, at a distance of only about 300 feet, thus acting as a low north jetty, which, with the south jetty, confined the water in one narrow channel.

The appropriations made in five acts amount to $75,000.

July 1, 1888, amount available

Amount appropriated by act of August 11, 1888.

July 1, 1889, amount expended during fisca' year, exclusive of liabilities outstanding July 1, 1888..

July 1, 1889, outstanding liabilities, about..

July 1, 1889, balance available...

ENG 89--23

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$94,000.00

Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project....
Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1891 50,000.00
Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and
harbor acts of 1866 and 1867:

(See Appendix S S 1.)

2. Entrance to Coos Bay and Harbor, Oregon.-The obstructions which existed at the entrance to this harbor before the works of improvement were begun, consisted, first, of the outer bar, which is of sand, and is shifting in character; and, secondly, of the inner shoals, formed by the sands which accumulate in the spring, summer, and autumn during the times when the northwesterly winds prevail. Under the action of these winds the spit on the north side advanced toward the south, contracting the navigable passage under Coos Head to a very narrow width, and, usually, making the outer channel follow the west side of the spit in a long and tortuous course across the bar. The channel had at times broken through the north spit on a line, the general direction of which is from Fossil Point to a point just to the north of Coos Head. It was then direct, the depth of water was greatest, and vessels could enter or go out without trouble.

The mean rise of tide above the plane of reference was 5.6 feet. The project for this improvement, adopted in 1879, is to construct, at an estimated cost of $600,000, a jetty of wood and stone, or of stone, as may be found best, from a point 250 yards below the northern extremity of Fossil Point, on a line towards the east end of Coos Head, this line in plan curving so as to be directed at its outer end to the head or a little to the north of it.

The object is to prevent accretion to the south end of the sand spit on the north side of the entrance, and to open and maintain a deeper and more direct channel across the outer bar.

A Board of officers of the Corps of Engineers now has under consid eration the project for the improvement of Coos Bay. (See preliminary report of the Board hereto attached, Appendix S S 2.) Their final report will probably be submitted some time in August next.

The amount expended to June 30, 1888, including outstanding liabilities, was $134,529.10. The jetty had then been partly built to a length of 1,761 feet, and had caused a partial erosion of the end of the north spit, and a corresponding fill at the mouth of South Slough, and had opened a channel over the outer bar well to the south, which was deeper, wider, and less exposed to wind and sea than the former channel in its usual position. The new channel is also much less shifting than the old one.

Active operations in jetty building were resumed May 1, 1859, since which time 3,314 cubic yards of stone has been placed in advance of the jetty as a foundation course to keep the bottom of the channel from scouring out as the jetty is extended. The stone is delivered in place from self dumping barges, so that a load of about 200 yards can be deposited in a few minutes. The work is being done by contract. A careful survey of the bay in the vicinity of the jetty was made, and borings were taken across the north spit to furnish data required by the Board of Engineer Officers appointed to consider and report upon a project for the improvement at Coos Bay.

It is expected that the jetty will be extended, and that its top throughont will be raised to 2 feet above low water. The first work to be done is to lay a proper foundation course of stone on the line of the proposed extension. This is needed to prevent the bottom from scouring out, and so to keep the cross-section of the jetty as small as possible.

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