FLOOD CONTROL, NAVIGATION, AND OTHER WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT CIVIL WORKS MISSION OF CORPS OF ENGINEERS, The civil works mission of the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, is to investigate, plan, construct, maintain and operate works for navigation, flood control and multipurpose water resource uses authorized by law. The civil works program of the Corps of Engineers constitutes a major portion of the Federal plan for development, protection and utilization of the Nation's water resources. The program is accomplished through a decentralized organization comprised of 11 divisions which are subdivided into 38 districts. The present program of the Corps of Engineers averages about $1 billion annually. 1 CORPS OF ENGINEERS ACTIVITIES IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RELATED TO WATER RESOURCES The Corps of Engineers conducts a continuing program of research and development for the purpose of solving problems relating to investigation, design, construction, and operation of civil works projects. The investigations are grouped into six broad engineering fields as follows: Structural. Electrical and mechanical. Soils and geology. Hydraulics. A considerable part of the program, particularly in the structural, hydrology, and hydraulics fields is devoted to development of improved engineering design techniques and criteria; however, investigation of materials, equipment and devices is also included. In the soils field a majority of the program relates to investigation of the engineering properties and behavior of earth and rock as construction materials. This activity is aimed primarily at establishing design criteria and improved methods of testing which will permit the economic use of a wide variety of earth and rock materials in the construction of dams, levees, and similar structures. In geology the program has included the development of a new tool for subsurface explorations (borehole camera) and investigation of foundation grouting techniques, equipment, and materials. In the electrical and mechanical field work is underway on the uses of cathodic protection as a means of mitigating corrosion of steel. In concrete the work involves investigation of cementing materials, admixtures, and characteristics of aggregates, and their effects on the durability and other properties of concrete. The program also includes investigation of construction equipment, and methods of evaluating performance of construction equipment; and development of new test procedures, improvements to existing testing procedures, and development and improvement of purchase specifications. Most of the water resources research and development work of the corps is conducted at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss., and the Beach Erosion Board in Washington, D.C. Work on protective coatings and cathodic protection for mitigation of corrosion of metals is conducted by the Rock Island Paint Laboratory, Rock Island District, Rock Island, Ill. Some work is also performed by other district offices and by division laboratories. USAEWES performs work in soils, hydraulics, hydrology, and concrete. Beach Erosion Board performs field and laboratory work on problems relating to control of erosion of beaches and on littoral processes. Many of the investigations are conducted in cooperation with technical societies such as the ASTM, ACI, and ASCE. Much of this work relates to development and improvement of purchase specifications and methods of tests, and in development and improvement in design techniques and criteria. Work is also conducted in cooperation with other Government agencies including the Bureau of Reclamation, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Bureau of Standards. Continuing liaison is maintained with Bureau of Reclamation and Tennessee Valley Authority, the other two Federal agencies engaged in water resources development. The corps, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and TVA meet together periodically (annually or biennially) to review, discuss, and interchange information on research and development work being performed by each agency. Work is also performed in cooperation with industry associations such as Portland Cement Association and at times directly with manufacturers. The Corps of Engineers keeps contact with industry activities through participation in professional societies activities by corps personnel, through direct contact with industry representatives, and through technical literature. New materials, new uses of materials, and new designs and methods developed by industry are studied for their possible application to corps work. When there is evidence that a new material, new use of a material, a new design or method may have application to corps work, investigations and tests are performed on the item to evaluate its usefulness, and develop criteria for its economical use on corps work. HYDROLOGY EQUIPMENT FOR RECORDING AND PROCESSING DATA A commercial firm has developed an analog-to-digital recorder (ADR) which converts and records data from a stream stage gate or a rainfall gate into a punched tape record. Simultaneously, the ADR provides the digital value in electrical form for telemetering and other purposes. The digital value can be read directly from the punched tape and the tape record can be converted automatically into standard punched cards for computer analysis. The ADR will facilitate the processing of basic hydrologic data. The Corps of Engineers is very much interested in the development of this instrument and its possible use in the $2 million stream gaging program operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and the $500,000 rain gage program operated by the Weather Bureau, both of which are conducted with funds transferred from appropriations provided to the corps. ACOUSTICAL FLOWMETER The Corps of Engineers is cooperating with the U.S. Geological Survey and the State of California in financing the development of an acoustic flowmeter for measuring stream velocities. The device utilizes the basic principle that the speed of transmission of high velocity sound waves through water is directly related to the velocity of the flowing water. Single transducers are mounted under water on each side of a stream so that a signal emitted by one transducer would be received by equipment on the opposite bank. The time intervals required for sound waves to traverse the water path, one upstream and one downstream, are an index to the stream velocity on a line between the two transducers and can be related to the channel velocity by means of current meter measurements. The actual development of the acoustic flowmeter has been accomplished under contract with a commercial firm. Pilot instruments have been installed for field testing at several locations. It is believed that a satisfactory instrument can be developed for transmitting signals across a water path up to a length of 5,000 feet. The successful development of such an instrument would be of special importance in measuring velocities in unusually wide river sections, tidal areas where direction of flow is intermittently reversed, and in backwater reaches of reservoirs. BUBBLER GAGE FOR WATER LEVEL MEASUREMENT The conventional installation of a water stage recorder involves a stilling well located near the stream and a system of intakes connecting the well and the stream. In many cases, particularly where it is necessary to construct the stilling well and tunnel through a high dam, installation may be complicated and expensive. To avoid costly excavation, an improved pressure-type bubbler gage has been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey for measuring the water level in a stream (fig. 1). The Corps of Engineers adopted this equipment |