CORRECTIONS
Page 107, table of contents, ‘‘Cause of Floods in the Ohio
Valley,’’ for ‘‘135”’ read ‘‘184.”’ In the same way for each
succeeding topic to ‘‘Summary of Damage to Soil’’ the pages
pUeC mene iota a. ions 1408140 "149275 149)?
144", °'144”" and ‘‘145’’ respectively.
Page 111, 8th line from the bottom, for ‘‘4’’ read ‘‘5’’.
Page 123, end of first paragraph, add ‘‘page 168”’.
Page 142, 14th line from the bottom, for ‘‘15’’ read ‘‘14”’.
Page 145; Ist line, for *‘3”’ read ‘‘4”’.
Opposite page 168, add‘‘chart No. 6’’ to the chart:
Page 1738, in jasc paragraph, after ‘‘C’’ in the 12th line
from the bottom add ‘‘page-115.”’
Opposite page 174, on the chart, for ‘‘7’’ read ‘‘8”’.
Opposite page 176, on the chart, for ‘‘8’’ read ‘‘9’’ and for
Gee reads. 4.
Pagpe.1738;16th-line irom bottom tor “*2’’ read ‘‘3’’
Page 179, Ist and 22nd lines for *‘2’’ read ‘‘3’’.
Page 150) last line;for’°3”’ read “*4’’.
Page 181, 2nd lnefrom ine bottom, for ‘‘4’’ read ‘‘5.”’
Page 182, 3d and 6th hnes from the bottom, for **5’’ read
Sad oh
Page 184, last line, for ‘‘Martin’’ read ‘‘ Morgan.”’
Page 189, last lime, for “*3”’ read. °'4”’.
Page 192, cancel ‘‘ (See figure 47.)”’
VV) —_
f
STATE
GEOLO
GICAL SURVRy
INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
No. 22 BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA Ocroser, 1914
Pretatory Note
It was realized that a thorough study of the flood of March,
1913, was necessary in order to determine the actual conditions
and the consequences of it. The matter was called to the attention
of the President of the University and an appropriation of $150.00
was made for the purpose, as a part of the Public Service Work of
the institution. |
Mr. Hal P. Bybee was placed in charge of a party consisting
of Mr. Clyde A. Malott and Mr. Thomas F. Jackson. Mr. Jackson
left the party at Worthington, on account of illness, and Mr. W.
R. Allen took his place. On account of their accessibility, the two
forks of White River were chosen for study. As soon as physical
conditions would permit, the party took the field and the work was '
carried on under the most trying conditions.
The report which follows is the joint collaboration of Mr.
Bybee and Mr. Malott, and forms the first accurate record of a
great flood in the area studied, together with a discussion of the \
actual conditions found, and the precautionary measures that may
be taken.
J. W. BEEDE,
Associate Professor of Geology.
(105)
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Table of Contents
PART I.—IntTRoDuUcTION— PAGE
EN oll nvoamea ate Haan htop ote Bee, Vale iy: Fok Meee nat, i eo eae ee ck 109
eee OOUL ATCA Ate aoe Aw oar c MON, hil goin) bee eats Cama 1Gml
reTrer alam We Glo SOT CALIF pon tele chaise Nits SA0ts ahd & vie chet. Se Yeo epee 118
erica RUCLUITe Ors | NOTATA gaa -e rete racine jie, bp hie ipa « US teres de a as 117
Pirate PERANTEAU ORY LICE Tul Velen ack sigs qe. cte tema se ea eae stag 123
Eee Ore aot Cal COU ONS tay, & atte ede ce itt ae NS ee Sera ite ais 125
eres Ob OOS il tie © NOs alley su. scu cee Gtowe ne & eee tek ene. 135
PART II.—OssErRvatTIons—
Damage to Soil:
CNY ae Ne ea ORE GOST OM ene, el one baer Wee Aim gms SS oho ha es etait 138
Cla eee Pee aE CCS Naty OR At AA nth a cian’ aceite eee eps BMRA 139
Meno ct Onn Giis and anc Cr re Vel rey otc eed ake tec cis wareha lon emrhs 141
NESE DUT OL Ole ll ere nee ei cahs Sais oA Pin air (OF da dea Sky ee woes oe 141
Isat ee ean Ort ereliore been. oR gic vin nce wet cae Uae tee wens 143
IetleGL ime rece Onepanmk, OuLting so... (ue. es Gs ee we eke en ee 148
Ente CMO bY CER One JeTIOS be oun witenle Eeablet ase og ee eee a ee 145
Ge ie OM le Lose a elOUe OhOSLON. af. eee e< wad wifes keihin co givens ete pe 3s 145
RUN By eOle A CO ILO nO) ba Meg tknc. oe 2 a ahiculey oes Ban is Shee + 146
Pere One ii re bits Attn CUES etn rs oe rye Oh atcha e wawalela ek kane dys 149
et Eh ROT CULL eee eee rae eRe cee Reise 9.0%, vss 7 Se sone ales Se Re ecuhionn Aes 175
Metiden idecsditesvOseuxcecs1 vey Lainialhy oo. i fa.5 nat fees nats eae oe 189
Shortening the Course of Bean Blossom Creek..+.......5...50+.0805- 189
meconstructional- Measures and, Their Cost. 2.02. ....2 206.6 ce ese dds 190
The Relation between the Flood and Sickness......................- 200
The Flood of 1875, compared with the Recent March Flood.......... 202
PART III.—F.Loop QuEsTions—
iG OES OAT OLIN ei LE a os A Vee a 205
mesimowerlnc Olina Water Fable: cc. sae pa. + hone Oye ob fae ee oo aes 210
Control of Floods in China, Japan and Korea....... 10.2.6. 00.00. 0s 214
eM OOUstmerd FONLOr ese hy Olle. cag. Geils enkig whats «sors 0 daty tee «ok «- 216
Leer eee eee Peni AY Sch, aly INS Doce aad Oise neh aie be wad ak & 220
(107)
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2021 with funding from
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates
https://archive.org/details/floodof1913inlowO00bybe
The Flood of 1913 in the Lower White River
Region of Indiana
By HAUL PS ByBEE, A.M. AND CLYDE A. MALOTT;..A. B:
PART I. INTRODUCTION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THe recent March flood in the Ohio Valley brought such
disaster and ruin upon the people within its scope that it will be
long remembered, and will be used as a guage for floods of the
future, whether of this particular region or elsewhere in the Mis-
sissippi Valley. Realizing this, the Department of Geology of
Indiana University sent out an expedition as a part of the Public
Service work of the University, to study the effects of the flood along
the West Fork of White River. The field work was done mainly by
the writers, each of whom traversed a bank of the stream, carefully
noting the conditions under which any damage was done. Much aid:
was given by Mr. Thomas F. Jackson, a graduate student in the
Department of Geology, who took charge of the boat and noted
changes that took place in inaccessible places. To Mr. Jackson,
eredit is due for preparing the photographs. The writers are in-
debted to Dr. J. W. Beede for his valuabie suggestions and general
supervision of the work. Dr. E. R. Cumings has given much valu-
able criticism and has aided the writers greatly by his suggestions.
The photographs of the region below the junction of the two White
Rivers were contributed by Mr. Harry W. Morrison, county sur-
veyor and engineer of Gibson County.
It was almost three weeks after the crest of the flood had
passed before the flood plain was dry enough to permit the work
to be undertaken. On April 19, the party started at Waverly,
near where the river enters Morgan County. Some three weeks
were required to traverse the river valley through Morgan, Owen,
Greene, and between Knox and Daviess counties, to the junction
with the East Fork of the White River. At Worth'ngton, in
Greene County, Mr. Jackson was succeeded by Mr. W. Raymond
Allen, a graduate student of the Department of Zodlogy of Indiana
University.
(109)
110 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
After the party had traversed the West Fork from Waverly
to the junction with the East Fork, a distance of about 200 miles
by the river, it was found that the funds which were furnished
for the expedition by the University were sufficient to cover the
expenses of an investigation of a considerable portion of the East
Fork of White River. Accordingly, the equipment was shipped
to Brownstown, near the middle of Jackson County. Two weeks
were consumed in the investigation of the East Fork from Browns-
town through one-half of Jackson, Lawrence, and part of Martin
Counties to Shoals, making a distance of about 110 miles along
the East Fork. Thus, five weeks were spent on the expedition,
and about 310 miles of river bottom traversed.
Since a flood of the magnitude of the recent one does not
occur more than once or twice in a generation, it was not known
just what was to be found or what were the most important phases
of the situation. In a very short time, however, the following
things revealed their need of consideration:
1. Effect of bridges, both highway and railroad, upon the
height of the water.
2. Railroad grades and public road grades.
3. Bank cutting, amount, causes and prevention.
4. Deposits of sand, silt and gravel.
5. Removal of the top soil.
6. Cutting of holes, causes, and prevention.
7. Effects of meanders. ,
8. Levees, their good points and their bad points.
9. Effect on the future crops, and the destruction of wheat
and corn. é
10. Damage to cities, towns, and villages, and to farm im-
provements.
Valuable aid was given by the farmers along the river bottom
in the consideration of the above items. As far as possible each
farmer was questioned about the March flood and his opinion
procured as to damage. Since soil was the main physical loss
to the valley land, farmers were questioned on every possible occasion
as to their ideas of the damage to future crops on account of the
removal of the top soil. The effect of grades, both of public roads
and railroads, was discussed with those affected.
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 Dit
LAcK oF Goop BasE Maps
One of the most serious handicaps that was encountered in
doing the work in a first-class manner was the lack of a good base
map with which to work. The soil and county maps that were
available were far from being accurate in geographic detail; and
thus it was almost impossible to note the lesser changes made by
the high water. It is the little changes that are taking place from
year to year, that in the end make the greatest change, or lead
up to some marked change in the course of a stream. ‘There are
several places where as much as three acres are lost each year. It
was not uncommon for as much as forty acres to have been lost in
the short time of ten years. This is the case at the first bend in the
river after it turns south at Spencer. Again in twenty-seven years,
twenty acres have been lost from the John Duke farm, between
Worthington and Bloomfield. These changes and hundreds of
others are taking place all the time and in a few years make a con-
siderable change in river channel. Without the aid of topographic
maps it is impossible to note these changes.
If a complete topographic map of the White River bottom
were available, a study of the situation could be made and the
advisability of a system of levees for any part of the river bottom
could be worked out. As it is, nothing but an expensive survey
of the entire bottom will show the advisability of such a system.
When such a survey was finished, there would be nothing that
could be used later for any other specific purpose; while the same
amount of money with a little more added to it would make a per-
manent topographic map that could be used in making a complete
study of the entire situation. With such a map having a ten foot
contour interval, the geology and physical features of the river
valley could be worked out. The advisability of making cut-offs,
thus shortening the stream, and even the approximate cost of
such work could then be determined. For instance, at Bloomfield,
just below the Illinois Central Railroad, the river makes a long
loop to the south, as seen in Chart No. 4. At the southern end of
the loop a new channel less than a third of a mile in length would
shorten the course of the river over a mile. With a good base
map to work from, the position of the proposed cut-off could
be determined at a place where there would be the least possible
bank cutting and the most land reclaimed by such a cut-off. C te éeion ¢ c d ork
ip
985
FEE;
a9]
See
LI NIL NT) FSS
116 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
work before it; that is, there is still a great amount of upland.
The streams in this case are small, usually straight, swift, heavily
loaded with sediment, and characterized by falls and rapids. Taher e oo tee, 11,095 square miles.
ie! INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
TABLE No. 1—Profile of the West Fork of White River.
Die Distance Feet of Fall per mile be-
STATIONS. tance from Elevation. Fall bet- tween Stations,
Apart. Nobles- ween Sta- in Feet.
ville. tions.
Noblesville...... 0 0 741 0 0.0
Indianapolis..... 34 34 675 66 1.9
Martinsville. .... 43 ae 600 75 Leg
SpeNnceraces a eae 38 115 540 60 1.6
Worthington..... 32 147 506 34 1.06
Newberry....... 38 185 476 30 0.8
Edwardsport..... 29 214 445 31 16
Washington...... 25 239 419 26 1.0
JUNCtION. 2 sees i 17 256 400 19 1.10
IV oUt Tig sek aot ee 50 306 376 24 0.45
Profile of East Fork.
Dis- Distance Fall Fall per Mile
STATIONS. | tanee | from Mor- |Elevation.| Between Between
Apart. ristown. Stations. Stations.
Morristown...... | 0 0 741 0 0.0
Hainbursie sso ead 50 625 116 23
Columpuste.cnn 21 71 602 23 tae
ROcKOrd ee ee | 25 96 556 46 1.8
Medora..........| 30 126 505 51 1.7
Riverdale... 40 166 AT9 26 0.65
phoglewe. see | 50 216 450 29 0.58
Junphioue ec en | 38 274 400 50 0.86
Nouth* teen | 50 324 376 24 0.45
1W.M. Tucker, Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, 1910. The last two columns
were added by the writers.
A study of the two profile tables shows a noticeably high fall at
the source of the two streams, which rapidly decreases until Columbus
is reached on the East Fork, and Noblesville on the West Fork.
(Diagram No. 1 shows this very well.) The fall above Noblesville
is between three and four feet to the mile. On the East Fork
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 12h
the fall between Rivervale and Medora becomes as low as eight
inches to the mile and between Rivervale and Shoals as low as
seven inches to the mile. On the West Fork there is only one
place where the fall goes below a foot to the mile, and that is between
Worthington and Newberry, where the fall is a little less than ten
inches to the mile.
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
Conditions for March 23-27, inclusive. There is nothing,to
be found in a study of the weather maps of the period preceding
the heavy rains that would indicate such conditions as caused the
downpour that followed. The ‘low’ on Sunday night, March 23,
1913, overlaid southeastern Nebraska. On that day there were
heavy rains from central [Illinois to Western Ohio, over a strip of
country probably 200 miles wide and 500 miles long, the focus of
the heavy rains being in northeastern Indiana and northwestern
Ohio.
Rain fell uninterruptedly over the above territory, Sunday
night March 23. The amount of precipitation, however, was not
so great as on the following day. In Illinois, on March 24, rain
ceased, but the intensity over southern Indiana and southern Ohio
increased and was greater than on the previous day. Here an
important thing is to be noted: On March 23, the heaviest rainfall
was on the head waters of the Wabash, White River, and the rivers
of Ohio that flow into the Ohio River from the north; and on March
24, the heaviest rainfall had shifted to the lower parts of these
rivers. This is a reversal of the ordinary conditions; for the ordi-
nary storm moves from the lower part of these streams to the upper
portions of their drainage areas, thus giving the water that first
falls a chance to run away before the rainfall of the second period
reaches it.
Monday night, March 24-25, brought a continuation of the
rain over Illinois, Indiana, and northern Ohio. The same belt of
heavy rain extended along the lower part of the Great Lakes down
the St. Lawrence valley, into northern New England. As on
the day before, the area of heaviest precipitation was in central
Indiana and in central and northern Ohio during the daylight
hours of March 25. It was the rainfall of this day, Tuesday, March
25, with its average of 4.46 inches of rain at sixteen out of the twenty
stations in the White River drainage area, that sent the streams
of central Indiana on their mission of unprecedented destruction.
2 Monthly Weather Review, March, 1913.
126 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
The position of the ‘highs’ and the ‘lows’ during the period of
March 23-27, is responsible for the continuation of the excessive
downpour in the Ohio Valley. As nearly as possible, the following
is the succession of events that caused the continuous downpour:
In advance of the first storm, that formed on the 22nd and centered
in the lake district on the morning of the 24th, a great bank of
high pressure moved across the United States and settled in and
over the Bermudas, remaining there until the 27th. Thus while
the second storm was pushing eastward on the 24th, an area of high
pressure existed off the Atlantic coast, and another area of high
pressure existed north of the Great Lakes, and was spreading
eastward. On the evening of March 24th, the two areas of high
pressure were separated only by a long narrow trough extending
northeast by southwest across the Ohio Valley. This trough con-
nected the receding storm with the approaching one, making al-
most continuous rainfall. On the morning of March 25th, the
trough extended from Texas to New England, with centers over
Arkansas and the Ohio Valley. The high pressure in the Canadian
region and in the Bermudas kept the area of low pressure over the
Ohio Valley from moving on to the eastward. On the 26th the south-
ern portion of the trough moved to the eastward and settled over
North Carolina. When the southern portion of the trough passed
over the drainage areas of the streams that flow into the Ohio
River from the south, the latter were also caused to assume flood
stages, thus making doubly sure the resultant destructive flood
stages on the Ohio River. On the 27th the high pressure over
the Bermudas gave away and the area of high pressure in Canada
moved over the Atlantic Ocean, thus permitting the areas of low
pressure to move on into the Atlantic ocean, relieving the flood-
stricken Ohio Valley.
Thus the two storms passed across the Ohio Valley so close
together that the rain areas of the two blended, and the second
storm was held back by the two ‘highs,’ concentrating the rain-
fall for two successive days in the same place, while the southern
portion of the trough moved across the southern tributaries of the
Ohio, flooding them at the same time. At no time in the history of
the Ohio Valley had so much rain fallen in a 72-hour period as
fell last March 23-27. In many local areas, as large an amount
of rain has fallen in an equal length of time, but never has there been
such a heavy rainfall over so large an area in so short a time.
Again it is of special interest that no low temperatures existed
immediately before, during or after this period of flood. At xo
vie, |
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Boundary of Drainoge Areas :
—— ——_ 2 Inches ana Less than 2Inches of Rain-fal’ -—S—O OB Ices: Rain-tar\
~~ - ~--+---+ Between Linches and 4)nches Rain- -falv —— ~—— —- /0 Inches Rain-farr
sane in) Oh laches- Rainesari
O Weather Buy eau
Station,
Cuart No. 2. Showing drainage basins of the two forks of White River and the rainfall
at weather stations.
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 Rear)
place in the Ohio Valley was the ground frozen, nor was there any
ice or snow stored away in any part of the basin to aid in causing
flood conditions.
In Indiana there had been enough rain previous to the down-
pour to saturate the ground to such an extent that there was no
room left for the absorption of the surplus water; and it is hardly
possible that the small amount of water absorbed, even if there
had been no rain for some time before the downpour, would have
made much difference in the height of the flood. A complete
history of the meteorology of these storms, with charts and tables,
will be found in the publications of the United States Weather
Bureau. The above is based on the information taken from these
publications.
ss
STUDIES
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
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Fie. 23. Looking southwest across ,White River at Gosport, March 26, 1913; showing ripples as water
flowed over Monon track.
Fia. 24. Monon station, Gosport, March 26, 1913.
150 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
just above Waverly, and the overflowing water tended to sweep
around the edge of the town in a more majestic course.
The new cement bridge over the river was not damaged, but
there is no doubt but that its massiveness and small cross section
helped to direct the water to either side. Both approaches to the
bridge were washed out. North of the bridge the road was washed
away and the rock deposited in the fields below. About a quarter
of a mile north of the bridge the largest wash occurred, where a cur-
rent went across from above. About one acre of land was washed,
from two to four feet deep, on each side of the road as a result
of the unevenness of the flow caused by going over the road bed.
A small levee planted in trees extended from the bridge to
about one-half mile down the river, being parallel with it and about
six rods away. This levee did not seem to have any effect outside
of keeping the current confined to the river side. The strip of land
between the levee and the river was badly denuded.
About two miles southwest of Waverly a small stream enters
the river from the west. Parallel with this stream on the section
line of 22 and 27 is a large levee extending from nearly one-half
mile back to near the river, where it turns at a right angle to follow
the river for about one and three-quarter miles. This levee was
high enough to be above the waters of the flood, but was broken in
three places. The first two breaks were near the turn where the
western extension reached the main levee parallel to the river. At
each of these breaks occurred a hole from four to twenty feet below
the valley land. These holes were made by the concentrated current
rushing through the vents made in the levee. Beyond these holes
were gravel bars from one to three feet in depth, each covering
about an acre of good ground. These two breaks were evidently
caused by groundhogs, since several places were literally honey-
combed by their burrows.
The third break in this levee was nearly a mile below the first
two breaks. This one was very severe indeed. Some twelve
to fifteen rods of the levee was entirely swept away and a pond
of over a half acre in extent was left in its place. This pond is
succeeded by a sand and gravel bar from one to four feet in depth
and covering an area of about ninety acres. The bar ends abruptly
in a terrace from two to three feet in height, nearly a half mile
below the break. A strong current seemed to have hit the levee
at this point causing the break, and there might have been a point
of weakness here, due to the numerous groundhog burrows. Perhaps
as much water flowed through this opening as flowed down the
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 151
main channel. This alone would account for the immense sandbar
below. By consulting the map it will be seen that this was a natural
course for the river to take after the levee was broken through.
The current took a short course while the river takes a circuitous
course to reach the point where the current entered the channel
again.
This levee has perhaps done much good in the past and would
have done much good this time had it not been broken through.
The water would naturally back up from below and cover this large
area of some four hundred acres, and being quiet, much silt would
be deposited.
S
Cuart No. 5. West Fork from Farmers to region below Newberry.
r/ S
EO, KS y
) SOK Lis y
QYy FERS ; ~ J
ae NX SOK C8 x
i , % ES
Pepe Os
( " Pre . \ *
¢
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 165
In regards to levees and embankments very few were present
for consideration. The levees near the river were insignificant
and seemingly had no effect for bad or for good. Only one embank-
ment occurs that deserves consideration. Outside of the damage
done by bank cutting, nearly as much damage was done below the
B. & O. Railroad grade near Washington as was done within the
entire river scope of the two counties. The grade is high, being
perhaps twenty feet on the average. ‘There is no trestle-work
west of the river and very little east of it, thus compelling the enor-
mous amount of water to rush under the bridge. The central pier
was washed out and the steel bridge_collapsed. Nearly a mile east
Fig. 35a. Frogeye, in Shoals, looking south.
of the river there was a short trestle-work across a hole known as
the ‘Blue Hole.’ This trestle-work was carried out and part of a train
was carried down with it. Four lives were lost here. The bodies
of two of the victims were not found until two weeks later, when
they were found under several feet of sand. Below this ‘Blue
Hole’ sixty acres were covered with sand from a few inches to five
or six feet in depth. On the west side of the river just below the
bridge two acres were cut from the bank where the water rushed
against it in coming through the opening under the bridge. Large
trees were washed out and carried away. Six hundred acres were
denuded, and forty acres of wheat were washed away, and eighty
acres were covered more or less unevenly with white sand.
166 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
Most of the damage done here was due to the railroad grade.
Had there been sufficient trestle work the damage would have
been slight. Despite all of this, no trestle work is being constructed.
East Fork of White River. That part of the East Fork of
White River which was investigated as to the flood conditions
has only a few features in common with the West Fork. In the
first place, the waters were much higher, mainly because of the
superior abundance of rainfall within its basin; secondly, because
of the narrowness of the valley itself, which is very similar to the
West Fork in Owen County; and thirdly, because of slighter fall.
Tia. 385b. Frogeye, in Shoals, looking south.
The region above the junction of the Muscatatuck River with White
River, is similar to the Morgan County region of the West Fork.
Here the valley is wide for the same reason that the valley of the
West Fork is wide, 1. e., it is in the Knobstone region, with its soft
and easily eroded sandstones and shales. Below Sparksville the
valley ranges from less than a quarter of a mile in width to about a
mile. It seldom gets over three-quarters of a mile in width, and
generally is about one-half mile wide. Through this latter region
the valley is really a great meandering groove with the river passing
from one side to the other as the entrenched meanders of the val-
ley turn in one loop after another. The channel itself has for
ages, so to speak, remained in its present site. It does not cut
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 167
its bank on the outside of the great meanders, because the outside
of these meanders is the outside of the valley itself, and is usually
a steep rocky wall, one to three hundred feet above the stream.
There were no levees noticed in the stretch of river between
Brownstown and Shoals, but there were a few railway embank-
ments that need consideration. The first of these is the Balti-
more and Ohio Southwestern embankment near Medora in Jackson
County. The valley here is nearly three miles in width. It is
in the Knobstone region. This B. & O. grade across the valley
will average some fifteen feet in height. There are no trestles
east of the river and only three or four short stretches to the west
of the river. The grade comes to the bank of the river on both
sides. As a result of this inadequate trestle-work, as much as a
mile of the grade was washed out, or partially so. The short
stretches of trestle-work on the west side of the river were washed
out on account of the concentration of the current at these points.
The second pier from the east end of the bridge was undermined and
the structure collapsed. (See Figure 33.) The land was badly
washed below this grade, and sand and gravel were deposited in
several places. On the west side of the river ten acres were covered
with sand from a few inches to three feet.
Before the grade broke, the water was much higher on the
north side than it was on the lower side. This caused the village
of Medora to suffer considerably. This condition was due to the
inadequacy of the trestle-work. If the water could have passed
freely, much damage would have been avoided, and several thousand
dollars would have been saved the B. & O. Railroad.
The B. & O. bridge over White River south of Bedford was not
damaged, but about two hundred feet of the high grade on the south
side of the river was removed. (Fig. 3 shows the crew replacing
the grade instead of putting in trestle-work.) It seems that these
grades should be replaced with trestle-work, but it may be less
expensive to have traffic tied up for short intervais, and to build
new bridges than to go to the expense of putting in trestle-work.
The Monon Railroad crosses the valley at right angles, three
miles south of Bedford. There is no trestle-work here. The grade
approaches to the very river banks. As a result considerable
stretches of the track were washed out. Again the grade was re-
built and no trestle-work installed. |
The situation at Shoals is very peculiar. The special plate
shows the relations. As can be seen, the part of the town east
of the river is built on a hill situated in the middle of an alluvial
Fig. 1. Showing hole cut by current where it passed over a levee. One mile south of Romona.
Fig. 2. A typical hole washed out by the current. One mile south of Romona.
by
half
iN
ty
UY
Ubi:
ee
*, |
a rahe
ppesss pA
iy ft We
ee
=o
ix
em rege
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Between
Kwex ane Darviss Counties
is qe ins
SHINING
Dtenwpa Tr83n
Bank Curr
Gung
LS=SX\|
b) BVearnel Des SVT?
STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 169
valley. The plate indicates the part of the B. & O. track and grade
that was removed. (See also Figs. 385 to 40.) There is no doubt
that the railroad grade at this place should be partly replaced with
trestle-work. On the west side of the river not only the railroad
grade but the street that connects West Shoals with Hast Shoals
served as an obstruction for the water. The cement sidewalk was .
torn away, but neither of the grades was badly injured. The great
bulk of the water went around to the east of the town and came
into the river again near where Beaver Creek enters the channel.
In all, forty-four houses were either removed from their foundations
or carried away. ‘his would have resulted regardless of the railroad
grade, the houses themselves being situated on the flood plain
within reach of high waters.
Conclusion. The consideration of the levees along both forks
of White River brings out the fact that during the March flood all
of the levees brought disaster. Not only were they damaged them-
selves but they caused the adjacent territory to be washed and de-
nuded, in many cases very badly. Now, since this was true in the
recent flood, it will be true of future floods that approximate the
recent one. We are now ready for the pertinent question: Is it
worth while to provide protection against such floods in the future?
We will presume that the above question is answered in the affirm-
ative, just for the sake of showing how simply and practically
protection may be provided in regard to railroads and public road
embankments. From a study of the conditions as they are briefly
given above, the following conclusions present themselves:
1. Railroad embankments have almost invariably impeded
the free passage of the water and caused it to be ponded above for a
time.
2. Railroad embankments suffered severely and in some cases
bridges were destroyed.
3. By the breaking of the embankment, the land below has
been greatly damaged and in some cases injured beyond reclamation.
4. A noticeable lack of trestle-work was the cause of the
water being impeded and ponded.
5. Near Riverside, Greene County, the C. T. H. & S. E. R. R.
had plenty of trestle-work and no serious damage was done, either
to the embankment or to the land immediately below.
6. The I. C. R. R. at Bloomfield was only slightly damaged
because of the long stretch of trestle-work that permitted the water
to pass unimpeded.
5—1424
Fia. 36. Mill Street, West Shoals, looking south.
Higeroie sD. aU, grade*east of Shoals, after the flood.
<
SRNR ae:
Fia. 38. B. & O. grade between Hast and West Shoals. Note crooked track.
Fig. 39. Water flowing over railroad grade between bridge and West Shoals.
172 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
7. Public road grades, such as at Henderson Bridge in Morgan
County, at Bloomfield, and at Newberry suffered considerable
damage because of the inadequate passage-way for the water at the
bridges.
8. Some public roads suffered because the flood waters were
high above them rather than because they impeded the waters.
9. Where trestle-work was sufficient near the river, neither
the bridges nor the grades nor the land below suffered any con-
siderable damage.
From these conclusions, it seems that the way to prevent damage
by future floods, so far as railroads and public road embankments
are concerned, would be to provide more trestle-work. This remedy
is both simple and practical.
The levee question along White River above the junction of
the two forks is but little related to such a question in a great
valley like the Mississippi River Valley. In the Mississippi valley
the object in view is to keep the great volume of water that comes
from the upper tributaries confined to a _ relatively narrow
channel, and to keep it from spreading over the entire valley, or
at least any considerable portion of it. Along White River the
object in view is to protect small areas from currents which would
wash and carry away the top soil. In many cases it is not de-
sirable that the water should be kept off the land, as back water
generally enriches the land with its deposit of silt. However,
the levee question along White River is related to the lower Mis-
sissippi River problem in the fact that White River is a tributary
to the Mississippi River, and the rate of discharge, etc., all have
an appreciable effect upon the lower course. For instance, should
all of the tributaries be improved before the lower course of the
river was improved, serious consequences would follow. Local
improvement only tends to make the damage more intense farther
down the course. ‘The levee situation on White River has little
in common with the levee situation of the lower Mississippi River,
but there must be some co-operation in the plans of the improve-
ment of the two different parts of the same river system. Improve-
ment should begin at the lower course and be extended toward
the tributaries.
The levees which were encountered during the flood investi-
gation were all built with the idea of protecting a small area of land,
and they were all wisely planned for that purpose. These levees
served well in ordinary overflows. In the March flood they were
all failures. They were not strong enough to withstand the pres-
S : x
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By Ey)
Cou wy
TS ote Noa Go ae tre Ney
aw
GandbBar =
NSS [Q] weaves
SS
(nee Current Ow SF SiS RE
Cuart No. 7
Map of East Fork from Brownstown to Sparkeville.
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD oF 1913 Eis
sure of the water, or were not high enough. Would it be practical
to construct levees both strong and high enough to protect the
land from floods of the proportions of the recent one?
The writers believe that it would be practical to construct
levees of such a nature. Several of the levees considered were
high enough, but were weak in places. In most cases it would be
well to have them higher. A levee is like a chain; it is no stronger
than its weakest link. The weak places should be strengthened.
The most dangerous enemies to the levees seemed to be the ground-
hogs. In very few cases do the levees need to be protected with
a rock covering, but it would be well to have trees and shrubs grow-
ing on them. The levees considered in this paper were effective
for years before the 1913 flood, and would have been effective then
if they had been a little higher and a little stronger in a few places
where they were subject to unusual strain. The extra expense
in making them flood proof would be nominal, and if they are to
be used at all they should be made strong, for a weak levee causes
much damage when it breaks.
There are many places along White River which could be pro-
tected by levees. Even in many of the narrower confines of the
valley, levees could be made with much benefit to the land. For
instance, along the East Fork of White River the valley itself is
continually turning to the right and to the left and the river crosses
from side to side in its tendency to be always on the outside of the
turn. Where it leaves a bluff on one side to cross to a bluff on the
other side, the river bank is usually low; sometimes there is no bank
at all, and a low strip of land continues to ‘B,’ on to ‘C,’ but usually
it is much lower at ‘A’ and ‘B’ than it is at ‘C,’ where the current
enters the river channel. The current flows in this low strip when-
ever there is even a minor flood. A levee placed at ‘A’ would be
hard to hold, but one placed at ‘B’ would not be so likely to be
washed away since the current from the river channel would not
strike it. A levee placed at ‘B’ would need to be very little higher
than the valley land near the river where it is usually highest. Such
a levee would in time cause the low strip to fill with silt and would
be a great improvement to the land. The low area to the leeward
of the levee would probably become a pond or be very wet, but this
condition could be overcome by tiling.
Fic. 40. Railroad bridge at Shoals,
Fig. 41. Water ponded in little stream about Southern Indiana Power Company’s dam at Williams.
Lawmre tCnce
.) -. —
Sarwrdpware
Map of East Fork from Ft. Ritner to a place five miles southwest of Williams.
=
Caart No. 7.
oO) |
‘SHE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 hy
BaNK-CUTTING
Several times in this report, bank cutting has been partic-
ularly mentioned as an important phase of the flood situation.
Mention has also been made of the fact that bank-cutting is not
confined to flood stages, but to stages when the water is three
or more feet above low water mark. As a rule, the bottom of the
river channel and the lower part of the banks is somewhat tougher
than any part above. No bank cutting goes on in the low water
condition; but as soon as the water has risen three or four feet
in the channel, it begins to come against the outside bank of the
river in rounding a meander, and comes in contact with the looser
material above the tough, compact, lower part. Caving is then
an immediate result. As the water rises higher, it gains in velocity
and its efficiency for bank cutting increases until the channel is
bank full. This is probably the most favorable condition for bank-
cutting, for, as soon as the water begins to flow over the valley
land, across the neck of the meander, some of the force of the cur-
rent is taken in the direction of the overflow, and the velocity of
the current is checked, thereby lessening the cutting power. More-
over, when the water rises high over the valley land, the thread
of swiftest flow is raised, perhaps, above the banks and bank-cut-
ting is lessened.
It is interesting to note the relation of the height of the river
banks to the width of the valley. On the West Fork above Gosport
and on the East Fork above Sparksville, the valleys are from one
to four miles wide, due to the very susceptible erosiveness of the
Knobstone Group of Rocks. In these regions the banks are low,
ranging from six to twelve feet above low water mark. From
Gosport to Worthington, on the West Fork, and from Sparksville
to the southwestern corner of Martin County, on the East Fork,
the valleys range from less than a quarter of a mile to a mile in
width, due to the highly resistant erosiveness of the Upper Mis-
sissippian rocks and the Mansfield sandstone of the Lower Penn-
svlvanian rocks. The banks in these regions are from twelve to
forty feet above low water mark. The remaining parts of both
forks are in the easily eroded coal measures, and the valleys are,
therefore, wide. Again, the banks are low, ranging from eight
to fifteen feet in height. Thus, in the wide valley regions, the
river banks are low, and in the restricted valley regions the river
banks are high.
The above conditions and relations are easily explained. In
176 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
the wide valley region, the streams meander about in the wide allu-
vial expanse, continually cutting on the outside of the meanders
and shifting the channel of the stream constantly. This constant
shifting or changing of the river channel gives no time for the in-
cision of the stream bed, or for the building up of natural levees
along the banks. ‘This shallowness of the channel keeps the stream
in the easily moved sand and gravel underlying the sandy soil of
the surface, and does not permit it to have the tougher, compact
material for its banks. Such conditions favor bank-cutting and
meandering. Should the stream have time to cut down into the
more resistant material, it is likely that the bank-cutting would be
less. The alluvial material of the valley however is deep, since the
valley is a filled valley; probably seventy-five feet in sage below
the present river channel.
In the narrow valley regions, the channel does less mean-
dering and especially in the East Fork region, where there is little
or none. Consequently, it has remained in its present channel for
a very long time, and has cut down into the more resistant material.
Trees have grown along the banks and natural levees have been
made. The channel, therefore, is deep. Perhaps the most im-
portant factor in keeping the channel constant is the narrow winding
valley itself. The valley in these restricted regions is a great in-
trenched meandering gorge. The channel crosses from one side
of the valley to the other, always keeping its outside bend against
a precipitous limestone or sandstone cliff, with the valley always
on the inside of the bend. This condition exists because of the
winding valley itself. It is impossible for further meandering to
take place, because the outside of the bends is always against a
rocky cliff generally over a hundred feet in height. This is sufficient
to explain the much greater depth in the constricted regions of
the White River valleys.
Before considering the details of bank cutting along White
River, something should be said about the need of the preserva-
tion of the land affected and the loss to society in general because
of the consequent loss in production. If the present rate of in-
crease in population continues, there will be 200,000,000 people
in the United States by the year 1950. When we stop to con-
sider what it means to produce twice as much as we are producing
now, we are constrained to think of vast numbers of acres called
into use which are not at present available. As the population
increases, more and more food is needed; but the subsistence space
does not increase. It is even made less, for actual room is used
eh Aen
ee
KYoae TAK ee Bat
Caarr No. 8.
8 B\wrtt Law
Extending from Chart 7 down East Fork to Loogootee,
Sanat»)
Bark Cowra
a~nbB
SanvtBery
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 ayy
which might otherwise be areas of production. Since the subsist-
ence space never becomes greater, the land that is not now practical
for production is the land that is the most desirable. Valley lands
with their deep alluvial material are, as a rule, fertile. They form
the cream of the land. For ages the rich soils formed on the up-
lands by decaying vegetation and animal life have gradually accu-
mulated in the valley lands. The vast fertile stretches of the
Mississippi valley, one of the greatest and most fertile areas in the
world, are perhaps the greatest asset that the American people
have. Yet there are thousands of acres lying in idleness, waiting
for the time to come when the population has so increased that
these areas will be demanded for subsistence space. The time
is coming near; already the clamor is heard in the numerous schemes
and plans for making this land available for production.
Let us see what it means for an acre of land to be lost by bank-
cutting and caving. It is true that land thus cut out by the waters
is not absolutely lost, but it is unavailable for at least ten years,
and probably twenty years. All figuring, however, is done on
the least number of years; but it is to be understood that double
the loss due to the lack of production may be figured, and the result
be as nearly correct. The coarse material cut from the outside
of the meander is carried across the stream by cross currents and
deposited on the lower and inner side of the meander. The finer
material is carried on in suspension, and usually the most of it is
deposited as silt over the valley land where the waters are relatively
quiet. The sand and gravel bar thus made on the lower inner side
of the meander grows larger each year, and gradually vegetation
grows upon it. This vegetation, though scanty at first, is an im-
portant factor in causing silt to lodge, and gradually the bar is
built up with a layer of fertile silt or soil on top. But it takes at
least ten years, or probably twenty, for this to take place. Our
acre of land has been lost for ten years at least. During this
time it could have been producing sixty bushels of corn yearly.
At fifty cents a bushel this could have brought thirty dollars. In
ten years three hundred dollars have been lost to society, plus the
seventy-five dollars that the acre of land itself would bring at pres-
ent. In figuring this, one of the cheapest crops has been used;
but it is a crop that is now practical for such acres as are now being
lost annually along White River. If the figures were for one of the
more intensive crops, they would show a loss running into the
thousands. The time is coming when the loss will be so calculated.
Bank-cutting is not much of a problem in the constricted val-
178 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
ley regions, and especially so in the constricted region of the East
Fork, since the channel does little or no meandering except to
follow the intrenched meanders themselves. Considerable bank-
cutting occurred, however, in the constricted region of the West
Fork. This will be explained later. When in flood stage, the water
tends to go directly across the valley next to the sloping bluff,
rather than follow the channel across to the other side and sweep
around the cliff on the outside of the intrenched meander. (See
Diagram 2.) The position where the water leaves the channel
(‘A’ in Diagram 2) is usually low, and sometimes considerable bank-
cutting is done. A typical instance of this kind occured in Owen
County above Spencer, a short distance below the mouth of McCor-
mick’s Creek. Despite the fact that trees were growing here, and
that ballast had been hauled and dumped at the place, much cutting
was done. But such places in themselves are rather insignificant
in comparision to the wash below them, and the bank-cutting in
the meanders as found in the wider portions of the valley.
It is understood that in the wide valley regions of both forks
of White River, the outside of nearly every meander is growing larger
each year, and fertile soil is being undermined and carried away.
To call attention to every meander in these regions is not the pur-
pose of this report. A few typical illustrations will be chosen
and sufficient detail given to enable the reader to understand the
situation. Constant attention must be given to the charts.
In Morgan County from near Martinsville, to the vicinity of
Little Indian Creek below, there is a stretch of about five miles
of river which is relatively straight. (See Chart No.2.) Damage
done to this region was relatively slight except that due to bank-
cutting. Attention is called to this section of the river because
as yet the meandering is incipient. The ones started will become
larger and larger as time goes on, and in a few years they will be
relatively large. The damage done then will be many times what
was done in the recent flood. The first bank-cutting in this stretch
of the river occurred in the slight bend just north of the Vandalia
Railroad bridge. ete 15 15 1
These towns are pretty well distributed over the State and are
a fair representation of the State at large. The last column shows
the average fall in feet per year. If this is a fair test, it will not
be very long, possibly it may occur even in this generation, until!
the water table will be so lowered as to become a very serious matter.
Mr. F. G. Clapp, of the United States Geological Survey,
believes that the decline of the water table is due to the following
causes, named in the order of their importance:
1. Waste of Water.
2. Surface drainage by ditching for cultivation.
3. Over-development of the underground water.
4. Deforestation.
The people of the United States do not seem to realize that
the natural resources of this new country are limited. Resources
such as coal, oil, gas, timber and water,—especially the first four,
are the result of many years labor on the part of Nature, and cannot
be replaced when once exhausted.
Water, the most abundant of all our natural resources, is
becoming a luxury, and it behooves the present generation to con-
sider and start a movement for the conservation of it. In Madison
PAZ INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
County there are at least 100 flowing wells which average twenty
gallons per minute. This would make a total of about 1,700,000
gallons per day, or more than enough water for a city of 30,000
inhabitants without extensive manufacturing plants. These wells
could be closed up when not in use. If this water was being used
it would be permissible, but to let it be wasted is resuiting in mater-
ially lowering the water table each year.
The loss of water is not the only offensive thing to be con-
sidered. Dr. J. W. Beede, of Indiana University, in a paper before
the Indiana State Board of Health, has shown that old adjust-
ments are broken as the water table is lowered, thus causing what
once was good water to become unfit for use. The water that makes
up the water table is not derived from an inexhaustible source,
but in a large measure depends upon the immediate rainfall, and
if this is carried away by an elaborate system of ditches, but little
water will have a chance to soak into the ground to replenish the
lowering water table. On the other hand the water is carried away
at once and helps to increase the height of the flood stage. It
seems that it is absolutely necessary to drain our cultivated fields,
but in doing so there should be some way by which we could retain
the surplus waters and thus permit some of them to return to the
ground, raising the lowering water table, and, by decreasing the
immediate run-off, lessen the flood height and intensity.
Another source of waste of water is the great amount of water
that is so recklessly used in cities. Ordinarily in a city where
there is not much manufacturing, 40 gallons per capita per day is
sufficient for all ordinary needs. As a rule there are many times
that amount pumped. ‘The following cities all use more than is
necessary :
Rochesters.t arte eae ee es 125 gallons per day per capita.
(osheti a: ox cates we ts eae ie ee eee 150 gallons per day per capita.
Pettis 7... 0th ee te Ee een ee a eee 100 gallons per day per capita.
Danville. jus Seago Bee ee 150 gallons per day per capita.
Lebanon to.co aheser et ie ee 100 gallons per day per capita.
Washington} see cn nvioee tee oe we ee 125 gallons per day per capita.
These data were taken and compiled by Mr. Charles Brossman,
of Indianapolis; they give a fair idea of the use of water by the
towns and cities over the State; and if the statement made by
Mr. Clapp, that for the ordinary city forty gallons per capita per
day is sufficient, is true, they show that there is a great amount
of water wasted every day that might as well be left in the ground.
This loss or misuse of water could be remedied by the installation
of a sufficient number of meters. Of the 144 towns and cities in
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 Als
Indiana studied by Brossman, only fourteen had more than 300
meters, 13 between 100 and 300, 51 below 100 meters, and 66 were
without meters at all. Thus less than ten per cent of the cities
studied had sufficient meters to regulate the amount of water used.
In Bloomington, where the municipal water supply is limited,
there are very few meters.
The lowering of the water table at Chicago is due to over-
development, and cannot be remedied. In 1864, the water in
the flowing wells stood 111 feet above the level of Lake Michigan,
but at the present time it is fifteen or twenty feet below the ground.
The fourth and last factor concerned in the lowering of the
water table is deforestation. This factor has been dealt with to a
certain extent earlier in the report but it is well to emphasize the
results of deforestation by citing an illustration taken from the
‘Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey,’
Barter our:
‘Queens creek of Arizona is a typical stream in a barren treeless water
shed which has a rain fall of about fifteen inches per year. The area of this
water shed is about 143 square miles and 61 per cent of it is above 3,000 feet.
The maximum flood discharge in 1896, was 9,000 cubic feet per second. During
a greater portion of the time the creek was dry. In this case there was very
little chance for the water to soak into the ground.
‘Cedar creek, in Washington, is typical of streams flowing from tim-
bered water sheds. The basin of Cedar creek lies on the western slope of
the Cascade mountains, and is covered with a dense forest and a very heavy
undergrowth of ferns and mosses. The drainage is the same as that of Queens
creek, 143 square miles. The precipitation for the year 1897, was 93 inches
for the lower portion of the basin and probably 150 inches for the mountain
summits; in spite of the fact that the precipitation in Cedar Creek basin was
from six to nine times more than that in Queens creek basin, the maximum
flood discharge of Cedar creek for 1897, was but 3,601 cubic feet per second,
as against the 9,000 cubic feet for Queens creek. On the other hand the flow
of Cedar creek was continuous through the year, and the minimum discharge
was never less than 27 per cent of the mean for the year. The mean discharge
of Cedar creek was 1,089 cubic feet, as against 15 cubic feet for Queens creek.
This radical difference between the behavior of the two streams can be ex-
plained only by the difference in the soil covering of the two basins. Cedar
creek basin is covered with a heavy forest, while Queens creek is almost en-
tirely bare with a few scattered pinyon trees and a little brash or grass.
This illustration shows the intimate relation that exists between -
the process of deforestation and the control of our flood waters.
It also shows an evident cause of the lowering of the water table in
this and other states. This is a practical demonstration and should
carry considerable weight in the determination of our attitude
toward the question of flood control.
214 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
CONTROL OF FLOODS IN CHINA, JAPAN, AND KOREA
The following discussion is based upon F. H. King’s ‘Farmers
of Forty Centuries.’
The people of China, Japan, and Korea are farming land that
has been in service almost 4,000 years and there are only two acres
per capita, half of which is unfarmable. The question of sufficient
room for the masses of the people has been a serious proposition
for over 4,000 years. Over 4,100 years ago, Emperor Yao appointed
‘The Great Yu,’ ‘Superintendent of Works,’ and entrusted him
with the work of draining off the waters of the disastrous floods
and of canalizing the rivers. He worked at this for thirteen years,
after which he was called to be Emperor. This man saw the need
of some definite line of procedure for the conservation of the vast
amount of sediment that was yearly being lost by the great rivers,
Howang Ho, Yangste Kiang, and the Canton. He realized that
the flood waters should be shut off from the precious farm land.
As a result this man started a system of canals to be filled with
the flood waters, which form today a network of water ways, all
over the delta region. A conservative estimate would place the
number of miles of canals and leveed rivers in China, Japan and
Korea at 200,000 in all. That is, forty canals across the United
States from east to west, and sixty from north to south would not
equal in number of miles those of the three countries today. King
goes on to say that this estimate is possibly not too large for China
alone.
These canals are about eight feet below the level of the sur-
rounding fields and are about twenty feet in width. In times of
high water these canals are permitted to fill up and when the water
in the main stream goes down the water is drawn from the canals.
While the water stands in the canals the sediment is deposited in
the bottom and after the canals are drained this sediment is car-
ried by hand and spread over the surrounding fields. This not
only enriches the fields but builds them up a little higher each
time, getting them a little farther from the danger of following
floods. As much as an inch of this mud is spread over the fields at
a time. This transfer of mud is done by human labor altogether.
To quote from King’s, ‘Farmers of Forty Centuries,’ concern-
ing other processes in conjunction with the canals: ‘As adjuncts
to these vast canalization works there have been enormous amounts
of embankment, dike and levee construction. . . . Along the
banks of the Yangtse, and for many miles along the Hoang Ho,
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 DD
great levees have been built, sometimes in reinforcing series of two
or three at different distances back from the channel where the
stream bed is above the adjacent country, in order to prevent the
widespread disaster and to limit the inundated areas in times of
unusual floods. Again, in the Canton delta there are hundreds of
miles of sea wall and dikes, so that the aggregate mileage of construc-
tion work in the Empire can only be measured in the thousands of
miles. . . . In addition to the canal and levee construction
works there are numerous impounding reservoirs which are brought
into requisition to control overflow waters from the great streams.
Some of these reservoirs, like the T'ungting Lake in Hupeh and Po-
yang in Hunan, have areas of 2,000 and 1,800 square miles respectively
and during the heaviest rainy seasons each may rise through twenty
or thirty feet. Then there are other large and smaller lakes in the
coastal plains giving an aggregate reservoir area exceeding 138,000
square miles. All of which are brought into service in controiling
the flood waters, all of which are steadily being filled with the sedi-
ments brought from the far-away uncultivated mountain slopes,
and which are ultimately destined to become rich alluvial plains,
doubtless to be canalized in the manner that we have seen.’
King also shows how by the process of building up the low
swamp land with sediment that is deposited in the reservoirs and
in the canals that the land has been pushed out into the sea. By
this process, the shore has been pushed seaward from 15 to 50 miles
since the beginning of the Christian era.
He sums up the effect of these processes that we have been
considering in the following words; ‘Besides these actual extensions
of the shore lines the centuries of flooding of the lakes and low
lying lands has so filled many depressions as to convert large areas
of swamp into cultivated fields. Not only this, but the spreading
of the canal mud broadeast over the encircling fields has had two
very important effects namely, raising the level cf the low lying
fields, giving them better drainage and so better physical condi-
tions, and adding new plant food in the form of virgin soil of the
richest type, thus contributing to the maintenance of soil fertility,
high maintenance capacity and permanent agriculture through all
the centuries.’
In the United States, along the same lines, now that we are
considering the development of inland water ways, the subject
should be surveyed broadly and much careful study may well be
given to the works these old people have developed and found
serviceable through so many centuries. The Mississippi River is
216 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
annually bearing to the sea nearly 225,000 acre feet of the most
fertile sediment, and between levees along a raised river bed through
two hundred miles of country subject to inundation. The time is
here when there should be undertaken a systematic diversion of a
large part of this fertile soil over the swamp areas, building them
into well drained, fertile fields provided with water ways to serve
for drainage, irrigation, fertilization and transportation. These
great areas of swamp land may thus be converted into the most
productive rice and sugar plantations to be found anywhere in the
world, and the area made capable of maintaining many millions of
people as long as the Mississippi endures, bearing its burden of
fertile sediment.
This bears a close relation to the flood situation in Indiana,
for any solution of the flood conditions here must begin at the
mouth of the Mississippi River and then embrace each of the trib-
utaries. It is almost useless to try to protect different places along
a stream even as small as White River. Suppose that we make
the whole of White River an idea! stream, one that will carry away
all of the excess waters rapidly enough to keep the flocd plain from
being inundated: railroad grades, public road grades, and bridges
to be so constructed that the water would be permitted free passage
and not impounded in the least: the channel made large enough to
carry an amount of water equal to that of the March flood. What
would be the result of such an improvement? The result is easily
comprehended: the water will be dumped into the Wabash River in
such a short time as to cause it to assume flood conditions at once
and the damage will be greater than before the improvement of
White River. The region of flood damage would be shifted down
stream to the Wabash, where the height of the flood would be
ereatly increased. The people of the White River Valley would
have simply put their troubles and losses on the people below.
It seems impracticable to try to provide a channel large enough
to carry the amount of water that came down White River last
March. Improvements on the channel would help to take care of
the ordinary flood. That is the phase that we wish to guard against
first, and then try to cope with floods of the proportions of the
recent one.
A BrieF CONSIDERATION OF RESERVOIRS
The effect of natural reservoirs upon the discharge of streams
is shown in a striking manner in the Niagara River. The stream
flow here is very constant, the maximum heing only 35 per cent
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 vd bi
greater than the minimum discharge. According to Van Hise, the
maximum flow of the St. Lawrence River is only 50 per cent greater
than the minimum flow. Considering the size of these rivers, that
is a remarkable record. The Kankakee River, which is fed by
numerous lakes and swamps, has a rather constant flow, but this
equilibrium is being wrought out of adjustment by the draining of
a large portion of the swamp land during the last few years. The
effectiveness of reservoirs and Jakes in making the flow or discharge
of a stream constant cannot be overestimated.
Where the relief and geologic structure permit, artificial reser-
voirs may be constructed in such a way as to hold back a large
percentage of the excess rainfall. Much of the unglaciated part of
the State is of such a nature. The surplus may be used for irriga-
tion and the production of power in small plants. The power that
is developed may be used to lift a part of the water up to the level
of the fields that are to be irrigated. The needs and benefits of
irrigation in a humid region are being realized today.
Mr. W. W. Roebuck, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, at the National
Irrigation Congress at Chicago, December 4-9, 1911, said, ‘I know
of an irrigated farm of eighty acres, and there is not more than
half of this farm, or there is less than half of this farm that has
been cultivated annually, and the products have been over $15,000
annually. It is a demonstrated fact that we can grow more than
double, take it one year for another, by irrigation.’
There is sufficient rainfall in Indiana. However, it does not
always come at the time needed to produce maximum crops. Three
weeks without a rain will often damage a crop fifty per cent, while
water applied at the proper time would insure a maximum yield.
If it were possible to hold back the surplus waters in times of ex-
cessive rainfall, in reservoirs, it could be made to serve a two-fold
purpose: it would furnish water for irrigation and at the same time
keep the flood stages lower.
In Monroe County there are several places where dams may be
constructed where the water may be used either for municipal
water supply or for irrigation. Bloomington may secure an ample
supply of water by putting a dam across Griffy Creek, just above
the North Pike bridge. The excess water of seven square miles
may in this way be made useful instead of a menace to life and
property, since it, as a contributing factor, causes White River to
assume flood stages. Below this dam would be several hundred
acres of land that could be made to produce in an unfailing manner.
The lack of topographic maps makes it difficult to construct such
8—1424
218 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
reservoirs economically. Properly planned, such reservoirs would
pay for themselves by furnishing water for irrigation and at the
same time help to reduce the flood stages, and keep the water table -
from getting any lower.
It is conceded that no system of reservoirs would have been
ample to have prevented the recent fiood, or even to have mitigated
it perceptibly. The truth of this statement is clearly brought out
when one considers the enormous amount of water which fell. The
following figures will make this clear; they concern the White
River basin alone. The water which fell would cover:
7,626 square miles of territory 1 foot deep.
763 square miles of territory 10 feet deep.
305 square miles of territory 25 feet deep.
152% square miles of territory 50 feet deep.
7614 square miles of territory 100 feet deep.
Or, from another point of view,—
4,860,640 acres 1 foot deep.
487,064 acres 10 feet deep.
194,826 acres 25 feet deep.
07,418 acres 50 feet deep.
48,706 acres 100 feet deep.
Or, from another point of view,—
10 acres to every square mile 44 feet deep.
20 acres to every square mile 22 feet deep.
40 acres to every square mile 11 feet dcecp.
Or, from another point of view,—
11 acres to every 160 acres 10 feet deep.
51% acres to every 80 acres 10 feet deer.
Or, from stil! another point of view,
1-15 of any area 10 feet deep.
These figures, based on U. S. Weather Bulletins. show that a
system of reservoirs would have had to have been verv elaborate
indeed to have had any influence upon such a flood as the recent
one. It seems to the writers that any reservoir system proposed
for the White River region for the mitigation of damage due to
floods alone, when the enormous cost is considered, ‘s impracti-
cable. As a side issue only, artificial reservoirs may be thought of
in connection with floods in this region.
If we eliminate the reservoir idea, the question of protection
BYBEE-MALOTT: THE FLOOD OF 1913 219
to our cities and towns is still before us. The writers are scarcely
willing to venture any proposal, not having given this phase of
floods more than passing notice. But it seems that the one prac-
tical thing for the present is to build strong Jevees sufficiently high
to prevent the possibility of the waters getting over them into the
towns and cities. A study of the situation will very likely prove
this propositicn not only practical, but a necessity, if any precau-
tions are to be taken at all.
220 INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDIES
PART IV. SUMMARY OF FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS
1. Excessive rainfall was the only cause of the flood.
2. The excessive rainfall was due to two areas of high pressure,
one over the Bermuda Islands and the other over Hastern Canada,
remaining stationary from Mareh 22nd to March 27th, hoiding
hack the two storms, causing them to spend their energy over the
Ohio Valley for five days.
3. There was an average of 10.53 inches of rainfall at twenty
weather bureau stations, in the White River drainage basin.
4. Only 2.43 inches of rain fell during the first twenty-two
days of March.
5. An average of 8.28 inches of rain fel! between March 22-28.
6. Within twenty-four hours 56.6 per cent. of the precipita-
tion fell that caused the flood, or an average of 4.46 inches for the
entire drainage basin.
7. Floods in the Ohio Valley are generally caused by heavy
rainfall, melting of heavy snow, ice jams, failure of reservoirs, and
the breaking of levees. ‘The latter four factors generally act in
conjunction with the excessive rainfall.
8. According to Leighton, floods in the Eastern part of the
United States are increasing, and that the main cause for the in-
crease is deforestation. However, in the White River valley, the
writers think that the enormous increase of artificial drainage
should be added to deforestation.
9. The water table of large parts of the State is being lowered
by the increase of artificial drainage, deforestation, the waste of
water by cities, and the general waste of water, as at abandoned oil
wells.
10. Many lakes in the northern part of the State could be
equipped with flood gates at their outlets, thus holding back much
of the excess rainfall, permitting it to be carried away after the
crest of the flood has passed. This would partly restore the water
table. This would be practical for the upper Wabash region.
11. If meters were installed to regulate the amount of water
used in cities the waste would be reduced almost one-half.
12. Mr. Charles Brossman has shown that only 10 per cent of
the cities of Indiana have a sufficient number of meters to regulate
the amount of water used.
13.