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) ESE CEE for piper an in the INDIANA Gateiesue STuDIES. “4 ad J ied a a ov é v =e 8 "Se a ae 4 ' : . i —_= a is wy od ar Le ce Bikg was ToL eee 7 Zo te Pe ya cf. i es sie i i V Samugt B. Harpina, — Wii D. Howse, ARTHUR L. Pe | emacs 7 5 ¥ ‘ i a 7 , = a, a 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, | Cowners ANG OEmine nce 515_ “vera ss. 5 : B.0F attest Pee e ‘Sho ae FPP tee Pin f g tpeail | a [French Jitk Salem Mt 438. 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. 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[90 TIT” ee) oD oD S Ge GOs |e tie man| CU ee uO}SUTULOOT #1 los: lt¢-elogtle-2l lee: [octet feet log: der: amd b oe | lO 189M 62 | 82} £46 | 92 | Se | FS | &Z-) | IZ | OS | GL | SI | LT | OF | SL | FE | GL | SI] IL] OF} 6:1) 8 9 Yes) Levaatere yh ttm! f ~ 128 “SI6l “yowwypy fo ywuopy ay? sof wsvg abpunig sang anyy vodyQ yofumy fpog buoys 2190 .—3 “ON AIGIViLL A ON sf rl i i eet mw G fi, { LO oe > ~~ oA es kari, Pat; oF ta ah 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 NORA Se OR AA ete) EN MSN 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 WVa\ey CN ts Sor \ ot Way & POT IE 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.