V V 12. IMPROVEMENT OF BELLINGHAM HARBOR, WASH. There have been no operations during the past fiscal year and no expenditures were made. Previous operations at Bellingham Bay were carried on under the appropriation title "Improving harbor at New Whatcom, Wash." The amount appropriated by the act of June 25, 1910, was insufficient to secure beneficial results. The act of March 27, 1911, provided additional funds and authorized a continuing contract for completion of the work. Specifications for dredging have been prepared and approved and bids will be invited when the conditions relative to cooperation by local interests have been completed. Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, for works of improvement........ 1 Exclusive of the balance unexpended July 1, 1911. 1$52,250 V V 13. IMPROVEMENT OF COLUMBIA RIVER BETWEEN WENATCHEE AND BRIDGEPORT, WASH. Work was carried on at Entiat Rapids, mouth of Wenatchee River, and at Rocky Reach during the low-water period. At Entiat Rapids the middle channel was dredged by use of a Bagley scraper and hoisting engine located on an island. The work was suspended on account of high water before it was completed. About 40 per cent of the channel was dredged to a low-water depth of 2 feet and 100 feet wide. The quantity of material removed was 15,080 cubic yards. At the mouth of Wenatchee River one large rock was removed by blasting. About 2,000 feet below Entiat Rapids one large rock, known as "Pringle Rock," was removed. At Rocky Reach the obstructions to navigation consisted of rocks and rock reefs. These were removed and several large rocks along the shore were broken up. The Columbia River between Wenatchee and Bridgeport is considered worthy of improvement to the extent covered by the existing project. IMPROVING COLUMBIA RIVER BETWEEN BRIDGEPORT AND KETTLE FALLS, WASH. The plant, consisting of a stern-wheel steamboat, owned and operated by the State of Washington, was turned over to the United States for use on this work. The vessel was in poor condition when received. Three drill scows, each equipped with three steam drills and one horizontal boiler, were constructed. Quarters for the crew were provided on each scow. The stage of water was unfavorable for conducting operations by the time the plant was completed and only a small amount of work was done by the steamer Yakima at Foster Creek Rapids during the year. By authority of department indorsement of February 21, 1911, an examination of Grand or Rickey Rapids was made and the following is an extract from a report thereon by Mr. H. J. M. Baker, junior engineer: Pursuant to your verbal instructions of May 31, 1911, I made an inspection of Grand, or Rickey Rapids, near Kettle Falls, located on the Columbia River, on June 1, 1911, and have the honor to report as follows: The Wenatchee stage of the river on the date of inspection was 28.3 feet, and the water at Grand Rapids was 16 feet higher than at the previous inspection on March 19. At the present stage all reefs and islands along the left bank and in the central portion of the river are submerged except the large round island near the left bank. The greatest fall of the rapids occurs at the same place and has much the same appearance as at the low stage of water. The fall, however, is distributed over a somewhat greater length and over the entire width of the river. At the present stage a boat may steam up the rapids to the large round island with little difficulty, and may be lined to within a short distance of the point of greatest fall by passing between the round island and the left bank. The most feasible method that presents itself of improving the river at this point, without the use of locks, is the construction of a channel in the rock bench along the left bank. This channel must be of sufficient length to reduce the velocity of the water so that boats may be lined past the obstruction. The upper part of the rapids presents no serious difficulty in the way of improvement, requiring the removal of but a comparatively small amount of rock in order to be made navigable at all but extreme low-water stages. The drop or fall to be overcome is 7 feet at low water and 5 feet at the present stage. Assuming a channel with a bottom width of 50 feet, with side slopes of 1 on 1, and a depth of water of 5 feet, we would have: Using a value of n=.030 we find the drop per 1,000 feet necessary to produce certain velocities to be as per the following table: At the upper end of Entiat Rapids, over which the Columbia & Okanogan Co. boats line daily, the velocity as indicated on the maps in this office is 10.7 miles per hour. In order that the velocity in the proposed channel at Grand Rapids shall not exceed 10 miles per hour, the channel must necessarily be 430 feet long. Placing the bottom of the channel at the 1911 low-water elevation of the lower pool, and assuming a level bottom, there results from computation approximately 8,000 cubic yards of rock to be removed. If it is assumed that an equal quantity of rock must be removed from the remaining portion of the rapids, the total is 16,000 cubic yards. In round numbers, $50,000. With the bottom of the channel at the elevation of the lower pool, an 8-foot stage would be required at Wenatchee in order to provide 4 feet of water through the channel. The following table shows the dates between which the river was at or above the 8-foot stage: 1905: April 22 to October 31. 1906: April 6 to October 16. 1907: April 10 to October 31. 1908: April 16 to October 9. 1909: April 26 to October 22. Mean: April 16 to October 22, or six months. From this report it appears that a channel 50 feet wide, with velocities of 10 miles per hour and available for use six months each year, can be provided for $50,000. Such a channel would be of very doubtful benefit to commerce, as vessels would have to line through in both directions and any failure of the line would almost certainly lead to the destruction of the boat. A channel of greater width or less slope would be safer and would cost proportionately more. Based upon examinations made by Assistant Engineer Ricksecker (since deceased) and Junior Engineer Baker at varying stages of water and upon a personal examination made at low stage, the conclusion is reached that the only adequate method of making these rapids navigable is to canalize them." The amount of commerce that would pass through Grand Rapids if improved is a matter of conjecture, but it is believed that it would not exceed from 3,000 to 5,000 tons, as the country is thinly populated. An extension of the project to include these rapids is not recommended. The appropriation recommended will be required to continue work covered by the existing project. The estimated cost of the work was $175,000, which includes the sum of $75,000 for plant. The act of June 25, 1910, appropriated the sum of $100,000, with the provision that the plant owned and operated by the State of Washington on this section of the river be turned over to the United States. The plant referred to consists of a stern-wheel steamboat in very poor condition. The value of the vessel when purchased by the State of Washington was $15,000. To make this vessel serviceable will require an expenditure of not less than $5,000. To successfully carry on the work, it was necessary to provide additional plant, and three drill scows have been built and equipped at a cost of $35,000. The balance available will not be sufficient to accomplish the work outlined in the project, and the additional appropriation of $50,000 is therefore recommended for continuing the work. This part of the Columbia River is considered worthy of improvement by the General Government to the extent covered by the project adopted by the act of June 25, 1910. Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, for works of improvement.. 1 $50,000 V V 15. IMPROVEMENT OF OKANOGAN AND PEND OREILLE RIVERS, WASH. (A) OKANOGAN RIVER. No work was done on the Okanogan River during the year. The value of existing commerce carried on this river is not commensurate with the probable cost of securing and maintaining navigable depths at low water. Traffic on this river is limited to a short high-water period of approximately six weeks each year, and the depths during that period are sufficient for existing commercial needs. Railroad lines to tap the territory tributary to the stretch of the Okanogan River covered by the existing project are under consideration or proposed, and for these reasons the Okanogan River is not considered worthy of further improvement or maintenance by the General Government. (B) PEND ORIELLE RIVER. Owing to unsatisfactory progress made by the contractor and a doubt as to the benefits to be derived or the necessity for further improvement of the Pend Orielle River between Newport and Box Canyon, the contract was annulled on April 14, 1910. Since the work of improvement under the contract of August 21, 1908, was commenced a railroad has been built along the left bank of the river from Newport to Ione, about 9 miles below Yakima bar, where dredging under the Beckman contract was terminated, and 3 miles above Box Canyon. Boat service on this part of the river was discontinued as the railroad construction advanced, the river traffic, with the exception of the towage of logs and poles, was absorbed by the railroad, and the depths in the navigable channels are sufficient for the class of vessels employed in existing or prospective traffic. For the above-mentioned reasons the Pend Orielle River between Newport and Box Canyon is not considered worthy of further improvement by the General Government. 1 Exclusive of the balance unexpended July 1, 1911. |