Docked: 1 new bottom plank; minor repairs; bottom, sides, and rakes calked. Docked; graving piece in bottom gunwale, 63 feet knuckle plank, sheathing on deck repaired; bottom, sides, and rakes calked. Docked; new sheathing on deck, and new corner rake irons, bottom, sides, and rakes calked. Docked; 1 new clamp on gunwales; new sheathing on deck; bottom, sides, and rakes calked. Rakes and sides calked; sheathing of deck repaired; hold cleaned; minor repairs. Camel dock under ends, 4 graving pieces in gunwales, and 9 new rake plank; rakes and sides calked. Do. Of this total the sum of $8,320.99 was charged to the allotments for Atchafalaya and Red Rivers, and to levees, on account of repairs to The Ram and to the Barataria. The remainder, $13,807.64 was for the repair, care, and maintenance of the plant at large. Care of plant. In addition to the foregoing, the cost of caring for the plant while not in use, including such items as watching at night, putting out and taking in mooring lines, operating pump boat, salaries of one boat's crew, general supervision, etc., amounted to $6,460. Condition of plant. The general condition of the plant is good. The hulls of quarter boats and barges built of noncreosoted lumber have continued to deteriorate, and the quarter boats Alpha and Gamma, together with barges No. 4-C, No. 16-C, No. 17-C, No. 18-C, No. 28-C, and No. 30-C, being beyond economical repair, will be presented for condemnation. Supt. R. H. Bolen was in charge at the engineer depot of the construction, repair, and care of plant, under the general direction of Assistant Engineer H. S. Douglas. PLANT, FOURTH DISTRICT. The amount expended from June 30, 1910, to June 30, 1911, is $207,869.65, distributed as follows: Transferred from Quartermaster's Department, authority Secretary of War.. July 1, 1898 (sundry civil).. Mar. 3, 1899 (sundry civil). June 6, 1900 (sundry civil). Proceeds of sale of engineer property. Transferred from improving Bayou Vermilion and Mermentau River, La., "for Mermentau River" Allotted. Amount. Sept. 8, 1894 $10,000.00 Aug. 20, 1897 20,000.00 Sept. 21, 1898 8,000.00 Mar. 13, 1899 5,556.00 July 20, 1900 64, 444.00 25,000.00 111,000.00 540.81 10. SURVEYS, GAUGES, AND OBSERVATIONS. During the year the annual surveys called for by resolution of the Mississippi River Commission were made at Bondurant Chute, Kempe Bend, Giles Bend, and Natchez front, and in New Orleans Harbor at Carrollton Bend, Greenville Bend, Gretna Bend, Gouldsboro Bend, Algiers Point, and third district reach. Of these surveys only those in New Orleans Harbor were charged to the regular allotment for surveys, the cost of the others being charged to the works in progress. The amount expended from June 30, 1910, to June 30, 1911, is $4,889.03, distributed as follows: In compliance with resolution of the commission adopted April 9, 1906, there should be added to the above total cost for the year $97.06 for use and deterioration of plant, being a charge of 3 per cent per annum for use of plant and 4 per cent per annum for deterioration. Abstract of appropriations. Acts of Congress. "Survey, unleveed front, fourth district," Aug. 2, 1882 (river and harbor).. "Survey, Cubbitts Gap and vicinity," Aug. 2, 1882 (river and harbor).. June 6, 1900 (sundry civil). Do... Nov. 28, 1900 June 13, 1902 (river and harbor). 1,000.00 July 12, 1902 5,000.00 Mar. 3, 1903 (sundry civil).. July 21, 1903 6,000.00 Apr. 28, 1904 (sundry civil). Apr. 1,1904 5,000.00 Mar. 3, 1905 (sundry civil), Apr. 26, 1905 June 30, 1906 (sundry civil). Mar. 2, 1907 (river and harbor). May 27, 1908 (sundry civil). Received from sales blue prints. Mar. 4, 1909 (sundry civil).. 5,000.00 June 28, 1906 5,000.00 Received from sales blue prints. 3,000.00 June 25, 1910 (sundry civil). Received from sales blue prints. Apr. 30, 1910 3. 10 5,000.00 2.50 Total......... 109, 513. 88 Grand total.. 135, 151.02 1 Original allotment, $300; $162.86 transferred to New Orleans Harbor. By transfer. 11. LEVEES. For work of levee construction and maintenance, the fourth district, improving Mississippi River, is divided into seven levee districts. For limits of the districts see current report of the Mississippi River Commission and the plates published in last annual report. On July 6, 1910, the amount of levee work required to complete the contracts in force was 54,560 cubic yards, at an average cost of 18.88 cents per cubic yard. Under projects approved May 31, August 4, and October 5, 1910, for the expenditure of the allotments from the rivers and harbors act approved June 25, 1910, and allotments from the sundry civil act approved April 30, 1910, together with the balances of former allotments, contracts were entered into during the year for the construction of 1,723,559.59 cubic yards of levee work, at an average cost of 15.52 cents per cubic yard. Levee machine "Barataria."-On December 8, 1910, after having completed Junior levee, and while being transferred to the barge, the levee machine was lost in the river, due to the caving of the bank upon which the shore end of the barge was grounded. The machine was raised, brought to New Orleans, and repaired. Surveys. In the Homochitto district, a survey of the three basins-from Glass to Grand Gulf, from Rodney to Coles Creek, and from Fort Adams to Tunica-was made to determine the areas overflowed at high water and extent of levees required to protect these basins from overflow from the Mississippi River and what drainage should be provided. Surveys were made in the Lower Tensas, Barataria, and Lake Borgne districts to develop profiles of the top of the levee, to establish bench marks, and erect high-water gauges. From the surveys it was discovered that there is a subsidence of the levees in the Barataria and Lake Borgne districts. On this account the table showing the condition of levees will give lower levees for these districts than the table published in 1919. Comparing the elevation of the top of the levees with the elevation taken in previous years, it was seen that the subsidence was much greater than could be expected for ordinary shrinkage. This, with the experience in building new levees, where it was noticed that the quantities computed by measuring the borrow pits, were much greater than those in the embankment, and in one case as much as 30 per cent, proved that there was a subsidence in the base or foundation of the levee. It was also noticed that the subsidence was dependent both on the height of the levee and on the elevation of the ground upon which the levee is built. This subsidence of the foundation does not seem to take place where the land upon which the levee is built is more than 8 feet above mean Gulf level. Repairs. The Bougere levee, in the Lower Tensas levee district, was repaired at a cost of $5,391.80. The repairs consisted in restoring wave and rain wasted sections and enlarging the levee where it had subsided. A drainage ditch, requiring 15,049.04 cubic yards of excavation, was cut at Bougere at a cost of $2,693.78. A drainage ditch, requiring 19,969.84 cubic yards of excavation, was cut at Bonnet Carre in the Pontchartrain district at a cost of $2,993.48. Protection against high water.-Up to May 1 the water in the river above New Orleans had barely reached the bank-full stage: but below New Orleans the water was backed up in the river from the Gulf by a strong east wind and reached a height in some places within a foot of the highest water. The large waves, caused by a strong east wind on April 26, damaged the levee revetment throughout the Barataria and Lake Borgne districts and washed the slopes of the levee, causing four small breaks in the levee at Metcalf (1030 R), Barataria district. These breaks have been closed and preparations are now being made to take the levee machine down to increase the section of the levee where the crevasses occurred. Construction. During the past year construction forces were employed almost continuously in one or more of the districts. No muck or base ditches were cut during the past season, as all old embankments enlarged were known to be free from leaks, and the foundations of all new levees were free from objectionable matter. The completion of the new Bougere levee on June 28, 1910, by the United States, gives a continuous line of levee in the Lower Tensas levee district as far down as Point Breeze, about 9 miles above Old River. The Bougere crevasses occurred during one of the early floods, probably in 1859, and remained entirely open until 1902 or 1903, at which time the closing was begun, the closing being effected as follows: In 1901 the levee ended at Ashland, leaving an opening to Old River of about 29 miles. In 1902 to 1904 this gap was closed down as far as Point Breeze, as follows: The United States built from Ashland downstream about 1 mile The local authorities (State of Louisiana) built a levee between 24 and 3 miles long and joined onto the embankment of the Texas & Pacific Railroad, which served as a levee for a distance of about 4.8 miles to Union Point, and the local authorities (State of Louisiana) built about 12.3 miles of levee from Union Point to Point Breeze, which was completed in 1905. During the flood of 1903 the Texas & Pacific Railroad embankment and the levee built by the local authorities (State of Louisiana) between the railroad embankment and the levee built by the United States were practically destroyed. During 1905 to 1907, the United States joined the levee built by the State, where the destruction stopped, to the railroad embankment, building for this purpose about 1 miles of levee beyond and below Ashland and north of Union Point, and the railroad rebuilt its embankment, thus closing the crevasse from Ashland as far as Point Breeze. During the flood of 1907 the railroad embankment partially gave way, but the crevasse was closed by the railroad before the high water of 1908. The levee line from Ashland to Point Breeze, which resisted the flood of 1908, was constructed proportionately as follows: 5,165 linear feet by the United States, about 3,443 linear feet by the local authorities (State of Louisiana), about 8,050 linear feet by the United States, about 25,400 linear feet by the Texas & Pacific Railroad Co, and about 64,700 linear feet by the local authorities (State of Louisiana), the percentage of lengths built by the different parties being as follows: United States, 12.38 per cent; local authorities, 63.83 per cent, and the Texas & Pacific Railroad Co., 23.79 per cent. In the rear of the Texas & Pacific embankment, which served as a levee, the new levee built by the United States has a length of 30,662 linear feet, and this will now serve in lieu of the railroad embankment, as the railroad company has made an opening in their embankment since the completion of this levee. Following the custom of previous years, the tabular statements as to levee construction are from the period from May 1, 1910, to April 30, 1911. During this period the total amount of levee completed and paid for by the United States was 1,459,232 cubic yards. The tables of completed and uncompleted levees herewith show the number of cubic yards constructed under each contract, unit prices, and percentage in place.. Tables follow, stating the percentage in length of existing levee system built wholly or in part by the United States, with proportion of the levees now built in each district and the approximate condition of the levee line in the fourth district as to grade. |