MAINTENANCE ESTIMATES FOR FLOOD CONTROL WORKS AT LOWELL CREEK, SEWARD, ALASKA JANUARY 23, 1932.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. DRIVER, from the Committee on Flood Control, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 6733] The Committee on Flood Control, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 6733) for estimates necessary for the proper maintenance of the flood-control works at Lowell Creek, Seward, Alaska, having considered the same, report it to the House with the recommendation that it do pass. The act of Congress approved February 9, 1927, authorized control of Lowell Creek, Alaska, for the protection of property of the Federal Government, and incidentally privately owned property at the town of Seward, Alaska, in the amount of $125,000, one-fifth of which, or $25,000, was to be supplied by the town of Seward or other local interests. All the provisions of the act have been complied with and a flume has been constructed for the diversion of water in time of flood. Although there are no indications that maintenance funds may be required at the present time, it is possible that in the future some repairs may be required, and therefore the Secretary of War asks authority of Congress to submit estimates for such possible repairs. The following report has been received from the War Department on the bill: Hon. RILEY J. WILSON, Chairman Committee on Flood Control, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, January 18, 1932. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. WILSON: Reference is made to your letter of January 6, 1932, inclosing a copy of H. R. 6733, Seventy-second Congress, first session, for comment. In reply I am pleased to inform you that so far as the interests committed to this department are concerned there is no objection to the favorable consideration by Congress of H. R. 6733, which, if passed, would authorize the Secretary of War to submit for the consideration of Congress such estimates as are, in his judgment, necessary for the proper maintenance of the flood-control works at Lowell Creek, Seward, Alaska, constructed under authority contained in Public Resolution No. 52, Sixty-ninth Congress, approved February 9, 1927. Sincerely yours, PATRICK J. HURLEY, Secretary of War. Public Resolution No. 52 of the Sixty-ninth Congress, approved February 9, 1927, which authorized the construction of the floodcontrol works in question, reads as follows: [PUBLIC RESOLUTION-NO. 52-69TH CONGRESS] [H. J. Res. 100] JOINT RESOLUTION To authorize the Secretary of War to expend not to exceed $125,000 for the protection of Government property adjacent to Lowell Creek, Alaska Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War is authorized to expend not to exceed $125,000 out of any money hereafter appropriated for such purpose for the regulation of Lowell Creek, Alaska, for the protection of the buildings, terminal grounds, and so forth, of the Alaska Engineering Commission and the Alaska Road Commission, the Department of Justice, the United States Signal Corps, and other Federal property within or adjacent to the town of Seward, Alaska, from damage due to floods and overflows of said Lowell Creek: Provided, That $25,000 of the above amount shall be contributed and paid in by the town of Seward or other local interests to be benefited by the proposed improvement, before said work is commenced. 1st Session No. 260 CONSTRUCTION OF DAM ACROSS DES LACS LAKE, N. DAK. JANUARY 25, 1932.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. SINCLAIR, from the Committee on Flood Control, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5866] The Committee on Flood Control, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5866) granting the consent of Congress to the Des Lacs Development Association, its successors and assigns, to construct, maintain, repair, and improve a dam across the Des Lacs Lake, N. Dak., having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass. The facts as given in the hearing before the committee by the author of the bill are as follows: Des Lacs Lake in North Dakota was at one time navigable, but there has been no navigation on it for the past 25 years or more. It is, however, still listed by the War Department as being navigable, even though there is no navigation interest in it at this time. The bill calls for no appropriation. It only asks the consent of Congress for the construction, maintenance, repair, and improvement of a dam across it. The following favorable report has been received from the War Department on the bill: Hon. RILEY J. WILSON, WAR DEPARTMENT, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. WILSON: So far as the interests committed to this department are concerned, I know of no objection to the favorable consideration of the accompanying bill H. R. 5866, Seventy-second Congress, first session, to authorize the construction of a dam across Des Lacs Lake, N. Dak. Sincerely yours, PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF EDISTO RIVER AND ITS BRANCHES, SOUTH AND NORTH EDISTO, S. C., FOR PURPOSES OF FLOOD CONTROL JANUARY 25, 1932.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. COOPER of Tennessee, from the Committee on Flood Control, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 3951] The Committee on Flood Control, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 3951) to provide a preliminary examination of the Edisto River and its branches, South and North Edisto, S. C., with a view to the control of its floods, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass. Although these preliminary examinations cost little, it has been the uniform policy of the Committee on Flood Control to consider each project carefully before reporting it. Extensive hearings have been held on the project involved in this bill. The facts as given in the hearing before the committee by Representative H. P. Fulmer, author of the bill, are as follows: The Edisto River and its branches, North and South Edisto, traverse one of the best agricultural sections in the State of South Carolina. The flood territory covers an area from 2 to 15 miles on either side of these rivers, with a total length of 150 miles, or an area of about 1,500 square miles. This area not only includes swamp land adjacent to these rivers but thousands of acres of fertile, cultívated farm lands. Serious flood conditions appear about three out of every five years. Farmers are therefore able to harvest and save their crops about two out of every five years. These flood conditions occur, as a rule, only once annually, and usually just before the harvesting season, during the months of August and September. During September, 1928, a very serious and destructive storm came over from Porto Rico covering the Southeast, which greatly intensified these flood conditions by uprooting and filling these rivers with trees and débris. |