I trust that you gentlemen will see fit to authorize this meritorious project that means so much to a great people. I wish to present Judge C. H. Bond. He is president of the East Arkansas Drainage and Flood Control Association. STATEMENT OF C. H. BOND, PRESIDENT, EAST ARKANSAS DRAINAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL ASSOCIATION Mr. BOND. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, in 1945 a group of men in eastern Arkansas got together, represented by 30 drainage districts. Our problem was getting rid of the water. Due to the backwater that this project would protect and keep away from us, we would be able to get our drainage water off faster. They appointed me as chairman of this committee and we hired an engineer, Mr. Heagler, to get up the data and economics and values in this basin. I live in the Marion-Crittenden country. We have not had a levee break since 1930, but we have been bothered with backwater. I have a few pictures here that were taken during the heavy rain in 1947, but we have had this same condition when we had backwater. This is a picture in west Memphis where it flooded out. West Memphis is a town that has grown. In 1940 the population was better than 3,000. They had a special census taken in January of this year that gave it 136 percent increase, nearly 8,000 people. Then this year during January I took some pictures of highway 64, which is right in a part here, I guess about 15 or 20 miles south of Marked Tree and 10 miles south of where you propose this levee. The waters flowed over highway 64 and cut off traffic for at least 2 or 3 weeks and then the cars had to run through water there for at least a month and a half out of the 3 months, January, February, and March. That is due to the water coming down from up above, through Little River and through St. Francis River, and it gets there where it is confined to levees and it spreads out over the land. Before it gets into the steep banks of the St. Francis River, which is about 10 miles below that, it just spreads out over the highways and in 1937 they raised it some but they did not get it above this headwater. This is the headwater. We did not have any backwater at the time these pictures were taken. If we had had, we would have been shut off longer than that. This backwater levee there protects the area clear up to West Memphis and up through Marked Tree. It is an entire ridge that runs at an angle that the backwater does not hit, but it does affect our drainage. It gets in the Ten Mile Bayou and the Fifteen Mile Bayou and as far as Big Creek that drains southeast as far as Mississippi County. The headwater comes down and floods our land. I think this project will be one of the greatest things that ever happened to the St. Francis Basin when it is completed. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. Mr. BOND. Mr. Heagler, the engineer, was not here, so I am going to file his statement here and his report. Mr. DAVIS. We will insert his statement in the record immediately following your statement. (The statement referred to is as follows:) STATEMENT OF A. E. HEAGLER, LITTLE ROCK, ARK., RE PLAN FOR CONTROL OF FLOODS IN THE LOWER ALLUVIAL VALLEY OF THE ST. FRANCIS RIVER, ARK. My name is A. E. Heagler. I am a practicing engineer with offices at Little Rock, Ark. I represent the East Arkansas Drainage and Flood Control Association of northeastern Arkansas Having worked in this area intermittently since 1913, I am entirely familiar with the area and its problems. The area which the association represents includes one and one-half million acres of land located in the eastern part of Lee, St. Francis, Cross, and Poinsette Counties and all of Crittenden and Mississippi Counties, Ark. This area lies wholly within the St. Francis levee district of Arkansas and has a population of more than 250,000 people. The comparatively rapid development of the lower alluvial valley of the St. Francis River from a wilderness to one of the most productive agricultural areas in this country was brought about by many related operations and improvements. The protection of the lands as a whole by the front line Mississippi River levee provided a foundation for this development. However, the closing of the channels of the various tributary streams by construction of the front-line levee, coupled with the inadequacy of natural channels such as bayous, creeks, and small rivers, complicated the drainage of the interior lands. Subsequent to 1904, at least 55 drainage enterprises have been organized and about 2,400 miles of ditches and 236 miles of small levees have been constructed by local interests. Because of the initially small development in the area, the drainage channels were generally designed for minimum requirements. It would not have been possible at that time to finance the cost of constructing ditches of a size that would ultimately be required. The estimated cost up to 1945 of all drainage improvements touching this area was over $22,000,000, all of which were accomplished by local interests without assistance from the Federal Government. The St. Francis levee district since its organization in 1893 has spent about $22,370,000 for levee construction and maintenance in this area. This amounts to about $13.90 per acre over a 52-year period. The expenditures for levee protection by both the levee district and the Federal Government aggregated about $44,000,000. The construction of levees and drainage improvements made possible the rapid development of the area. For instance, in 1912, estimates made by the St. Francis levee district indicated that of the 1,500,000 acres in the district about 400,000 were developed. In 1945 it was estimated that about 1,000,000 acres had been developed. Further development of this area would not be practicable without additional flood control and drainage improvements. In fact, a large acreage of the presently developed land is now subject to flood hazards. Overflows cause substantial damage in the large agricultural area in the backwater portion of the St. Francis River extending below the general latitude of St. Francis Lake. The maximum area affected by backwater is about 600,000 acres. Developments subject to flooding consist of railroads, highways, utilities, and farm improvements, but damages from flooding are primarily agricultural and consist predominantly of loss of crop production. The plan of improvement proposed by the engineers is considered the most comprehensive for the reduction of the substantial losses caused by headwater and backwater flooding in the lower St. Francis River Basin. The improvements are effectively integrated with completed portions of the existing project and will not be detrimental to other interests in the basin. Benefits from the improvement will be substantial and will accrue not only to this particular area but to the State of Arkansas and to the Nation as a whole. We believe the plan proposed by the engineers is engineeringly feasible and fully justified economically, and the organization I represent is in full accord with it. Mr. GATHINGS. I should like to present Mr. C. N. Houck of Marianna. He lives on the lower end. He is a member of the East Arkansas Flood Control Association representing Lee and St. Francis Counties. STATEMENT OF C. N. HOUCK, MARIANNA, ARK., MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL RIVERS AND HARBORS CONGRESS OF WASHINGTON, D. C. Mr. HOUCK. I live at Marianna, Ark. I have lived there almost 45 years. I have been through these floods almost annually during that time. I know it is late and I do not want to take much time but I should like to have about 10 minutes, after living there 45 years, to say what I want to say. I have prepared most of my statement because I want a few figures in there. Mr. DAVIS. Without objection we will file your statement in full. (The statement referred to is as follows:) STATEMENT OF C. N. HOUCK, MARIANNA, RESPECTING A PLAN FOR CONTROL OF FLOODS IN THE AREA AFFECTED BY THE ST. FRANCIS RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES IN EASTERN ARKANSAS My name is C. N. Houck. I live at Marianna, Ark., and have lived there for the past 44 years. I am vice president of the Miller Lumber Co. and have been an active official of that company since 1905. Also, for the past 5 years I have been a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, of Washington, D. C. Our company was organized in March 1888 and has been in the hardwood sawmill and retail lumber business and has conducted farming operations in Lee and St. Francis Counties since that date. It has conducted its logging operations on the St. Francis River, cutting its logs on the lands adjoining the tributary bayous and along the banks of the main river itself, and rafting and floating them on down to the mills in times of high water. Inasmuch as I was actively connected with the company in the operation of its sawmills and also in its farming operations during this long period of years, I had an opportunity to observe and study the effect of the various floods as they affected the backwater sections of the area. In a statement to the district engineers, United States Corps of Engineers, Memphis, Tenn., under date of July 30, 1947, I submitted certain data and river-gage readings taken from the backwater gage of the Miller Lumber Co., situated at Marianna, Ark., in the lower end of the backwater area. I am pleased to refer you to this statement, which is in the record, and to the tables and the data contained therein. I shall not burden you with the details of this important information and data at this time. However, I shall make some observations regarding the figures submitted at that time. The backwater gage at Marianna, Ark., was set with the Government gage at Memphis. I will, therefore, use the figures from the Memphis gage, as they are official and almost identical with those of the backwater gage at Marianna. Three major floods occurred prior to the building of the levee system. crest stage readings in these floods, as they appeared on the Memphis gage, were as follows: Year: 1882 1883 1884 The Memphis gage 35. 1 34.7 34. 1 Four major floods occurred since the levees were built, with Memphis gage readings as follows: It can readily be seen that the major floods since the building of the levees have flooded the lands in the backwater area with from 10 to 14 feet of additional water, and that the lands that were free from overflow are now subject to inundation by several feet of water. 45.8 48. 6 I will at this time state the following figures showing the recurrence of the floods in various years. The levee system was built in years 1893-97 and it will be noted that the floods occurred with greater frequency since the building of the levees. The floods that occur in the backwater area and from the waters of the Mississippi River are of long duration. I am submitting herewith a table to show the number of days in various years that the water has been above 35 feet on the Memphis gage: In the period from 1912 to 1946, inclusive, there have been 21 years when the flood exceeded 35 feet on the Memphis gage. During this period, the water remained above 35 feet on the Memphis gage a total of 788 days, or a total of 2 years and 53 days. I would like to state to the committee the effects of the floods in the backwater area, as it affected the farming interests in the 3 years 1927, 1928, and 1929, when for 3 consecutive years little or nothing was produced or harvested. In 1927, the year of the "great flood," the waters came in February and again in March, April, and May, and a third time in June, the gage being above the flood stage at Memphis for a period of 105 days. Crops were planted late in June and early in July, but nothing of consequence was harvested. In the year 1928, the flood came in June and July, and the water was above the flood mark on the Memphis gage for 14 days. Crops had been planted and worked out when the flood came, and on all the lands that were flooded all crops were completely destroyed. On account of the late date, nothing could be planted after the waters receded. It was estimated that there were inundated by this flood approximately 100,000 acres of land, 65 percent of which was in cultivation. In 1929, the flood came in March and did not recede until the 10th day of June. The water was above the flood stage on the Memphis gage for 89 days. It was estimated that nearly 250,000 acres of land were covered by water, 60 percent of which was in cultivation. There was nothing planted in this year until the 12th or 15th of June, and planting was completed in the early part of July. The growing season was fine that year, both for cotton and corn, but the time was too short for either to mature. A killing frost came on October 25th and all corn was destroyed; cotton was cut from 60 to 65 percent of the normal yield. 7564 A statement of the losses for the years 1927, 1928, and 1929, as compiled by the St. Francis Flood Control Association, for the backwater area in St. Francis and Lee Counties, Ark., shows them to be as follows: The areas to which we refer are highly productive of all agricultural crops, except in years of flood. The farmer cannot compete with the recurring floods and survive. He cannot withstand the terrific losses. We must have protection from the floods. Mr. Houck. I am vice president of the Miller Lumber Co., of Marianna, Ark., and have been an official of that company since 1905. Also, for the past 5 years I have been a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress of Washington, D. C. Our company was organized in March of 1888 and has been in the hardwood sawmill and retail lumber business continually since that date and has conducted farming operations in Lee and St. Francis Counties since that date. It has conducted its logging operations on the St. Francis River, cutting its logs on the lands adjoining the tributary bayous and along the banks of the main river itself, and rafting and floating them on down to the mills in times of high water. Inasmuch as I was actively connected with the company in the operation of its sawmills and also in its farming operations during this long period of years, I have had an opportunity to observe and study the effect of the various floods as they affected the backwater sections of the area. In a statement to the district engineer's office, Memphis, Tenn., under date of July 30, 1947, I submitted certain data and river-gage readings taken from the backwater gage of the Miller Lumber Co., situated at Marianna, Ark., in the lower end of the backwater area. I am pleased to refer you to these statements which are in the record and to the tables and the data contained therein. I shall not burden you with the details of this important information at this time. However, I shall make some observations regarding the figures submitted at that time. The backwater gage at Marianna, Ark., was set with the Government gage at Memphis. I will therefore use the figures from the Memphis gage, as they are official and almost identical with those of the backwater gage at Marianna. Three major floods occurred prior to the building of the levee system. The crest-stage readings in these floods, as they appeared on the Memphis gage, were as follows: In the year 1882 the gage at Memphis was 35.1 feet; in 1883 it was 34.7 feet; and in 1884 it was 34.1 feet. |