Aug. 9, 1875.

There are no records to indicate the March 1913 flood has ever been ceeded at Mount Carmel. The following chart gives the dates and ges for the major floods experienced in Wabash County.

Flood crest date:

Apr. 2, 1904_.

27.1

May 25, 1943.

27.5

May 13, 1908

24.9

Apr. 16, 1944_

Mar. 30, 1913_

31.0

Apr. 26, 1948_

22.9

In Wabash County, agricultural losses resulting from flood damage or the year 1957 amounted to $300,000. Over 10,000 acres of land ere involved. In 1958, the estimated amount of flood damages for he county was $375,000, involving approximately 12,000 acres.

Flood damage in the urban area of Mount Carmel begins when the iver stage reaches 23 feet. Serious damage begins at the stage of 27 et. At the 2712-foot stage, floodwater covers the railroad siding on he property of the electric company making impossible the delivery f coal which is necessary for electric generation. The same stage is itical to a large paper manufacturing plant located in the same area, s well as the sand and gravel company, lumberyard, and sewage lant. At a 31-foot flood stage, the city water plant becomes inopera

ve.

These industries have located on the flood plains of the Wabash iver for essentially two good reasons: (1) The need for water transortation as in the case of the sand and gravel operations, which also btains its raw material from the bed of the river; and (2) the need for arge volumes of water for cooling and processing purposes. Both the arge paperboard manufacturing concern and the electric generating ompany mentioned previously use vast amounts of water for these purposes.

It is true anyone building in such an area should expect to contend with the natural or regulated floodflow of water. These industries have taken precautions to mitigate against natural floods, but they are not prepared to suffer losses through increased flows and flood heights aused by acts of others. Nor should they be required to do so.

The flood risk in the past has had very little effect on industrial property values. It is admitted that possibility of flooding may have erved to depress residential property values and probably has preented, to some extent, normal repairs and maintenance.

Flood warning in ample time to permit the safe evacuation of perons from the flood plain is normally possible due to the slowly rising lood hydrograph. Consequently, loss of life from floods is improbble and there is no record or recollection of any loss of life in the County due to floods. Neither does the record indicate there has ever Deen an epidemic attributable to the floods.

Records of the average annual direct and indirect flood damages are not available for the city of Mount Carmel. In a report made by

the Department of Army, Corps of Engineers, Louisville Distri April 15, 1948, the average annual direct and indirect damages fr the flooding conditions at that time were estimated to be $17,300 $4,900, respectively, in terms of 1948 dollars.

Mount Carmel and the adjacent rural areas in the county have flood protection. Congress has authorized no flood protection proj: for the area. However, Congress has authorized the construction an agricultural levee on the Indiana side of the Wabash River.

The project known as levee unit No. 5 is located in Gibson and P Counties, Ind., on the left bank of the Wabash River opposite MCarmel and Wabash County. The plan involves the constructi an earth levee system which would provide protection for ap mately 45,000 acres of Indiana land against a flood equal to tha ing an average frequency of seven times in 100 years. This p received congressional authorization by the Flood Control adopted on June 22, 1936. The estimated cost of the work proximately $10 million for construction and over $600,000 for and damages.

Indiana landowners began the necessary steps to form the re levee district several years ago. This first attempt resulted in s verse Indiana Supreme Court decision. Again in 1956, the India interests initiated the formal court proceedings necessary to esta the levee district which would be the authority responsible for eration and maintenance of the levee. The petition requesting: Gibson County circuit court to establish the levee district was sie by five large landowners of Gibson and Posey Counties. In petition, they set out the physical facts of the levee. These ph dimensions are identical to levee plans previously submitted by Corps of Army Engineers, Louisville District.

Levee unit No. 5 is described as an earth levee with an ave height of 11 feet, an average base width of 78 feet, and a crown w of 12 feet. The proposed levee is 45.2 miles long and designed to tect some 45,000 acres of land. The levee begins at a point app mately 3 miles southwest of Patoka, Ind. From that point, the le will carry west along the south bank of the Patoka River for proximately 8 miles. There, where the Patoka flows into the Wh directly opposite Mount Carmel, the levee turns toward the south runs along the left or east bank of the Wabash River following the point where the Black River empties into the Wabash. F there the levee traverses up the northerly bank of the Black Ri a northeasterly direction to a point known as Johnson. It is esting to note that of the 45,000 acres of land the levee will pr over one-third is owned or controlled by only a few landowners The top of the levee opposite Mount Carmel will be at an eler of 4041% feet above sea level. In order to top the levee, the crest will reach 33 feet on the Mount Carmel river gage. somewhat higher than the record 1913 flood. The Corps of A Engineers terms the levee a 15-year levee, indicating it will be over on an average of once every 15 years. According to testimony of S. M. Bailey, Chief, Engineering Division, U.S. Army Engineer trict, Louisville, during a hearing held relative to the format level district No. 5, when the levee is overrun a portion of it w washed away and would afford no protection. Such condition

The

T

revail on the average of once every 15 years. Mount Carmel has ot experienced such a flood for over 47 years.

The Engineers also state that under the conditions of confinement reated by the levee the 23-foot stage (the stage at which damage egins in Wabash County) would be equaled or exceeded on the averge of once every 12 years or about the same as under present condiions of stream confinement. Also according to Mr. Bailey, under onditions of confinement produced by construction of the levee it is stimated the increase for the highest stage at which confinement will e operative, or the maximum increase, will be 5 feet. Major floods aving a stage of 27 feet would be equaled or exceeded on the average of about once every 4 years as compared to once every 11 years under he present conditions of confinement. It is estimated that the averge annual flood damage would be slightly over twice the estimated lamage without confinement.

Although the flood plains in the eastern portion of Wabash County are somewhat defined because of the abrupt increase of elevation at the edge of the flood plain, confinement created by the proposed Indiana levee would tend to have disastrous effects on agricultural and urban property in the Illinois flood plan. Not only would the frequency of major floods increase but the floodwaters would remain standing on agricultural land for a greater length of time. At the same time the current of the stream would increase considerably therey causing scouring and erosion of the agricultural land. Crop losses caused by the overflow onto Illinois farmland would make the soil incapable of being farmed in an efficient and husbandmanlike manner. Such conditions would force eventual abandonment of acreage as tillble land.

In the vicinity of Rochester, Ill., there is now a structure known as Rochester-McCleary Bluffs levee designed to protect a portion of the agricultural land in the south part of Wabash County. This levee, constructed at the expense of the landowners protected by it, would be greatly endangered if proposed levee unit No. 5 on the opposite side of the river were built.

Property owners in Mount Carmel and Wabash County fear the construction of the proposed levee unit No. 5 will cause great economic loss. Soon after proceedings began in Gibson County circuit court requesting establishment of the levee district hundreds of Mount Carmel and Wabash County residents filed intervening petitions opposing such action. In these intervening petitions the opponents of the levee swore the value of their property would be decreased to the extent of some $6 million if the proposed levee were constructed. In 1958 Special Judge Lester Nixon of the Gibson County circuit court held that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the objections of the Illinois residents. Therefore, Wabash County property owners are without recourse in the Indiana proceedings. Many Indiana residents outside the levee, and on the north side of the Patoka River, as well as pipeline and oil companies continue to oppose the formation of the levee district.

As of this date, the formation of the levee district for Indiana levee unit No. 5 is still in litigation in the Gibson County circuit court. So long as this question is still before the court it would seem questionable as to whether Congress would want to appropriate further funds

for surveys, studies, detailed planning or actual construction, if it were aware of this fact.

Throughout the long and vigorously contested court proceedings it has been apparent that Illinois landowners will not be awarded compensation for the $6 million damages they will suffer if the authorized Îevee is constructed. The court has held it has no jurisdiction to hear the intervening petitions and the claims for damages of Illinois property owners. It follows that at the same time it would have no jurisdiction to award damages to those same property owners.

An organization known as the Wabash Valley Association has actively promoted development of the Wabash Valley in Illinois and Indiana. That group has comprehensive plans for making the Wabash navigable and for flood control along the valley. Included in their proposals are plans for construction of several reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Wabash River. Appropriations have bee provided by the Federal Government for construction of some of these. It could be that reservoirs such as these will alleviate some part of the flood problem in the lower reaches of the Wabash. To build a levee such as unit No. 5 in Posey and Gibson Counties in Irdiana before the upper reservoirs are built and before their effective ness is determined, seems to be premature. However, the Indians interests with the backing of the Wabash Valley Association continue to seek appropriations for levee unit No. 5 in Indiana.

In the first session of this Congress, the House of Representatives did not deem it necessary to make further appropriations for this levee. The situation and conditions have not changed since last year. It would appear that the same wise decisions to omit funds for this levee again in this session would be justifiable.

In a report dated April 15, 1948, of a survey made by the Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, the question of flood protection for Mount Carmel and the adjacent rural area was discussed. It was the conclusion of that group that protection for only a small portion of Mount Carmel could be economically justified but it would not prove feasible to protect with agricultural levees the great rural portion of Wabash County which lies opposite the proposed Indians levee unit No. 5.

If the Indiana levee is not constructed, there is no need to buik a levee in Illinois. There is no need then to place the burden of corstruction costs on all the taxpayers, and the financial responsibility maintaining and operating an unnecessary levee on the local peope This committee, speaking for a vast number of individuals, bisnessmen, civic organizations, local governing bodies and others. spectfully requests that the Appropriation Committee give due consideration to its plea for deletion from the appropriation bill any and all funds designated for further study, planning or construction of Indiana levee No. 5.

SUMMARY

The Wabash County Flood Protection Committee urges opposi tion to appropriation of funds for Indiana levee unit No. 5 for the following reasons:

I. The construction of Indiana levee unit No. 5 will:

1. Create an immediate and serious flood threat to one-third of the area in the incorporated city limits of Mount Carmel and to

over 12,000 acres of farm and rural property in Wabash County, Ill.

2. Increase flood level by 5 feet at the highest stage at which confinement will be operative.

3. Increase the frequency of major floods of a 27-foot stage (10 feet above flood stage) to an average of 1 every 4 years instead of the prevailing frequency of 1 every 11 years.

4. Increase the frequency of disastrous floods of the nature of the 31-foot flood in 1913 from 1 in 47 years to an average of 7

in 100 years.

5. Cause the annual average flood damage in Wabash County to increase approximately 100 percent.

6. Create a serious threat to the general health and welfare to the city of Mount Carmel if the increased flow of flood waters causes the water treating plant and sewerage plant to become inoperative and force the shutdown of the electric generating and gas distribution facilities of the local company.

7. Create an unfavorable climate for the industrial development of the area and will tend to discourage expansion of industry already located in the area.

8. Cause an immediate decrease in the value of residential, industrial, and agricultural property to the extent of $6 million as shown by intervening petitions filed by Illinois property owners. 9. Cause flood waters to remain longer on, and move more rapidly across, agricultural land reducing soil fertility by waterlogging and erosion.

II. Since Indiana courts will assume no jurisdiction over Illinois property, Illinois landowners will not be compensated for damages resulting from the construction of the Indiana levee.

III. The question of the formation of Levee District No. 5 is still in the process of contested litigation and the outcome of the suit remains to be determined.

IV. There are other flood abatement projects upstream in the Wabash River Valley, which when completed may make the construcion of levee No. 5 unnecessary.

V. When considering the ratio of benefits to costs for the project, the costs used for such computation did not include costs represented by damages suffered by Illinois property owners.

VI. According to the report of the 1948 survey conducted by the U.S. Corps of Engineers it is not economically feasible to protect the rural areas adjacent to Mount Carmel with levees. There has been no substantial change in the physical problem since that time. There is no reason to believe the rural areas could be protected more economically now than previously.

VII. This committee questions the wisdom of spending large amounts of money for projects which increase the agricultural potencial of certain favored land, at the expense of extensive damage to neighboring land, while other agencies of the Government are spending taxpayers' money to reduce the amount of land in crop production. VIII. This committee objects to and rebels at the idea that in order to pay for the construction of levee unit No. 5 Illinois taxpayers will contribute more funds toward the construction of the levee than will the Indiana taxpayers.