LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY, TRANSMITTING TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, UNITED STATES SENATE, IN RESPONSE TO A LETTER DATED DECEMBER 6, 1928, A REPORT ON THE CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER AND LAKE OKEECHOBEE DRAINAGE AREAS, FLORIDA JANUARY 31 (calendar day, FEBRUARY 1), 1929.-Referred to the Committee on Commerce and ordered to be printed, with illustration Hon. WESLEY L. JONES, WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Chairman Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. JONES: 1. Referring to letter of the chairman of of the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, dated December 6, 1928, inclosing a copy of a resulution of your committee of the same date, requesting the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors to review the reports on Caloosahatchee River and Lake Okeechobee drainage areas, Florida, submitted in House Document No. 215, Seventieth Congress, first session, with a view to determining whether any modification is advisable in that report, particularly in the light of flood of September, 1928; and to letter of the chairman of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives dated December 7, 1928, inclosing a copy of a resolution of that committee of the same date, requesting the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors to review the reports on Caloosahatchee River and Lake Okeechobee drainage areas, Florida, submitted in House Document No. 215, Seventieth Congress, first session, with a view to determining whether in view of the large loss of life and destruction of property during the recent hurricane, more adequate provision should not be made for navigation to convey the people of the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee and property liable to destruction from the scene of danger by the canals mentioned in and provided for by said canals of all surplus or flood waters, I inclose herewith the report of the board in response thereto. 2. In the document under review a channel 6 feet deep and 80 feet wide was recommended to be provided in Caloosahatchee River between the western boundary of the Everglades drainage district and Fort Myers, at an estimated cost of $620,000, with $15,000 annually for maintenance, subject to certain conditions of local cooperation, which would result among other things in providing a navigable waterway across the State. 3. Since that report was submitted the hurricanes of August and September, 1928, have occurred. The records of rainfall and wind velocity were materially changed by these storms. The probable wind velocity during the September hurricane was 135 miles per hour. The maximum height of wind tides and waves near the edge of the lake appears to have been 29.6 feet at the southeast shore. The levees then existing at the south end of the lake had an elevation of about 22 feet. The September storm is reported to have caused the loss of about 2,000 lives. 4. The Everglades drainage district advises that it has expended $17,841,000 for works connected with reclamation of the Everglades. Of this amount approximately $10,000,000 is stated to have been secured through the sale of bonds and $800,000 through the sale of sovereignty lands; the remainder is the amount received in taxes or from the sale of swamp and overflow lands given to the State by the United States under the swamp and overflow land grant act of 1850, upon condition that the proceeds of this land whether by sale or direct appropriation in kind should be applied to the purpose of reclamation by means of levees and drains. Of the $17,841,000, the district has charged $2,004,000 to navigation; $9,801,000 to reclamation and irrigation and $6,036,000 to flood control. 5. In order to retain sufficient water in Lake Okeechobee to provide for the needs of irrigation the lake is controlled between elevations of 15 and 18 feet. The 1928 storm leads the district engineer to recommend that the maximum elevation be 17 feet. 6. It has not been found feasible to store excess water in the Kissimmee Valley or to divert it directly into the Atlantic. Control of the lake is possible without such diversion if a total outlet capacity of 7,500 cubic feet per second at a lake stage of 17 feet be provided. The St. Lucie Canal now has a capacity of 5,000 cubic feet per second. An additional 2,500 cubic feet per second could be provided in St. Lucie Canal at a cost estimated by the Everglades Engineering Board of Review at $1,224,000. The same additional outlet capacity can be provided through the Caloosahatchee Canal and River at an estimated cost of $1,557,000. While more expensive, the district engineer considers the Caloosahatchee route preferable, since it would be an essential part of a navigable waterway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. 7. The severity of the 1928 hurricane makes advisable the construction of a levee higher than the 27-foot elevation which was recommended by the Everglades Engineering Board of Review after the 1926 hurricane. The district engineer considers that the levee top should be at elevation 31 feet and that the cross section should be greater. He also considers necessary an extension of the levee some 3 miles to the north of Canal Point. At the Moore Haven end it should be carried to the high land to the west, preferably following the south side of Fisheating Creek. The estimated cost of such a levee made of earth capped with stone is $3,700,000. 8. In general, Lake Okeechobee is shallow, and during hurricanes the water piles up in one of the shallow pockets or bays at the southeast, southwest, or north end of the lake. In 1928, the damage first occurred around the southeast pocket, and when the wind changed direction the water piled up at the north end of the lake. A baffle levee constructed on a natural rock ridge in the lake might, in the opinion of the district engineer, control this dangerous movement of water during hurricanes. Such a levee built to a height of 28 feet and providing sufficient openings for navigation and for maintaining the lake at a constant level would cost $3,160,000, if built largely of rock. The value of this levee for protection in the area to its south is difficult to determine with certainty and the district engineer concludes that a levee along the south shore would be preferable. He also proposes a levee following the north shore of the lake for the protection of the Eagle Bay drainage district and the city of Okeechobee. Such a levee extending along the shore of the lake from the mouth of Kissimmee River to a point about 31⁄2 miles southeast of Taylors Creek and having arms extending back to high ground on the left bank of the Kissimmee River on both sides of Taylors Creek and at the south end is estimated to cost $820,000. 9. Estimates are also submitted for levees of types of construction of greater strength than those recommended by the district engineer. (a) Section-Muck core to elevation 25, top width 5 feet, slopes 1 on 22, covered with riprap to elevation 31, top width 10 feet, slopes 1 on 2: South shore. North shore. Total... (b) Section-Muck core to elevation 25, top width 5 feet, slopes 1 on 22, covered with riprap to elevation 31, top width 10 feet, slopes 1 on 22: South shore.. North shore.. Total.... (c) Section-Rock levee, top elevation 31, top width 10, slopes 1 on 12, superposed on present levee: South shore_. North shore.. Total.. (d) Section-Same as (c) but removing old levee: South shore___ North shore.. Total. (e) Concrete gravity section to rock.. Estimated cost $4, 404, 000 1, 084, 000 5, 488, 000 5, 648,000 1, 337, 000 6, 985, 000 5,026,000 1, 591, 000 6, 617, 000 7, 126, 000 1,591, 000 8, 717, 000 37, 000, 000 (f) Section Top elevation 31, top width 10, lake slope 1 on 1, land slope 1 on 12, lake slope faced with 1 foot of concrete, on 2 feet of hand-placed rock, backed by random rock_____ 28, 000, 000 10. Extension of a navigable channel 6 feet deep and 80 feet wide across the lake was originally expected to result from the construction of the levee along the south shore. It is found that rock which will be required for riprapping the levee lies at a depth considerably below 6 feet so that the resulting channel would be deeper than 6 feet and probably in some places no wider than 40 feet. To provide a channel of the full proposed dimensions would require an additional expenditure estimated at $632,000. The District Engineer recommends instead thereof channels dredged into deep water in the lake from Moore Haven, Clewiston, and the Miami, North New River, and Hillsboro Canals, together with a channel 60 feet wide from the city of Okeechobee through Taylors Creek, at a total estimated cost of $876,000. 11. Improvement of the North New River Canal to a cross section of 6 feet by 80 feet to form the navigable connection from Lake Okeechobee to the Atlantic has been estimated by the chief engineer of the Everglades drainage district as requiring an expenditure of from $3,671,000 to $3,692,000. Improvement of this canal to provide an outlet capacity of 2,500 cubic feet per second from the lake, based on his surveys, is estimated to cost $7,000,000. The St. Lucie Canal already provides an adequate waterway between the lake and the ocean, with the exception of a short section of the St. Lucie River, where dredging would be required at an estimated cost of $25,000. The necessary outlet capacity would be provided at less expense through the Caloosahatchee River. 12. The costs of flood control and navigation are estimated by the district engineer as follows: Flood control, Lake Okeechobee, with incidental benefits to navigation Protection against shoaling in the St. Lucie Canal caused by side drainage.... Sixty-three miles of levee on south shore, Lake Okeechobee__ Total. Acquisition of right of way for levee.. Total, including right of way. Navigation with lake regulation but without levee protection Cost to provide a channel 6 feet deep and 80 feet wide from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic: Improvement of Caloosahatchee Canal and River......... This item is a duplication of a similar item under flood Channel from Moore Haven into Lake Okeechobee. Additional to provide channels with 6-foot depth into Total.. Say Right of way for channels in the Caloosahatchee River_ Total, including right of way. $175,000 3,700, 000 820,000 1, 557,000 6, 252, 000 20,000 6, 272, 000 1,557, 000 348, 000 25,000 528, 000 2, 458, 000 2,500,000 325,000 2,825,000 The total cost of the above projects, exclusive of rights of way, is $7,195,000, and including rights of way, $7,540,000. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER 13. The district engineer recommends that the United States improve the Caloosahatchee River and Canal by providing a channel 6 feet deep and 80 feet wide, together with necessary control works; improve, the St. Lucie River from the eastern boundary of the Everglades drainage district to the Intracoastal Waterway; and dredge navigable channels in Taylors Creek and in Lake Okeechobee from 6-foot depth in the lake to Moore Haven, Clewiston, and the entrances to the several drainage canals, at a total estimated cost. of $2,500,000, with $15,000 annually for maintenance, provided that local interests will maintain a channel 80 feet wide and at least 6 feet deep through Lake Okeechobee and in the St. Lucie River and Canal to the eastern boundary of the Everglades drainage district, furnish all necessary rights of way and land, maintain and operate all control works and channels upon their completion by the United States and agree to charge no tolls on these navigable waterways and to be responsible for regulating the water levels of Lake Okeechobee. Under this recommendation, should local interests desire to maintain the lake at a lower level than the minimum recommended by the district engineer, they would be required to increase the depth of the various channels accordingly. The work which the district engineer recommends be executed by the United States does not include any levee construction. The building of levees is left entirely to local interests, who would be free to build them in accordance with any plan they might see fit to adopt. 14. The division engineer approves the plans of the district engineer, but would increase the estimated cost for construction of levees to a total of $5,500,000 to provide for selecting and placing large stone on the lake faces. He considers that the benefits to commerce will ultimately justify an expenditure of $4,000,000 in providing improvements for navigation and considers such an expenditure by the United States warranted. The execution of all the works of flood control and navigation improvement recommended by the district engineer, as enumerated in paragraph 12 above, should, in his opinion, be undertaken by the United States at an estimated cost of $8,195,000, with the proviso that local interests will contribute $4,195,000 and furnish the necessary rights of way, and agree to maintain all improvements within the boundaries of the Everglades drainage district. 15. The report of the district engineer has been referred, as required by law, to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and attention is invited to its report herewith. The board proposes a comprehensive plan for navigation and flood control comprising the construction of the levees along the north and south shores of Lake Okeechobee, the improvement of the Caloosahatchee River, Taylors Creek, and the St. Lucie River. The board recommends the building of practically all-rock levees as described in paragraph 9 (c) and (d) above except that only the most seasoned and compact portions of the existing south shore levee are to be incorporated in the new work. In view of the uncertainty as to how much of the present |