IMPROVING CALIFORNIA'S RIVERS 



RUFUS P. JENNINGS 

 President of the River Improvement and Drainage Association of California 



THE subject of restraining the waters of California's rivers, protecting 

 and reclaiming bottom lands, and restoring the streams to their 

 former navigable condition, has been under consideration by the 

 people of the river counties for many years, and futile attempts have 

 been made from time to time to bring about such conditions as were 

 desired. Individual effort, sporadically and spasmodically expended, did 

 little but waste money until the year 1904, when the various commercial 

 organizations of the districts directly interested in the question, issued a call 

 for a mass convention of people from all parts of California for the purpose 

 of devising ways and means for the proper correction of existing evils. On 

 May 24th and 25th of that year more than four hundred men assembled 

 at the Palace Hotel, in San Francisco, and organized the River Improvement 

 and Drainage Association of California. 



In order to crystalize the thought expressed at the meeting a General 

 Comqiittee of twenty-five was appointed, and this committee appointed an 

 Executive Committee consisting of Rufus P. Jennings, President; M. J. 

 Boggs, Colusa; John W. Ferris, San Francisco; S. Frankenheimer, Stockton; 

 George W. Patterson, Stockton; P. J. van Loben Sels, Oakland; E. W. S. 

 Woods, Stockton. The Association began active work to secure accurate 

 data and recommendations from men who had studied similar problems, 

 and succeeded in having the Commissioner of Public Works of California, 

 with the consent of the Governor and State Auditing Board, appoint a com- 

 mission of engineers, consisting of Major T. G. Dabney, of Mississippi; 

 Henry B. Richardson, of Louisiana; Major H. H. Chittenden, of Iowa, member 

 of the United States Engineer Corps; and M. A. Nurse, State Engineer. 



After an exhaustive examination this commission of engineers made the 

 following recommendations in a voluminous report: 



"(a) To confine the flood waters to the channels of the various streams 

 by means of levees, so as to prevent destructive inundations of the fertile 

 valley lands. 



"(b) To correct the alignment of the river by cut-offs where necessary, 

 and to increase its channel capacity by mechanical means wherever current 

 action fails to accomplish this purpose. 



"(c) To collect the hill drainage, which now loses itself in the basins, 

 in intercepting canals and convey it into the rivers at selected points. 



"(d) To provide escapeways over the levees for surplus flood waters 

 during the period of channel development, and to provide for the disposal 

 of this water in connection with the hill drainage. 



"(e) To provide for the relief of the basins from the accumulation 

 of rain and seepage water by means of pumps wherever gravity drainage is 

 not practical." 



With this report as a guide, and as a result of the investigations of the 

 commission of engineers, the River Improvement and Drainage Association 

 had prepared and pushed to passage a bill in the State Legislature known 

 as "The Sacramento Drainage Act/' establishing the Sacramento Drainage 

 District in care of a Board of Drainage Commissioners, which was given 

 powers to supervise and control reclamation Districts, canals and levees; 

 to compel construction; to incur expenses; to levy assessments and Issue 

 condemnation processes. 



The constitutionality of this act having been questioned by interested 

 property-owners, suit was brought in the Superior Court of Sacramento 

 County, which has been decided in favor of the Board of Drainage Commis- 

 sioners, and declares the act to be constitutional. As a result of this decision 

 the members of the River Improvement and Drainage Association, will pro- 

 ceed actively with the further work of solving problems pertaining to the 

 rivers, which when solved will add millions to California's wealth. 



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