PROBLEMS FROM LAND OCCUPANCY 209 



ity have been recorded in water from wells near the ship chan- 

 nel. The aquifers affected by dredging in these areas are small 

 and largely dependent upon local recharge. The increase in 

 salinity has been significant so far only in wells within a short 

 distance of the dredged channels. 



In some areas where proposed navigation channels would 

 cross recognized ground-water reservoirs, scientists have en- 

 deavored to forecast the effect of the channel upon the ground- 

 water resources. In New Jersey, studies of available ground- 

 water data have shown that the proposed intracoastal waterway 

 would probably affect several of the state's important ground- 

 water reservoirs in a variety of ways. In Florida the effect of 

 the proposed Atlantic-Gulf ship canal was the subject of con- 

 siderable controversy in the 1930's. 



Intracoastal Waterway, N.J. 4i A canal across the heart of 

 New Jersey from the Raritan River to the Delaware River 

 would provide a direct route for water traffic between New 

 York and Philadelphia. But such a channel must cross the 

 recharge areas of some of the state's most productive ground- 

 water reservoirs and if the channel were dredged to sea level 

 and permitted access of salt water to those aquifers, dete- 

 rioration and abandonment of many developed well-water 

 supplies would be inevitable. Accordingly the canal as pro- 

 posed by the Corps of Engineers in 1945 would be a lock 

 canal with a top level 10 feet above mean low water at Sandy 

 Hook. The upper level of the canal would be protected 

 against salt water by specially designed locks from which 

 most of the salt water would be removed by flushing during 

 lockage operations. Model studies at Vicksburg indicated 

 that the salt content could be held below 15 parts per million 

 in the locked canal, except within 2 miles of the locks at 

 Sayreville where it might rise to 30 parts per million of salt. 



<* Reference: Barksdale, H. C, and C. E. Jacob, "The Effect of the Proposed 

 New York Bav-Delaware River Section of the Intracoastal 

 Waterway on the Ground Waters of New Jersey," U.S. Geol. 

 Survey, Typed rept., 1945, 66 pp. 



