74 BULLETIN 1017, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTUEE. 



River Falls to Crookston, and as damage from overflow and flooding 

 occurs only above High Landing, channel improvement is recom- 

 menended only for the upper part of the river. It is proposed to 

 deepen and widen the first 45 miles of the channel, straightening it 

 by cut-offs at excessive bends, and thus reducing the actual length of 

 the dredged channel to 40 miles. With a bottom width of 60 feet, 

 side slopes of 1| to 1, an 8-foot depth of flow, and a uniform slope of 

 0.7 foot per mile, the capacity is computed to be 1,037 cubic feet per 

 second. This size and capacity is considered necessary to carry, with 

 a minimum bank clearance of 2 feet, the maximum flow of 800 second- 

 feet which may be expected under such conditions as occurred in the 

 wet years of 1904 and 1905. 



RESULTS. 



The most extensive benefits to be gained through this project will be 

 in the improved flood and drainage conditions in the upper river, the 

 lake, and the surrounding country. Next to this in importance is the 

 advantage to water-power interests resulting from the controlled 

 flow of Eed Lake water. It is claimed that the project will be of 

 benefit also to municipal water supply systems, and lastly that it will 

 be of value to navigation in the lake and the upper reaches of the 

 river. 



DRAINAGE AND FLOOD PREVENTION. 



High stages in the lake and upper river cause great loss in the sur- 

 rounding country by submerging considerable areas and backing up 

 into the drainage s} T stems. The lowering of the lake surface and 

 improvement in the river channel will prevent flooding, eliminate the 

 backwater which now obstructs flow in the present ditch systems, and 

 make possible adequate outlet facilities for further drainage opera- 

 tions. Hundreds of thousands of acres of land, it is stated, will be 

 benefited, some by reclamation from a state of permanent nonpro- 

 ductiveness, and some by transforming land — the farming of which is 

 at best a hazard — into land upon which profitable returns are prac- 

 tically assured. According to documents No. 27, Sixty-first Con- 

 gress, first session, and No. 971, Sixty-third Congress, second session, 

 there are now or will be a total of 485.300 acres benefited by drain- 

 age S} r stems tributary to Red Lake and Red Lake River above Kratka. 

 Minn. Of this, 236,800 acres lie within the Red Lake Indian Reserva- 

 tion. The Army engineers' report assumes that the 485,000 acres may 

 reasonably be assessed $1 per acre for benefit to be derived from the 

 project. 



WATER POWER. 



There are now in operation on Red Lake River four water-power 

 plants having a total head of about 50 feet. The Army engineers 



