APPALACHIAN AND WHITE MOUNTAIN WATERSHEDS. 17 



It was as efficient as would have been a system of lakes. It had 

 power to hold back the water on a steep mountain side almost as. 

 though the ground were level. Thus, in a great measure, it equalized 

 all influences which contributed to the variability of the run-off. 



This balance of conditions began to be disturbed when the forest 

 was cleared from great areas of foothill land. It has become strongly 

 disarranged since the clearing has extended far up the mountains and 

 since the forest has been opened by cutting and the humus consumed 

 by fire over almost the entire area. 



In view of the fact that over large areas of the upper watersheds 

 of the Southern Appalachian streams the forest can never be restored, 

 the possibilities of artificial storage become important. In the report 

 of the Geological Survey on Relation of Southern Appalachian Moun- 

 tains to Inland Water Navigation data are presented for each navi- 

 gable stream to show the available reservoir sites, the amount of 

 water which can be stored, and the effect of such stored water on- 

 the minimum river stage for specified periods. The data for some 

 streams show that remarkable results can be accomplished. As a 

 striking example one la&j consider the Savannah, which during the 

 greater part of the year is navigable for steamboats drawing from 4 

 to 5 feet of water, but during low-water seasons there are various 

 shoals in the upper part of the river with a depth of not over 3_ feet. 

 In pursuance of the plan of improvement outlined by the Chief of 

 Engineers, United States Army, the United States had expended in 

 the improvement of this river up to June 30, 1905, the sum of 

 $517,643, of which $58,935 was expended above Augusta. The esti- 

 mate of cost to complete the project is $645,045. Expenditures on 

 the upper portion of the river have now been suspended on the 

 ground that the permanent improvement of this portion would 

 mvolve an expenditure out of proportion to the prospective com- 

 mercial benefits. 



Considering this condition, it is of interest to note what can be 

 done by means of a storage system on this river. Topographic sur- 

 veys have located 14 reservoir sites, which, if developed, would have 

 a capacity equal to the annual run-off of 1,670 square miles of drain- 

 age area, or 23 per cent of the drainage area above Augusta. With 

 these reservoirs developed and filled, the amount of water which 

 could be stored would be sufficient to maintain an added depth of 9 

 feet at Augusta for a period of 118 davs, or practically four months. 

 Even with the reservoirs half full at the beginning of the low-water 

 season there would still be water enough to add 5 feet to the depth of 

 the river for 130 days. The Savannah, already a river of great com- 

 mercial importance, would have its commerce increased many fold if 

 only a good navigable depth could be maintained at all seasons. 



It is not pertinent here to consider whether at a future time it may 

 be desirable to plan a general system of such reservoirs. It is impor- 

 tant to point out that every reservoir developed for water power in 

 the mountains or foothills helps conditions in the navigable courses 

 of the streams. Owing to the great water-power development which 

 is taking place, this aid is hkely to be of considerable value in the 

 future. Wlien in addition to seeking improved conditions of naviga- 

 tion it is of equal or greater importance to control the floods, as in 

 the Monongahela River, such work may become entirely feasible. 



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