42 Second Annual Report of the 



of War. Permits have been issued to two existing companies to 

 use an aggregate of not exceeding 15,100 second feet. Five hun- 

 dred second feet have also been allowed for use at Loekport from 

 the Erie canal, leaving 4,400 second feet still unassigned. 



The total fall from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario is 327 feet. The 

 fall of the river from a point opposite the intake of Niagara Falls 

 Power Company to the Devil's Hole is about 300 feet. A flow of 

 20,000 second feet used on this head would give about 540,000 

 net horse power. This is about the ultimate amount that can be 

 economically developed on the American side under the present 

 treaty. Owing to incomplete utilization of fall, the present com- 

 panies can ultimately develop under the most favorable conditions 

 of operation only about 210,000 H. P., with 15,100 second feet. 



With reference to the 4,400 second feet, for which permits have 

 not yet been issued by the Secretary of War, the Commission 

 believes that every effort should be made to retain it for the use of 

 the State. 



OSWEGATCHIE RlVER POWER SURVEYS. 



The Commission has continued the work of making surveys of 

 the streams of the State with special reference to ascertaining the 

 amount of developed and undeveloped powers. An engineering 

 party has worked the entire season on the watershed of the Oswe- 

 gatchie river. Field work is still in progress, and the results of 

 the survey are not yet available. It is proposed to issue a pamph- 

 let covering the entire subject of power development on the Oswe- 

 gatchie river as soon as the work is completed and the results 

 compiled. 



Several promising sites for storage reservoirs have been sur- 

 veyed and the magnificent power possibilities of the Oswegatchie 

 investigated. 



Orleans Water Supply Project. 



In the counties of Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee and ^lonroe, 

 comprising the northwestern section of New York State, natural 

 conditions and their modifications, brought about by settlement 

 and cultivation, have combined to make it very difficult and costly 

 for the numerous small cities and villages to secure adequate 

 supplies of pure and wholesome water for domestic purposes. 



