6 SOUTH BUFFALO FLOODS AND PROPOSED REMEDY. 



of silt, and also to determine the scouring and eroding effect of 

 the current. 



The accompanying profile of the bottom of the river, together 

 with the flood profiles showing the slope of the surface of the 

 water, give a graphic illustration of the action of the several 

 floods of which we have records. (Cut 2.) 



Referring to the map of the city: — the valley of the Buffalo 

 River once entered Lake Erie south of the Tifft Farm, but prob- 

 ably the action of the shore currents of the lake forced the out- 

 let of the river further north until the stream was forced upon 

 a rocky ledge at Louisiana Street and near the outlet. This 

 acted as a barrier and caused floods upon the lower portion of 

 the stream. 



Within the past thirty- five years some half a million dollars 

 have been expended between the Erie Railroad freight house 

 and Hamburg Street for deepening and improving the channel 

 through the rock, and this work has prevented the recurrence 

 of floods which formerly occured in that locality, by providing 

 an adequate channel for the passage of the water. This fact 

 will be referred to later as bearing upon the proposed method 

 of abating the floods. 



The present conditions inside the city limits, and in the sec- 

 tion of the city known as "South Buffalo", are as follows: — 



At irregular intervals — at least twice or three times each year, 

 the banks of the Buffalo River and of the Cazenovia Creek in- 

 side of the city (we will not consider the conditions outside of 

 the city line) are overflowed by the sudden melting of snows, 

 or by heavy rains on the upper reaches of the streams, and an 

 area of about 1600 acres is for a short time under water. The 

 floods do not always reach the same defined limits of area, but 

 about that amount of territory is subject to disastrous flooding. 



The usual programme is about as follows : 



A heavy continued rain when the ground is frozen, or pre- 

 viously saturated, as for example, the flood of May 20th, 1894, 

 and that of July, 1902. More often the flood conditions are 

 produced from melting snow, or a combination of such with rain, 

 or even thunder storms, as that of Jan. 29th and 30th, 1903. 



The summit of the flood wave usually follows the crest of 

 the storm, or greatest run-off in melting snows, by about 12 

 hours, the maximum flow in Cazenovia Creek occurring from 

 three to six hours before that in the Buffalo River. The usual 

 statement in the news items to the effect that the flood was en- 



