SOUTH BUFFALO FLOODS AND PROPOSED REMEDY. 9 



Furthermore, the locations of the several streams and the 

 natural lay of the country would apparently require storage 

 reservoirs on three different streams — Cazenovia Creek, Buffalo 

 River and Cayuga Creek. 



Considering the second proposition — the diversion to some 

 other outlet outside of the city, there does not seem to be any 

 safe place for such diversion, except that Cazenovia Creek might 

 be diverted into Smokes Creek. 



To illustrate the value of such diversion, it may be stated, 

 that should the entire stream be diverted into Smokes Creek, 

 it would not prevent the present troubles. The maximum 

 freshet discharge of Cazenovia Creek is not over 8000 cu. ft., 

 and in ordinary flood it would not exceed 5000. Possibly that 

 5000 cu. ft. of flow might be diverted into Smokes Creek and 

 so made to overflow a small stream which already has a bad 

 name as a flood maker along its own course and would seriously 

 damage large interests now located at its outlet. The most 

 recent flood of which we have record caused considerable damage 

 at the outlet of Smokes Creek. 



Furthermore, the records show that the maximum flow in 

 Cazenovia Creek in case of a freshet occurs several hours pre- 

 vious to the maximum flow in Buffalo River, and usually the 

 Cazenovia Creek flood has commenced to subside before the 

 Buffalo River flood reaches its maximum. Such diversion would 

 be expensive. Different estimates of the cost vary all the way 

 from $250,000 to $600,000, and do not give any accurate infor- 

 mation as to probable land damages. The suggestion does not 

 seem worth considering. 



The third suggestion — -that of raising the level of the entire 

 territory affected, would certainly remedy the trouble, but to 

 raise the level of the improvements now housing over 10,000 

 people, as well as many miles of improved streets, would not 

 prevent flooding of cellars unless carried to an extreme extent. 



The sewage of South Buffalo discharges into Cazenovia Creek 

 and Buffalo River and the discharge of the sewers is naturally 

 affected by the height in water of those streams. Filling for 

 the purpose of raising the level of this territory is not easily 

 obtained in that section. The amount necessary to fill the space 

 occupied by the overflow waters of 1902 would be about six 

 million cubic yards. That suggestion does not seem worth 

 considering. 



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