DRAINAGE OF WET LANDS OF SOUTHERN LOUISIANA. 59 



value is due to possibilities of reclamation rather than to any present useful- 

 ness and is more or less speculative. The value of the land varies according to 

 the completeness and permanence of the drainage improvements, as well as 

 according to its original character. A wide variation in the quality of the 

 improvements exists, especially in the pumping-plant equipment. The cost per 

 acre of reclaiming the various districts depends on natural conditions, the 

 completeness of reclamation, and the character of the drainage improvements. 

 The usual variation in the cost of such reclamation is from $25 to $35 per acre. 



SUCCESS OF DRAINAGE. 



The drainage of these lands has been uniformly successful, and from the 

 drainage engineer's standpoint the work is past the experimental stage. Where 

 successful drainage has not been attained it has been due to insufficient and 

 poorly constructed improvement rather than to inherent and insurmountable 

 difficulties. Some districts have been drained without the advice and services 

 of an engineer, and while in some such cases successful drainage has been 

 secured, it was not secured with the greatest economy, the proposition that if 

 enough money be spent the land can be drained being a self-evident one. 



The usual faults in the drainage systems are — 



(1) Poorly constructed and leaky levees. 



(2) Poorly constructed and inefficient pumping plants. 



(3) The lack of sufficient canal capacity to drain successfully the interior of 

 the tract. 



INVESTIGATIONS TO BE MADE BEFORE RECLAMATION. 



Before attempting to reclaim any district of marshland, the following points 

 should be thoroughly investigated : 



(1) The depth and character of the muck. 



(2) The character of the underlying silt. 



(3) The elevation of the land above ordinary stages of water in the sur- 

 rounding lakes and bayous. 



(4) The ordinary and extreme variations of water level in these lakes and 

 bayous. 



(5) The elevation of the ordinary and maximum storm tides. 



(6) The existence of sunken timber and stumps. 



(7) Transportation facilities. 



In addition to the above, the topographic features of each district should be 

 investigated in detail by a careful field survey and a complete and definite 

 plan worked out by a competent engineer. The work should then be constructed 

 under competent supervision and should be of a permanent nature, since the 

 need for the improvements will be permanent. 



FACTORS AFFECTING DRAINAGE BY PUMPING IN SOUTHERN 



LOUISIANA. 



While the feasibility of reclaiming these wet lands has been demonstrated 

 beyond question, there are a number of details of practice that have not yet been 

 satisfactorily worked out, and it is not possible at this time definitely to recom- 

 mend a line of procedure that will result in the most efficient and economical 

 drainage of any tract of wet prairie land. In the following pages are discussed 

 briefly each of the important items that enter into this form of reclamation. 

 The conclusions presented are necessarily based upon a study of a rather limited 

 practice, and further experimentation and investigation may alter somewhat 

 certain of the recommendations herein made, 



