BYBEE-MALOTT : THE FIjOOD OF 1918 ' 169 



valley. The plate indicates the part of the B. & 0. track and grade 

 that was removed. (See also Figs. 35 to 40.) There is no doubt 

 that the railroad grade at this place should be partly replaced with 

 trestle-work. On the west side of the river not only the railroad 

 grade but the street that connects West Shoals with East Shoals 

 served as an obstruction for the water. The cement sidewalk was 

 torn away, but neither of the grades was badly injured. The great 

 bulk of the water went around to the east of the town and came 

 into the river again near where Beaver Creek enters the channel. 

 In all, forty-four houses were either removed from their foundations 

 or carried away. This would have resulted regardless of the railroad 

 grade, the houses themselves being situated on the flood plain 

 within reach of high waters. 



Conclusion. The consideration of the levees along both forks 

 of White River brings out the fact that during the March flood all 

 of the levees brought disaster. Not only were they damaged them- 

 selves but they caused the adjacent territory to be washed and de- 

 nuded, in many cases very badly. Now, since this was true in the 

 recent flood, it will be true of future floods that approximate the 

 recent one. We are now ready for the pertinent question: Is it 

 worth while to provide protection against such floods in the future? 

 We wiir presume that the above question is answered in the affirm- 

 ative, just for the sake of showing how simply and practically 

 protection may be provided in regard to railroads and public road 

 embankments. From a study of the conditions as they are briefly 

 given above, the following conclusions present themselves: 



1. Railroad embankments have almost invariably impeded 

 the free passage of the water and caused it to be ponded above for a 

 time. 



2. Railroad embankments suffered severely and in some cases 

 bridges were destroyed. 



3. By the breaking of the embankment, the land below has 

 been greatly damaged and in some cases injured beyond reclamation. 



4. A noticeable lack of trestle-work was the cause of the 

 water being impeded and ponded. 



5. Near Riverside, Greene County, the C. T. H. & S. E. R. R. 

 had plenty of trestle-work and no serious damage was done, either 

 to the embankment or to the land immediately below. 



6. The I. C. R. R. at Bloomfield was only slightly damaged 

 because of the long stretch of trestle-work that permitted the water 

 to pass unimpeded. 



5—1424 



