BYBEE-MALOTT : THE FLOOD OF 1913 



213 



Indiana studied by Brossman, only fourteen had more than 300 

 meters, 13 between 100 and 300, 51 below 100 meters, and 66 were 

 without meters at all. Thus less than ten per cent of the cities 

 studied had sufficient meters to regulate the amount of water used. 

 In Bloomington, where the municipal water supply is limited, 

 there are very few meters. 



The lowering of the water table at Chicago is due to over- 

 development, and cannot be remedied. In 1864, the water in 

 the flowing wells stood 111 feet above the level of Lake Michigan, 

 but at the present time it is fifteen or twenty feet below the ground. 



The fourth and last factor concerned in the lowering of the 

 water table is deforestation. This factor has been dealt with to a 

 certain extent earlier in the report but it is well to emphasize the 

 results of deforestation by citing an illustration taken from the 

 'Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey/ 

 Part Four: 



'Queens creek of Arizona is a typical stream in a barren treeless water 

 shed which has a rain fall of about fifteen inches per year. The area of this 

 water shed is about 143 square miles and 61 per cent of it is above 3,000 feet. 

 The maximum flood discharge in 1896, was 9,000 cubic feet per second. During 

 a greater portion of the time the creek was dry. In this case there was very 

 little chance for the water to soak into the ground 



'Cedar creek, in Washington, is typical of streams flowing from tim- 

 bered water sheds. The basin of Cedar creek lies on the western slope ot 

 the Cascade mountains, and is covered with a dense forest and a very heavy 

 undergrowth of ferns and mosses. The drainage is the same as that of Queens 

 creek, 143 square miles. The precipitation for the year 1897, was 93 inches 

 for the lower portion of the basin and probably 150 inches for the mountain 

 summits; in spite of the fact that the precipitation in Cedar Creek basin was 

 from six to nine times more than that in Queens creek basin, the maximum 

 flood discharge of Cedar creek for 1897, was but 3,601 cubic feet per second, 

 as against the 9,000 cubic feet for Queens creek. On the other hand the flow 

 of Cedar creek was continuous through the year, and the minimum discharge 

 was never less than 27 per cent of the mean for the year. The mean discharge 

 of Cedar creek was 1,089 cubic feet, as against 15 cubic feet for Queens creek. 

 This radical difference between the behavior of the two streams can be ex- 

 plained only by the difference in the soil covering of the two basins. Cedar 

 creek basin is covered with a heavy forest, while Queens creek is almost en- 

 tirely bare with a few scattered pinyon trees and a little brash or grass. 



This illustration shows the intimate relation that exists between 

 the process of deforestation and the control of our flood waters. 

 It also shows an evident cause of the lowering of the water table in 

 this and other states. This is a practical demonstration and should 

 carry considerable weight in the determination of our attitude 

 toward the question of flood control. 



