74 BULLETIN 1017, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
River Falls to Crookston, and as damage from overflow and flooding 
occurs only above High Landing, channel improvement is recom- 
menended only for the upper part of the river. It is proposed to 
deepen and widen the first 45 miles of the channel, straightening it 
by cut-offs at excessive bends, and thus reducing the actual length of 
the dredged channel to -10 miles. With a bottom width of 60 feet, 
side slopes of 1-J to 1. an 8-foot depth of flow, and a uniform slope of 
0.7 foot per mile, the capacity is computed to be 1,037 cubic feet per 
second. This size and capacity is considered necessary to carry, with 
a minimum bank clearance of 2 feet, the maximum flow of 800 second- 
feet which may be expected under such conditions as occurred in the 
wet years of 1904 and 1905. 
RESULTS. 
The most extensive benefits to be gained through this project will be 
in the improved flood and drainage conditions in the upper river, the 
lake, and the surrounding country. Xext to this in importance is the 
advantage to water-power interests resulting from the controlled 
flow of Red Lake water. It is claimed that the project will be of 
benefit also to municipal water supply systems, and lastly that it will 
be of value to navigation in the lake and the upper reaches of the 
river. 
DRAINAGE AND FLOOD PREVENTION. 
High stages in the lake and upper river cause great loss in the sur- 
rounding country by submerging considerable areas and backing up 
into the drainage systems. The lowering of the lake surface and 
improvement in the river channel will prevent flooding, eliminate the 
backwater which now obstructs flow in the present ditch systems, and 
make possible adequate outlet facilities for further drainage opera- 
tions. Hundreds of thousands of acres of land, it is stated, will be 
benefited, some by reclamation from a state of permanent nonpro- 
ductiveness. and some by transforming land — the farming of which is 
at best a hazard— into land upon which profitable returns are prac- 
tically assured. According to documents Xo. 27, Sixty-first Con- 
gress, first session, and Xo. 971, Sixty-third Congress, second session, 
there are now or will be a total of 485.300 acres benefited by drain- 
age systems tributary to Red Lake and Red Lake River above Kratka. 
Minn. Of this, 236,800 acres lie within the Red Lake Indian Reserva- 
tion. The Army engineers' report assumes that the 485,000 acres may 
reasonably be assessed $1 per acre for benefit to be derived from the 
project. 
WATER POWER. 
There are now in operation on Red Lake River four water-power 
plants having a total head of about 50 feet. The Army engineers 
