13. The plan for additional improvements as presented by the district engineer provides for the following: 1 Modification of existing project. Includes part of cost of raising railroad bridge at Fort Smith, Ark.; highway bridge at Van Buren, Ark.; or highway bridge at Morrilton, Ark., respectively. 14. Comparative estimates of the annual costs and benefits for the bridge raise at Tulsa are not presented. The district engineer considers this raise necessary to assure the safety of the existing project levees under construction and therefore concludes that it is a necessary improvement. The estimated annual benefits tabulated above include only those due to prevention of direct and indirect flood damages, with allowances in certain instances for enhancement of land values due to rendering the areas protected suitable for more profitable use. Intangible benefits which cannot be readily evaluated in monetary terms, such as improvement in sanitary and health conditions, would also result. Taking these into account the district engineer concludes that each improvement of the plan is economically justified. He recommends that the improvements listed, requiring modifications of existing projects in some instances, be constructed, with such changes of plans as in the discretion of the Secretary of War and the Chief of Engineers may be advisable, at an estimated cost to the United States of $12,127,000 and subject to the indicated conditions of local cooperation. He also recommends abandonment of the west end portion of the existing project for levees at Little Rock, Ark. 15. The division engineer believes that modification of the Tulsa. project to provide for raising the railroad bridge is advisable but that this work should be undertaken only if local interests bear the expense of raising the approaches at an estimated first cost of $67,000 thus reducing the estimated cost to the United States from $200,000 to $133,000. He recommends the modification of existing projects and the authorization of additional projects to provide for improvements substantially in accordance with the plans of the district engineer at an estimated Federal cost of $12,060,000; provided local interests bear the expense of raising the approaches to the railroad bridge at Tulsa, meet the other requirements of local cooperation as set forth in the report of the district engineer for each project, hold and save the United States free from damages due to the construction works and maintain and operate all the works after completion in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of War; and provided further that the States of Oklahoma and Arkansas insure that the construction of bridges or other works which might adversely affect the flood-carrying capacity at these localities will not be permitted. He also recommends that the portion of the existing project for protection of Little Rock, Ark., which is referred to in the district engineer's report as Little Rock levees (west end) be abandoned and that no improvements for the control of floods in Cypress drainage district be undertaken by the United States at this time. 16. Local interests were advised of the adverse conclusion of the division engineer with regard to flood control in Cypress Creek drainage district, Perry and Conway Counties, Ark., and of his partially favorable conclusions as regards local protection along the main stem of the Arkansas River and were invited to submit additional data to the Board. Careful consideration was given to the communications. received by the Board. VIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS 17. The Board concurs in general in the views and recommendations of the division engineer. Improvements for flood control at the Cypress drainage district, Perry and Conway Counties, Ark., are not advisable at this time. The existing project for Little Rock, Ark., should be revised to eliminate the west end levee. To insure the effectiveness of the project levees at Tulsa and West Tulsa, Okla., it is advisable to raise the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway bridge at that point. For 8 of the remaining 19 improvements recommended by the reporting officers, the evaluated annual benefits are slightly less than the estimated annual costs. However, as pointed out by the district engineer, the intangible benefits of these works, which are not susceptible to precise evaluation in monetary terms, such as improvement in sanitary and health conditions, would be substantial. Taking into account these unevaluated but real benefits, and noting that the estimated construction costs are higher than may be expected, when the present great construction demand and shortage of means 95782-44-2 1 no longer obtain, and also that they include a high contingent item, the Board concludes that all the works embodied in the district engineer's plan for further improvement are economically justified. It is probable that at the time of construction of the works proposed herein, it may be found that the construction or contemplated early construction, of additional flood-control reservoirs will make it appropriate to reduce the levee grades and cross-sections. To provide for this, the authorization of the work should permit the Chief of Engineers to make such changes in the plans as in his discretion may be advisable. In the opinion of the Board the division engineer proposes suitable requirements of local cooperation for the bridge raise at Tulsa and in general for the other recommended improvements as a whole except that local interests should be responsible for the provision of such facilities as may be necessary for pumping sanitary sewage. This will decrease the estimated first cost to the United States for the improvements proposed at Fort Smith by $9,400, at Van Buren by $3,000, and at Little Rock by $8,300 and correspondingly increase the estimated first costs to local interests. 18. Seven of the areas for which additional levee works are proposed are included in six existing Federal projects on which work has not yet commenced. The estimated costs given by the district engineer for these seven areas are the total costs required for the work now proposed and they therefore include the costs already authorized. To clarify the modification of existing projects as now proposed, the following table lists the existing projects as they are designated in the authorizing legislation, the corresponding designation of the areas as listed in this report and the estimated Federal first costs. In this tabulation the estimated Federal cost for the work proposed at Little Rock does not include the cost of the sanitary sewage pumps. The costs given for the existing projects are the estimates on which the authorizing legislation was based. Therefore, the final column indicates the additional authorization of estimated funds proposed to provide for completion of the improvements as now planned for the seven areas. Thus, including the estimate of $133,000 for the proposed modification of the Tulsa and West Tulsa project to provide for the railroad bridge raise, the modifications now proposed for the seven existing projects entails an increase of $4,171,800 in their originally estimated first costs to the United States. Estimated Federal costs for the new improvements now planned, after allocating the costs of sanitary sewage pumps to local interests, amount to $6,127,600, making the total estimated cost to the United States $10,299,400 in addition to present authorized costs. The improvements proposed herein for McLean Bottom levee district No. 3 are to supersede those recommended in the report on Six Mile Creek printed in House Document No. 717, Seventy-seventh Congress, second session. Similarly the works proposed herein for Conway County levee districts Nos. 1, 2, 6, and 8 are in lieu of those recommended in the report of the Chief of Engineers, printed in House Document No. 341, Seventy-eighth Congress, first session. 19. The Board recommends: (1) Modification of the following existing flood-control projects along Arkansas River, to provide for improvement in general accordance with the plans of the district engineer as described in his report and shown on the accompanying drawings with such changes therein as in the discretion of the Chief of Engineers may be advisable, at estimated additional costs to the United States for construction, not to include the cost of sanitary sewage pumps, as indicated: Tulsa and West Tulsa, Okla., $133,000; near Fort Gibson in Oklahoma, $260,100; Crawford County levee district, Arkansas, $1,546,000; near Dardanelle in Arkansas, $122,500; west of Morrilton in Arkansas, $855,000; Little Rock, Ark., including protection of Fourche Bayou area and to include elimination of the west end improvements, $465,200; south bank between Little Rock and Pine Bluff, Ark., $790,000, and (2) the construction of improvements for flood protection along Arkansas River at the following localities, in general accordance with the plans of the district engineer as described in his report and shown on the accompanying drawings with such modifications thereof as in the discretion of the Chief of Engineers may be advisable, at estimated costs to the United States for construction, not to include the cost of sanitary sewage pumps, as shown: Jenks, Okla., $264,000; Dirty Creek Bottom, Okla., $421,000; Tucker Lake Bottom, Okla., $485,000; Braden Bottom, Okla., $192,000; Big Skin Bayou-Camp Creek Bottom, Okla., $349,000; Moffett Bottom, Okla., $957,000; Fort Smith, Ark., $898,600; Van Buren, Ark., $329,000; McLean Bottom levee district No. 3, Arkansas, $517,000; Conway County levee district No. 6, Arkansas, $371,000; Conway County levee districts Nos. 1, 2, and 8, Arkansas, $1,005,000; Roland drainage district, Arkansas, $339,000; provided that no money shall be spent on the construction of the improvements recommended under (1) and (2) above until, for the unit of work considered, responsible local agencies have given assurances satisfactory to the Secretary of War that they will (a) provide without cost to the United States all lands, easements, and rights-of-way necessary for the construction, (b) suitably modify the approaches of the Arkansas River bridges which are planned to be raised and alter and construct any bridges required across lesser watercourses, (c) hold and save the United States free from damages due to the construction works, and (d) maintain and operate all works after completion in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of War to include protection of the flood-carrying capacity of the channel of Arkansas River at these localities. For the Board: JOHN J. KINGMAN, Brigadier General, United States Army, Senior Member. REPORT ON SURVEY OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER, MAIN STEM SYLLABUS The district engineer finds that there is a serious flood problem involving agricultural lands and urban areas along the main stem of the Arkansas River and that flooding at some of the larger areas bordering the river is caused by floods from both tributary streams and the main river. He finds that throughout a considerable portion of the river the flood plain is so narrow that local flood protection would not be economically feasible unless urban areas are involved, but at places the valley widens to form large areas suitable for local flood-control works for the protection of agricultural lands. He also finds that the most practicable plan for local flood control consists of levees and floodwalls, supplemented by diversion of tributary streams at some localities and that, in view of the great flood of May 1943, higher levee grades should be adopted than have been considered in the past. Since the projects for local flood protection included in the plan of improvment are economically justified, the district engineer recommends that the work be undertaken by the United States, provided local interests meet certain requirements of local cooperation. WAR DEPARTMENT, To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. (Through the Division Engineer, Southwestern Division). 1. Authority. This survey (review) report is made in compliance with the provisions of the following resolutions: (a) Resolution adopted April 23, 1942, by the Committee on Flood Control of the House of Representatives of the United States, which reads as follows: Resolved by the Committee on Flood Control, House of Representatives, That the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors created under section 3 of the River and Harbor Act approved June 13, 1902, be, and is hereby requested to review the report on Arkansas River and tributaries, submitted in House Document No. 308, Seventy-fourth Congress, first session, with a view to determining whether any improvement for flood control in Cypress Drainage District, Perry and Conway Counties, Arkansas, is advisable at this time. (b) Resolution adopted July 2, 1943, by the Committee on Flood Control of the House of Representatives of the United States, reads as follows: which Resolved by the Committee on Flood Control, House of Representatives, That the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, created under section 3 of the River and Harbor Act approved June 13, 1902, be, and is hereby, requested to review the reports on the Arkansas River and tributaries contained in House Document 308, Seventy-fourth Congress, first session, with a view to determining whether any modification should be made therein at this time with respect to local flood protection along the main stem of the Arkansas River. The investigations were assigned by the Chief of Engineers on August 27, 1943, and July 20, 1943, respectively, and authority to combine the |