FLOOD CONTROL BILL OF 1946 THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1946 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 9 a. m.. pursuant to adjournment, Hon. Will M. Whittington (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. The President of the Mississippi River Commission, General Crawford, was on the stand when the committee adjourned yesterday. General Crawford, you may proceed and complete your statement, with any observations you may care to submit in addition to those you have already brought to the attention of the committee. STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. R. W. CRAWFORD, PRESIDENT, General CRAWFORD. In connection with the estimates, the rise in cost of construction which I mentioned yesterday afternoon, I merely wanted to add that that increased cost of doing work applies in the same manner to maintenance work as it does to construction work. The CHAIRMAN. Now, for the record, just repeat substantially the additional costs that you are encountering. General CRAWFORD. We have reestimated the cost of completing the authorized portions of the project in the light of present costs, and find that it represents an increase of approximately 37 percent; in other words, the total of $479,725,000 instead of the $350,776,000 still unappropriated under our initial authorization. The CHAIRMAN. I refer more particularly to the percentage increase. General CRAWFORD. I wish to mention too, for the record, some trouble we have had with roads, particularly across the Arkabutla Reservoir where we had provided funds to reconstruct county roads, and has constructed State roads, and as a result of the very high water that we experienced this year those roads all suffered damage that we had not foreseen which will require some remedial action and possibly some additional authority for the repair, in view of the fact that we had a closed case with those agencies and had paid under agreement for the construction of these roads. The CHAIRMAN. In that connection, and in that regard, the same situation would probably obtain in other reservoir areas? General CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. That was largely due to what we call wave wash? General CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. In other words, you have a highway crossing a reservoir lake, and when that is exceedingly high you have the waves, and it was a damage not anticipated by you, and certainly could not be anticipated by the local people. General CRAWFORD. Particularly as a result of the high stages and clearing of the reservoir area, making these roads subject to wave wash action. The CHAIRMAN. You, Colonel Graves, and General Crawford, of the Corps of Engineers, and Colonel Herb, will furnish us with additional language necessary with respect to reservoirs, because it will have to be applicable to all reservoirs? General CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Now, your next point. BAYOU PIERRE, LA. The CHAIRMAN. The first project submitted to us is the report on the Bayou Pierre. Did you prepare that report? General CRAWFORD. It was prepared in my office. The CHAIRMAN. Will you give us the analysis of the report, and your recommendation, telling us what it consists of generally, and the recommendations of the Chief of Engineers, and your findings in the matter? General CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Where is the project located? The low urban lands in the Bayou Pierre Basin above Cypress Bayou are protected from Red River floods by the levee. They are not subject to headwater or backwater floods conveyed thereto by streams from outside sources, but are subject to flooding due to direct rainfall. Hence the problem, unlike those for which Federal flood control is generally invoked, is essentially one of city storm-drainage disposal. Section 2 of the act approved December 22, 1944, states: the words "flood control" as used in section 1 of the act of June 22, 1936, shall be construed to include channel and major drainage improvement. Under this provision of the act, Federal improvement of the bayou is considered permissible. There the bayou, although improved by city and parish agencies as the outlet for surface drainage from a large part of the city, has inadequate capacity during intense storms. Alternate plans suggested by local interests for relief were presented. It was found that the diversion plan would cost more for both initial construction and continuing maintenance and operation with less resulting benefits than the channel-improvement plan. The CHAIRMAN. This project is embraced in House Document No. 285, Seventy-ninth Congress, first session, and the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers is the improvement of Bayou Pierre in the vicinity of Shreveport, La., for flood control substantially in accordance with plan B, at a total cost to the United States of $190,000 for construction, with the ordinary requirement for local interest; is that true? General CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. Except that in this case the local interests are required to contribute in cash one-third of the estimated cost of construction when undertaken, make all necessary readjustments of bridges, culverts, and other utilities, provide without cost to the United States all necessary lands, easements, rights-of-way, and spoil-disposal areas required, 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. The CHAIRMAN. And the project is justified? General CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. There is a definite flood hazard and you feel it should be constructed? General CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. (The following letter with its enclosure was received by the chairman from the Honorable Overton Brooks, Representative in Congress from the State of Louisiana :) Hon. WILLIAM M. WHITTINGTON, CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C., April 20, 1946. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. WHITTINGTON: I hand you herewith the original letter from Mr. W. C. Clark, chairman, the League for Drainage Relief, 703 Ockley Drive, Shreveport, La., dated April 16, 1946, in reference to the Bayou Pierre drainage project. This is a very important project and I would personally appreciate very much your authorizing the filing of this letter in the hearings on flood control which were conducted during the current week and the careful consideration by your committee of this worth-while and much-needed project. With assurances of high regards to you, and thanking you for your many courtesies in the handling of this matter, I am Very sincerely yours, OVERTON BROOKS, Member of Congress. SHREVEPORT, LA., April 16, 1946. Hon. OVERTON BROOKS, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. YOUR HONOR: The telegram you sent us on April 1 was duly received and we are grateful for your recognition of our drainage problem. Acknowledgment was delayed because of the press of other matters however, as requested, interested parties have been informed of your advice in the matter. We expected to have a representative of our league attend the hearing on April 17 to plead our cause but we now find that is not possible and urge you to represent us there. Although we realize you are personally familiar with the drainage conditions affecting the Betty Virginia Park, Ockley Drive, Slattery Park, Alaxandria and Broadmoor sections of Shreveport, the following pertinent facts are offered to you for presentation at the hearing on April 17: 1. Ockley ditch, at the point where it empties into Bayou Pierre, is required to carry all of the water from the area of approximately 8 square miles. 2. Streets have been paved in all of this 8 square miles area and the upper part of many of the drainage channels throughout that area have been paved. This has resulted in the acceleration of the flow of water into the basin at and just above the point where Ockley ditch empties into Bayou Pierre. As a result a rainfall of 3 or more inches within a couple of hours brings about a flooded condition in the area west of the point where Ockley ditch empties into Bayou Pierre to a depth of as much as 5 or 6 feet in some instances. 3. During the latter part of 1943, the Caddo Parish Levee Board jointly with the city of Shreveport put a dragline in Bayou Pierre at a point just below Piermont Road and opened the channel north from that point to Ockley ditch. This work was completed early in 1944 and afforded us some relief, however, it caused more damage to the farmers in the area below Shreveport than would otherwise have obtained because of the acceleration of the flow of water into that area. Because of the lack of maintenance, this work completed early in 1944, now affords us but little relief. 4. Permanent drainage relief for the sections of Shreveport mentioned above, without adverse affect to the landowners and residents below Shreveport, cannot be had except by the widening and deepening of Bayou Pierre from a point down in Red River-De Soto Parishes (from which there is presently an open and adequate channel to the Red River) north to Kingshighway and similar work on Ockley, Dillingham and other drainage channels within the city of Shreveport. 5. While it is agreed, this is a problem more or less local to De Soto-Red RiverCaddo Parishes and the city of Shreveport, it nevertheless is a major flood relief problem affecting a hundred thousand or more property owners and residents. We feel that it is one that should be seriously considered by our Federal authorities charged with flood relief. 6. The widening, deepening, and improving of Bayou Pierre channel, as indicated in paragraph 4 above, coupled with the completion of Wallace Lake project will afford permanent and complete relief from flooding of the affected areas in Red River, De Soto, and Caddo Parishes. Floods in these areas during the past few years have caused losses of many millions of dollars and action to bring about relief should not be delayed. 7. The Bayou Pierre local flood-control project, as we understand it, covers most of the work suggested in paragraph 4 above and although, as stated by you, some details on this project are not complete at the present time, they doubtless can be completed quickly and we respectfully urge that the flood committee of the House press for speedy authorization by the House. We understand that the Department of Public Works of the State of Louisiana in conjunction with the Board of Commissioners of the Caddo Levee District, and other public bodies have about completed all plans and details for the widening, deepening and improving of Bayou Pierre from the southern terminus of the Bayou Pierre local flood control project to the point in Red River-De Soto Parishes from which there is presently an open and adequate channel to the river. Every effort should be made to clear the Bayou Pierre local flood control project so that the work contemplated thereunder can be tied in with the work under the plans of the department of public works just mentioned and the completion of Wallace Lake project to bring about quick, permanent, and complete relief from floods in the affected areas mentioned herein. In view of your telegram of April 1, we know you will press for quick action. We are directing a copy of this letter to the Honorable John S. Overton, our Senator, and to representatives of other interested public bodies requesting their full support. Please keep us closely informed of progress. THE LEAGUE FOR DRAINAGE RELIEF, By W. C. CLARK, Chairman. STATEMENT OF JUSTIFICATION FOR IMPROVEMENT OF BAYOU PIERRE, LA. (Prepared by department of public works, State of Louisiana-Leo M. Odom, chief engineer; Dewitt L. Pyburn, director) Bayou Pierre, La., is a western tributary and a former channel of Red River. It rises in the city of Shreveport and runs through the alluvial land of an elevation below the flood level of Red River and roughly paralleling its course for 85 miles to a confluence with Red River and a few miles above the city of Natchitoches. The width of the alluvial land between Red River and the hills to the west averages 5 miles. Along most of its course the land through which it runs is protected from overflow by levees constructed by local levee boards and the United States, and maintained by the levee boards. Its upper few miles drain highly developed suburbs of Shreveport, which is a city of 100,000 population, and thousands of acres of fertile farm lands depend on it for a drainage outfall. It receives a large amount of hill drainage through one hill tributary, Wallace Bayou, which will be effectively controlled by the Wallace Lake Dam, which is now nearing completion. However, the upper part |