of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., authorized by the Flood Control Act approved June 28, 1938. 2. Chattanooga, the largest city in the Tennessee River Basin, is located on the river 464 miles above its mouth. The city proper which extends along both sides of the river has a corporate area of 27.42 square miles and a population of approximately 150,000. Rossville, Ga., which adjoins Chattanooga on the south, is located on the headwaters of Chattanooga Creek, a small stream which joins the Tennessee River at the western edge of Chattanooga. The town has a population of about 3,800. Chattanooga with its metropolitan area is an important and growing industrial center producing a wide variety of products. It is the commercial and trading center for a large area and is an important rail center. The Tennessee River is under improvement for navigation and a navigable depth of 6.8 feet is available from Chattanooga to the mouth. 3. The drainage area of the Tennessee River above Chattanooga is 21,400 square miles. Topography of this upper basin is rugged to mountainous and in general conducive to rapid run-off of floodwaters. Floods are normally the result of general rains over a considerable area of the watershed and are most frequent in the winter and early spring. Flood stage at Chattanooga is 30 feet. During the 64-year period from 1875 to 1938 this stage has been reached or exceeded 71 times. On 43 occasions stages were between 30 and 35 feet; 17 between 35 and 40 feet; 8 between 40 and 45 feet; and 3 between 45 and 54 feet. The largest flood of record is that of March 1867, which reached a stage of 57.9 feet and an estimated discharge of 459,000 cubic feet per second. This is believed to have been the largest flood during the 113 years of historical record. Based upon studies of storm characteristics and topography, it is estimated that the maximum probable flood will reach a stage of 77 feet and a peak discharge of 730,000 cubic feet per second. The city begins to be flooded at a 30-foot stage and the area inundated increases with the stage until at a 57.9-foot level, equivalent to the 1867 flood, the area flooded amounts to approximately 8,000 acres, including the larger part of the business district, the manufacturing district, the railway stations and yards, and the greater part of the railroad tracks within the city. Based upon available data and information, flood damages in the areas for which plans of protection have been developed are estimated to average $1,884,000 annually. The only local improvements for flood control at Chattanooga consist of low levees constructed by the Works Progress Administration for the protection of the municipal airport. They provide protection for a stage of 49 feet, but will be overtopped by major floods. In the basin above Chattanooga the Norris Dam on the Clinch River has been completed, the Hiwassee and Chickamauga Dams on the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers are under construction, and the Watts Bar Dam on the Tennessee River has been authorized. These and other reservoirs which may be built in the future will provide a factor of safety for any local flood-protection works undertaken at Chattanooga. Local interests desire levees and flood walls with necessary appurtenant works for protection of developed areas in Chattanooga and Rossville. The Chattanooga Flood Protection District, an agency created by the State of Tennessee, has full power to cooperate financially with the United States in any plan adopted for the protection of Chattanooga, and officials of Rossville have indicated a willingness to meet requirements of cooperation. 4. The plans proposed for the protection of Chattanooga and Rossville provide for the construction of levees and flood walls with necessary sewer and drainage structures, pumping plants, diversion of creeks, and railroad and street modifications. The levees and walls are designed to protect against the maximum flood of record with a freeboard of 5 feet. The proposed works, in combination with reservoir construction now in progress or contemplated, would protect against any flood reasonably to be anticipated. The main project proposed would protect Rossville and the greater part of Chattanooga, including a small area on the north bank of the Tennessee River. Three separate improvements are proposed which are unrelated to the main project. These are the St. Elmo project in the western part of Chattanooga and the Brainerd and Municipal airport projects east of the city. Costs and benefits for the four projects are estimated as follows: ! Includes benefits from anticipated developments in the area over a period of years. The district engineer is of the opinion that the proposed improvements are justified by the benefits that would result and recommends that the United States construct the local flood-protection works at Chattanooga and Rossville substantially in accordance with the plan proposed in his report at an estimated first cost to the United States of $16,630,000, subject to certain conditions of local cooperation. The division engineer notes that the Brainerd, Municipal airport, and St. Elmo projects are dependent upon anticipated developments in those areas for their justification. He is of the opinion that since tangible direct and indirect benefits under existing conditions constitute less than half the annual charges, the construction of works for the protection of these areas should be deferred. The division engineer recommends that a project be adopted for the protection of the main sections of Chattanooga and Rossville and that provisions of protection for the Brainerd, Municipal airport, and St. Elmo areas be deferred until the need therefor is more apparent. 5. The Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, concurring in general in the views of the division engineer, finds that local works for the protection of the main part of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., constructed substantially as planned by the district engineer would provide needed protection for these cities and that the improvements are economically justified. It agrees with the division engineer that construction of protective works for the Brainerd, Municipal airport, and St. Elmo areas should be deferred until such time as their need can be definitely ascertained. The Board recom mends construction of levees and flood walls with appurtenant works for the protection of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., at an estimated first cost to the United States of $13,500,000, subject to certain conditions of local cooperation. 6. After due consideration of these reports, I concur in the views of the Board. Large sections of Chattanooga and parts of Rossville are subject to overflow by major floods on the Tennessee River. The only means of protecting the city is by construction of levees and flood walls. The plan proposed for protecting the main part of Chattanooga and Rossville will provide protection against floods somewhat larger than the greatest of record. Reservoirs built and projected in the upper basin will reduce flood stages and provide an added factor of safety for the levee system. Benefits that would result from construction of the local works for protection of Chattanooga and Rossville are substantially in excess of annual charges and in my opinion the improvements are economically justified. I concur with the Board that protection of the Brainerd, Municipal airport, and St. Elmo areas should be deferred until development in these areas renders such works justified. I recommend construction of levees and flood walls with necessary appurtenant work for protection of the main section of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., substantially as outlined in the report of the district engineer, at an estimated first cost to the United States of $13,500,000, subject to the provisions that responsible local interests give assurances satisfactory to the Secretary of War that they will provide without cost to the United States all lands, easements, and rights-of-way necessary for the construction of the project, hold and save the United States free from claims for 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. J. L. SCHLEY, REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS. [Second endorsement] THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, Washington, D. C., June 5, 1939. TO THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY. 1. The Board concurs in general in the views of the division engineer. The only practicable method of providing flood protection at Chattanooga is by means of levees and flood walls. The plan outlined by the district engineer for the main part of Chattanooga and Rossville would provide protection for those cities against floods somewhat larger than the maximum of record. Reservoirs built or contemplated in the upper basin will reduce flood stages and provide an added factor of safety for the levee system. In the opinion of the Board, this project is economically justified. Benefits that would result from protecting the Brainerd, Municipal airport, and St. Elmo areas would not at this time justify the expense of protection works and these improvements should be deferred until such time as their need can be definitely ascertained. The Board recommends construction of levees and flood walls with necessary appurtenant works for protection of the main section of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., substantially as outlined in the report of the district engineer, at an estimated first cost to the United States of $13,500,000; subject to the provisions that responsible local interests give assurances satisfactory to the Secretary of War that they will provide without cost to the United States all lands, easements, and rights-of-way necessary for the construction of the project, hold and save the United States free from claims for 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. For the Board. M. C. TYLER, Brigadier General, Corps of Engineers, SURVEY OF CHATTANOOGA, TENN., AND ROSSVILLE, GA. SYLLABUS The survey developed that the estimated average annual damage at Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., is $1,884,000 to those areas for which protection is proposed. This sum includes direct damages to residential, commercial, and industrial properties, and indirect damages consisting of loss of wages, industrial output, profit on retail sales, receipts by transportation companies and public utilities, and expenditures by relief agencies. The district engineer is of the opinion that the construction of local flood-protection works is feasible from an engineering standpoint, and that benefits which would accrue to the inhabitants of the affected area by reason of the construction of such works are of sufficient magnitude to warrant the undertaking of the project by the United States. The district engineer recommends: (1) That the United States undertake the construction of local flood-protection works at Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., substantially in accordance with the plan as proposed in the report, at an estimated first cost to the United States of $16,630,000; (2) that the prosecution of the project shall be subject to the condition that local interests shall give assurances satisfactory to the Secretary of War that they will (a) provide all lands, easements, and rights-of-way necessary for the construction of local floodprotection works, (b) hold and save the United States free from damages due to the construction of such works, and (c) maintain and operate the completed works in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of War; and (3) that funds totaling $4,130,000 be initially allotted for the design and construction of the proposed works, and that subsequent annual allotments of $6,700,000 and $5,800,000 be made for the second and third years of construction, respectively, for completion of the project. WAR DEPARTMENT, UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Nashville, Tenn., April 3, 1939. Subject: Report on survey of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga. To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. (Through the Division Engineer.) I. INTRODUCTION 1. Authority. The survey of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., was authorized by an act of Congress (Public No. 761, 75th Cong.), entitled "An act authorizing the construction of certain public works on rivers and harbors for flood control, and for other purposes," approved June 28, 1938, as follows: SEC. 6. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to cause preliminary examinations and surveys for flood control including floods aggravated by or due to tidal effect at the following-named localities: Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Rossville, Georgia. 2. A preliminary examination of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rossville, Ga., was made in compliance with the above-quoted act, and a report thereon was submitted to the Chief of Engineers under date of August 30, 1938. This report was reviewed by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and upon recommendation of the Board a survey was authorized by the Chief of Engineers under date of October 20, 1938, and assigned to the local district engineer by the Division Engineer, Ohio River Division, on October 24, 1938. 3. Prior reports.-Reports made within the past 10 years which embody references to the control of floods in the Tennessee River are as follows: (a) Tennessee River and tributaries, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky: Report covering navigation, flood control, power development, and irrigation; printed in House Document No. 328, Seventy-first Congress, second session. This report considers a plan for the development of the Tennessee River and its tributaries for the combined interests of navigation, flood control, and power development. A total of 52 reservoirs was proposed, 42 of which would be located above Chattanooga, tentatively providing a total gross storage capacity of 14,000,000 acre-feet. The plan contained estimates of the reduction in flood heights at Chattanooga which would be obtained by a system of dams on the Tennessee River and storage dams on the tributaries. It was recommended by the district engineer that the plan proposed be adopted as a general guide, subject to such modifications as may be found necessary and approved by the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of War, for navigation and flood control on the Tennessee River and its tributaries, and subject further to such modifications as may be found necessary in carrying out the provisions of the Federal Water Power Act. It was recommended by the Chief of Engineers that the adopted project by the United States for the improvement of the Tennessee River from its mouth to Knoxville be for a navigable depth of 9 feet at low water, to be obtained by low dams in the number and approximate location as set forth in the report of the district engineer, provided that under the provisions of the Federal Water Power Act a high dam with locks, built by private interests, States, or municipalities, may be substituted for any 2 or more of the low dams. And provided further that in case high dams are built before the United States shall have built the projected locks and low dams which are to be replaced, the United States shall contribute to the cost of the substituted structures an amount equal to the estimated cost of the works of navigation for which substitution is made. (b) Ohio River: Report containing a general plan for the improvement of the Ohio River for the purposes of navigation and efficient development of its water power, the control of floods, and the needs of irrigation; printed in House Document No. 306, Seventy-fourth Congress, first session. Subsequent to the Ohio River flood of 1937, these flood-control plans were reviewed together with related plans for control of Mississippi River floods in light of the 1937 flood, and the report of the Chief of Engineers thereon was presented to Congress. This report was published as House Committee on Flood Control Document No. 1, Seventy-fifth Congress, first session. It recommended for the Ohio River Basin the construction of a system of 45 reservoirs, in addition to those previously authorized, on the tribu |