REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HAR- Hon. J. J. MANSFIELD, WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Washington, November 29, 1935. Chairman Committee on Rivers and Harbors, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. MANSFIELD: 1. The Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives, by a resolution adopted June 3, 1935, requested the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors to review the reports on Manitowoc Harbor, Wis., submitted in House Document 481, Seventy-second Congress, second session, with a view to determining if the existing project should be modified so as to provide for the maintenance and improvement of the inner harbor by the Federal Government, and to what extent such maintenance and improvement work should be undertaken. I enclose herewith the report of the Board in response thereto. 2. Manitowoc Harbor is on the west shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of Manitowoc River, 79 miles north of Milwaukee. The existing Federal project for improvement provides for two breakwaters enclosing a small outer harbor at the river entrance and a channel 650 feet wide and 21 feet deep through the outer harbor to the mouth of the river, a total distance of 2,500 feet. The commercial harbor, comprising the lower 1.7 miles of Manitowoc River, has been dredged intermittently by local interests over restricted widths to a depth of approximately 19 feet. The total Federal cost of new work to June 30, 1935, was $634,374.62. The estimated annual cost of maintenance is $8,000. The River and Harbor Act of August 30, 1935, which authorized the present channel dimensions, provides also for the construction of an approach channel 21 feet deep in the outer harbor to a proposed city terminal on the lake front, provided local interests furnish satisfactory assurances that the terminal will be constructed. This work has not yet been undertaken. The further improvement now desired by local and navigation interests is the extension of the Federal project to include a channel 21 feet deep and 200 feet in minimum width through the inner harbor to the head of navigation. 3. The population of Manitowoc is approximately 23,000. The principal commercial activities are shipbuilding, the manufacture of aluminum products, cement, and cereals, and the transshipment of coal and grain. The commerce of the harbor for the past 20 years has averaged 1,828,000 tons annually and consists chiefly of coal, limestone, lumber, forest products, and unclassified general car-ferry traffic, carried in lake steamers, motor vessels, and translake carferries ranging up to 19 feet in draft. 4. The Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors reports that Manitowoc inner harbor serves a substantial volume of interstate commerce, estimated by the district engineer to amount to 350,000 tons annually during periods of normal business activity. It considers the cost of providing and maintaining an adequate channel to the terminals handling this commerce and to the important shipbuilding plant located on the river to be warranted by the prospective benefits to general commerce and navigation. The Board recommends the modification of the existing project for Manitowoc Harbor, Wis., to provide for a channel 21 feet deep in Manitowoc River from the river mouth to the second railway bridge, a distance of approximately 1.7 miles, with widths of 180 feet at the mouth, reducing to 150 feet at the upper end, with intermediate reductions and enlargements, all as shown on the accompanying map, and at an estimated cost of $115,000 for new work and $8,000 annually for maintenance in addition to that now required; provided that no dredging shall be done by the United States until local interests have released the Government, in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary of War, from all liability for damages to lands, revetments, structures, and subaqueous installations attributable to the dredging operations. 5. After due consideration of these reports, I concur in the views and recommendations of the Board. Very truly yours, E. M. MARKHAM, REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS WAR DEPARTMENT, BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, Washington, D. C., November 18, 1935. Subject: Manitowoc Harbor, Wis. To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. 1. This report in in response to the following resolution, adopted June 3, 1935: Resolved by the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives, United States, 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 Manitowoc Harbor, Wisconsin, submitted in House Document 481, Seventy-second Congress, second session, with a view to determining if the existing project should be modified so as to provide for the maintenance and improvement of the inner harbor by the Federal Government, and to what extent such maintenance and improvement work should be undertaken. 2. Manitowoc Harbor is on the west side of Lake Michigan at the mouth of Manitowoc River, 26 miles north of Sheboygan Harbor and 79 miles north of Milwaukee. Under the present project for improvement the United States has created a small outer harbor or stilling basin at the river mouth by the construction of breakwaters 2,540 and 2,290 feet in length converging from shore to an entrance 425 feet wide; and has dredged a channel of entry through the outer harbor to the river mouth. The total cost to June 30, 1935, was $634,374.62 for new work and $488,421.72 for maintenance. The River and Harbor Act of August 30, 1935, authorized provision of a channel 650 feet wide and 21 feet deep from that depth in the lake through the outer harbor into the mouth of the river, a total distance of some 2,500 feet; removal of the old pier constructed by the Federal Government at the river entrance; and, contingent upon actual construction of a proposed city terminal on the lake front, provision of an approach channel 21 feet deep in the outer harbor to this terminal. The commercial harbor, comprising the lower 1.7 miles of Manitowoc River, has been dredged intermittently by local interests over a restricted width to approximately 19 feet depth, at a reported average cost of $8,000 per year. The maintained river channel is crossed by 3 bascule bridges with horizontal clearances of 89.3 to 97 feet, located approximately one-third, one-half, and 1 mile above the river mouth. These bridges are of modern construction and will require no modifications in connection with the improvements now proposed. 3. The adjoining city of Manitowoc, with 23,000 inhabitants, contains 70 industrial establishments and 24 wholesale and jobbing houses. The principal activities are shipbuilding, the manufacture of aluminum products, cement and cereals, and the transshipment of coal and grain. The city and harbor terminals are adequately served by railways and improved highways. Commerce of the harbor has decreased steadily from 2,350,000 tons in 1929 to 1,225,000 tons in 1934, translake car-ferry traffic averaging approximately 70 percent of the total. The principal commodities handled are coal, limestone, lumber, forest products, and unclassified general car-ferry traffic, carried in lake steamers, motor vessels, and car ferries drawing up to 19 feet. 4. Local interests request that the United States provide and maintain, in addition to the improvements authorized by the River and Harbor Act of August 30, 1935, a channel 21 feet deep and 200 feet in minimum width from the river mouth to the second railroad bridge, a distance of 1.8 miles. They claim that the city is no longer financially able to maintain and improve the river, and that prosecution of this work at Federal expense is justified by the interstate character of the commerce benefited and by the large expenditures heretofore made by local interests on harbor improvements, citing the precedent already established by the Federal Government in maintaining and improving other inner channels where public benefits are proportionately less than at Manitowoc. Shipping and navigation interests particularly endorse the proposal, believing that Federal maintenance of the river will be more satisfactory and dependable than that which has been provided by the city. No offer of local cooperation was made. 5. The district engineer estimates the cost of a channel 21 feet deep and of maximum practicable width to the upper limit requested by local interests at $91,000 for new work and $8,000 annually for maintenance. He notes that 70 percent of the total commerce of the harbor for 1934 was handled at terminals below the present Federal project limit, but that some 225,000 tons of through freight were handled at river terminals above that point. The corresponding tonnage in a normal year would approximate 350,000. With interest at 4 percent the carrying charges on the river improvement now proposed, including annual maintenance, would therefore amount to only 31⁄2 cents per ton of through commerce benefited. Additional public benefits would derive from the greater facility with which lake vessels, and particularly disabled craft, could reach the large and well-equipped shipyard and drydock located on the river channel. He concludes that the general benefits are fully commensurate with the expenditures involved and that local benefits will be adequately reflected in the cost of constructing, maintaining, and operating bridges, terminals, bulkheads, and vessel berths. He recommends modification of the existing project to provide for improving and maintaining the river channel as proposed by him, provided local interests release the Government of all liability for damages to revetments, structures, and subaqueous installations attributable to dredging operations. The division engineer concurs as to the advisability and recommended extent of the improvement, but believes that the total initial cost should be increased to $115,000, in view of the relatively small quantity of dredging involved. VIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS 6. The Board concurs in general with the reporting officers. Manitowoc inner harbor serves a substantial volume of interstate commerce. The cost of providing and maintaining an adequate channel to the terminals handling this commerce and to the important shipbuilding plant located on the river appears to be warranted by the prospective benefits to general commerce and navigation. The Board therefore recommends modification of the existing project for Manitowoc Harbor, Wis., to provide for improving and maintaining a channel 21 feet deep in Manitowoc River from the river mouth to the second railway bridge, a distance of approximately 1.7 miles, with widths of 180 feet at the mouth reducing to 150 feet at the upper end, with intermediate reductions and enlargements, all as shown on the accompanying map and at an estimated cost of $115,000 for new work and $8,000 annually for maintenance in addition to that now required; provided that no dredging shall be done by the United States until local interests have released the Government, in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary of War, from all liability for damages to lands, revetments, structures and subaqueous installations attributable to the dredging operations. For the Board: G. B. PILLSBURY, |