This project, except the breakwater, was completed in 1881, and in 1882 a channel 40 to 60 feet wide and 4 feet deep had been extended up the stream to the village wharves. In 1881 Major Barlow made an estimate for dredging a channel 8 feet deep and 100 feet wide through the bar at the mouth of the river, at a cost of $11,000; $5,000 has been expended towards this channel. In 1882 a survey for a breakwater and harbor of refuge was made, and plans and estimates of cost submitted. (See Annual Report of Chief of Engineers for 1882, Part I, page 632.) OPERATIONS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1886. The funds available were not sufficient to continue the improvement. An examination of the mouth of the river and of the bar just below was made in September, 1885. PRESENT CONDITION OF IMPROVEMENT. The channel of 4 feet depth at mean low water was made 60 feet wide for two-thirds of the way from the mouth of the river to the upper wharves, and 40 feet wide the rest of the way; it is in good condition, with no material changes. The channel across the bar, made 8 feet deep and 65 feet wide, has filled slightly, 7 feet being about its available depth now. The jetties need some repairs. PROPOSED OPERATIONS. Whenever funds become available, it will be desirable to complete the 8-foot channel through the bar to the projected width of 100 feet; $6,000, the remainder of the estimated cost, could be profitably expended on this work in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888. Appropriations for Milford Harbor have been made as follows, viz: Milford Harbor, Connecticut, is in the collection district of New Haven; it is about 9 miles west from Fort Hale, New Haven Harbor. The nearest light-house is on Stratford Point, 4 miles to the westward. Excepting the oyster business, which is conducted on rather a large scale, and one fish-oil works, the harbor is only of local importance. July 1, 1835, amount available.. Money statement. July 1, 1886, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of liabilities outstanding July 1, 1885 July 1, 1836, amount available............... Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project. $269 29 28 27 241 02 6,000 00 6,000 00 COMMERCIAL STATISTICS. The following statement of commerce of Milford Harbor is supplied through the courtesy of the collector of customs at New Haven: The chief articles of commerce are oysters, fertilizers, fish-oil, and coal. D 8. IMPROVEMENT OF HOUSATONIC RIVER, CONNECTICUT. The Housatonic is a long, shallow river, running southward through Massachusetts and Connecticut, and emptying into Long Island Sound just east of Stratford Point, about 15 miles south west of New Haven. At Derby, 13 miles above its mouth, it receives the discharge of the Naugatuck, a small, rapid river. This point, which has been regarded as the head of navigation, is nearly the head of tide-water; about 1 mile above there is a dam across the Housatonic River, furnishing large water power. For at least 5 miles below Derby the water is always fresh. The original depth on the worst bars in the river, 6 in number, varied from 3.5 to 4.5 feet at mean low water; there was also a bar across the river's mouth, with about 4 feet low-water depth. PROJECT FOR IMPROVEMENT. In 1871 a project for the improvement of the river was submitted, which provided for a channel 100 feet wide and 7 feet deep at low wa ter from Derby to Long Island Sound, to be secured by means of jetties and dredging in the river, and by dredging over the bar at the mouth after the location had been protected by a breakwater from Milford beach, on the east shore at the mouth. This project was subsequently modified to admit of a jetty connecting Drew's Rock with the west bank, and in 1879 Major Barlow presented an estimate of $12,000 for a riprap jetty to take the place of the breakwater at the mouth of the river; in 1882 this estimate was altered to about $20,000, and has been incorporated into the estimate for completing the project; the jetty contemplated was 6,000 feet long, rising only to low-water level. |