The appropriations have been $5,000 June 10, 1872, expended, and $5,000 June 23, 1874, now available. To complete the estimate and provide for filling for four years, the two sums of $7,000 and $10,000`are required to carry the work through 1876, or a total of $17,000. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873 Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874 Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Amount available July 1, 1874.. Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876. (See Appendix U 9.) $5,000 00 98 14 5,000 00 200 35 9,807 79 17,000 00 10. Improvement of the harbors of Washington and Georgetown, District of Columbia.-Under authority of Congress, a commission, designated by that body, considered the subject of the further improvement of the river, and submitted a report, which was printed in Mis. Doc. No. 15, Senate, Forty second Congress, third session. An appropriation of $50,000 was made March 3, 1873, which it was proposed to expend in 1873 in dredging in the Virginia or principal channel to a depth of 14 feet at low water, and along a part of the Washington front to a depth of 12 feet at low water, the main idea being so to use the money as to effect an immediate benefit to commerce, while conforming, as far as practicable, to the plan of improvement recommended by the commission. Favorable proposals for carrying out this proposition were received in August, 1873, but, from causes unexpected and beyond control, they could not be accepted. The money is still available, and it is supposed may be expended shortly, inasmuch as the will of Congress has been indicated by special legislation contained in the appropriation bill of June 23, 1874. The officer in charge estimates that if it should be decided by Congress to carry out the plan of improvement suggested by the commission not less than $2,000,000 should be appropriated for the first year's work, otherwise that $50,000 will be required to continue the dredging and remove certain dangerous rocks in the harbor of Georgetown. Balance in Treasury of United States, July 1, 1873.. Deduct amount expended in fiscal year 1872-73.. Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Amount available July 1, 1874... Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, (as revised in this (See Appendix U 10.) $50,000 00 730 29 508 76 48,760 95 50,000 00 11. Improvement of Accotink Creek, Virginia.-Under a contract dated September 14, 1872, operations were begun at this place October, 1872, and finished April 3, 1873. A channel about 40 feet wide at bottom, and from 2 to 3 feet deep at low water, leading from the 2 foot water in Accotink Bay to a point about 200 yards within the mouth proper of the Accotink Creek, and a channel about 4 feet deep and 25 feet wide from that point to the village, were completed. No re-examination of this creek has been made for a year for want of funds, but it is understood that the work stands quite well, and that those interested in the improvement have been planting willows on the banks to prevent their degradation. Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check.. $23 04 Amoant expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.. 23 04 14,000 00 (See Appendix U 11.) 12. Improvement of Occoquan Creek, Virginia.-At the close of the last fiscal year Mr. A. A. Dodge was engaged in dredging a channel through Lower Mud, under his contract dated May 17, 1873. Operations were suspended August 12, after completing two cuts. A channel about 50 feet wide and 5 feet deep at mean low water through the entire width of Lower Mud was the result of the season's work. A re-examination of the excavated channel was made in June, 1874, demonstrating the fact that very little filling had taken place during the time which had elapsed since the cessation of work. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873 Deduct amount expended in fiscal year 1872-'73 Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874 . Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Amount available July 1, 1874.. Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876.. (See Appendix U 12.) $5,000 00 1,870 82 5,000 00 2,019 29 6,109 89 8,000 00 13. Improvement of the Rappahannock River below Fredericksburgh, Virginia. In the latter part of the summer and in the autumn of 1873, some dredging was done on the Fredericksburgh Bar, the extent of the work being the removal of about 17,500 cubic yards. A portion of this matter was placed behind the dikes near Fredericksburgh, and a portion dumped down the river in places where there was little probability of its returning into the channel. The same contractor took out some logs and snags below Spottswood Bar. The object of these operations was to repair the damage done to the channel by the freshets of the spring and early summer, and to give again the depth of 8 feet at low water. A survey made in November and December, 1873, showed that the river was in a better condition for navigation than it had been for many years before. The object of the operations since 1870 had been fully attained, viz, to give 8 feet at low water as high up as Fredericksburgh, whereas previously (since the war) only 4 were found at more than one place. This depth seems as much as the existing commerce of the river requires. To maintain it an annual appropriation of $7,500 should be made. The officer in charge presents an estimate for giving a 10-foot channel to the town of Fredericksburgh. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873 Deduct amount expended in fiscal year 1872-73 Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874.. Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876.. (See Appendix U 13.) $15,000 00 1,913 92 7,000 00 7,107 19 12,978 89 44,000 00 14. Improvement of Aquia Creek, Virginia.-A survey of this creek was made in 1871 under the personal supervision of Capt. C. B. Phillips, Corps of Engineers. A report was submitted in January, 1872, in which an estimate was embodied of $18,000 for giving a channel from the 6foot water near the mouth of the creek to the "narrows" above, about 40 feet in width at bottom and 6 feet deep at mean low water. An appropriation of $1,500 was made June 10, 1872, and proposals were at once invited for its expenditure in giving a channel of reduced dimensions, 20 feet in width and 4 feet in depth. The proposals received were entirely unsatisfactory, and it was decided to defer operations until an additional appropriation should be made. Congress gave $2,000 more in the bill of March 3, 1873. The work was re-advertised, but the bids received were such that they could not be accepted. No appreciable result of any value can be attained at that place by the expenditure of $3,500, at the lowest price at which any one has yet offered to go there. The work should not be commenced unless the whole amount of the original estimate is available for uninterrupted operations. Balance in Treasury of United States, July 1, 1873.. $2,900 00 Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check. 466 45 Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. 157 39 3,229 06 Amount available July 1, 1874 Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876.. (See Appendix U 14.) 11,500 00 15. Improvement of Nomini Creek, Virginia.--On the 30th of June, 1873, Mr. G. H. Ferris was engaged in excavating a channel through the bar at the mouth of the creek. After completing two cuts connecting deep water in Nomini Creek with that of the bay, operations were suspended September 17. The examination made immediately after the close of the work showed a channel about 50 feet wide at bottom, with a ruling depth of 7 feet at mean low water. A re-examination of the artificial channel, made in June, 1874, disclosed the fact that the channel maintained quite well its former dimensions, although some filling has taken place. Cost of improving creek, as per original estimate, $20,000. Appropriated March 3, 1873, $10,000, and June 23, 1874, $6,000; total, $16,000. To complete the estimate rigorously, $4,000 are needed, but this is a case where the whole appropriation should have been made at once. Interruption of the work has caused it to be more expensive; hence $5,000 are asked for year ending June 30, 1876. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873.. Deduct amount expended in fiscal year 1872-73. Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874.. Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876.. (See Appendix U 15.) $7,500 00 850 46 6,000 00 5,619 94 7,029 60 6,000 00 16. Improvement of the James River, Virginia.-The operations of the year have been of the same character as of the previous year, and may be described in general by the language used in the last annual report, viz: “Removing rocks from the channel near the city of Richmond, especially at the Rockett's Reef, dredging on the bars, and depositing the material behind dikes constructed partly for that purpose and partly to rectify the banks and contract the water-way in some places where needed." The work has been exceedingly unfortunate in the loss of Mr. N. B. Randolph, clerk and general assistant, and of Mr. W. G. Turpin, who was assistant engineer on the. part of the United States and the engineer of the city in the joint operations for the improvement of the river. Both died from the effects of typhoid fever, the former in February, 1874, and the latter in June, 1874. The channel through the reef at Rockett's has been greatly improved, being 125 feet in width and 15 feet deep at high water. Much dredging has been done on the worst bars, and a considerable length of dikes built. For details, reference is requested to the report of the officer in charge, as also for a revised estimate for giving channels respectively of 15 and 18 feet at high water, each 180 feet in width. The less depth is considered sufficient for the present wants of the trade of the river, and the operations of the year ending June 30, 1875, will be directed to the attainment of that depth, and to as great a width as the funds will allow. A careful survey of the river was necessary, and has been made from the ship-lock at the city as far down as Trent's Reach, including the Dutch Gap cut-off. This was necessary in order a proper determination of the changes made in the river by nature and by art in the past four years. It should be observed that the river is subject to annual freshets, sometimes violent in their effect. An annual sum of $15,000 is deemed necessary to repair the damages caused by these freshets. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873.. Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Amount available July 1, 1874.. Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876. (See Appendix U 16.) $115,000 00 8,358 23 50,000 00 93,596 46 63,045 31 87,000 00 17. Improvement of the Appomattox River, Virginia.-On the 30th of June, 1873, the cut through the south channel was reported completed, with a width at the bottom of about 60 feet, and a depth of about 10 feet at mean low water. The dredging of a similar channel through the Puddledock Marsh in prolongation of the south channel was in progress. A deflector 250 feet in length had been nearly completed of timber, with the object of turning a portion of the water from the old into the new channel. At the end of June, 1874, this deflector had been securely finished ; the cut through Puddledock had been completed, and the dredged channel had been brought within 3,500 yards of the city line, operations having, however, closed May 16, 1874, from want of funds. The new appropriation of $30,000, of June 23, 1874, will enable the work to be resumed at an early day, and the minimum channel brought to the city line. This channel of 60 feet in width is insufficient; but in its incomplete condition its use is greatly preferred by navigators to that of the old intricate and circuitous one. The officer in charge presents an estimate for increasing the width to 80 feet and giving a character of permanence by protecting the banks. This estimate amounts to $153,000. He calls attention also to the fact that in every stream like this, subject to copious sediment-bearing freshets, repairs will be always necessary for an artificial channel. It is estimated that $20,000 per annum will be needed for the Appomattox for such repairs. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873. Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check, (including $286.44 percentage due on contracts not yet completed) Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874 Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874. Amount available July 1, 1874.. $30,000 00 8,993 33 30,000 00 38,347 12 Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876. (See Appendix U 17.) 30, 646 21 123,000 00 Improvement of the south branch of the Elizabeth River, Virginia.—The improvement proposed was the excavation of a channel, 60 feet wide at bottom and 73 feet deep at mean low water, through the numerous bars and shoals between the lock of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and Deep Creek, three and a half miles below; also the cutting off of one or two points where the bends in the river were very abrupt. Such a channel has been excavated nearly continuously for 5,400 yards from the lock down, and below that distance at intervals through the shoals, as far as the funds would allow. There are still two shoals, known as Nicaraugua Bar and the Deep Creek Bar, through which dredging is required before the work already done will be available to the full extent. The work has been done under two contracts. The first was with Mr. G. H. Ferris, of Brooklyn, who removed 29,500 cubic yards of material from the river between October 13 and December 24, 1873. The second was with Mr. Marshall Parks, who, between March 4 and June 18, 1874, removed 11,855 cubic yards, of which 7,118 cubic yards were deposited on the banks of the river at various points, and 4,737 yards were thrown off lighters in coves where there was little danger of its return into the channel. The matter removed by Mr. Ferris was also dumped in coves. The canal which is the continuation of this river is somewhat peculiar in character, having but a single lock, one of the finest in the country; and having no towing-path, steam is the only artificial motor used upon it. The communication, of which the Elizabeth River and this canal are parts, is a highly important one. This improvement was estimated to cost $25,000. The appropriations by Congress have been $15,000, March 3, 1873, and $10,000, June 23, 1874; total, $25,000. Some of the work by contract has cost considerably more than was expected, owing to the unusual difficulties found in disposing of the material removed by the dredges, and the inability to procure and control reliable labor in that section of country, amounting at times nearly to a suspension of work. What has been stated, and the non-continuity of operations which always adds to expense, make it necessary to ask for $5,000 for the year ending June 30, 1876. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873. Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874. Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874 Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876. (See Appendix U 18.) $15,000 00 20 00 10,000 00 14,281 73 10,698 27 5,000 00 19. Improvement of Nansemond River, Virginia.-During the mouth of July, 1873, the snags and sunken trees in the bed of the river and overhanging trees and branches on its banks, which were obstructing navigation, were removed. The construction of the proposed regulating and retaining dike was commenced August 6, and suspended January 13, 1874, when 2,156 lineal feet of it had been completed. During the mouths of October and November all the artificial obstructions in the channel-way of the river were removed by blasting, hoisting, aud dredging. They consisted of the wrecks of a schooner and a sloop, and 41 piles near Western Branch Bar, and 19 piles in Lower Blockade, about four miles from the mouth of the river. An examination of the bar at the Western Branch and its vicinity was made in April, 1874, and it was found that (owing to the contraction of the river-bed by the dike) the river had commenced cutting deeper the channel at the upstream end of the bar. Proposals for dredging were invited, and a contract made with Messrs. Morris and Cumings June 1, 1874. The contractors commenced operations June 5, and it is expected that they will finish their contract about July 15. A channel about 75 feet wide at bottom and 7 feet deep at mean low water will then be available. The estimate for the improvement of this river was $30,000. There have been appropriated by Congress $15,000 March 3, 1873, and $10,000 June 23, 1874; total, $25,000, leaving $5,000 to be appropriated to fill the estimate and complete the work. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873.. $12,500 00 2,087 30 |