Hydrographic Investigations

Mr. F. H. Newell, hydrographer of the U. S. Geological Survey, delivered an address before the Engineering Society last night, upon the investigations being made by the Division of Hydrography of the water resources of the country. His descriptions were illustrated by maps, views and diagrams, showing the operations of measuring the streams and determining the fluctuations in quantity from day to day and from season to season.

At various localities, from Maine to California, suitable points have been chosen for making measurements of the flow of rivers typical of the section. It has not been possible, of course, to determine the flow of all important rivers, but it is assumed that the facts obtained from one locality will apply to another after suitable corrections have been made for differences in the extent and character of the drainage area.

Throughout the country water powers have fallen into disuse or have been neglected for the last 20 or more years. This has been due to the fact that the power has been fixed at one point and could not be brought to centers of population or lines of transportation. Recently, however, the development of electrical transmission has changed all of this, and water powers which previously were overlooked are now being used. This is particularly the case where in the West the regulation of the streams for irrigation makes possible the development of cheap power.

The waters which occur underground and are reached by wells have often value not only for domestic use but for industrial purposes. Throughout a great part of the United States water is the only mineral of importance and upon its quantity and quality depends to a large extent the land values. This is particularly the case on the Great Plains where perennial streams are unknown and where the rich soil can not be cultivated without an artificial supply of moisture. The distribution of water beneath the surface and the depth at which it can be found are shown upon maps prepared by the Geological Survey, while the capacity and cost of reservoir sites for conserving the flow are exhibited in various reports.