63D CONGRESS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. (DOCUMENT 1st Session.

RESERVOIRS AT HEADWATERS OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

LETTER

FROM

THE SECRETARY OF WAR,

TRANSMITTING,

WITH A LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, REPORT ON EXAMINATION OF RESERVOIRS AT HEADWATERS OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER WITH A VIEW TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCKS IN THE DAMS HERETOFORE BUILT AT POKEGAMA, WINNIBIGOSHISH, AND LEECH LAKES, IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA.

SEPTEMBER 27, 1913.-Referred to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and ordered to be printed, with illustration.

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, September 25, 1913.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, dated 24th instant, together with copy of report from Lieut. Col. Charles L. Potter, Corps of Engineers, dated January 3, 1913, with map, on preliminary examination of reservoirs at headwaters of the Mississippi River, made by him in compliance with the provisions of the river and harbor act approved July 25, 1912.

Very respectfully,

LINDLEY M. GARRISON,
Secretary of War.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS,
Washington, September 24, 1913.

From: The Chief of Engineers, United State Army.
To: The Secretary of War.
Subject: Preliminary examination of reservoirs at headwaters of
Mississippi River.

1. There is submitted herewith, for transmission to Congress, report dated January 3, 1913, with map, by Lieut. Col. Charles L. Potter, Corps of Engineers, on preliminary examination of reservoirs at headwaters of Mississippi River, with a view to the construction of locks in the dams heretofore built at Pokegama, Winnibigoshish, and Leech Lakes in the State of Minnesota, called for by the river and harbor act approved July 25, 1912.

2. The reservoirs specified in the act pertain to a system of six reservoirs which were constructed by the United States at the headwaters of the Mississippi River for the purpose of aiding low-water navigation on the river below St. Paul. The section of river from Brainerd to Grand Rapids is under improvement by open-river methods, but this is an isolated stretch, not connected with navigable water either above or below. From Grand Rapids to Pokegama dam, a distance of about 3 miles, the river is not navigable, but between this dam and Leech and Winnibigoshish dams there are about 90 miles of river, all more or less navigable. Above the Winnibigoshish dam navigation is practicable to the head of the reservoir at Cass Lake. The territory contiguous to these reservoirs is sparsely settled, being largely occupied by Indian reservations. The traffic consists almost entirely of lumber and its products, which are shipped to Duluth, Superior, and St. Paul by rail. No market can be reached by water, and the construction of the proposed locks would not obviate the necessity for rail shipment, but would merely permit the commerce to descend as far as Brainerd or Grand Rapids for transshipment, instead of being shipped by rail direct from points above. But little benefit would result from these additional facilities, and in the opinion of the district officer the locality is not worthy of improvement in the manner stated. In this opinion the division engineer concurs.

3. This report has been referred, as required by law, to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and attention is invited to its accompanying report of September 9, 1913, concurring in the views expressed by the district officer and the division engineer.

4. After due consideration of the above-mentioned reports, I concur with the views of the district officer, the division engineer, and the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors that the improvement by the United States of reservoirs at headwaters of Mississippi River, with a view to the construction of locks in the dams heretofore built at Pokegama, Winnibigoshish, and Leech Lakes, in the State of Minnesota, in the manner apparently desired by the interests concerned as described in the reports herewith, is not deemed advisable at the present time.

WM. T. ROSSELL, Chief of Engineers, United States Ármy.

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS.

[Third indorsement.]

BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS,
September 9, 1913.

To the CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY:

1. The extreme upper Mississippi River flows through Cass Lake and thence into Lake Winnibigoshish, at the outlet of which a dam has been constructed which forms Winnibigoshish Reservoir. Sixtyfive miles below there is another dam which forms the Pokegama Reservoir. About 40 miles above Pokegama dam the Mississippi is joined by Leech River, which is dammed 27 miles above its mouth, forming Leech Reservoir. At the town of Grand Rapids, situated about 3 miles below Pokegama dam, is a fixed dam used for power purposes. This upper section of the Mississippi River is not under improvement for navigation. Below Grand Rapids for a distance. of 179 miles to Brainerd the Mississippi is navigable and is under improvement. From Brainerd to Minneapolis the river is blocked by several fixed power dams, is not under improvement, and is not generally navigable.

2. The district officer describes in considerable detail the commercial conditions of this region and the possible utilization of the navigation facilities that would be provided if locks were built in the reservoir dams, but he finds little to indicate more than a small local traffic. There are several small towns and villages adjacent to the area under consideration, the principal ones being Cass Lake at the upper end and Grand Rapids at the lower end, the others lying between. Every settlement mentioned in the report of the district officer has at least one railroad and many of them two or three, and in all cases a rail haul would be required in any event to reach a market at Duluth or St. Paul. There is no through navigation on these waterways, and the investigations of the district officer lead to the conclusion that even if locks were provided the commerce would be small in amount and receive but little benefit from the improvement. The country is sparsely settled. Much of it is in Indian reservations and not likely to produce a large or important commerce. Little may be expected beyond a moderate amount of log and timber products, which can be handled with existing facilities. The district officer believes the locality is not worthy of improvement by the General Government, and in this view the division engineer concurs. 3. Interested parties were informed of the unfavorable report of the district officer and given an opportunity to submit to the board statements and arguments bearing upon the necessity of this improvement. One communication, signed by a number of citizens of Federal Dam and vicinity, favoring a lock in Leech River dam, has been received and given consideration. As a result of correspondence with Hon. C. A. Lindbergh, M. C., indicating that additional data might be expected from the locality, the board withheld action in this matter for several months, but nothing further has been received. 4. These reservoirs were constructed by the United States at the headwaters of the Mississippi River for the purpose of aiding the lowwater navigation on the river below St. Paul. At present there is a

1 Not printed.

small commerce on the Mississippi between Brainerd and Grand Rapids, but practically none above, except the floating of some logs and timber, for which there are now sufficient facilities. The improvement contemplated would have very little if any effect on general commerce and but little on a probably small local business. For these reasons and others given more in detail in the report of the district officer, the board concurs in the opinion that at this time it is not advisable for the United States to construct locks in the dams at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

5. In compliance with law, the board reports that there are no questions of terminal facilities, water power, or other related subjects having any material bearing upon the improvement of navigation at this locality. For the board:

W. M. BLACK,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers,
Senior Member of the Board.

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF RESERVOIRS AT HEADWATERS
OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE,
St. Paul, Minn., January 3, 1913.

From: The District Engineer Officer.

To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army

(Through the Division Engineer).

Subject: Preliminary examination of reservoirs at headwaters of Mississippi River.

1. The river and harbor act approved July 25, 1912, contains the following provision for preliminary examination:

Reservoirs at headwaters of Mississippi River, with a view to the construction of locks in the dams heretofore built at Pokegama, Winnibigoshish, and Leech Lakes,

in the State of Minnesota.

2. No similar report has been made heretofore on this matter and it is therefore an entirely new subject for preliminary examination. The examination was made by Junior Engineer E. J. Dugan, who has local supervision of all work in connection with these reservoirs. No public hearing was held, as the physical and commercial conditions are too well known to make it necessary and the interest in the matter is scattered among various small towns located in such a way that no general meeting place could be selected. To have held meetings in all the towns would have been tedious and productive of little or no results.

3. The extreme upper Mississippi River enters the northwest corner of Cass Lake and flows thence to Lake Winnibigoshish (this connection being locally known as Cass River). At the outlet of Winnibigoshish is a dam controlling the outflow and forming Winnibigoshish Reservoir, which includes Cass Lake. The river thence passes to a point 65 miles below, where it is again dammed, forming the Pokegama Reservoir. Pokegama Lake is not, however, in the Mississippi River, but lies to the south and connects with the river through a thoroughfare (parts of which are known as Joe Gould, Little Joe

Gould, and Black Water Lakes, the last being in the Mississippi) forming a part of the Pokegama Reservoir. From the outlet of Black Water Lake near Cohasset to Pokegama Dam (5 miles) the river is about the usual width. About 40 miles above Pokegama Dam the Mississippi River is joined by the Leech River, the outlet of Leech Lake. Leech Lake Dam, which is located about 2 miles below the outlet of Leech Lake and which controls the outflow and forms Leech Lake Reservoir, is about 27 miles above the junction of the Leech and Mississippi Rivers. About 3 miles below Pokegama Dam is the town of Grand Rapids, at which is a fixed dam used for power to run a paper mill. Below Grand Rapids is a navigable stretch of the Mississippi River of 179 miles to Brainerd. From Brainerd to Minneapolis there is no continuous navigation, the river being blocked by several fixed power dams. In the territory under consideration there are several small towns and villages.

On the west side of Leech Lake is the town of Walker (population, 925) and just below the Leech Lake Dam is Federal Dam with a population of 250. No further settlements, other than an Indian agency and the Minnesota State Tuberculosis Sanitarium, exist on Leech Lake. At the southwest corner of Cass Lake is the town of Cass Lake, with a population of 2,015. There is a hotel and summer resident colony on Star Island in Cass Lake, and a smaller one on the south shore of Pike Bay. No other settlements exist on Cass or Winnibigoshish Lakes except Bena (200 population), which is a quarter of a mile south of the south point of Lake Winnibigoshish. No settlements exist on Leech River. On the Mississippi River below Winnibigoshish there is no settlement amounting to more than a railroad station until Deer River (population, 900) is reached. Deer River is off the main river on a small tributary which joins the Mississippi about halfway from Winnibigoshish to Pokegama. The only other settlement on any of these rivers above Pokegama Dam is Cohasset (population, 600), which is on the Mississippi River just below where it leaves Black Water Lake. About 3 miles below Pokegama Dam is the town of Grand Rapids, with a population of 2,600. In the 179 miles below Grand Rapids there are Mississippi (population, 80), Palisade (population, 100), Aitkin (population, 1,638), and Brainerd (population, 10,000). These are 43, 94, 124, and 179 miles, respectively, below Grand Rapids.

4. The present navigability and commercial possibilities of the different reaches will be considered separately. Locks in these dams with added improvement of the connecting rivers would give continuous navigation from the towns of Walker and Cass Lake to Brainerd.

5. From Brainerd to Grand Rapids is a stretch of the Mississippi (179 miles) crossed by railroads at two points only (Palisade and Mississippi) touched by a railroad at one point only (Aitkin) and not paralleled by any railroad and passing through country which is coming more and more under settlement every year. In order to supply the settlers and to take away their produce it is necessary to keep up navigation on this portion of the river which is now under improvement.

6. The next stretch of river, from Grand Rapids to above Pokegama Dam, is not navigable and can not be made so except by the building of two locks-one in the power dam at Grand Rapids and one in