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The approach to Patchogue River by water is through Fire Island inlet, and thence by a rather crooked course for some 14 miles through Great South Bay; the depth through the bay and up to within half a mile of the river's mouth is about 8 feet; at the mouth of the river the depth shoals up to about 2, which depth could be carried up to the vi lage landings.

About the year 1870 the State of New York made an appropriation for improving the entrance to this river. A jetty about 1,000 feet long was built from the west side of the mouth of the river and a channel dredged alongside of it. The jetty was built of a single row of sheet piling, with round piles at intervals of about 6 feet, and riprapped alig the sides; in 1891 about 200 linear feet of the piling remained, but bady injured; the riprap could be traced for nearly the whole length of the work, but no trace of the dredged channel remained.

The mean rise of tide at Patchogue River is about 1.1 feet.

PROJECTS FOR IMPROVEMENT.

The river and harbor act of June 4, 1880, provided for a survey of the river, which was made in that year; the report, dated October 30, 188), and printed in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1881. Part I, page 674, contained estimates for a plan of improvement as follows:

The estimate to secure a depth of 6 feet at mean low water by dredging in
the river and from its mouth to the 6-foot curve in the bay is
For diking from river to 6-foot curve in bay.
Engineering, contingencies, etc., 15 per cent

Total.

$21.00

13,87

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One dike was to be on the west side of the river's mouth, and another and shorter one on the east side; the total length of the two to be 2,40 feet; to be of carbolized timber filled with riprap, and to be from 5 to 7 feet wide from out to out.

Nothing had been done towards the desired improvement; and in18 another examination (ordered by the river and harbor act of that year was made.

The report on this examination is printed in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1887, Part I, page 759. This report contained a project and estimates for dredging a channel 60 feet wide and 6 feet de p from the highway bridge at Patchogue (4,000 feet above the mouth of the river) to the 6-foot contour in Great South Bay, a total length of about a mile, and to protect the channel in the bay by a dike or jetty on its west side 1,700 feet long; the plan also mentioned the possible necessity of a dike on the east side, but it was not included in the esti mates, which were as follows:

Dredging from the head of navigation at the bridge to the 6-foot contour in
the Great South Bay, the channel being 60 feet wide and 6 feet deep, would
require the removal by scow-measurement of about 60,000 cubic yards of
sand, at 30 cents per cubic yard

Diking, 1,700 linear feet, at $10 per linear foot
Superintendence, contingencies, etc...

Total.....

$18,000

17,000

5,000

40,000

Beginning of work under this project was approved by the Secretary of War October 4, 1890, after Congress had made the first appropriation for the improvement.

OPERATIONS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1891.

By act of Congress approved September 19, 1890, $15,000 were appropriated for improving Patchogue River, N. Y. Proposals for construction of a riprap jetty on the west side of the entrance were received, and April 18, 1891, a contract for this work was entered into with E. Bailey & Sons, of Patchogue, N. Y., at the rate of $2.80 per gross ton for riprap delivered and placed in position in the jetty. Construction of a similar jetty at Browns Creek, N. Y., was included in the same contract. Delivery of stone in the Patchogue Jetty was begun June 8, 1891, and up to the close of the fiscal year 450 tons of stone had been placed, building 150 linear feet of the jetty, and partly completing about 900 feet additional.

The contract is in progress.

PRESENT CONDITION OF IMPROVEMENT.

The jetty is as above described, the only work done upon it being that mentioned in this report.

The available depth of channel is still about 2 feet at mean low water; at places in the river considerable dredging has been done by wharf owners to obtain material for filling; the resulting depths are irregular, varying from 8 to 18 feet, and the dredged areas are not continuous.

PROPOSED OPERATIONS.

Under the contract now in force the jetty will be made about 1,200 feet long. As soon as it is sufficiently long to admit of dumping material behind it a contract for dredging at the mouth of the river will be made. The available funds will, it is believed, extend the 6-foot depth a short distance inside the mouth of the river.

Future appropriations should be applied to completing the dredged channel and to extending the jetty, as contemplated by the project. The only appropriation for Patchogue River is the one of $15,000 made in 1890.

Patchogue River is in the collection district of New York; the nearest light-house is at Fire Island Inlet, 14 miles southwest; the nearest work of defense is Fort Hale, New Haven Harbor, Connecticut, about 35 miles in a direct line northward.

Money statement.

Amount appropriated by act approved September 19, 1890.

June 30, 1891, amount expended during fiscal year

$15,000.00 156. 18

July 1, 1891, balance unexpended..

July 1, 1891, outstanding liabilities..

14, 843. 82

July 1, 1891, amount covered by uncompleted contracts..

$1,385.00
7, 140.00

8, 525.00

July 1, 1891, balance available....

6, 318. 82

(Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.. Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1893 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867.

25,000.00 25,000.00

Abstract of proposals for constructing jetties at Patchogue River, New York, opened Mørch 26, 1891, by Col. D. C. Houston, Corps of Engineers.

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* Lowest pid ($16,800, $9,800 for Patchogue River and $7,000 for Browns Creek.) Entered into contras April 18, 1891; work in progress.

The above amounts are included in the proposals for constructing jetties at Patchogue River and Browns Creek, New York.

Amount available for these works, about $17,000.

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The principal articles of commerce by water are coal and wood, brick and store lumber, oysters, and general freight.

D 28.

IMPROVEMENT OF BROWNS CREEK, SAYVILLE, LONG ISLAND, NEW

YORK.

Browns Creek is a small stream flowing midway between the village of Sayville and Bayport, near the south shore of Long Island, an emptying into Great South Bay, about 11 miles northeast of Fire Islan Inlet. From Fire Island Inlet to the vicinity of Browns Creek there is a rather crooked channel of about 8 feet available depth. The entranc to the creek is crooked, narrow, and shifting. Its depth at mean low water is about 0.4 foot. In the stream itself the low-water level is from 0.3 to 1.3 feet higher than low water in Great South Bay, and the chan nel depths are from 0 to 3 feet below low water in the bay. The width

of the stream, from the bay to the highway bridge, about 5,000 feet, averages 77 feet. Its course lies through a sandy marsh from onequarter to one-half mile in width, separated from the bay by a low and narrow beach.

The permanent population of Sayville is said to be 3,500.

The mean rise of tide in Great South Bay is 1.1 feet; at the highway bridge, except in dry seasons, it is scarcely noticeable.

PROJECT FOR IMPROVEMENT.

In pursuance of the river and harbor act of August 11, 1888, a survey of Browns Creek was made, the report on which was printed in House Ex. Doc. No. 22, Fifty-first Congress, first session, and also in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1890, Part I, pages 669-674. With this report plans and estimates for work were presented as follows: The object of the desired improvement is to secure an anchorage ground or place where the fishing boats can lie in safety during rough weather. This can be accomplished by widening and deepening the creek and improving its mouth. To prevent the entrance from filling up by drift and wave action jetties will probably be needed on both sides, certainly on the west side, as the drift of sand along the shore is from the west to east. The jetties should be of riprip, the top and slopes to be of stone, weighing not less than one-fourth ton, the top to be 3 feet wide and 1 foot above high water, with slopes of one on one. The stone on the top and slopes should be selected and carefully laid, so as to present as smooth a surface as possible, to resist the action of moving ice.

The cost of dredging a channel 100 feet wide and 6 feet deep at mean low water from the 6-foot curve in the bay up to the first bend in the creek (1,850 feet) is estimated to be

33,000 cubic yards, at 30 cents per cubic yard, the material to be deposited in the bay

Cost of east jetty, 1,400 feet long, 3,100 cubic yards of riprap, at $2.50 per cubic yard

Cost of west jetty, 1,600 feet long, 3,700 cubic yards of riprap, at $2.50 per cubic yard

For a 4-foot channel 100 feet wide above this point to the highway bridge, 4,680 feet, 86,000 cubic yards, at 14 cents per cubic yard, the material to be placed on the banks

$9,900

12, 040

9, 250

7,750

7,060

46,000

Contingencies..

Total......

The first work to be done should be the deepening at and near the mouth and the construction of jetties, commencing at the shore end. These works should be carried on simultaneously.

This improvement would not only benefit those engaged in oystering and fishing, but would enable many articles of commerce to be brought to Sayville by water instead of by rail, as at present. A partial improvement would be of great benefit to the small vessels.

The beginning of work under this project was approved by the Secretary of War October 4, 1890, after the first appropriation for improving Browns Creek had been made.

OPERATIONS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1891.

By act of Congress approved September 19, 1890, $12,000 were appropriated for improving Browns Creek. After due advertisement, proposals for constructing about 1,000 feet of the west jetty and 300 feet of the east jetty were received, the work to be done with riprap, and a contract including this work and similar work at Patchogue was entered into with E. Bailey & Sons, of Patchogue, N. Y., under date of April 18, 1891.

Work on the Browns Creek jetties has not yet been begun; the contract expires December 1, 1891.

PROPOSED OPERATIONS.

With available funds it is proposed to commence both jetties, and as soon as the west jetty is sufficiently advanced to admit of dumping be hind it, to dredge by contract, in order to make a 4-foot channel up to and inside the mouth of the creek.

Further appropriations will be applied to completing the jetties and channel as contemplated in the project.

The only appropriation for improving Browns Creek is the one of $12,000 made by act of Congress approved September 19, 1890.

Browns Creek is in the collection district of New York. The nearest light-house is at Fire Island Inlet, about 11 miles southwest. The nearest works of defense are the fortifications at Willets Point, N. Y., about 35 miles west, and Fort Hale, New Haven Harbor, Connecticut, about the same distance northeastwardly.

Money statement.

Amount appropriated by act approved September 19, 1890.

June 30, 1891, amount expended during fiscal year

July 1, 1891, balance unexpended..........

July 1, 1891, amount covered by uncompleted contracts

July 1, 1891, balance available................

Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project..

$12,000,00 70.84

11.929.1

5.64

6.329.16

34.000.00

Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1893 20,000.00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and

harbor acts of 1866 and 1867.

Abstract of proposals for constructing jetties at

No.

Browns Creek, Long Island.

New York, opened March 26, 1891, by Col. D. C. Houston, Corps of Engineers.

Name and address of bidders,

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*Lowest bid $16,800 ($7.000 for Browns Creek and $9,800 for Patchogue). Entered into contract Apri 18, 1891; work in progress.

The above amounts are included in the proposals for constructing jetties at Pachogue River and Browns Creek, New York.

Amount available for contract works about $17,000.

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR 1890.

SAYVILLE, LONG ISLAND, N. Y., June 24, 1891. DEAR SIR: The following statements are the nearest approximation to the required statistics which the time and conditions permit:

I. There was considerable quantity of freight brought to Sayville by water in 1890; probably an increase of 10 per cent. over any previous year. The amount, in tons, it is almost impossible to approximate, as there is no systematic or statistical record kept of it. The freights consisted principally of coal, lumber, bricks, and other building materials. The draft of vessels bringing these cargoes ranges gen erally from 3 to 6 feet. The present method of discharging the cargoes is exceed ingly laborious, being first to unload on to scows or flats, which are then poled to as

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