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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. errata to ) pelure, on d D 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 tf f REPORT BY SANDFORI) FLEMING, C.M.G., C.E. ON Condition of Ottawa River From Ottawa to Grenville IN SUMMER OF 1888 AS AFFECTED BY Sawdust and other Mill Refuse OTTAWA: ; Printed by Thoburn ^ Co., No 36 Elgin Street 1895 ,^ 5 J Taking each separate mile of the river fron) Ottawa to ('renville, the minimum and maximum depths under extreme low water m the channel, as depicted on the longitudinal section, are as follows, . Note— In the ist mile the longitudinal section shows the depths in the main channel of the river from the Chaudiere downwards-not in the bay leading to the Rideau Canal. Least Depth. Greatest Depth feet. feet. ist mile below Ottawa 35 55 „_j «i " 3» 79 «"? « u 10 75 3;^ .. u ;; 8 30 4tn „ .. 18 28 JS^ « " 14 »6 IS « ;; - Z ^°i » u 8 21 '^'^ .. u 20 > 30 »'j « u 27 33 '^^^ . w II 33 '^^^^ .. » 18 33 '5^ « « 26 34 lotn -. x<. ,^^v «« *« 24 35 i8th -_ 26 ^9j .. .. 18 34 ^°^,^ w .. 34 62 ""f .< u 31 39 23rd • • • • 24lh 35th 26lh 27lh 28th '29lh 30th 3rst 32nd 34th 35ih 36th 37lh 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd ';4th 55th 5 6th 57th 58th S9th 60th mile below ti II i< l( l{ Ottawa II It (« • (I K «t « «l • ( feet out if the 4th Here the 2, directly th in the mile from a. Here spots are ach case, lile in the I lo feet. 3 2 and 3 4 and 5 ;es being did not y part of y natural s of the :r Ottawa gation in bout 200 sit here is that the irhere the y it away. 10 appre- :he river ;ts would le injury of river on ton- /p^ r 9 nage passing the Grenville Canal be taken as a criterion, we may judge of the value of the traffic by the following table, which gives a compar- ison for a period of ten years. ^r Total Tolls T, ,. ^„ c;,„,„ T „<^^ Tolls on all other Y^"- collected. Tolls on Sawn Lumber Freights. 1878 34,527 $28,688 $5,839 1879 r 35,392 29,727 5,665 w 1880 39,309 33,631 5.078 1881 52,245 46,496 5,749 1882 51,153 43,890 7,263 1883 55,665 48,250 7,4^S 1884 53,845 46,946 6,899 1885 49,337 44,036 5.301 18S6 50,620 45,66.; 4,956 1887 49.830 45,5^6 4,314 Totals $471,923 $412,844 $59,079 By these returns it is established that the gross revenue from; Canal tolls in 10 years ending 3TSt December, 1887, was $471,923 of which sawn lumber coutribuled $412,844, and all other traffic $59,079. If we take by way of example the last year given in the table, viz.^ 1887, we have as follows : — Tons. Tolls. Total freight of all sorts 684,047 $49,830 01 Sawnlumber 558,49o- 4S.516 14 All other trafific ! i24,557 4,31387 The sawn lumber above named does not include the following : Tons Tolls paying tolls. amounting to. Timber in rafts 2,189 $7660 Saw logs 14.074 32780 Railway ties 3.625 39^ 22 Shingles 563 44i 71 Floats • 27,126 39980 Firewood 43,^52 i,379 32 Tons 90,729 Tolls.. 3,0 1 6 45 If the latter tolls be included it would appear that the lumbering interests contributed $48,522.59 of a total canal revenue of $49,830.11. But taking sawn lumber alone which pays close on 90 per cent, of the 10 aggregate tolls collected, there cannot be a doubt that the manufac- turers, are to a much larger extent concerned in the navigation of the river than all other interests combined. In connection with the depth of water in the channel my enquiries go to show that the barges used in the transportation of sawn lumber are greater in draught than any other craft now employed or which have at any previous time been employed on the river. * The question arises, are the causes in operation, if continued for a sufficiently long period, likely to damage the Ottawa as a navigable stream ? This enquiry is of great importance and demands special attention. It is not easy to ascertain the exact quantity of solid matter cast into the river from the mills, be the quantity what it may, the material being buoyant is carried forward a greater or lesser distance before it sinks or disappears. Wherever it may find its way to the bottom, it is seldom found in a compact body. A deposit of sawdust is easily moved b> currents, and as the volume of water in the Ottawa during floods is very large and of great force it may be assumed that no deposit of this loose ma- terial can remain in the shallow parts of the main channel, where in fact the currents are always greatest. It has been satisfactorily established by the recent examination that during the constantly recurring periods of high water any such de- posits are moved forward by. the scour of the currents and carried prob- ably to parts of the river where the water is deep and still. Taking that portion of the Ottawa between this City and Grenville and dividing the whole distance of 60 miles into subdivisions of 10 miles each, we obtain from the recent measurements the following aver- age depths in the channel at extreme low water. ist sub-division average. . 2nd sub-division average. 3rd subdivision average. 4th sub-division average. 5th sub-division average , 6th sub-division average . Least depth. 14 ft. 9 in. 19 " 3 " 24 " o " 41 " 9 " 65 " 7 " 31 Greatest depth. 38 ft. 5 in. , 31 " 2 " 37 " 6 " 6 " 78 " 6 " 97 " 2 " 69 " 2 " From these averages we have for the whole 60 miles of the channel taken in sub-divisions of 10 miles. 1. A mean minimum depth of 32 ft. 9 in. 2. A mean maximum depth of 58 ft. 7 in. 3. A general mean depth of 45 ft. 9 in. lb 11 It will be borne in mind that all these depths mentioned refer to a stage of the water which has only occurred once in the past 17 years, that is to say when the river fell to but 4 ft. 6^ in. over the lock sill of the Rideau Canal, on the ist of October, 1881. The large quantity of refuse passing from the mills would in a shallow sluggish river very soon produce objectionable consequences, but the deductions drawn from the recent survey show conclusively that ' the Ottawa is so exceptional in its character and has depths so profound that the evils to be feared from the filling up of the channel ar,e exceedingly remote. I have had an estimate prepared to convey some idea of the length of time which would elapse before the deep parts of the river between Ottawa a>nd Grenville would be filled. This estimate is based on the soundings recently made and on other data. According to this estimate it would require 350,000,000 cubic yards of solid material to fill up the deeper parts to a line ten teet under extreme low water. 1 have already indicated that the quantity of sawdust and lefuse of all kinds passing from the mills cannot on an average be more than loc.ooo cubic yards |,>er annum. It is not possible to determine what part of this material remains above Grenville. It is reasonable to suppo^e that some of it finds its way to the lower reaches of the river, but ar^uming that no part of it is carried towards the ocean and t'lat its volume is not reduced by pressure or by any natural process, the question resolves itself into one of sinijile proportion, viz: — How long will it take to deposit 350,000,000 cubic yards at the rate of 100,000 cubic yards per annum ? This whole calculation may be held to be but roughly approximate, yet it will give some idea of the enormous length of time ' which would elapse before the deep space under the level demanded by a navigable channel could be filled up. The examination which I have made points to the following con- clusion : 1. With respect to private interests, there can be no doubt that riparian owners in some individual cases suffer actual damage from the operations of the lumber manufacturers. While this is the case more especially in the neighborhood of Ottawa there are many persons living along the river banks between this City and Grenville who are benefited in a manner which to them may be considered material. These persons may indeed be counted by hundreds, and they would feel it to be a great deprivation if through any cause they were cut off from their annual supply oi firewood. 2. There has been a deposit of sawdust directly in front of the Rideau Canal in the City of Ottawa, it extends from the lower lock, a short distance into the river. The removal of less than 10,000 cubic yards by dredging at this spot would enable all vessels navigating the . canal to enter with ease when the water is at its lowest stage. With this !2 single exception I am unable to see that the navigation of the river Ottawa has been injuriously interfered with to any appreciable extent. Moreover, if the official returns afford a means of judging, it appears that the lumbering interest are more deeply concerned in the niainte- viance of the navigation than all other interests. The official returns of traffic through the Grenville cana) showing that the lumber business pays nearly all the tolls collected. 3, With regard to the future it is conclusively established that there is no probability of the navigation between the City of Ottawa and Grenville being irretrievably destroyed or seriously obstructed from the cause assigned for centuries to come. I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, (Signed) SANDFORD FLEMING. '^v •■w*^.