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Show UNDEVELOPED POWER INJOTN- RIVERS U. S. Geological Survey Studies Stream Flow of Rivers of New England and Middle Eastern States Tho rivers of the northeastern and mlddlo eastern portions of tho United Unit-ed States aro tho best known In tho country and tho earliest in point of dovolopment, and their usefrlnoss as sources of powor and centers of Industry In-dustry has been demonstrated for several generations. Nevertheless It has been shown by tho work of tho United States Geological Survey during dur-ing past years and is demonstrated in spite of the long familiarity of manufacturers and industrial men In general with most of these rivers, the water resources they afford havo not yet been appreciated and by no means dovolopcd to their fullest extent. ex-tent. In fact, thero are very few rivers in this great region In which tho dovolopment of water power has come anywhero near tho maximum possible degree of usefulness. Tho report montlonod, Water Supply Sup-ply Paper 261, contains records of flow during several years of tho principal rivers In New England, New York, Now Jorsoy, Pennsylvania, Pennsylva-nia, and Maryland, which empty into tho Atlantic Ocean' Boglnnlng with tho records of tho St. John IMvor Basin, In tho Stato of Main, tho roport takes up successively suc-cessively all tho principal streams and many of their Important tributaries tribu-taries along tho coast as far south as tho Rappahannock In Virginia. Among tho records of Interest Is that of Connecticut Itlvor nt Oxford, N, II., covering tho years 1907 to 1909. It shows that the highest dlschargo for tho throo year period occurred un April 16. 1909. when tho river flowed 49,700 cublo feet per second. Tho highest dlschargo In tho year 1908 was '30,700 cubic feet per Bccoud, on April 30; tho maximum flow for the J'onr 1907 was 40,000 cubic cu-bic foot por second, on May 3. Tho record further shows that tho lowost stogo was recorded In tho year 1908 when, on Scptcinbor 28, only 288 cubic cu-bic foot por second of water passed tho Oxford Btntlon. During that year tho flow oxceeded 1000 cubic feet per second in September and October during only ono day, nnd In this two months' lowwntor period tho nvoras flow wob only C87 cublo feot per second. sec-ond. Potomac Hirer, as another ox- amplo, has during tho porlod In which Its flow has been observed by tho Geological Survoy produced a flood flow 470 times greater than that of low water. In developing a wator supply enormous sums of monoy may bo uselessly expended unless observations observ-ations of this kind are mado throughout through-out tho various stages of stream -flow. |