The 1913 disaster was the area's 11th bad flood in 109 years, prompting Dayton and surrounding communities to say enough was enough. The result of their frustration was the Miami Conservancy District--the first major regionally coordinated flood control program in the U.S.

After the Ohio legislature approved the district, area residents raised $2 million to find a solution to the megafloods. Morgan Engineering Co., Memphis, was hired. Arthur E. Morgan and his engineers spent three years creating a flood prevention plan based on construction of five earthen dams across river valleys to store flood water. The areas upstream of the dams would be dry most of the year. The land was sold as farm units, which were quite fertile because of their annual deposit of silt.

Bonds were sold to finance the project and bidding began in late 1917. But bidders' fears of the effect of wartime inflation on contracts lasting three to five years generated unacceptably high bids. So the conservancy district decided to form its own construction company to do the work, which began in early 1918. It took 8.4 million cu yd of hydraulic fill to build the five dams. They ranged in volume from 865,000 to 3.5 million cu yd; in height from 65 to 110 ft high; and in length from 1,210 to 6,400 ft. In addition, river channels were improved, levees rebuilt and sewers equipped with floodgates to prevent backup.

Four days of heavy rain in April 1922 put the system to a test, and it passed. There was very little flood damage in the district. Heavy rainfalls with potential for flood occurred in 1937, 1959 and 1982, but areas guarded by the Miami Conservancy District remained flood-free. The district's work became a model for other flood control projects and Morgan, its chief, subsequently became chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In its early days, tva was managed by engineers who had worked on the conservancy project.

NEWS IN BRIEF 1916, 1917

In Search of the Perfect Road
(Engineering News Oct. 12, 1916, p. 832)--In Wayne County, Mich., superintendent Patrick McConalohue stumbled upon an innovative method to finish concrete. On a day when his finishers quit, he tried to finish the roadway himself by drawing a canvas about 4 ft wide. After folding and refolding it to 12 in., "a very satisfactory finish was obtained," he said. A canvas belt was later used. The engineer knew this method was more practical than the usual technique of finishing concrete pavement using floats. Finishers manipulated the floats from a portable bridge across the roadway. "By adding a little more money to pay the cost of an asphalt surface on the concrete foundation," said McConalohue, the result would be a "good enough surface" that was uniform and free from lumps and hollows.

Novel Garbage Disposal
(Engineering News Oct. 12, 1916 p. 452)--After one year in operation, the Pacific Reduction Co., Los Angeles, justified predictions that its new garbage processing technique would be the "most successful undertaking of its kind in the country." The "Cobwell method" painstakingly processed garbage with a reducer that dehydrated it using steam and solvents. Solid waste was then screened, ground and sacked, resembling "unroasted ground coffee." Glass and bottles were removed and dead animals skinned. The company profited from the end-product: $14 a ton for its garbage tankage, which was used as fertilizer, and $55 a ton for dead-animal tankage. "When soaked with water the tankage is highly nourishing," said the company.

What Civil Engineers Earned
(Engineering News Jan. 4, 1917, p. 43)--The American Society of Civil Engineers investigated average yearly earnings of civil engineers. Jobs classified as government, municipal, state, and federal were among the lowest paid with earnings between $2,735 and $2,994. Engineers employed by private companies earned $4,240 and consulting engineers earned $6,737. Contractors were the highest paid, at $7,678. Engineers in southern, western and New England states were among the lowest paid. The society noted the significance of labor organizations. Experienced engineers were at salaries "which were less than those of an ordinary mechanic who had a labor organization behind him."