AZ vs. CA:21 California Exhibits, Vol. XXI; Nos. 4501-4597

page 31

-31- a sand bar of varying width through a channel which is continually being silted up and which is entirely obliterated by every slight rise of the river. Some idea of the magnitude of the problem is represented by the fact that after an expenditure of more than $500,000 the Cotton Land Co. has accomplished practically nothing, and have now apparently abandoned their project. At the town of Needles in the lower end of the Mojave Valley, and on the opposite or west bank of the river, the Santa Fe Railway Company in protecting their yards and shops from destruction by the shifting channel, has spent over $300,000. The first protective work installed by them consisted of a concrete apron 6 inches thick, laid on the bank which was trimmed up to a slope of 1 to 1. This apron extended from a point about 2 feet above high water mark to a point at or near low water, and was heavily reinforced and securely anchored by means of cables to piles firmly driven into the ground 10 feet back of the top of the apron. From the lower end of this first apron, and securely anchored to it, a second apron of the same thickness as the first and heavily reinforced, was extended 20 feet towards the river. This second apron was flat and was laid at or near low water surface on the silt or sand bar lying between the bank and the low water channel of the river. It was supposed that as the river rose and began cutting out its bed, that this second apron would drop into place after the soil beneath it had been eroded, and thus prevent further erosion. The plan was not successful however, as this expensive work was torn out by the river during the first spring rise after it had been put in. After the failure of this concrete apron, which was installed during the fall and winter of 1911, and was