BACK BAY OF BILOXI, MISS. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF WAR, TRANSMITTING, WITH A LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, REPORT ON PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF BACK BAY OF BILOXI, MISS., WITH A VIEW TO REMOVING SHOALS AT CRANES NECK AND BILOXI MUD FLATS AND SECURING A DEPTH OF 12 FEET. OCTOBER 4, 1919.-Referred to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and ordered to be printed, with illustration. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, October 3, 1919. The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. SIR I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, of 30th ultimo, together with report of Mr. F. H. Reed, assistant engineer in charge, dated November 12, 1918, with map, on a preliminary examination of Back Bay of Biloxi, Miss., authorized by the river and harbor act approved August 8, 1917. Very respectfully, NEWTON D. BAKER, WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, From: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. 1. There is submitted herewith for transmission to Congress report dated November 12, 1918, with map, by Mr. F. H. Reed, assistant engineer in charge, on preliminary examination authorized by the HD-66-1-vol 32-14 river and harbor act approved August 8, 1917, of Back Bay of Biloxi, Miss., with a view to removing shoals at Cranes Neck and Biloxi Mud Flats and securing a depth of 12 feet. 2. Back Bay of Biloxi is an arm of Mississippi Sound extending from Biloxi Bay westerly for a distance of about 8 miles. Biloxi Mud Flats are in Biloxi Bay at the entrance to Back Bay. Cranes Neck is a shallow section of the channel of Back Bay extending easterly from the mouth of Bayou Bernard for a distance of about 14 miles. It has a depth of about 6 feet, which is the controlling depth in Back Bay Channel. The existing project for improvement of the channel to Biloxi, which is situated on the westerly side of the entrance to Back Bay, provides for a channel 8 feet deep at mean low water and 150 feet wide from the 8-foot contour in Mississippi Sound to the pocket of deep water forming the south water front of the city of Biloxi. The improvement now apparently desired is the deepening of the channel into Back Bay and at Cranes Neck to afford better navigation to the industrial plants located on Back Bay, including a number of shipbuilding plants which desire better facilities for getting large vessels out to deep water. The district engineer states that by careful navigation and by waiting for high tides most of the vessels visiting this locality can enter Back Bay without its improvement, and that the few large vessels now being constructed on Back Bay can be brought out at high tide with the assistance of a tug to pull them through the soft mud flats. Dredging at this locality would injure the oyster beds and is not favored by all persons whose interest would be affected. The cost of the work and its maintenance would be large, and in view of all the circumstances the district engineer is of opinion that it is not advisable for the United States to undertake the proposed improvement. The division engineer concurs in this opinion. 3. This report has been referred, as required by law, to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and attention is invited to its report herewith, dated June 10, 1919, concuring in the unfavorable views of the district and division engineers. 4. After due consideration of the above-mentioned reports, I concur in the views of the district engineer, the division engineer, and the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and therefore report that the improvement by the United States of Back Bay of Biloxi, Miss., with a view to removing shoals at Cranes Neck and Biloxi Mud Flats and securing a depth of 12 feet, is not deemed advisable at the present time. W. M. BLACK, REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS. [Third indorsement.] BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY: 1. The following is in review of the district engineer's report on preliminary examination authorized by the river and harbor act approved August 8, 1917, of Back Bay of Biloxi, Miss., with a view to removing shoals at Cranes Neck and Biloxi Mud Flats and securing a depth of 12 feet. 2. Back Bay of Biloxi is an arm of Mississippi Sound extending westerly from Biloxi Bay approximately parallel with the shore for a distance of about 8 miles. The city of Biloxi is situated at the easterly end of the peninsula thus formed. Cranes Neck is part of the navigable channel of Back Bay extending from the mouth of Bayou Bernard easterly for a distance of about 14 miles. It has a depth of 6 feet at mean low water, which is the controlling depth in Back Bay. The mud flats referred to in the act are at the entrance to the bay. 3. Several examinations have previously been made of the channel into Back Bay, all of which have been unfavorable. The existing project for improvement of the channel to Biloxi provides for a channel 8 feet deep at mean low water and 150 feet wide from the 8-foot contour in Mississippi Sound to the pocket of deep water forming the south water front of the city of Biloxi. The total expenditures on this project to June 30, 1918, amounted to $90,716.70. The improvement now apparently desired is the deepening of the channel into Back Bay and at Cranes Neck to afford better navigation facilities to the industrial plants located on Back Bay and its tributaries, including a number of shipbuilding plants which desire better facilities for getting large vessels out to deep water. The commerce of Biloxi Harbor in 1917 is reported as 40,617 tons, valued at $498,390, of which 12,801 tons, valued at $254,800, pertained to Back Bay. The district engineer states that the majority of the vessels engaged in commerce can use the present channels with ordinary tides. The deeper-draft vessels which handle cargo on barges anchor in the deeper water and the barges are towed in by gasoline boats of lighter draft. By careful navigation and by waiting for high tides most of the vessels can pass alongside the wharves or enter the deeper water in Back Bay without improvement. The very few large-size vessels now being built on Back Bay can be brought out to deep water in Mississippi Sound at high tide with the assistance of a tug to pull them through the soft mud flats. To provide better facilities for the shipyards and other establishments on Back Bay the city of Biloxi has recently passed an ordinance for submission to voters calling for a bond issue of $30,000 for the purpose of dredging a channel through the mud flats. It appears, however, that the dredging of a channel at this locality would injure the existing oyster beds and is not universally favored. In view of all the circumstances the district engineer reaches the conclusion that the locality covered by the examination is not worthy of improvement by the United States, and the division engineer concurs in this view. 4. Interested parties were notified by the district engineer of the tenor of his report and invited to submit statements and arguments to the board, but no communications on the subject have been received. 5. The object of this examination is to determine the advisability of providing a deeper channel through the mud flats obstructing the entrance to Back Bay of Biloxi and through Cranes Neck leading to Bayou Bernard. From the information furnished by the district engineer, it appears that practically all vessels calling at Biloxi can enter Back Bay by taking advantage of the tides and that the larger vessels constructed at the shipyards can be pulled through the soft mud flats at high tide. The cost of the desired improvement, both for original work and subsequent maintenance, would be high. Moreover, it would injure existing oyster beds, and no pronounced sentiment in favor of it is evident. The board therefore concurs with the district and division engineers in the opinion that it is not advisable for the United States to undertake the improvement of this locality at the present time. 6. In compliance with law, the board reports that there are no questions of terminal facilities, water power, or other related subjects which could be coordinated with the suggested improvement in such manner as to render the work advisable in the interests of commerce and navigation. For the board: PETER C. HAINS, Major General, United States Army, retired, PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF BACK BAY OF BILOXI, MISS. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, From: The District Engineer. Mobile, Ala., November 12, 1918. To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army (Through the Division Engineer). Subject: Preliminary examination of Back Bay of Biloxi, Miss. 1. In compliance with instructions contained in letter from the Chief of Engineers dated September 1, 1917, the preliminary examination of Back Bay of Biloxi, Miss., has been made and the following report is submitted: The authority for this examination is found in the following excerpt from the river and harbor act approved August 8, 1917: * SEC. 4. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to cause preliminary examinations and surveys to be made at the following-named localities: Back Bay of Biloxi, Mississippi, with a view to removing shoals at Cranes Neck and Biloxi Mud Flats and securing a depth of twelve feet. 2. Geographical features.-This watershed, embracing 700 square miles, and located in the southeastern part of the State of Mississippi, drains the entire central portion of Harrison County and the western portion of Jackson County into Mississippi Sound through channels around both ends of Deer Island, south and southeast of the city of Biloxi, Miss. 3. Physical characteristics.-Back Bay of Biloxi is an arm of Mississippi Sound, consisting of a narrow, irregular sheet of water extending from the northerly extremity of Biloxi Bay westerly for a distance of about 8 miles, and lies between the Biloxi Peninsula on the south and the mainland on the north. There is no definite line of demarcation between Biloxi Bay and Back Bay of Biloxi, but it has previously been assumed in former reports to be a true meridian line extending through the most easterly point of the lowwater line of the Biloxi Peninsula. J Biloxi Bay is connected with Mississippi Sound by two channels, one to the east and the other to the west of Deer Island. The controlling depths in these channels at mean low water are 6 feet and 4 feet, respectively. In the Back Bay the controlling depth at mean low water is 6 feet, and is at Cranes Neck. The Tchoutacabouffa and Biloxi Rivers and Bayous Bernard and Handsboro, the principal tributaries of the Back Bay of Biloxi, discharge into Big Lake, which forms the western extremity of the Back Bay. The channel throughout the entire length of the Back Bay is very crooked and meanders around the numerous islands dotting this waterway and the many peninsulas which project from the north and south shore lines. 4. Cranes Neck-This name applies to that portion of Big Lake adjacent to the south shore line, extending from the mouth of Bayou Bernard eastwardly for a distance of about 1 miles, and is the navigable channel along this portion of the waterway. 5. Biloxi Mud Flats.-These flats lie between the peninsula on which is located the city of Biloxi, Miss., and the mainland on the east side of Biloxi Bay, and extend to Deer Island on the south. They consist largely of mud and oyster beds overlying harder material. The increased width of the waterway at this location and its division into two channels, resulting in a diminution of the current, is the apparent reason for the formation of these flats. 6. City of Biloxi.-The city of Biloxi is situated about 80 miles easterly of New Orleans, La., 12 miles easterly of Gulfport, Miss., 20 miles westerly of Pascagoula, Miss., and 60 miles westerly of Mobile, Ala., on a peninsula separating the Back Bay of Biloxi from Mississippi Sound and joining the mainland on its westerly extremity. This peninsula is traversed by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which passes through the city of Biloxi and crosses Biloxi Bay. This crossing is provided with a drawbridge having a clear opening 75.8 feet wide. A county highway drawbridge with a clear opening of 77.4 feet crosses the Back Bay of Biloxi and connects the city of Biloxi with the mainland on the north. The corporate limits of the city embrace the entire peninsula for a distance of about 3.4 miles westwardly from its eastern extremity. The distance through the heart of the city from the Mississippi Sound on the south to the Back Bay on the north is about 13 miles. 7. Tides.-The entire portion of the waterway under examination is affected by tides, the daily fluctuation of which will average about 14 feet. Occasionally, during the winter and summer months, stages, with reference to mean low water, of 1.5 and +3 feet, respectively, are reached. An extreme high-water stage of 10 feet above the same datum plane has been attained during heavy storms. 8. Harbor facilities. The existing project for Biloxi Harbor, Miss., provides for the formation of a channel 8 feet deep at mean low water and 150 feet wide, extending from the 8-foot contour in Mississippi Sound to the pocket of deep water between the south water front of Biloxi and the west end of Deer Island-a distance of 11 miles. This area of deep water comprises about 87 acres, over which there is a depth of from 8 to 14 feet, and affords ample protection to boats in ordinary storms, but is not a safe anchorage during severe |