The mean range of tide at Georgetown is 3.3 feet, while the spring tides have a mean rise and fall of 4 feet. The estimated cost of new work under the existing project, exclusive of the amount expanded under previous projects, is $650,000. It is estimated that maintenance will call for an annual expenditure of $40,000. The existing project was authorized by the following river and harbor acts: The act of August 5, 1886, provided for the jetties in accordance with the reports referred to in paragraph 5 (d) and (e) ante; under this same act the earthen dike was provided as a measure of protection for the south jetty; the act of June 25, 1910, provided for the present channel dimensions and the training wall, in accordance with the report referred to in paragraph 5 (g) ante. The project has been completed except that the training walls have not been built. Surveys and studies to determine the location, character, and probable effects are in progress at the date of this report. 8. Present examination.-Data contained in this report are based in the main on surveys and observations made from time to time incidental to control of dredging operations now in progress in the harbor. To facilitate presentation of the views and arguments on the part of those interested in further improvements, a public hearing was held at Georgetown on April 17, 1917, record of which is herewith marked Appendix A.1 (a) Condition of channel: On the date of that hearing full-project dimensions were available in the so-called jetty channel at the mouth of the bay. In the western channel the controlling depth was 17 feet with a least width of 350 feet. Across the Sampit River bar the controlling depth was 15 feet and the minimum width somewhat under 400 feet, while in the river opposite the city full dimensions obtained. (b) Difficulties of navigation: Occasionally the deeper-draft vessels now making the port of Georgetown are delayed for a few hours while waiting for the tide. The Atlantic Coast Lumber Corporation and the Baltimore & Carolina Steamship Co. both operate vessels into this harbor which, when fully laden, draw over 18 feet, and must, therefore, "work the tides." The latter company, while conceding that lighter-draft vessels can handle all cargo now offering at Georgetown, contends, nevertheless, that under existing circumstances steamship service to this port can be conducted on a profitable basis only by making the city a port of call, and handling its commerce in conjunction with that of other ports. These companies argue, therefore, that channel dimensions must be such as to accommodate large vessels designed primarily for service to other ports, and entering Georgetown incidentally only, with cargoes consigned in large part to ports beyond. The Baltimore & Carolina Steamship Co. has been obliged on occasions to leave cargo at both Charleston and Georgetown in order not to increase the draft of its vessels to such a depth as to preclude entering or leaving the latter port. The Clyde Steamship Co. operates its lighter-draft vessels in the Georgetown-Wilmington-New York service, and the lack of depth prevents fully loading at Georgetown the ships now in this service, even when freight offerings are sufficient to fill the vessels to capacity. 1 Not printed. (c) Terminal facilities: There are at this time no modern terminal facilities or freight-handling devices in the city. The vessels are warped alongside wooden pile wharves, and all loading and unloading is done by hand labor, facilitated to some degree by the cargo booms aboard the vessels. Except in a very rudimentary sense, there is no combined railway and steamship terminal, though if and when required, such a terminal can be developed on water front now owned by the Seaboard Air Line Railway Co. Its railway tracks now extend to the water front, theoretically enabling it to transfer freight to and from steamers, sailing vessels, barges, and other water craft, and the railroad makes no charge for wharfage. Practically there is no occasion for such transfer of freight, and it can only be accomplished at the present time by dint of much hand labor. Lighters are generally used for conveying to the ships in port and to the railway wharves for reshipment the lumber produced at places in Georgetown and on the rivers communicating with Winyah Bay. These lighters are necessarily towed by tugboats, and almost without exception belong to the lumber manufacturers and shippers. There are no public terminals, each steamship line using its own wharves. The city owns the ends of several streets abutting on the river, but these have not been developed, except possibly for the accommodation of small steam and gasoline propelled vessels operating on inland waterways. So far as known there is no discrimination against these small vessels, loading places and wharves suitable for their use being open to all on equal terms. Terminals such as they are are sufficient to accommodate the shipping of the port. (d) Railway service: The Seaboard Air Line Railway Co. operates the only railway now entering Georgetown, which is thus the terminus of a branch connecting with the Atlantic Coast Line system at Lanes, S. C., 36 miles distant, and crossing the Hamlet-Charleston division of the Seaboard Air Line at Andrews, about 17 miles from Georgetown. The last-named division is intended to become the main line of the Seaboard Air Line for its New York-Florida service. 9. Commercial statistics.-(a) Present: Lumber and other timber products constitute the principal articles exported from Georgetown, and for 1916 their value amounted to $1,873,659 out of a total of $3,104,694, or slightly over 60 per cent of the total export commerce. The inward cargoes consist in the main of dry goods, grain, hardware, sugar, and other miscellaneous general merchandise. Details are exhibited in the following table: Commercial statistics, port of Georgetown, S. C.-Commerce handled over bar. Commercial statistics, port of Georgetown, S. C.-Continued. (b) Past: The maximum commerce ever reported for this harbor was that for 1905, when it reached a total of $10,401,879. At that time the project depth was 15 feet. In 1910 the figures were $5,127,260, or slightly less than 50 per cent of the commerce for 1905, while in 1913 (the year preceding the war now in progress) the figures were $4,849,083. The following table exhibits the data for the last six calendar years, three before the war and three during the war: What might have been the result had the war not intervened is, of course, problematical, but with the exception of the year 1914 the figures are entirely consistent, and those for the second and third years before the war are remarkably close to those of the second and third years of the war period. (c) Prospective: Local interests make much of the fact that Winyah Bay is the outlet of an extensive system of navigable waterways, and this would undoubtedly be a valuable asset if utilized. It might even be the determining factor in the growth of the port. Unfortunately, however, commerce on these rivers has been steadily declining for a great many years, and is now all but nonexistent, notwithstanding that the Federal Government has expended considerable sums of money to improve their navigable capacity. The conditions of organization, management, and methods of conducting this traffic have not been such as to commend river transportation to the public in preference to railway service, which has been gradually extended to reach the territory formerly served exclusively by the rivers. Assuming the existence of boats adapted to the rivers and to the major part of their cargoes, and assuming proper organization and management, with a proper combination between the rail and water transportation companies, Georgetown is the natural and logical outlet for much of the manufactured cotton produced in the Piedmont sections of North and South Carolina. Machinery and supplies of all sorts for the use of the mills and farmers should furnish an abundance of return, or inward, freight, but, notwithstanding the obvious advantages of water routes now existing and under improvement at the expense of the United States, signs are wanting of any really healthful effort to take advantage thereof. It is to be noted also that the lumber industry at Georgetown has probably passed its zenith. The forests in the vicinity have been exhausted, and logs are now being hauled in from outlying points 50 to 90 miles distant. No attempts toward reforestation are being made, and the business generally is being conducted in the same manner which led to its exhaustion in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. To a certain extent the lands are being cleared of undergrowth and are coming under cultivation, but the most profitable crops are vegetables and fruits, requiring express service in refrigerated cars with a minimum of handling, and it is not believed that this agricultural development will operate to greatly increase river transportation. Furthermore, aside from the natural advantages which Georgetown might enjoy as the center of a river-borne commerce, it has a very limited area of back country from which to draw before it comes into sharp competition with Wilmington and Norfolk on the one hand and Charleston and Savannah on the other. These are all old-established ports, with railway service far superior to that of Georgetown, and with deep water and other facilities to attract the larger class of vessels. The trend of trade is now toward these ports, and Georgetown will have to offer very special advantages in order to overcome its present handicap and divert any great amount of business now flowing to the harbors mentioned. Taking it all in all, the prospects are that the commerce in and out of Georgetown will not increase to any great extent in the near future. It must await a more thorough development of the country in its immediate vicinity, and in the natural course of events can not hope to divert any of the business now having its outlet in the older ports of the South Atlantic seaboard. 10. Improvements desired.-Local interests desire that the channel depth of Winyah Bay and Sampit River be increased to not less than 21 feet at mean low water, and would prefer a 25-foot depth. The width is not specified, but 400 feet or better has been suggested. 11. Collateral benefits.-There are no questions of water power, land reclamation, irrigation, or other improvements of a public character that can be coordinated with the project under discussion in such manner as to increase its benefits or reduce its cost. 12. Local cooperation.-Inquiry was made as to the amount of local cooperation that might be expected, but without any definite result. It is not probable that any appreciable amount of such cooperation can be had. If the improvement is to be undertaken, the cost will undoubtedly have to be borne by the Federal Government. The municipality of Georgetown is bonded approximately to its legal limit for the construction of public utilities, and until the city has greatly increased in population and taxable values it will not be in position to undertake the construction of public terminals. 13. Discussion.-From the physical standpoint it should be possible to obtain a depth of 21 feet without any great difficulty. The bottom of the bay is generally soft and consists of mud and sand. Rock in small amounts has been encountered in the Western Channel, but its extent is not known further than that it has not interfered with the present 18-foot project, and it is not probable that it would seriously interfere with the development of a 21-foot depth. In the Sampit River, opposite Georgetown, the bottom is a shale, which, however, can be handled by a good dipper dredge without resort to blasting. Nevertheless, to secure a 21-foot depth will entail the removal of over 2,000,000 yards of material, and for a 24-foot depth. the excavation amounts to over 5,000,000 cubic yards. The unit cost of this work will be much in excess of that for the present 18foot project, due not only to the greatly increased cost of operating dredges but due also to the fact that dumping grounds for hopper dredges within the bay have been exhausted, and dredges of this class will have to dump at sea, thus making a long and expensive haul. Hydraulic dredges could be employed on part of the work under favorable weather conditions, and the cost for this portion of the improvement would be more moderate; but in any event, such an increase of depth will represent a large investment of public funds. The maintenance of a channel 21 or more feet in depth will also prove a serious burden. It has been found that shoaling to a depth of 15 feet occurs very rapidly at either end of the Western Channel and at the Sampit River bar, and that when this depth has been attained, shoaling thereafter is very gradual. In other words, 15 feet appears to be the normal depth at which the channel will maintain itself under existing conditions. The annual cost of maintaining the present 18-foot channel is $40,000, and any increase in depth will rapidly increase the cost of maintenance. It is not improbable that a 21-foot channel would require the expenditure of $80,000 to $100,000 for annual maintenance, and the annual charge for a 24-foot channel might easily reach $160,000, or even more. The rivers entering Winyah Bay carry an |