NANDUA CREEK, VIRGINIA.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith, in compliance with the provisions of the river and harbor act of September 19, 1890, a letter from the Chief of Engineers dated the 2d instant, inclosing a copy of a report of Lieut. Col. P. C. Hains, Corps of Engineers, dated the 27th ultimo, upon the preliminary examination of Nandua Creek, Virginia.

It is the opinion of Lieutenant-Colonel Rains, concurred in by the Chief of Engineers, that Nandua Creek is not worthy of improvement at the present time by the Government.

Very respectfully,

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OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS,
UNITED STATES ARMY, Washington, D. C., March 2, 1891.

Sir : I have the honor to submit the accompanying copy of report dated February 27, 1891, from Lieut. Col. P. C. Hains, Corps of Engineers, giving results of preliminary examination of Nandua Creek, Virginia, made to comply with provisions of the river and harbor act approved September 19, 1890.

Lieutenant-Colonel Hains reports that he is of the opinion that Nandua Creek is not worthy of improvement at the present time by the National Government, and in this opinion I concur.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

THOS. LINCOLN CASEY,
Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers.

Hon. REDFIELD PROCTOR,
Secretary of War.

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PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF NANDUA CREEK, VIRGINIA.
UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE,
Washington, D. C., February 27, 1891.

GENERAL: In accordance with instructions contained in Department letter dated September 20, 1890, I submit the following report of a preliminary examination of Nandua Creek, Virginia:

Nandua Creek, Virginia, is a small tidal estuary of Chesapeake bay, on the eastern side of the same. The improvement asked for is a deepening of the bar at its entrance. This bar is a shifting one. The sand spit on the north side of the entrance seems to work to the southward during northwesterly gales, which stir up the material forming it, and while in this state of suspension it is moved along the bottom until the currents become too sluggish to carry it further, when it is dropped and forms a bar.

The sand spit on the south side of the entrance also projects into the bay about half a mile, but the one on the north side overlaps the other, so that the channel is both narrow and crooked. It appears that the southerly end of the north sand spit which forms the bar moves slowly southward, forcing a corresponding movement of the channel; until the latter reaches a distance of half or three-quarters of a mile from its most northerly position. It then breaks through in its original place, and the same southerly movement takes place again. The bar is thus kept constantly shifting.

At the present time there is a depth of about 6 feet on the bar at low tide, and though the channel is crooked, there do not appear to be any serious difficulties in navigating it. There is only one boat-landing in the creek, and vessels drawing more than 6 feet can not reach it. It thus happens that a deepening of the bar world add little, if anything, to the facilities of navigation, except, perhaps, to make it easier of entrance. If the existing channel was well buoyed it would be a benefit.

The country tributary to Nandua Creek is fertile and well cultivated. The amount of produce shipped is large. Mr. Clarke, the agent of a line of steamers between Baltimore and Nandua, informs me that last year the steamers of that line transported 37,000 barrels of potatoes, besides large quantities of other farm produce, from Nandua to Baltimore. I am informed that the amount, of freight of all kinds reaches 5,000 to 6,000 tons per annum. In value, I should judge, there must be a trade of from $125,000 to $150,000 per year.

If, therefore, there was serious danger of this trade being cut off by a filling up of the channel at the entrance of the creek, or if I could see how it could be largely increased by deepening that channel, I should say that Nandua Creek is worthy of improvement, if such improvement could be made at reasonable cost. But there does not appear to be any danger of its filling up or becoming any worse than it now is. On the contrary, it is probable that it will become better through natural agencies before an appropriation could be made to improve it. The prevalent opinion among the people seems to be that it would cost but a few thousand dollars to dredge a channel and that then it would remain there. A dredged channel would, however, be of the same shifting character as the natural one, unless it was supplemented with other works to regulate the flow of the tides. It is probable that a dike built out from the south side of the entrance, in connection with dredging, would make the channel more stable and possibly deeper.

I roughly estimate the cost of dredging a new channel 6 feet deep at extreme low tide, and 150 feet wide, at about $10,000. The dike would cost about $30,000, making the total cost of the improvement about $40,000. The expenditure of this amount at Nandua Creek would not, in my opinion, add sensibly to the existing facilities. I am therefore of the opinion that Nandua Creek, Virginia, is not worthy of improvement at the present time by the National Government.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

PETER C. HAINS
Lieut. Col. Corps of Engineers.

Brig. Gen. THOMAS L. CASEY,
Chief of Engineers, U. S. A.