level. Indeed the position and elevation of this hill finally controlled the selection of the power house site. The connecting surge pipes have been computed of size suitable to check oscillation and to give quick efficient governing of the turbines, without waste of water, and the length of the feeder penstocks has been carefully kept within the limits permitting quick governing without difficulty from momentum pressures. ESTIMATES OF COST AND PROFIT. MARCH 1, 1908. At the time of selecting the Sacandaga project and the Portage project as being the two opportunities for water power development under State control that promised the best return, in a broad sense, of any of the possibilities found in a study of the maps and of previous reports, rough estimates were made which indicated a fair margin of profit to the State in both of these projects. That these investments would be profitable also appeared reasonable in the case of the Sacandaga from the earnestness with which the Hudson River Power Company had sought control by the bonding of lands in the reservoir bed and through asking the approval of the Public Service Commission for a bond issue of some millions of dollars for financing: the construction of a smaller Sacandaga reservoir and its proposed temporary dam. In the Portage development, the reasonableness of a profit seemed assured from the estimates of cost by Mr. Rafter, published with the State Engineer's report for 1895, and from the earnestness with which it had been sought to revive the charter of the corporation formed some years ago for water power development at Portage. I have myself hesitated to present estimates concerning the cost and probable profit, in this progress report, or until borings and test pits should further confirm the entire feasibility of the designs submitted, and until studies of flood control at Rochester, and in the broad valley above Rochester, should show what part of the burden could fairly be placed on those interests, and until studies of flood relief at Troy and Albany and studies of the improvement in navigation which would result from an increase of 4,000 or 5,000 cubic feet per second in the summer flow at Mechanicville should give some measure of the probable value of these benefits, and until the collection of data showing the benefits of freshening the polluted river above Poughkeepsie by a much larger summer flow. On further consideration, it appeared plain that the questions of cost and profit are so vital to the attractiveness of these projects or to their feasibility in a commercial sense, that I have had the following estimates prepared. They are intended to be made on a liberal basis as regards quantities, unit prices and contingencies, but it is to be clearly understood that they are made prior to the completion of the final studies and are subject to revision. I will confess to some disappointment that the totals are so large, and that the cost per horse power, if all the burden is thrown on to the water power, is so much larger than the reputed cost of development at Niagara and sundry other power sites. It is, however, natural that the sites presenting the greatest natural advantages in first cost should have been already developed, and that the developments of the future, as the remaining opportunities are successively availed of, will increase until the margin between the cost of water power and the cost of steam power is much smaller than at present. It is commonly good practice, in a general estimate like this, to present only the results, in round numbers; but in the following, I have thought it well to present the figures in some detail, in order that it may be plain that details have been considered in reaching these figures, and in order that in these days of rapidly changing costs, it may be more easy some years hence for others skilled in the art to critically examine or revise these estimates. SACANDAGA PROJECT. COST OF RESERVOIR SITE. The elevation of spillway is now proposed at 770 feet above sea level Possibly opposition may lead to some sacrifice of efficiency, and it may become expediens to fix the spillway as eleration 785. Little, if any, farming lands, woodland or pasture land lying 3 feet or more above the KALNAY CTES would be appreciably injured by the back water from the reservoir, for it would be rare indeed that other than a winter freshet could rise 3 feet above the spillway level, for at this height above 20.000 cubic feet per second could be discharged nearly 18.000 e. £. & over splway and about 4.000 e. f. s. túri sluices, equivalent to 20 c. £ s. per aq lare mile, or to 0.71 inch in depth of run-off over entire watershed, in addition to which the rise of 3.0 feet in the lake level above the spillway crest would bold back nearly an inch in depth of run-off. Perhaps once in each quarter century, or in each half century, a rise for a few hours to 5.0 feet above the spillway level would be had, but in the absence of hourly gage heights during a food, for showing the form in which the Sacandaga food-wave reaches Conklingvile, no attempt has yet been made to compute the exact limit of height. The 5 foot · depth over spillway, aided by open sluice gates, would pass about 36.000 cubic feet per second or 38 cubic feet per second per square mile, which is a large flow for a forest covered area of 1,050 square miles having lakes and swamp lands on its head waters. The land damages should therefore fairly be estimated to include lands lying below contour 775. In order to give ample margin of safety the dam and spillways are planned sufficient for a .much greater flood than this. To make sure of our surveys being sufficiently inclusive, the lands were surveyed and contours run up to elevation 780, and the following estimate is figured out to that limit altho plainly excessive in area. The total area up to elevation 780 is 29,430 acres = 46.0 square miles. 2,080 acres 3.3 square miles. Among the courtesies extended to us by the Hudson River Electric Power Company was that of permission to copy their land maps and take note of values at which sundry parcels had been bonded. This corporation had for two or three years held options on a considerable part of the land up to or above the 770 contour, but mostly below the 750 contour. Notwithstanding that much of this portion of the valley is in a decadent condition since the abandonment of tanneries and factories, and that the property owners in general appeared desirous of converting their lands and buildings into cash, we have in making the following valuation added 50 per cent. to the general scale of prices agreed on in the options just mentioned, to allow for the customary legal and other expenses and for the higher price that land bought or taken for public purposes appears to command. For the land between elevations 750 and 780, we have allowed a still more liberal estimate. We thus find as total probable cost of reservoir lands to the State about $2,000,000, this embracing about 29,400 acres. The whole thus averages, including buildings, $68 per acre, but much of the land is swamp or brushland or sterile pasture. During the progress of the surveys, inquiries were made of many residents in different neighborhoods, with a view to determining the actual values of typical parcels, as between a willing seller and an intending buyer. The replies tended to show that the average selling values within the Sacandaga valley were: Brush and pasture land about.. Wood land. Tillable land. These prices would include the ordinary farm buildings. $5 00 per acre. 20 00 per acre. 30 00 per acre. An attempt was also made to learn the ratio of assessed value to market value by first obtaining the assessor's valuations and then viewing the property and making outside measurement and inspection of the buildings. About one-half the property had been gone over in this manner before the work was stopped by severe storms and deep snow. In general, the town clerk stated the ratio of assessed value to fair market value as about two-thirds. The town clerk of Day gave no ratio. Comparison of the records with the statements of individuals and with the judgment of the engineer, so far as the work had progressed, would indicate the ratio to be more nearly one-fifth or one-sixth for farm property, one-third for village lots and buildings. An enumeration and classification of the buildings within the Sacandaga reservoir limits, based on our maps and surveys, gives the following totals: The average value of these buildings appears from our detail lists to be about $750 each On this basis the value of all the buildings would be 1350 x $750 $1,012,500. The value of the buildings situated between contours 770 and 780 is thus; 267 x $750 = $180,250. The location of, say, two-thirds of all the buildings is, in general, near the shore of the proposed reservoir and in the majority of cases these could be moved back to new sites. above the flow line without much trouble or expense. This being the case, some proportion of the first cost of these buildings should be recovered during the progress of the work, but because of the uncertainty of the amount, no allowance for salvage on these buildings has been made in the total estimate of cost of land and buildings to be acquired by the State. CLEARING AND GRUBBING SACANDAGA RESERVOIR. Observations relative to the area and character of the brush and timber lands within the reservoir had been only about one-half completed, when severe winter weather covered the ground with snow and compelled the abandonment of the work. It is not, therefore, possible to do much more than make a guess at the remainder. From a study of our maps and a general knowledge of the country, it would appear that an assumption of 9,400 acres of land requiring clearing and grubbing will not be too liberal for purposes of a preliminary estimate A considerable proportion of this is scrubby brush and sprout land, comprising small white birch and alder growth, which if cut close to the ground will make grubbing unnecessary. The brush should be cut close and burned, from land of that character, for about $15 per acre. In the Vly district there are several thousands of acres of woodland, covering low lands which are swampy and difficult of access, except when frozen over in winter or during extremely dry seasons. The trees in these woods are fairly large and lumbering operations. will be difficult. Such land as this would cost from $80 to $100 for complete grubbing and clearing, but the lumber would have some value, and only a portion of this ground needs. to be so thoroly cleared. Portions of these woodlands lie between elevations 725 and 730, or so low that if the reservoir is not to be drawn below the 740 level, the grubbing of stumps can be dispensed with wherever the depth at low water will not be less than five or ten feet, or on all ground at elevation 730 and less. Averaging the light cutting with the heavy and making allowance for areas where the grubbing can be omitted, $30 per acre seems a very liberal preliminary price for this item, This is more than double the actual cost at Indian Lake where all stumps were left proJecting about two to three feet and the hardwood left to sink, not being thoroly burned.. There is comparatively little pine, hemlock or spruce timber of marketable size within the reservoir. Of the remaining varieties, comprising oak, maple, elm, etc., some of the trees would make good lumber, and the woods could yield a good quantity of piles, poles' ties, fence posts, etc., but it is probable that a large part of the timber would be for convenience turned into cordwood, and that an undue proportion of the tops and large branches would be burned on the ground as being the cheapest method of disposal. Altho the timber would not generally be worth a high price it is likely that with good business management a substantial return could be obtained from the saleable portions, and on some lots enough to pay for a large portion of the cost of clearing, and grubbing. ! RELOCATION OF HIGHWAYS FOR SACANDAGA RESERVOIR. A reservoir with the normal flow line at elevation 770 will require the discontinuance of about 67.6 miles of traveled public roads and probably lead to the construction of very nearly 41.0 miles of entirely new roads skirting the shores of the reservoir at a safe elevation above highwater mark; also the raising of the Broadalbin-Mayfield road for a length of 0.9 mile for crossing three arms of the reservoir. There will be, therefore, a total of 41.9 miles of highway to reconstruct. The roads replaced by this new construction are quite generally of the ordinary type of country road on which very little work has been done, beyond crowning up the center of the road with sods and earth scraped from the gutters at the sides. In a few instances, some effort has been made to improve short sections of the most important roads by surfacing with gravel or other easily obtainable selected materials, but this latter has been done only to a very limited extent. There are no sections of State road, nor any macadam roads within the limits of the reservoir. Under these conditions, if the State has to do no more than replace the highways destroyed by others only equally as good, it is probable that the cost of grading, bridging and fencing for the new roads would not exceed $3,000 per mile. It is likely, however, that the State would be called upon to adopt a more liberal policy' and that wherever new State roads are built, around these reservoirs, they will approach to aer gtaer or less degree, according to the importance of the road, the high standards of construction in vogue in the State Highway Department. This policy of building excellent roads would do much toward settling the margins of the lake with summer cottagers and giving to the valley much more of taxable value and prosperity than it enjoys today. If this is done, then new roads, with roadways eighteen to twenty-two feet wide, surfaced with gravel or broken stone ten to fourteen feet wide according to traffic requirements and having masonry culverts and substantial bridges, guard fences, etc., cannot be built thru this section for very much less average cost than $6,000 per mile, and this figure is adopted for the purpose of this estimate. 41.9 miles new highways west of center line of Conklingville dam at $6,000 per mile..... $251,400 Capitalized value of operation of scow and motor for ferry across reservoir at 20,000 4,000 Total. $275,400 RELOCATION OF FONDA, JOHNSTOWN & GLOVERSVILLE R. R. About six miles of the present location between Mayfield and Cranberry Creek stations will probably be affected by high water conditions in the new reservoir to an extent to require relocation. But to obtain a favorable new location, it will be necessary to abandon as much as 7.91 miles of the existing line, beginning about 600 feet north of Broadalbin Junction and running to about 4,600 feet north of Cranberry Creek depot. The proposed relocation as indicated on topography sheets 30, 31, 32, 36 and 37, will be 920 feet shorter than the present location. Therefore, it will require only 7.74 miles of new construction to replace the 7.91 miles to be abandoned. |