on the New York side are not in the park and can not be seen from the falls, but the eastern banks of the river below the park are crowded with works.
18. Effects on Navigation.—The canals and harbors are much shallower than they used to be. Several inches of this are due to the power diversion, which, however, is not at present seen, owing to very high water. The lowering of the level of the basin above the Upper Rapids, increasing the slope of the river, and consequently the velocity of the current, also lowers the level of the lake above. An increased discharge of 22,000 cubic feet per second lowers Lake Erie by one foot. On the large steamers in the carrying trade, each inch of draft represents a return of $100 in extra freight receipts. The canals and harbors should not be reduced in depth by power diversions at a time when there is a clamor for deeper channels. The impairing of navigation, under conditions as shown above, threatens to reach two, or even two and a half feet. Under the estimate made for the American Section of the International Commission, the cost of repairing the damage caused by the Chicago drainage canal was found to exceed $12,000,000, so that the total costs to both countries on account of power diversion promises to reach twenty-five millions of dollars or more. Are the power companies willing to pay for their share of this costly franchise, and for the loss owing to the diminished business going to and at the falls, which may reach $25,000,000 a year?
