Rainfall-runoff studies for typical blocks in St. Louis

The following paper may be considered as a progress report on one phase of a study, now being made by the writer, of the rainfall and runoff records which have been collected over a long period of years under the direction of Mr. W. W. Horner, Chief Engineer of Sewers and Paving of the City of St. Louis. The mass of data which has been collected during this time is of considerable volume and even the information applicable to the single phase of the investigation discussed in the following pages, which is the runoff from typical city blocks, has not been fully worked up. This paper, therefore, is essentially an exposition of the working hypothesis which the writer has developed for use in studying the data in an effort to correlate the information derived therefrom into a comprehensive method of storm sewer design. No claim of finality is made for the formulas presented nor for the methods used in applying them. The process of developing these working formulas has been evolutionary and the results submitted are intended only to reflect the progress made up to the time of writing --Introduction, page 1

Development of power on Little Piney River

Little Piney River has its source in the southern part of Phelps County, Missouri. Its general direction is north until its junction with Beaver Creek. Then it flows nearly due west and empties into the Gasconade River near Arlington, Mo. It drains an area of approximately two hundred square miles. The slopes of its drainage area being very steep, it is subject to large and sudden rises. As it is largely a spring fed stream its minimum flow is not far below its normal stage. The stream abounds in rapids with from a few inches to a foot or more drop in each one. For many years this stream has been used to furnish power for grist mills and the like, the method in such cases being to erect a small dam at such a point as was convenient and carrying the water down-stream to some point where the drop was sufficient for the purpose --page 1