The Passaic Flood of 1903 | Page 9

| 14,325 12 m. | 4.02 | 14,150 1 p. m. | 4.02 | 14,150 2 p. m. | 4.01 | 14,100 3 p. m. | 3.97 | 13,900 4 p. m. | 3.94 | 13,750 5 p. m. | 3.85 | 13,300 6 p. m. | 3.75 | 12,775 7 p. m. | 3.75 | 12,775 9 p. m. | 3.71 | 12,550 12 p. m. | 3.66 | 12,300 15. 6.30 a. m. | 3.50 | 11,525 1 p. m. | 3.41 | 11,050 6.30 p. m. | 3.41 | 11,050 16. 6.30 a. m. | 3.00 | 9,125 1 p. m. | 3.00 | 9,125 6.30 p. m. | 2.91 | 8,700 17. 6.30 a. m. | 2.5 | 6,900 1 p. m. | 2.5 | 6,900 6.30 p. m. | 2.5 | 6,900 18. 6.30 a. m. | 2.5 | 6,900 1 p.m. | 2.41 | 6,500 6.30 p. m. | 2.33 | 6,200 19. 6.30 a. m. | 2 | 4,900 1 p. m. | 2 | 4,900 6.30 p. m. | 2 | 4,900

DAMAGES.
GENERAL STATEMENTS.
Estimates of flood damages are always approximations only. It is possible to determine with a fair degree of assurance the cost of replacing structures which have been carried away, to estimate the value of goods destroyed--especially if they be commodities stored in shops or warehouses--to calculate the amount of operatives' wages lost, and in the case of general mercantile business to estimate the damages incurred through consequent reduction of trade. Destruction by flood, however vast, is incomplete. It differs materially from destruction by fire, for often destructible property is of value after floods have passed. Buildings which are inundated still retain value, and many kinds of merchandise are not totally destroyed. Therefore when the amount of damages is calculated there is always to be taken into consideration the fact that a part of the material which has been flooded can be reclaimed, and retains some proportion, at least, of the value which it had previously possessed. Furthermore, damages by flood enter into practically every detail of social and business affairs. There are losses which are severe to one or more persons, and which can not be appreciated except by those whom the floods have actually overtaken. Therefore estimations of flood damages can be only approximate, and while a measure of accuracy may be reached with respect to a part of the losses, there remains a necessity for approximation which can not be classed with carefully computed damages along other lines.
HIGHLAND TRIBUTARIES.
Along the three northern tributaries, the Ramapo, Wanaque, and Pequanac, and at their confluence with the Pompton, the destruction by flood waters was far greater than along the Rockaway, Whippany, and upper Passaic, or in that area described as the Central Basin. In the drainage areas of the three tributaries last mentioned the waters were higher than in the flood of 1902, but the general effects were of the same nature, and consisted principally of flooded lands, houses, and washouts. There were few radical cases of complete destruction like those which marked the course of the flood in the northern tributaries. The principal interest is therefore confined to the Pompton and the three highland tributaries which discharge into it.
Ramapo River.--The greatest destruction was along the Ramapo. It is the largest of the upland branches, and was therefore the heaviest contributor to the main stream. Throughout the flood period the stream was especially violent, causing great apprehension in the lower valley.
The destruction along several stretches of the valley was almost complete. Nearly all the dams failed, and every bridge across the river, with one exception, was carried away. Some small villages were swept bare, and the damages to realty value and personal property were excessive.
It was only by strenuous measures that the dam impounding the waters of Tuxedo Lake was saved. If this had failed the destruction along the entire course of the river, even to the cities in the lower valley, would have been enormously increased.
The dam at Cranberry Pond, in Arden, failed in the early part of the storm, the flood waters disabling the Tuxedo electric-light plant and inundating the Italian settlements along the river below. The failure of the dam conserving the waters of Nigger Pond, which lies at the head of a small tributary emptying into the Ramapo below Tuxedo, resulted in the inundation of Ramapo village. The village of Sloatsburg was practically obliterated.
The damage at Pompton Lakes was especially severe. During the early part of the flood the timber dam of the Ludlum Steel and Iron Company, which raised the water to a height of 27 feet, and afforded 7.04 horsepower per foot fall, was carried away with a part of the headrace. (See Pl. II, A.) This sudden emptying of Pompton Lake, an expanse of