Cache Water Supply

              'a Co-
19*7
THE CACHE WATER SUPPLY
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Note:  The second of a series of Know Your Forest News Stories
contributed by local Forest Officers.
The year 1927 brought two major disasters that have thrown
into bold relief the need for National foresight in dealing with
the perpetual menace of floods.  In the Mississippi Valley and in
New England raging waters took a huge toll of lives and property.
In the fall of 1923 Cache Valley was widely awakened to
the fact that not over 35 miles away the community of Willard had
literally been washed away.  Fortunately, the loss of life at
Willard was not great but the damage to property was relatively
greater than the Mississippi flood, particularly the damage to
productive fields which were littered with hu.re rocks, logs and
other debris washed down from the mountain.
FOREST COVER VALUABLE
The value of a forest cover in the protection of watersheds
has long been recognized as paramount.  Thirty years ago the town
of Manti in central Utah was year after year at the mercy of uncontrollable floods.  Residents gave up hope of being able to live
under conditions where at any moment their life's work aigfct be
inundated.  Very intense use of the summer ranges by sheep and
cattle had so severely denuded the soil at the head of the important drainages tributary to Manti that the slightest shower
would turn the streams into muddy torrents.  Imagine what occurred
when tnunder storms and cloudbursts struck the vicinity.  In 1904