The Little Town In The Woods

There the frenzied descent of the river is slowed to a crawl by the Youghiogheny River Dam. It’s construction in the early 1940’s was the result of a massive flood control project. With the headwaters cleared of trees, there was nothing to slow the surge of winter snow melt and spring rains. Annually, the river spilled over its banks and charged furiously to its convergence in Pittsburgh. Major floods in 1902, 1907, and 1912 still rank as the highest river peaks, but they pale in comparison to the flood of 1936.

Record rain fell on still melting snow, and nearly 500,000 cubic feet per second met at the junction of the three rivers. For a few days, Pittsburgh resembled Venice. One hundred thousand buildings were destroyed and the damage was estimated at $250 million ($4.3 billion today). To the citizens, and even members of Congress, it was clear that the city needed a solution for the annual rush of water. And so it turned, as it always has, upstream.

Dams. Dams were the solution. Far upstream, between the half empty hillsides, concrete walls could slow the rushing tide. Far from the mouth of the river, spring rains could be slowed before they even started to flow. Far from the minds of the people were the concerns of a half centuries abuse, of forests cut down to the stumps. Far from Pittsburgh, in a place where few people lived, it was acceptable for roads and houses to be buried beneath the water.