Advances in Waterways Engineering During A Half Century

A review of the progress of waterways engineering must include statements of advances made both in the science and in the art of engineering. Since an engineering problem is solved best when the desired results are obtained in the least time and at the least cost, progress in engineering is measured by the improvement of methods and the reduction of costs. The art of engineering is very old. It is questionable whether more noteworthy examples will ever be produced than those exemplified in the pyramids and temples of Egypt, the irrigation works known to ancient peoples, the aqueducts of Rome, or the walls and canals of China. Modern engineering can boast of great triumphs, but the advances made have been mainly in plant and methods causing reductions of time and costs. In this paper, the writer will not be able to treat this subject from the world-wide viewpoint which it deserves. He will simply try to show some of the progress made in waterways engineering in the United States.