Franklin F. Snyder
universities led the way, but there were a number of universities started developing
hydrologic programs in their courses. I don't really remember which ones led the
way.
The AGU was always heavily weighted with university people. I'd say the majority
of the members were, maybe still are, university people. Hydrology was alive, even
back in 1934 when Robert E. Horton was on the scene in AGU. I'm not sure where
it was on the organization chart. Now it's a section just like everything else. Sort
of equal among ten or twelve different units. I joined the AGU in '35, and started
going to the meetings since I was in Washington on that USGS study. The attendees
were mostly university people. But as I mentioned before, one of the men that was
active in the hydrology was the chief engineer of the Pennsylvania Water and Power
Company that had a couple of dams that they operated and was interested in
hydrology.
There were some private companies that had, I suppose they'd be consulting
engineers, hydrologists on their staff. They would have probably been in the AGU
early in the game. Later on, the big engineering company on the West Coast.
Q ..
Bechtel?
A
Bechtel, yes, they've for years had several fellows that I know out there as head of
their hydrology. They get involved in building dams and stuff like that where they
have to prepare spillway designs. I suppose a lot of projects require discharge
computations of one kind or another. One man there for awhile was from the TVA.
I have known the last three men that were out there in charge of their hydrology
divisions. I`m sure there are others.
Any large consulting company that did work in water resources would have
gradually had to have a hydrologist, or someone capable in that field. They had
hydraulic people, too. It may be that in the beginning like every place else,
hydraulic people did their hydrology for them.
Q ..
Then the demand built up so that it went back to the universities to develop
hydrology as a field of study. A more legitimate field of study because of the
demand for the use of their services.
A ..
Yes, yes.
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