North Counties Hydro-Electric Co. v. United States

WHITAKER, Judge.

In 1925 plaintiff built a hydro-electric power plant on the Fox River near Dayton, Illinois, about 5% miles above where the Fox River empties into the Illinois River. In 1933 defendant built a lock and dam at a place called Starved Rock 1 on the Illinois River about eight miles below the mouth of the Fox River. The back water from this dam backs up into the Fox about 21/2 miles, which is about 3 miles below plaintiff’s powerhouse.

Ten years after defendant’s dam had been completed an ice jam formed on the Fox River below plaintiff’s dam. The accumulation of slush ice behind…