Rainfall runoff causes severe gully erosion on unprotected lands and has ruined thousands of U S acres in the past. Concepts were developed at this site for vegetation-lined waterways that now safely convey runoff water from millions of acres.

Engineers of the U S Soil Conservation Service (SCS) initiated studies on hydraulics of vegetated waterways at an outdoor laboratory near Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 1935. Under the directions of W. O. Ree, this laboratory was transferred to Lake Carl Blackwell near Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1940.

These studies produced design procedures for over 500,000 miles of waterways designed and constructed by the SCS. The importance of this work can be seen in the extensive use of vegetated waterways on farms, adjoining highways, and in other areas.

Dedicated by the
American Society of Agricultural Engineers
1990