Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-06-13

l
Pickerine's Bar--46 feet to the mile-is just
the grade over which the very heaviest mate
rial of the mine will not pass at ordinary
winter stages of the river. 1t certainly all
passes over the grade frem Canyon creek to
| Picksripg's Bar. and will continue to be
| completely serted by the water, and there
| fore, as it seems to me, large portion OF 1t
must inevitably come down.
! THE CoARsER MATERIAL
| Will travel very slowly, probably requiring
many years before it reaches Alder creek
| ten, twenty or more, according to the size.
| No doubt much which was thrown into the
river many years ago is still slowly moving
down, and, though all mining should cease,
will continue to come for many years. This
| is important, as showing to what extent stop.
ping the work at the mines will afford rem.
| edy. It appears that this part OF the injury
is easily remedied, aud at comparatively
| little expense, by the erection of dams to i'm
pound the debris. Ii the experts are correct
in their conclusions--and l am bound to 80
conclude-all that is very greatly injurious
could be SO impounded.
| OF course during its slow journey the de.
tritus Is very greatly comminuted; much OF
it will be carried off IS clay in suspension !;
| the proportion cannot be determined.
| On the American river and its tributaries
vast amount of mining was done in early
times, and up TO this time great deal is be-
| ing done beside that by the defendant.
No other mine contributes annually more
detritus to the river than the defendant;
still am unable to say that defendants mine
alone, without reference to the debris from
other mines, materially contributes to. the
evils mentioned or, in other words, if there
were no mining operations save those of the
defendant, aul not prepared to say that it
would materially iujure the valley lands or
| the navigation of the river. 1t Is the aggre-
| gate Of debris from all the mines which pro-
duces the injuries mentioned in these findings.
Tie lower portion of the American river
is very much filed with d.bris, and has been
in places much widened. As yet, however,
IN the Bear and Yuba near their confluence
with the Feather. Perhaps il it were not for
that instructive lesson we should not be just-
he'd In anticipating all the evils which may
yet flow from these constant accnmulations.
ABOUT ONE THOUSAND ACRES
OF valuable farming land have already been
covered with heavy sand along the margin of
| the American river, and the adjacent Lands
are subjsct to frequent overflow.
Ths oyeIfipws would probably occur TO q
considerable ex ent although there were no
mining. Very much OF tie trouble from this
source comes from bsck-water from the Sac
ramerto.
In food times, if the rains have been gen.
eral, the American is the frat TO rise. The
Saerau ento then bsing as its low state, the
Hood PUSHES OUT loaded with saad and mud,
and with very great velocity is prscipitated
on the Yolo shore, and there covers large
tracts of land with its sediment. At such
times the current is much greater than at any
other time, and, of course, great deal OF
sediment which has accumulated 10 the river
during slael; or low water is carried out.
About fifteen hours after the rise Of the
American, the food from the Feather, also
surcharged with mud. reaches Sacramento,
and thirty six hours later the floods of the
upper Sacramento. BY this the current of
the American is checked and considerable
| land sometimes remains submerged by back
water. At such times, of course, sediment is
left both on the lands and in the channel of
the river which otherwise would have gone
off in suspension.
SACRAMENTO RIVER.
The plane of low water has been raised
about six and half feet since 1S49 in the
Sacramento. The rise in the low-water plane
has been continuous since 1868, when the low.
water mark was about two feet above the
low-water plane of 1919. although in some
years. probably for special reasons, it has
been higher than in the succeeding year.
This indicates that the bed of the river at
the shoals has been filed at least six and a
half feet, and probably much more. The
consequence Is that the influence of the tide
is not felt above Hsycock shoals-nine miles
below the city-it formerly being about two
feet at Sacramento.
AS we go down the river there is q less ele-
vation of the low-wster level, indicating an
Increase 10 the grade of the river, from which
will follow additional force to carry off the
sediment.
The leyees of the river are insufficient to
carry onehalf the water during the periods
of the higher foods. Breaks are, therefore,
! inevitable, and perhaps have caused in soma
localities greater damage than would have &C.
Cured had there been ne levees. The levees,
to some extent, increase the securing force
of the water, but not so much as would be
the case if the water were not at its high
stages already surcharged with sediment
The levees. also, somewhat prevent the river
! from wasting its material along the banks
and building up the valley as it builds its
own bed, and causes it to carry to its mouth
more material than it otherwise would do
As to the Islands below Grand Island, |
conclude from the evidence in this case that
at present they cannot be reclaimed by any
practical means. Of course the quantity of
| sediment il the river makes the problem
more difficuls and the means more expensive,
seem evident that this cannot be done at any
reasonable cost until they are still further
built up by the operation Of natural causes.
SACRAMENTO CITY.
sm compelled, by the weight of the evi.
deuce in the case, to find against the plaintiff
on the charge that the prosecution of its in.
| dustry by the defendant, with similar oper-
atoms by others, has impaired, or to mate
rial extent is likely to impair, the sewerage
of Sacramento or injuriously affect the sani-
tary condition of the city.
The sewers of the city are about seven feet
above tide. water. The drainage was never
into the Sacramento river, and perhaps could
not rightfully be there. It does not appear
that the city has been deprived Of. any out
let's for its sewage by the accumulation of
debris, nor do see that the drainage has
been interfered with except during the very
highest floods, which may be expected about
| once in eight years. The interference, at all
events, is quite inconsiderable.
1t is said that the soil water is raised in the
| city by sipage SO that cesspools are emptied
of their contents. It is natural to think that
raising the water level in the river will neces-
sarily raise the level of soil water in the
vicinity. That it does so, to some extent, l
cannot doubt.
The drainage canal from Sacramento to
Snodgrass slough. a distance of twenty-five
miles, has a fall of about six feet. There can
be no good drainage under such circunstanc
without pumping, and I do not see how the
debris has made matters worse in this respect.
The health of the city has been steadily i'm
proving for the last twenty-five years and
during all that time the city has ranked very
high In regard to healthfulness with cities Of
/ equal population and similarly situated.
There has been manifested during late
years, however, some tendency to change
| in the character Of disease, from those Of
purely malarial character to those OF q typho.
malarial character. This seems to be the
usual course of disease ia all newly settled
countries and according to the testimony in
the case could not have been otherwise. The
slight indication of typhoid epidemic during
! one year is nothing mere than is to be ex-
pected in any city.
am entirely satisfied that the question
whether the deposits of debris in the vicinity
of Sacramento has affected or will injuiiously
affect the health of the city is altogether too
much matter of theory to be the foundation
of a Judgment which shall deprive the de-
PENDANT of the use of its property.
II FouLING THE STREAMS.
The first mining in the river bars and chan.
nels discolored the waters to some extent as
early; as 1858. and the rivers have become
moro and more discolored by sediment since.
| me carry INNING was IN well-Washed SAND
and gravel, which contained none of the red
! earth which has since SO highly co!ore1 the
water. The dry diggines were in red earth.
but were prosecuted only during high water,
and therefore during the summer the rivers
become reasonably clear.
As ditches were constructed, and mining
in what are called snrfac. diggings, as con-
tra-distinguished from deep gravel miaes,
commenced. the water began Co be colored
as at present, red or yellow. This color ia
from sesqufoxide ofsiron, which is not found
in the deep gravel mines. The csmenting
material, however, contains protoxide salts
of iron. Peroxidation Of this commences
uponi ts exposure to the air and water. This
ferruginous clay is readily transported by the
| water, and probably ia notso peroxidized as
TO discolor The water while. being transported.
Washing in the red gravel HAS greatly
diminished since 1875; but probably the
water still receives its deep color principally
| from surface washiugs,