Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-09-09
THE WATER REPORT.
WATERS OF THE BLUE LAKES
CLEAR AND PURE.
To Preserve Their Purity They Must
be Brought the Most of the
Way in Pipes.

Yesterday in the afternoon a special
meeting of the Board of City Trustees was
held for the purpose of receiving the report
of Trustee W. R. Jones and City Engineer
L. F. Bassett who made thorough exam
ination of the waters of the Blue Lakes,
| in Amador and Alpine counties, the prop
erty of the Amador Canal Company.
Trustee Nielsen, who was with the party
during the major part of the inspection,
| fully Endorses the report. He said he
could not add too or take from it. The
report was read and placed on file for
future consideration:
To the Honorable the Boqrd Of Trustees of
| the City Of SGcrdment0-G Au-
| gust 22d to 30th was spent by the under
| signed in trip to Amador and Alpine
counties, for the purpose of viewing the
| Blue lakes and the bitches of the AInador
| Canal Company, and to ascertain the facil-
| tiles this company have for collecting and
| storing water in the high SierTas, and to ex-
anime somewhat into their facilities for fur
nishing Sacramento with clear, pure water.
| August 22d and 23d we were accompanied
! by Second Trustee II. b. Nielsen and citi-
zens Joseph Steffens W. F. Knox, William
| II. Luther and a. Johnson, and made a
visit TO the head of the main ditch of the
| Amador canal, at the point where The Wa
| ter is
TAKEN FROM THE MoKELUMSE RIVER
There was found q fine body of clear, pure
| water, of temperature of $50 or 600. The
| canal here has a fall of eight to ten feet per
mile. The velocity of the current in the
canal is quite rapid. We found it by meas
| urement to be four feet per. second An
approximate calculation of the quantity of
water flowing in the canal gave 10000 600
gallons per twenty-four hours, which is
about four-fifths of its capacity.
The entire volume of water flowing in
| the Mokelumne river is now turned into
| the canal. In fact, much larger volume
| than the natural flow of the river is at this
time being carried by the canal, as at pres
ent probably three-fourths of the flow is
due TO the water turned in from Lower
Blue lake.
The water of the Mokelumne river at
the head of the ditch, and in the main
ditch itself as far as we saw it, at the time
of our visit,
WAS ALL THAT COULD BE DESIRED
The river at and above the head of the
ditch has a rapid descent and flows through
q rocky canyon; consequently there is but
taminated or more than slightly discolored
even during heavy storms. There is said
to be no mining on the river above the
head of the ditch.
The main ditch, where we saw it. runs
through a section sparsely settled, and the
bed and banks are of material from which
we believe, no appreciate contain
ination can come. But if water should
be supplied TO Sacramento from this
har o. .r.o1 ~, IL.
surface flow from the adjoining country
should be carried over and not into the
ditch as at present and the ditch should be
fenced at all points where accessible TO
stock.
On the morning of August oath, the bal
| ance of the party having started home. we
left Suffer Creek for the Blue Lakes, for the
purpose OF determining from personal OBJ
| SerYation
THE CHARACTER or THE WATER
At the Blue Lakes, and of the surrounding
country draining into the lakes; also, to
learn something of the facilities for storage
at the headquarters of the Mokelumne,
and the effect OF such storage upon the
water stored.
The following facts relating to the mat
ter in hand were determined either from
| personal observation or reliable informa-
| ton:
The Blue Lakes are located near the
northeast corner of Alpine county, in a
due east line from Sacramento. and at a
| distance on 4 straight line of about eighty
| miles. They are located at an elevation of
about
EIGHT THOUSAND FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
| The temperature of the water we should
judge to be about 800 There was frost at
the lakes each night during our stay
There are two of the lakes and are
known as the Upper and Lower Blue
! Lakes. There is distance of about one
| mile between them and difference in ele-
! walton of about 80 feet The lower lake is
! about one mile long by one-third Of a mile
wide; the upper lake
TWO MILES LONG BY THREE-QUARTERs WIDE.
The depth of the lower lake is about 200
feet; OF the upper lake, $50 feet.
| The water in each of the lakes had been
raised at the beginning of the season, by
| dams built at the outlets, to about 20 feet
| above the natural level. We found the
lower lake drained nearly to the natural
| level to feed the canal below. The inner
! Blue Lake had not been drawn upon vet
| this season, but Mr.. Coolidge the man in
| charge, informed us he should do so in a
few days. The water from the upper lake
! passes in and through the lower lake in
1
| Looking down upon the lakes from an
! elevation above gives convincing proof that
| the lakes have very properly been named
| the Blue Lakes, for the surface of the water
| has an appearance of 4 dark indigo blue.
The water, upon close examination, is
FOUND TO BE AS CLEAR As CRYSTAL,
And, so far as our means of determination
extended, is perfectly pure. Work has been
planned, and is now being carried out.
which Will greatly increase the STORAGE
| capacity of the lakes This is TO be effected
| by adding to the hight and strength of the
| dams at the outlets of the lakes. The effect
of raising the water in the lakes has been
! to throw the water out over new soil
which, so far as we observed is generally
of sandy, gravelly, or rocky character,
| and covered with but little vegetable
| growth. In many places, however, there
are considerable thickets of trees that are
killed by the water rising about them.
| These in short time decay, and. standing
| in the water, undoubtedly have some iniu-
rious effect upon it. 1t would be an easy
matter, however, to cut them down and re-
move them from the vicinity of the lake.
which, we understood, it is proposed to do.
About four miles in a southerly direction
| from the Lower Blue Lake is located what
| is known as
| This is entirely an artificial lake. formed
| by building a dam in narrow part of a
| canyon, through which flows one of the
| tributaries of the Mokelumne 1t is about
| one mile in length, and affords storage for
| q considerable amount of water
The character of this water at the present
| time is not good. Building the dam has
| forced the water back over considerable
valley covered with vegetation and tree
growths and some parts of which have
heretofore been used for sheep corIals. The
effect has been TO give the water decidedly
vegetable taste, and a sort of reddish tinge
when looking down into considerable
| depths of water, although close examina-
ton
SHOWS IT TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR
! No water has yet been drawn from this
lake the present season, and it seems to us
that no water should be taken from this
| lake for domestic use for two or three sea-
sons, but that the water should be asted
late in the season, the bottom of the lake
cleared of all Objectionable material. and
| opportunity given for the winters frosts
and SHOWS to exert their purifying effects
upon it. Several streams of the finest
water we saw in the mountains flow into
this lake and if the proper measures are
! taken it will no doubt furnish an excellent
| quality of water.
| About one mile in southerly direction
from the Lower Blue Lake, above and in
70 VII