Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-02-15
now ALMOST COMPLETED

A Description Of . Piece Of Work
that win Last Until the
Judgment Day.
Yesterday afternoon the HERALD's repre-
- ative. In search Of news, took . trip out
70 the promising town Of San Fernando,
distant twenty-one miles from this city, on
the line Of the Southern Pacific Company.
vehicle, he was driven over the
town and out to the great dam now being
by the San Fernando Land and
water Company, which now owns 1000
acres Of flne land on the east side of the
railroad This company, the incorporators
OF which are: Judge R. M. Widney of this
city, Nj. Charles Maclay Of San Fernando,
Nr. George c. Hagar Of Orange, Mr.. H. l.
Nacneil OF Los Angeles, and Judge J. X.
Alsxander Of Salinas City, Monterey county,
~. ~ = but have sold 6Ooo Of it, and
haye temporarily with 1rawn the remainder
from the market, To make the place great
success, it was necessary TO lind an apuno-
ant supply Of water, and with this Ss,s object, e.
examination Of the bed Of the Pacoima
Greek. which flows out of the mountains
I've miles east of the Station of San
Fernando, and little northeast OF the town
4 thorough search gave Judge widney
after consultation with the other stock
holders, that an abundant supply OF
water could be had al the year round BY
juat where It widens into the valley proper.
ff Wa determ ined to build the dam, at q
poi1t very nearly three miles from the
Statlon, and about two miles from the north
6 e. hs ass.a csSc1 Sor. out 9udss widnsS Th1s1
believed then, that by building
the dam, at the point mentioned plenty Of
water could be had to supply the entire val
10y, and. accordingly. about year ago, the
The plans were drawn up by Judge Wild
ney, who il . most experienced civil en-
gineer. His idea was that there was water
running down the creek bed all the year
round ct some distance below the earth g
see whether or not such was the case. He
had an excavation made and ascertained
that his views were correct, 9 great stream
of water flowed down the valley, at depth
Of not more than fifty feet This was read
creek . bed was com posed OF sat d and grave!
Wa made apparent. It was then determined
to build dam from bedrock clear across
the canon, up to the earth's SURFACE, The
distance across the creeks bed Is 500 feet,
and to reach bedrock 1t was necessary to
dig not less than ten feet. and up to fifty
feet - stated. Beginning at the east side,
where spur OF the mountain 1un out, .
trench was dug ten feet deep. before bed
rock was discovered. and then the same was
walled up with planks and scantlings A
powerful pump was put to work and kept
the water out while wall two feet thick,
composed of granite boulders and Portland
workmen finished the wall the supports
were taken out and the lOOser sand and
gravel allowed to settle around the wa ls.
In this manner the dam was built across the
creek bed and now It Is almost complete.
Commencing at the east side, the wall is
about eighteen inches above the surface of
the ground, and continues SO until dis
tanee Of one hundred feet from the right
bank ID reached. At this point 1t drops
eishteen inches s6ruptiy to the level OF the
for 400 feet, when It Is built eighteen inches
higher for one hundred feet, or to the west
bank.
The object In making the middle lower than
banks in case Of = food, and in this manner
prevent wash0ut, which might prove dis
agtzouG. All bat about ffty feet in the center
- the WORK Is now complete, and force Of
'froa @ twenty. i've 70 thirty men ,s.' are
70 strike bedrock in the middle it was ne
-oessaxy to dig down fifty feet, and in doing
30 . aubterranean lake five hundred feet
vide and fifteen feet deep In midsummer
s crystal. This lake had strong current.
More pumps were put to work to keep the
water of the w0rkmen's way, curbing was
put down and the inside walls were built.
The cost of the dam was reduced to mini
mum BY using the boulders SO plentifully at
hann GAYnant tQQmQ and lQbOF were the
only expense, and up to this time only
about $25 900 has been spent, though when
the entire dam is complete, the total cost
win be about sac, 900. The dam is built
the. water to back up the creek acd
gradually rise TO the surface. The
sand and gravel acts as perfect hlterer,
consequently the water is perfectly pure
dam : weli. Y feet in diameter, runs to bed
rock, and in this well is situated q large
2-f0ot main. This main goes to within 3
feet OF bed rock. and 1t Is through this the
water reaches the town. There Is also q
bank, though the water main is not SO large,
being only IA inches in diameter.
Along the upper side of the dam there are
three tiers of pipes, which conduct the
placed sideways lew to the dam. open at both
ends, running about inches from each
other clear across the face of the
dam. When the water strikes the dam, 1t
runs through these pipes into the two wells
pipes which pass into the well from the
upper side Of the dam are protected,
them from becoming full Of sand and
gravel The wells themselves, are pro-
tected in case of an overflow by a wooden
floor, which is about fifteen feet from the
top of the walls. The enOrmity of the un-
dertaking cannot be appreciated by simply
reading description Of it. It is uecessary
to see 1t before It can be understood. Over
thousand barrels of cement have
been used thus far, and a few more
will be necessary to complete the work.
Imagine wall built fifty feet high and two
Park from Fifth to Sixth streets, and then
think Of digging ditch at least six feet
wide, from Sixth to Seventh streets to put 1t
in, and some idea can be gained, bat only
an imperfect one. In two weeks time the
dam will be completed, and monument
Will have been constructed that will stand
under the gr0und-until the sound OF the
last trumpet.
Besides this dam, the company has three
reservoirs in the town which are kept full OF
water all the time. These reservoirs will
hold $500, 900 gallons Of water, and give a
square inch all over the town. Paucity OF
space prevents q more perfect description
OF the work, but it is safe to say that any
one who will take the trouble to visit the
place before 1t is finished will be amply
repaid.
G. T. Heinseman, the druggist and chem.
ist, win continue to serve the public as Of
old at 25 Temple street.
wy ~" n~