The morning call., 1894-03-18

water works people. and one of the bitter
est contests ever wagpd between taXpay-
ers and CORPORATIONS resulted.
A bref history of the contest, with a de-
scription of the works owned by the city.
viii be interesting. On March f6, 1892. an
election WAS held on the question OF bond
ing the city in the sum Of $3.50 600, the
amount considered necessary to construct
works, which at that time were TO be To-
rated on SuscOl Greek, ten miles above
Vallejo, a short distance of from the Napa
road and where an abundance OF water
could b. obtained. Out of total OF 922
votes 615 were cast for the issuance of the
bonds, Just thirty votes short of the neces-
sary twO-thirds required to carry the
measure.
The majority of the people seemed so
anxious for the owning of their own water
system that a second election was called
for and held JUne II, 1892 uron the same
proposition as the fif~t une-namely. to is
sue bonds in the amount of S250,0O0, with
SuscOl Creek as the source of supply. The
election was carried by handsome ma
jnrity although the old company had
spent money right and left and laid new
pipes down in various parts of own.
The company saw the people were really
in earnest and nothing was left undone to
defeat the project. The election was no
sooner over than the Trustees went TO the
owners of the Suscol Greek property TO
verbal agreement. but to their utter dis
may the owners valued the land at $50. 600
more the day after the election than the
sum they wanted for it before, and the
owners of the ater right belonging 10 1t
wanted equally larger trices. This source
was abandon ed in disgust
Nothing uBdaunted Trustee Frey quietly
sought for new source. Alone he made
a personal survey Of the range of hills
living between the CITY and Green Vailey
Falls and TO his delight found ii prartica-
bic TO bring the water from these falls to
Vallejo, a distance of fourteen miles. and
at less eX ense than from SuSc0 Creek.
a written b nd upon the Green Valley
Falls property and the water rights below
was secured. Il was necessary for third
election TO De held TO legalize the change
OF location and make sala bic the wafer
bonds. The third election was more hotly
contested by the old company than ever.
but on November Z, 1892, the people ratified
the action of their Trustees by giving a
twO-thirds vote for the bonds.
The services Of the law firm of CARRIER,
Boalt & Bishop were secured to insure the
snundneSs of the bond issue, while the en-
glDeerlno wo'k was entrusted tD Civil En-
Eineers Hubert Nischer as chief and c. E.
Grunsky as consulting engineer. and work
was commenced at once. Surveys being
made and contracts let.
the nrce OF supply is at the head of
Green Valley Creek fourteen miles from
Vallejo. The watershed tributary to the
crack is what is known as Wild Horse
Valley, and embraces 1895 acres of land
owned by the cIIv. A catehment Of one
inch of rain upon this area amounts 10
54174, ,245 gallons, and six inches would in
round mum bers mount 10 325, 0G0, ,0O0, which
is cons derably more than 1ay allow
aDce Of 500. 600 gallons, and would meet the
requirements of a population three times
the present ze of Vallejo. and it will de-
liver daily in the city 100000 gallons Of
the purest of mountain water.
a suitable masonry and concrete dam of
the capacity Of $50, eco. GOO gallons has been
built at ar elevation OF 100 feet one mile
above the point At which the water is
taken from he creek. The storage dam is
modern IN all respects, the mode of water
escape being through an intake tower so
constructed that the water shall always be
drawn from the surface. and the outlet is
through tunnel dug out of lie solid rock
At an elevation of 535 feet the water is
diverted into the pipes and sent on It's way
TO the city.
The diverting-dam has a capacity of
3.500.000 gallons, and is filed from the
large storage reservoir by the wafer flow
ing through natural rock channel. This
dam is located at the head of Green Valley
Falls, and IS built entirely of rock and ce-
mont. Here the water is diverted into the
large 16-inch main. The pipe is reduced
TO II, 10 and then an 8-inch main, which
carries the water over the hills and down
the valleys in its course to large receiy
ing reservoir, about two miles from town,
and heated between two hills at an eleva-
tion of 215 feei. or seventy feet higher than
the highest poin in the city Of Vallejo.
The reservoir has capacity of 1000 .0O0
zalIons, and is built OF concrete. It was