The herald., 1894-11-05
THE MYSTERY OF A TUNNEL
The City Water Company Be-
gins a Big Work.
Running a Tunnel Under the Hills
Four Thousand Feet.
A Half Million Dollar Prcject Com
meuced on tho Quist-The
Council Invests
eating.

The City Water company has COM
menced to bore tunnel over beyond
Elysian park and just outside the city
limits, which will cost, together with
the conduits and pipe lines incidental to
it, fully hall million dollars.
For 10 days a large number OF men
and teams have been engaged on the
work, and nobody outsids of those d.
rectly interested learned OF the fact that
this great work was being done or had
even been contemp plated, until Saturday
last.
The main tunnel which ia now being
bored will be exactly 1000 feet long. 1t
pierces number of low-lying hills to
the north of the old Burbank spur of
the Los Angeles County railroad, and
ends just at the railroad right of way,
half mile above the branching of the
road from the Santa Monica line.
Along the line OF the road. and occu-
pying its right of way, deep trench 10
now being dug 10 feet In width and in
places l5 feet in depth. A pipe line
will he put along here connecting with
the tunnel.
The tunnel will bs four feet in width
and six feet high. 1t will convey a
tremendous body OF water, more. in
fact. than all three Of tho pipe lines
which the City Water company now
have.
The water which comes through this
tunnel and pipe line will empty into an
immense reservoir on lot l. block 33, OF
Hancock's subdivision. This reservoir,
which will be built at once, will hold
40, 900, 600 gallons, while tho largest
reservoir the company now has is cap.
able of holding only 15,000,0 600 gallons.
Tho completion of this great work will
increase the City Water company'a
capacity fully one-half and will afford
them better facilities for supplying wa
ter to a portion Of the city which 10 rap
idly building up.
The pipes OF the company are tapped
by the tunnel at point on the river
about mile and half below the gate
house at Crystal Springs.
The enterprise 10 very similar to .he
one proposed by Mr.. Spileman some
time ago. William Ruthelland has
charge OF the work and stNtad to q
HERALD reporter on Saturday that 1t
would require about four months in
which to complete the work. One mil
lion and half of brick have bean pur.
chased and will be hauled out to the
place Immediately for tha tunnel.
According to tha statements OF the
men who represent the City Water
company the work ia being done simply
for the purpose of increasing the City
Water company's facilities, but there
are others who look upon 1t as cleverly
devised plan to get control OF the water
from Crystal springs outside OF the city
limits, so that when the present fran
chiss from tho city expires and If the
City Water company fails 90 get another
it will have the water and can run it
out on the lands towarde Santa Monica
and above the city.
There may be nothing in this theory.
but the members of the city coun-
Gil and others around the city
holl thought enough of it Satur-
day go that Councilman Munson
and City Engineer Dockweiler drove out
70 the place and made careful inspec-
ton of the work and the country around.
Mr.. Munson is ths chairman of the com.
mittes on water supply, and it is possi-
BILE that the committee may make aome
sort OF report on this matter at the
meeting OF the council today.
Around the place where the work is
being done quite little village of work
shops, barns. houses and shsds has
grown up. and the scene around where
the m6n are at work ls lively oEs.
Four shafts are already dug down to the
level of the tunnel, and some OF the
tunnel on each side of these shafts is
already bored.