The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-18

prove that all the sources of supply the
| Spring Valley corporation have are con-
taminated by human habitations near
them. Therefore he is in favor OF the city
building a new system, the water of
which must be secured from sources in
some uninhabited district in the Sierra
| Nevada Mountains.
In conversation yesterday Mayor
Sutro said he would never let up in his OPP
position to the Spring Valley Company.
He said:
LET the people watch the Spring
| Valley Water Works. L believe the men
at the head of it will soon try to sell their
| system to the city, as they know 1t is a rot
ten one, and is rapidly becoming worse.
| When they attempt to sell the works to
the city there is no doubt they will spend
thousands of dollars in bribery to carry
their scheme through. They value their
plant at $4,000, 900, and the citizens have
| to pay them such high rates that the COM
pany gets or per cent on that capital.
! The company has put in lot of property
| bought for speculative purposes as part of
| the water system so as to raise its capital
to so, 100000. Outside of the speculative
| land purchases the Spring Valley Company
| has nothing of value to intending pur-
| chasers but the water pipes, which are
probably worth $1,500,O00 The water
! supply is worse than worthless The idea
+ "Dr. Wilslow Anderson of the State
| Board of Health in speaking of water in
rivers and wells in populated districts. a
short time ago, said that such water used
for drinking purposes would poison whole
| communities, hence the necessity of proper
| precautions in the water supply.
"Marsden Manson, the civil engineer,
| spoke before the Technical Society of the
! Pacific Coast two years ago. In the course
of his remarks on the Spring Valley Com
| pany he said that there are two minor
sources OF water supply, whose area by
| reason of the growing population and
| neglect are rapidly becoming dangerous, if
| they are not already so.
AFTER severely scoring the Lobos Creek
| system for the absence of any sewer sys-
! tenn with proper outlet, the existence
within its area of a hospital connecting
with a sewer without any outfall, the ex-
istence of not over-clean diaries, the use
of part of the area for cemetery purposes
and the dumping of garbage and filth as
filling for lots below grade he said that the
watershed tributary to Lake MERGED, some
5000 acres in extent is Objectionable from
the same general causes. He further
stated that the area tributary to the Ala
media Greek source will have to be aban-
doned in the future for the same cause.
All areas from which municipal water
supply is drawn should be kept absolutely
free from human habitation and it would
growing countries to acquire catchment
areas and afforest them.
"Since Marsden Manson delivered his
remarks the Spring Valley Company has
been compelled to condemn the Lobos
Creek system and it is preparing to aban-
don the Lake MERGED system, believe. 1t
will then draw its supply from San An
dreas and Pilarcitos lakes and Alameda
Creek the water of the latter of which is
brought across the bay in pipes. intend
to have all these places thoroughly in
vestigated. l believe they are filthy, but I
will say nothing against anything con-
corning which have secured no proofs.
"The Board of Health was invited by
Charles Webb Howard of the Spring Val
ley Company to take a trip to Lake MERGED
to-day do not know how many accepted
the invitation, but L did not go, as have
seen Lake MERGED and l don't care how
Howard may explain the matter. He cam
not change the facts.
| eff the people would only see the decay
| ing refuse from restaurants which is put IN
| the hog wallow which empties into Lake
| MERGED they would rise to the situation.
! Until we can get pure water the people
| should boil all the water they drink. AS
| boiled water is not pleasant to the taste,
| they should put a teaspoonful of salt to
every gallon Just before boiling the water.
| This will preserve the taste.
1.-The report of DR.. Spencer on the con-
|
| be made public at the next meeting OF the
| Board of Health. As 1 have the report
now, will call meeting Immediately. I
think l will call it for next Tuesday.
'The use of water supply from an area
partly within our city limits should be
Immediately prohibited. In case the
cholera should strike this city one case
might pollute the whole water supply, as
water when impure feeds the germs and
makes them multiply with Incredible
rapidity. Marsden Manson recently said
| that water is the most active disease-dis-
| tributor imaginable and to paraphrase the
very truthful words af a celebrated author
ity, No power on earth could save San
| Francisco from the scourge of cholera or
| typhus were a. single case to occur or q
single infected garment be washed in one
of the watersheds supplying the city with
water
at is for this reason that I will never LET
up until San Francisco owns its own water
| system, with the source of supply IN the
Sierra Nevada Mountains. Not one spot
in a million throughout the world is so
we'll situated as this to get a pure-water
supply, which will last for ages. do not
believe in getting the water from Lake Ia
hoe, however, as people live about 1t. The
water must be obtained from the top ofthe
mountains, where there is no human habi-
tation. We should store up the mountain
water and not let it run into the ocean.
Every drop is just so much gold.
Large pipes could be run from the
mountains to this city, and the supply is
SO great branch pipes could be run to all
the interior cities like Sacramento, Stock
| ton, Oakland, San Jose and others. 1t
| could be SO arranged that irrigation could
be furnished to fruit and grain-farmers.
The Sierra Nevadas should be made
great storehouse of water, which the people
should control and use to benefit and en-
rich themselves. The water would be al
ways strictly pure, as it would come from
the melted SHOWS OF the mountains"