The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-13
A VISIT TO THE
COLMA WATERSHED.
1t Is MADE BY THE MAYOR, ST.
PERVISORS AND HEALTH
BOARD OFFICIALS.
HOG RANCHES ON A CREEK.
The QUESTION OF THE CONTAMI-
NATION OF LAKE MERGED
STILL UNSETTLED.

In accordance. with the programme out
lined Monday the Supervisors made trip
to the Colma watershed in order to see
whether the charges that the waters of
Lake MERGED are contaminated by the
seepage from the surrounding COW and hog
ranches were true or not.
AS will be remembered this proposition
of the impurity of the water in Lake Mer
ced first came up in the Board of Health
when Mayor Sutro presented sample of
analyzed by Professor Price, and which
showed that the liquid contents of Lake
MERGED were impure.
Promptly at o'clock four carriages and
Mayor Sutro's private double-seated carry
all were waiting outside the new City Hall
to convey the official Investigators to the
scene of their labors-such as they might
be. The sight of the vehicles was very
gratifying to the members of the board,
who had been given the impression by the
Mayor that the party would ride out to
COlma on the electric cars, and from that
point walk over the hills to Lake MERGED,
All the members of the board were on
hand, except Supervisors Spreckels and
Scully. Drs. Regensburger and Bucknall
represented the Board of Health. The
press was also well represented, and with
but little delay the procession started out
in the direction of the Mission hills around
which the damp gray mists of the morning
were still grouped in quaint forms under
the influence of a March wind that was
inclined to be raw and disagreeable The
sun skulked behind gray clouds and did
not appear to take any interest in the
actions of the Supervisors or any one else
in this vicinity.
The route taken was out the Almshouse
road, full in the teeth of the raw mists,
and then on to the Ocean House road. A
stop was made at John Daly's milk ranch,
about which some complaint had been
made, although it is two miles from Lake
MERGED. Mr.. Daily was on hand to meet
the party, and he was very anxious that
they should see everything about his place
IN order to disprove the charges. He said
he would defy any one to find creek
around the ranch that was 100 yards long,
or that could in any way find its way into
the waters of Lake MERGED. The ground
all around is sandy, and all seepage sinks
into it. There was no chance for any
of the refuse from the place to get into
the lake. After looking around and agree
ing with Mr.. Daily under conditions as
they are now in the place, the procession
went on to Colma.
1t was there that Mr.. Fitzgerald and 9TH
ranches conduced to make filthy the creek
which runs down to Lake MERGED. An in
vestigation showed that there was no doubt
about the existence of the hog ranches, or
the malodorous smells which they exuded.
There was the mud, and the hogs and the
smell, but then the question arose among
the officials as to whether the tainted
water reached Lake MERGED or not. The
stream as seen yesterday was not a heavy
one and several Supervisors who walked
down it several hundred yards found that
the water was quite clear.
Mayor Sutro concluded that through
lack of rain the creek did not have much
OF a flow at present, but that in winter
when the water flowed down the shed it
carried all the filth into Lake MERGED
Satisfied from the smell that the hog
ranches were at the least nuisance which
required abatement the Supervisors and
party passed on to one of the main causes
of complaint, Mrs. Hallinan's ranch, on
the creek about mile from the lake. She
keeps hogs, and it is held that the water
flows directly from her place into the creek.
Mayor Sutro had been informed that the
swllI and refuse from the city restaurants
were dumped on the banks of the creek for
the wallowing hogs to eat. The hogs were
found, and there were unmistakable evil
dences of filth in the creek, but the CUES
ton in the minds of the Supervisors was
it did, whether the water was not purified
in its passage over the soft bed.
Mrs. Hallinan, who saw the visitors,
loudly asserted that some of her neigh ors
did not like her and that they wanted to
get her away from the place.
This was the last place visited. It was
getting late IN the afternoon, and some of
the party wanted to return There was no
time to. visit the lake, although some of
the Supervisors said they would like to see
how it looked and test its waters.
Before returning the party enjoyed a
s'picnic' luncheon provided by Mayor
Sutro. Among the liquid refreshments
furnished were several bottles of water
from Sutro Heights, which relieved the
Supervisors from the necessity of drinking
the waters of the creek.
In some respects the trip was unsatisfac-
tory to the Supervisors, because the lake
itself was not visited. They wanted to
learn whether the waters of the creek &C
tually ran into it or not and contaminated
it as had been charged.