The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-11
LAKE MERGED MAY
Be ABAN DONED,
SPRING VALLEY WILL MAKE IT
A PLEASURE RESORT IF ITS
WATER IS IMPURE.
THE COMPANY'S NEW PROJECT
SCHUssLER GIVES A REASON FOR
THE MAYORS RECENT
OUTBURST.

Mayor Sutro will have something to say
about the impure water in Lake MERGED to
the Board of Supervisors to-day. Sutro
says he has more than enough proof to
substantiate his charges and Hermann
Schussler, chief engineer of the Spring
Valley Water Works, does not deny that
the waters of the lake may be impure,
though he says he is not aware of their
present condition. Dr. Martin Regens-
burger of the Board of Health has no par
tlcularly favorable word for any of the
waters in lakes near this city. He believes
the water furnished to San Francisco is
better than that furnished any city of its
size, but he does not believe any large city
is getting really pure water at the present
day.
Chief Engineer Schussler in his answer
to Mayor Sutro's caustic denunciation of
the water supply of the Spring Valley
Company asserts that all the water sup
piled to the city at the present time is alb
solutely pure. He says that if the water of
Laguna de la MERGED is as bad as Sutro
says it is, it will not be used
Ii the waters cannot be used to supply
the city, the shores of the lake and the
lake itself will be turned into pleasure
park with drives and cottages, and the
lake will be used for boat racing, both sail
ing and rowing. Mr.. Schussler's remarks
also disclosed plan of the Spring Valley
Water Works to put into operation a new
system vastly superior to the present as
regards the supply and force for fire
purposes.
Mr.. Schussler kept his remarks as free as
possible from personalities, but he could
not refrain at times from making some
statements which were rather severe on the
Mayor. He lntlmated that Sutros present
stand against the water company was actu-
| ated by a revengeful spirit. Mr.. Schus-
sler said:
1.-THE Spring Valley Water Works is as
much interested in giving good water as
the citizens are in receiving it. Conse-
quently we are constantly on the lookout
to prevent any contamination. When a
year or more ago there were indications of
possible contamination of Lobos Greek,
which empties into the Golden Gate near
Bakers Beach, we had the water analysed
! by Professor Hilgard OF the State Univer-
| slty. The result was that we abandoned it..
The water Of Lake MERGED has not been
| used since last summer, when it was in
| good condition. This is because we have
| enough water IN our own San MateO
! County reservoirs. Ii our ANALYSIS, which
we will make this spring, should show any
| deterioration OF quality in the water we
will not use it. When we constructed the
new pumping system at Lake MERGED in 1891
care was taken to construct it so that
! in case the lake as a water source should
! have to be abandoned we could pump
water from magnificent artesian water
! belt which we know exists under the
Rancho Laguna de la MERGED. We can
also pump the San Andreas water with
| the same system into the upper level dis
! trict. The San Andreas water is now at
the 250-foot level, but we can raise it to the
400-foot level.
I'VE have always tried to keep the waters
of Lake MERGED pure. If they become
foul, as Mayor Sutro says, it is not our
fault. There is law which makes people
| liable for polluting water which is being
used for domestic purposes. The difficulty
| has heretofore been that water coming into
Lake MERGED from San Mateo County, by
the farms mentioned, passes through the
| gravelly bed of the creek for two or three
miles, and is thus filtered and purified. AT
the point where the water reaches the lake
ltwould be difficult to prove contamination.
If later in the year we should be DESTROYS
| of pumping water from Lake MERGED and
our analysis would show a tendency to-
ward contamination, we would most GER
tainly not pump the water but would
probably invoke the aid of the law against
the persons polluting the water. This
would be the period at which we would
! develop artesian water and make connec-
ton with the San Andreas supply.
about year ago Sutco told the Board
OF Supervisors, when the matter of rates
was before the Water Committee, that if
the Spring Valley Water Works would
abandon the project to build a reservoir on
Clarendon Heights at the 600-foot level
and build one on the 700-foot level he
would donate the land to the company.
About five acres of land were surveyed and
the company was prepared to build res
ervoir which would hold 100000 or
| 5000, 900 gallons of water
''Sutro said that the plat selected was
very nice fiat, and that he could not give it
! to u.s. We told him we would pay him a
fair price for it. He demanded $4,000 or
about $4,000 an acre. After waiting in vain
for him to modify his price to about one
fourth of what he asked, or $500 an acre,
we let the contract to the Union Iron
Works to build steel tank to contain
5000 gallons.
Another thing which has not pleased
Sutro was our purchase of some of his land
near the Industrial School. He happened
to own the only nearly level tract OF about
| forty or forty-fve acres in the rear of the
| Industrial School at an elevation of 800
feet. proposed to the directors of
the Spring Valley Water Works about
| of 200, 100000 gallons on this tract. Fear
ing that Sutro might not sell the land to
| the Spring Valley Water Works at as rea-
| sonable figure as to stranger, the COM
pany employed renaDle outsider who
succeeded in purchasing from Sutro the
much-wanted forty-two acres of land for
about $63, 000 This is one of the best pur-
chases the company has made for some
time, as for their purposes this tract is al
most invaluable. When Sutro learned
that the land had been purchased for
| the Spring Valley Water Works he be-
came enraged as he realized that he could
have compelled us to pay a great deal
more for the property. The company is
negotiating for another large reservoir tract
at high level. The moment it is secured
work on these two immense reservoirs
will be commenced. They will form the
basis for the remodeling of the entire high
| level service.
"Sutros charges that the waters of Lake
Pilarcitos and Laguna Honda are impure
are false. We have an analysis made of
the water supplied to our customers every
little while. The water has been found to
| be absolutely pure. The reservoirs are
perfectly clean. They do not get dirty. The
fact that there are no zymotic or other dis
eases traceable to impure water in the city
at the present time shows that pure water
is supplied. If the Board of Supervisors, the
| Fire Commissioners and the Board Of Fire
Underwriters will assume the responsibility
lNf Web, Al A a.