Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1897-04-14
OUR wArEH SUPPLY.
Enginser Fisher Reports on the Feast
 bility of a Water Storage system The following reports will be found self-sxplanatsry.

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 commos Council City of Prescott GESrLKHHE: In accordance Witl your instructions. I have made per sonal examination Of She different streams in the vicinity of Prescott with the view of selecting 6 suitable site for storage reservoir to supply the city with wateA Tn determining on such a site tbsrs A<e several important things to be taken into consideration
 First: The Amonnt of drainage sur. face obtsinabls.
 Second The amount Of rainfall during the drysss year.
 Third: The adaptability of any proposed site for storage.
 In pursuing my examination have found 6 site on Aspen creek about four miles southwest of Prescott. which I believe will fll the require ments necessary to furnish sn abund. ant supply of water and at a eost much lees than ct any other place in She vicinity which is known to me.
 As l have made no preliminary eur veys, l can only approximabs ths amount of drainage area tributary lo this site. which I'estimats % ba from g to 10 square miles or. in round numbers. 250. .0OO. 900 square feet.
 The average annual rainfall la and about Prescott has been during the last 20 years about IA inches. The amount of this rainfall which would naturally find it's way down the chan nsl of Aspen creek during the year We can safely estimate at 50 per csnt of the total rainfall upon the tributary catchment basin during shs year. Estimating it st 50 per cent, os 2 inches. in round numbers there would be l46. 6.0Oe. 900 cubic feet. oE I,0s3,- 000. 900 gallons. passing down the creek yearly. Allowing l,000. 900 gal. Ions per day to be used by the city, 1t would last 1.OoS days. providing all the water was saved and none lost by evaporation or percclstion.
 h estimating the sise required for 6 storage reservoir. 1t must be made sufficiently large to carry the city over the dryest time. also taking into confederation evaporation and perco- lAtion. It is advisable to provide capacity sufficient to hold at one time e supply for from 150 to 200 days. Estimating on basis of 10000 people. allowing i00 gallons per capita, which is about four times the amount used per capita in most cities. the daily consumption would be 1,oo0. 900 gallons. This for 200 days would be 2O0. .OO0. eco gallons; doubling this capacity to allow for losses men toned above. 4OO,OO0. 900 gallons, which would be a safs estimate of the capacity.
 The heighth of dam required to form such basin can only be ascer. tained by actual surveys.
 This amount of water, i.000, 600 gal. Ions per. day, flowing into Prescott could be utilized as a power, which would produce considerable revenue to the city.
 Without sufficient data can only approximate the result. If, for example, the elevation of the site under consideration proves to be sufficient to overcome the friction in the pipes and still be equal to fall of 200 feet. the power that could be thus generated would bs, theoreti- cally. S45 horsepower,
 In selecting sits for a storage reservoir one should take into con- sideration the fact that the prevailing rain and snow storms cone from the southwest. The clouds charged with moisture coming from the southwest on reaching the foot of the mountains rise and when they reach the summis they encounter A colder stratum of air, when precipitation takes place. For this reason the amount of prsci- pitation is much greater on the north. east sides of high mountains than on she southwest slopes. This you will find to be the case in the mountains about Prescott, notably so in the Bradshaw mountains, Ms. Union, Senator divide and she Government Springs divide. of which (she Govern. ment Springs dividel Aspen creek is the natural drainage outlet.
 The Aspen creek drainage basin is covered with heavy growth of pine timber, which is also favorable to e greater precipitation. Tue fell of snow on the head of Aspen creek this winter reached the depth Of from 5 to 6 feet.
 Aspen creek in its natural atate is fed by several springs. and in the dryest time during ths lest few years there has been a flow of at least 20 minerS' inches of water ct the site under consideration.
 Another feature of storage ressr. voir to be taken into consideration is the inclination of the rock strata.
 If the geological formation is such that the rock strata pitch in an oppo. site direction 10 the flow of the stream. a large amount of the water will be carried of In that direction pus not reach the reservoir.
 The Aspen creek site is all that could be desired In this respect, As the pitch of the rock strata is toward the flow Of the streesa.
 The cite most suitable for the con- struction of the dam is 6 narrow DOT. ton of the canyon through which the ala