The herald., 1898-03-28
THE WAFER SUIT TRIAL
A RESUME OF THE EVIDENCE
ADDUcEn
is THE FLOW RIVER WATER7
Or Does It Come From a Mysterious
Subterranean Source as Claimed
by the Defendantsp

by the Defendantsp
The suit Of the City of Los Angeles
against the Crystal Springs Land and
Water company, the Los Angeles Water
company and 8. @. Murphy, trustee. which
has been on trial since March LIST, will
probably be submitted on briefs tomorrow
before Judge York in Department six OF
the superior court While this case is one
of great interest to the litigants and the
people of this city, the class of testimony
submitted has been Of such technical
character. so tedious to the general reader
and so devoid Of any sensational features
that 1t would have been waste of time and
space to record the proceedings in the trial
from day to day. Now that the testimony
is virtually all in, resume of the evil
dence may not prove uninteresting to the
| reader.
The city claimed ownership to the sources
whence Is taken the largest part OF
its water supply, but the defendants de-
MED that the municipality held a valid
| title to the subterranean and percolating
waters in the strata adjacent to the river
| or that these waters, claimed by the Crys-
tai Springs Water company were derived
from the Los Angeles river. On the con-
| trary, this company and the Los Angeles
Water company averred that they were
perfectly independent from the river and
would never have flowed into It,
Witnesses were introduced by the plain
tif upon the opening of the case-old set
tlers-who proved that when they came
here in early days, say in 1850, the water
question was as important as 1t Is now
and 1t was generally conceded that the
city owned and controlled the water Of tho
river, and had done so from old pueblo
days, the expense being borne as public
charge. Water was then sold to cultivat-
ors outside the patent lands. w. T. Lam
Bile, civil engineer, said he had known
the territory where the Crystal springs
are located since 1878, and previous to that
time, when infiltration pipes were laid the
place was marsh. Other witnesses said
that the dip of the saturation plane was
in the direction of the pipes.
SATURATION AREAS
A number Of photographic maps were
introduced which showed the saturation
areas and borings made. Engineer Fred
Eaton's testimony tended to show that
the infiltration pipes. on the one hand. the
river Is drawn from on the other. He
testified that he was for twelve years in
the employ Of the water company. When
he first entered the employ some little
water was running from the Crystal
springs through an old cut into the power
ditch. When the water diminished in the
power ditch the water in the springs also
diminished. The swamp land at the
springs at that time was about an acre in
extent At any depression in the ground
there was just as much water rising to the
surface from the river as at the springs.
Several witnesses were sent out on Sum
day. March 9Th, to the point where the
main supply is taken from the river. They
remained whole day and during that time
noticed no change in the flow of the water
On that day there was no disturbance of
the water at any point which could render
worthless the calculations made.
FORMATION OF CHANNEL
Engineer ]. D. Schuyler showed how the
river channel had been originally formed
and how the river practically builds up Its
own bed. The tendency Of water flowing
underground is to follow the line of least
resistance, and in the case of the lands
adjacent to the Los Angeles river. he held
1t would be in the line of the channels that
had been formed and where the material
was coarse and open. The Cahuenga hills
and the sandstone at their base formed a
barrier on that side to the water plane,
which slopes down to the river from both
sides save when disturbed artiflcially. This
sloping tendency was explained by witness
by reason of the water seeking an outlet
to the river. If no surface flow took place
the water plane would be practically level
across the cross-section Of the river. II
being the drainage of the saturation plane
that causes the surface flow in the river
to divert any water from the saturatiou
plane was tantamount to drawing it from
the surface flow :and to withdraw from the
saturation plane an amount of water equiv
alent to the surface flow would result in the
disappearance Of the surface flow of the
river altogether.
Engineer A. H. Koebig contended that
the Los Angeles river was but the surface
manifestation Of the underground waters,
and part and parcel of the saturated mass
of sandy material adjacent to the river.
Draining from the San Fernando water
shed and making their way through the
channels described in detail by the witness.
the underground waters are definable, and
the saturated mass which they permeate,
absolutely essential for the maintenance
Of a surface flow In the river.
THE DEFENSE
The city concluded its side Of the case
on March 18th, and 1t was then the turn Of
defendants to present their testimony.
They admitted that the Crystal Springs
company caused loose-jointed pipes to be
laid for the purpose Of collecting the per-
colating waters in the soil, and that $50
inches, under four-inch pressure, was
collected by the various development
works.
The evidence given by the several wit
nesses tended to show that the waters de-
veloped in the infiltration pipes were and
are developed from subterranean f1ow
that is Independent of the river, and is not
accessory to the river. But Engineer Null
holland, superintendent of the Water COM
pany, while explaining the infiltration
system and ascribine the bubbling OF
water In the trench of the east side system
to hydrostatic pressure, confessed that
much Of the matter was mystery to him.
Testimony was given by engineers Of re-
pute tending to show that mysterious
flow Of water really existed. Measure
'ments made at number Of wells scattered