The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-05-03
Another Water Supply.

Eds. Record Union: Sacramento's
water supply is again engaging the at
tention of the inhabitants. We have
the Grass Valley Water Company's
proposition before us, also that Of the
American River supply, and the plan Of
pumping water from wells But there
is another supply that is available that
has not not yet been considered It is
the supply that can be obtained from
the Costumes River
The water can be piped from a reser-
voir on the south fork of the Costumes
to Sacramento, distance of fifty miles,
a shorter length of pipe line than the
proposed Grass Valley pipe And as
the local demand for water on the up
per Costumes is less than at ,;rass
Valley, the water can be delivered at
sacramento for less money than from
Grass Valley or any ether place This
water would be pure, coming frcm
springs fed by the melting snow of the
Sierras. far above the contamination of
the mines.
This proposed water system. aside
froml supplying the city with pure water
has latent possibilities. which are as
follows: First an extensive irrigating
Sacramento, and, second, a power for
generating electricity, to be used in the
many ways in which that useful fluid
can be used. A motive power for run
ming the machinery of our quartz mills
and mines, cheaper and more conven-
lent than steam, has long engaged the
attention OF our mine owners. The need
ed motor is electricity, and here is a
chance to generate It,
A reservoir site, one and half miles
west OF Plymouth. when perfected at
comparatively small cost, would hold
l,UUo,UO0,O0O gallons of water and would
insure permanent supply, even dur
ing dry year like the last, by supple
nenting the river supply, and would
lrrigate 10000 acres Of land. It is esti-
mated that the cost of pumping water
for irrigation at F'lorin where the wells
are shallow is $3.50 per acre. We will
grant that the price would be the same
for water from this ditch, and We have
an income of $4,000 from the irrigation
water This reservoir could be filed by
rains during the winter but to work the
dynamo scheme and insure an income
from that source, ditch from the river
above and storage reservoirs higher rp
in the mountains (for which there are
several available sites that can be cb-
tained). This ditch coull carry the
water to point four and hall miles
above the reservoir, then be taken I'D
in pipe and dropped into a creek with
a. pressure of one horse power ito a min
er's inch of water, through less than
third of a mile of pipe The water could
be again taken up in ditch and drop
ped into the reservoir through a quar-
ter of mile of pipe with pressure of
one horse power to two miners inches.
Thus using the same water twice in
generating electrical power. This sup
ply ditch could be constructed to carry.
any required amount of water. And by
supplementing the river supply by the
ditch and reservoir system proposed
would insure an unlimited supply of
water during the two or three months
OF low water in the river, which occurs
during dry year.
With the reservoirs full and LOCO
inches of water flowing through the
supply ditch. experimenting the rivers
supply, $4,000 acres OF land could be
irrigated and every inch or hundred
inches added would increase the dy-
namo power and supply water to
larger acreage.
/ am told that one horse power pro-
duced by steam costs $125 per year, as
created at our mines. Now electrical
power at 500 would certainly super
cede steam power and LOCO inches of
water at the pressure we would have
would generate 1000 horse power this
at $1C0 per power for each year would
amount to $4,000.
This water after passing over the dy-
namos and experimenting the river wa
ter would irrigate $500 acres of. land
This at $3.50 per acre would make $751;
800: making gross income Of $685., 800
from these two sources
need not explain the beauties of pure
drinking water to the city of Sacra-
mento. Every resident or visitor knows
the discomforts and inconvenience they
have been subjected to in the past, and
how the water of Sacramento has be-
come notorious throughout the world
Neither do the beauties of an irri-
eating system need explanation. Last
summer gave us an object lesson on
the lack of one.
Pure water for Sacramento AMI irri-
eating water for the plains can DE sup
piled by the proposed systems and #
both are owned by the same company
the cost Of construction and mainte-
nance would be far less than if owned
by different companies.
As business proposition, consider the
Spring Valley Water Company of san
Francisco, which in the early sos start
ed to supply San Francisco with water