Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1904-10-01
DESTRUCTION in WAKE
OF POWERFUL FLOOD
StdunChnesS Of Reservoir of Santa
Fe Water Company Prevents Great
Disaster and InunddtiOn of Lower
Part of City---Much Damage BY
Storm King Elsewhere.

Residents of the Capital City fail to
realize how fortunate they were on
last Thursday night in the breaking up
of the first immense volume of flood
waters of the Santa Fe River by the
reservoir of the Santa Fe Water &
Light Company in the canon. M the
crest of the flood had struck Santa Fe
the entire lower portion of the town
would undoubtedly have been inundat-
ed and many buildings washed out
When the waters, unheralded, reached
the protecting dam of the large reser
voir the crest was eight feet high and
the torrent was racing down the can
on at an estimated velocity of twenty
miles an hour.
Santa Fe was fortunate in having
reservoir just above the city to break
the first impetus of the waters and to
gather into its basin 200.000,000 gal
Ions of water, which would otherwise
have been thrown in one great mass
against the frail structures that would
have opposed it and which would have
reached the city from the site of the
reservoir in about four minutes. With
such great rapidity did the waters rush
onto the reservoir that helper mar
rowly escaped with his life. He de-
scribes the flood as huge black ami
NAL running after him and says that if
he had been standing a few feet far
ther in the canon he could not have
made his escape.
The first flow of the food was in
such volume that Santa Fe would
have lost many houses, every bridge
and probably some human lives, had 1t
reached the town without encounter
ing the great dam of the reservoir.
The damage done in this city was en-
tirely by waste water from the reser-
voir, wfrat the damage would have
been if the force had not been check
ed and portion of the flood held, is
difficult to estimate.
The water company is probably the
heaviest Individual loser Of any as a
result Of the Santa Fe River flood.
This loss will stand between $4,000
and $4,000, the exact amount cannot
be discovered at this time. The loss
is by the damage done to the several
pipe lines, by the breaking of the i'm.
mense protecting dam and other de.
tails too numerous to mention.
The flood first struck the protecting
!
dam at $3.50 o'clock Thursday evening
and was running over the spill-way at
| 10 o'clock. In this time 100000, 900 gal
Ions of water had been emptied by the
stream into the reservoir and the wa
| ter was then rushing over the spill.
way at q height Of thirty-six inches.
One thousand feet of 15-inch pipe
and six hundred feet Of 10-inch pipe
were washed away below the reservoir
The waste-way for the river was cut
out fourteen feet and widened twenty
four feet and some Of the pipe washed
| out at this place was found at the east
bridge, 1 IA miles away. The six-ineh
| line spanning the College Street.
bridge was also lost, by the company
The brush dam. 700 feet long. was
rendered unfit for service and the wa
| ter plant so disabled that it will be
necessary to run the steam plant fol
some time, for lighting purposes at
much increased cost. "
The projecting dam will have to be
eutiraly feeOnstruc This will b