Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-09-11
HARVESTING OF SIERRA STREAMS
Development of Electrical Energy is
Solving Problem of Cheaper Power.


Solving Problem of Cheaper Power.
Omaha News-The street car sys-
TENS Of Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Spo-
kane, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Sac
ramento, Stockton, San Jose, Bakers
field, Fresno, Los Angeles and other
cities are operated by the power of
mountain streams.
Already hydro-electric energy has
invaded San Francisco. and within a
year from the present writing the en-
tire street transit system of this city
will be operated by the electrically
Transmitted power of mountain streams.
Hydro-electric energy furnishes the
power to run shipyards. flour mills,
mines, canning factories, gold dredges.
1t Eliminates cities, pumps water for
irrigation purposes, furnishes power
for the manufacture of ice and to heat
buildings in faraway localities; it pro-
pels machinery of all kinds, runs drills
in mines, Eliminates shafts, tunnels,
cross-cuts and slopes, operates HOSTS
to conduct men and materials to and
from lower levels, and runs fans to
keep the mine dry
The use of water for power pro
duction does not consume one drop OF
the fluid, but only the energy furnished
b yits fall. Thus irrigation and the
development of electric energy go hand
hand, and whenever the resources
for irrigation are tapped a double re-
turn for the capital employed is OBJ
tanned through the installation OF cleo
trio power transmission plants.
Imagine a perpendicular column of
water 1850 feet high, twenty-six inches
in diameter at the top and twenty-four
inches in diameter at the bottom. Such
column of water is not altogether
fanciful.
What is known as the Mill Creek
plant, ten miles from Redlands. CAL,
operates under head of 1850 feet,
which is higher than that of any other
power plant in the United States. The
pressure pipe is in reality 5000 feet
long. but the point at which the water
enters is $4,000 feet above the nozzle
where the water strikes the water
wheel.
This little column of water, which ii
liberated would be just about enough
to make a good trout stream, furnishes
1920 horsepower or as much power
as that of an ocean greyhound. AS the
water strikes the buckets Of the water
wheel it has a pressure of $50 pounds
to the square inch. The average loco
motive carries steam at a pressure OF
100 or 200 pounds to the square inch.
Were the stream as it issues from
the nozzle turned upon hillside the
earth would fade away before it like
snow before a jet of steam.
The longest single electric power
transmission system in the world Is
that Of the California Gas and Electric
corporation, which has carried power
from Colgate TO Oakland and around
the bay to San Francisco, distance
of PIG miles. Recently, however, a cur
rent was carried distance of 272
miles, without serious diminution.
Perhaps the most extraordinary feat
in power plant building is that accom-
tplished by the Puget Sound Power com
pany, which less than two years ago
commenced building a great plant upon
the Puyalup river, a stream fed by
the glaciers of Mount Rainier Today
this plant develops 10000 horsepower,
which is used in all branches of serv-
ice, light, power and railway, to the
| in &c of
and Tacoma, Wash.