The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1905-05-20
WANT To SELL
WATER To CITY
Supervisors Receive Offers
of Various Sources Avail
able for Municipal Supply
PLANS ARE SUBMITTED
Utilities Committee Directs
Engineers to Report Cost
of Investigating Projects

The Supervisors Public Utilities Com
mittee yesterday considered the offers of
the Blue Lakes and Sierra Nevada Water
and Power Company and Edward f. Cra-
gin to furnish a source for a municipal
water supply to San Francisco.
City Attorney Long said that efforts
are now being made to get from the
United States Government the rights to
q water supply on the Tuolumne River.
Supervisor Braunhart said that the sup
ply named is deemed the best and most
available and the committee would re-
gard il as a fact that the petition for
the Tuolumne rights had not been de-
MED, as a new bill on the subject will be
introduced in Congress, which Long said
would be actively pressed, as the Presl-
dent was in favor of IT.
Gsrret McEnerney, attorney for Cra-
gin, said that he did not desire TO argue
the merits of the latters offer. but he
would like TO have the properties exam
ined by the Supervisors or their repre-
sentatives. who could determine for
themselves whether the supply is de-
sirable one.
Cragin's proposed source is situated on
the headwaters of the South Fork of the
American River in Ell Dorado, Amador
and Alpine counties, just south of Lake
Tahoe. The watershed includes Silver
Lake. Twin Lakes, Audrain Lake, the
two Echo Lakes, Lake of the Woods, the
numerous lakes in Devils Basin, called
the Medleys. the Glacier Lakes and 9TH
e. natural storage basins. Cragin says
the normal capacity Of the water supply
is 10000, 1000 gallons per day. About 81
coo 600 have been expended on the prop
critics in building dams. bitches, etc,
which are largely available for future
use by the city.
RIGHTS ON BLUE LAKES.
Attorney A H. Barendt submitted the
following statement:
The water rights OF the Sierra Nevada Com
pany embrace the storage Of the Blue lakes,
together with the rights on the north south,
middle. Licking and Spruce Gulch Forks OF
water shed OF 5O1l2 square miles and are sit
usted in a zone Of maximum rainfall averag-
fhe storage capacity Of these reservoirs is
from twenty five TO fifty billion gallons. gov
erned by the height Of dam, to which will be
added the continuous now OF the Blue lakes,
north south. middle Licking and Spruce
Gulch Forks Of the Mokelumne River, there
by making over one hundred billion gallons Oh
water flowing through the main reservoir.
ID is estimated that sS5. GOO. 900 VIII be the
francisco, together with the electrical posi-
o. titles which includes the power plant capable
horsepower with two separate transmission
lines including poles to san Francisco. togeth-
81 with the city distributing water service.
TO ACQUIRE PLANT.
The committee agreed that ii would be
ultimately necessary to acquire the
Spring Valley Water Works plant as a
supplementary system to a municipal
supply. Marsden Manson addressed the
committee in favor of the proposition.
which he said would have TO be submit
ted TO vote of the people. and he ad-
Vised that course at an early date Man
sen said the city would certainly have
TO go 10 the Sierras for an abundant
water supply. BraUnhart said that if the
proposition TO incur a bonded indebted
ness TO acquire the Spring Valley works
should fail at the polls il would be the
death knell of municipal ownership, and
the committee expressed itself as op-
posed 10 its immediate submission
The committee requested City Engineer
Woodward and Engineers Luther Wag-
goner and Marsden Manson to report the
cost Of investigating the two offers de-
scribed, and also that of the Grant Gap
Company, with a view Of determining
their availability as sources Of water sup
ply for San Francisco.
J. E. Russell renewed his offer TO sell
500 acres at the junction OF the north
and middle forks of the American River
for 81, 100000.