The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-09-22
WOULD COST QUARTER OF MILLION
That is the Amount Will Be Required to Install New System
Of Water Works For Wa|Ia Wala

AS stated in the Evening States
man yesterday evening Engineer
Thomson of Seattle submitted his re-
port relative to the proposed new
water system to the city council. Ev-
cry member of the council was pres
ent at the special meeting and sit
ting as a committee of the whole lis
tened attentively to the reading OF
the report. Mr.. Thomson was asked
quite a number of minor questions
which he had not covered in his re-
port. According to his estimates the
cost of the proposed system will be
$25O,000, and if the question is taken
up at once he stated that the sys-
tenn could be completed and in opera
ton by July 1, 1906. The complete
report is as follows:
Engineer Thomson's Report.
To the Hon. Mayor and City Council
of the City of Walla Walla.
Gentlemen:-I take pleasure in sub
hitting herewith report, together
with an estimate of the probable cost
of constructing a system of water
supply for your city.
About the middle of July, 1904, re-
ceived from your city the appointment
as hydraulic engineer with instructions
to prepare a plan and estimate for the
Walla Walla water system. I came to
your city on the 10Th day of July, 1904,
and in company with your water SUI
perintendent, Mr.. Ernest Knight, and
with your then city surveyor, Mr.. E..
S. Clark, proceeded to carefully ex-
plore the entire water shed of Mill
creek, going as far east as the edge
of Columbia county, following Tiger
canyor we'll to its summit and also
Henry conyon we'll to it's summit. Al
so in order to determine the best
source of supply for the city within
reasonable reach, 1 spent one day in
the country to the north of Mill creek,
and also spent one day in exploring
the water of the Walla Wa1la in Ore
gon.
After an examination of the field and
comparison of the showing made
in the field with various maps it was
clearly evident that the largest water
shed reasonably available for the SER
vice of the city of Walla Walla was
on Mill creek. The most unsatisfac-
tory fact developing in the exploration
was that the creek for some consider
able portion of it's course, namely, for
a distance of about 5A miles was in
the state of Oregon, and so far as I
can learn by the most diligent inquiry
| there is no law in the state of Wash
ington authorizing cities in this state
to build water works in other states /;
and there is no law in the state of
! oregon authorizing cities in other
states to enter the state of Oregon for
the purpose of constructing water
| works or allowing cities of the state
of Washington to exercise the right
of eminent domain in the state of
Oregon.
The bulk of what would be properly
styled Mill creek water shed lies to
the southwark of the line between
township and north, that is to say
lies within the limits of township 6
north, and beginning at that township
mountains to the eastward I find that
there is approximately AN square
miles of water shed tributary to the
creek, that of this amount there art
231a square miles in the state Of Ore
gon, being but little less than one
half of the entire water shed. The
run off from this water shed ha:
never Deen so Care1ully or accurately
measured during any reasonable pc
RODS of time as to enable one t.
make any reasonable estimate of it
average daily delivery. 1t has been b!
various parties roughly estimated al
furnishing an average run-off O
something over seventy million gal
Ions per day, of which amount various
weirings tended to indicate that afte
| passing below the junction with BLU
creek there was a constant under
ground flow of about twenty five mil
lion gallons per day. If there was sucl
flow it was believed that by rea
son of the perculation of the waite
through the sands of the valley tina
it would be both filtered and clarified
by nature, thus making the under
flow water of Mill creek if it existed
the most nealthful and the most de
sirable water which any city coul,
possess.