The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-03
WONDERFUL WATER SYSTEM.
That Proposed for Los Angeles to Have
 Several Unique Features.


 That Proposed for Los Angeles to Have
 Several Unique Features. One of the greatest water supply projects in the world is about to be bonded by the city of Los Angeles. The issue will be for s25,OOoO0O, so that, in point of cost, it has often been exceed ed. But in novelty and in the magni tude of some of it's parts the Los An geles system will possess features which are unique.
 The city's present source of supply is the San Fernando valley, whose sandy soil is underlaid by deep gravel beds. During the rainy season every noun tain torrent which rushes down into the valley instead of running off to the ocean, sinks into the sand, is drunk eagerly by the gravel beds and there is held in suspension for months, and even years, forming natural reservoir with an area of about one hundred and fifty square miles and an unknown depth. While the population of Los Angeles i in 1S9. was 50000, says Moodys Maga- zine, in the next ten years it doubled. In the next five years it doubled again. It now approaches 250,00O, and Is still growing.
 In 1901 the city acquired from a cor poration the ownership of the water works. The average consumption then was 300 gallons a day per head of pop ulation-the largest in the United States, By the introduction of metres this has been reduced to 12O gallons. l Placing the future daily consumption at 15O gallons per head, the rapidly growing city must seek its future greater supply from some other source; and that source is found in the Owens River valley, more than 200 miles straight north of the city, high up in the mountains.
 This valley is about 4,O00 feet above ! sea level. or $500 feet net above Los Angeles, and has watershed of 2,500 square miles. Through it from north to south runs the Owens river. carrying an average daily flow of 4OO,OOO,OOO gal 1 Ions.
 To the south the valley opens upon the Mojave desert. The other three sides are mountain ranges containing the highest peaks in the United States.
 The proposition is for the city to ac- quire by purchase the water rights in the valley-it has already acquired many of them-to dam the river thirty seven miles further north and by thus ! 6iUoV.tt,,cr Inc tar to o-ysxy 1,xFn duit to Los Angeles, S26 miles away.
 It will be the longest conduit supply ! ing city with water in the world and
 with one exception the longest for any
 purpose. That exception is the Cool
 gardle system in West Australia, where
 water for mining purposes Is sent
 through a 30 inch pipe and Is lifted
 over 8 mountain range 1,447 feet by pumping stations along the line.
 The only other waterworks plant, in
 ancient or modern times at all com parable with the Los Angeles system, in the magnitude of these engineering features is the one now being construc- l ted by the city of New York. But the Los Angeles system, with daily ca- | pacity of 40O000,O0O gallons will cost | only $25 000 while that of New York with daily capacity only 100000, 900 gallons greater, will cost $162, GOO, 900. The Owens River watershed more- 1 over, is absolutely inaccessible and as the city will control the valley 1t is guaranteed supply of pure mountain | water.
 Although on its way from Owens rlv- | I %1.s citrate great mountain range, 1t could be carried down by gravity alone, with out pumping or tunnelling, But the route would be circutlous and more ex- pensive; and 1t is thought better to construct twenty-eight miles of tun- nels. Five miles of this work will be 1 through solid rock, under the noun
 tains. IA feet wide and Il feet high, and will require five years for completion.
 The aqueduct proper will be or mono- lithic concrete construction, reenforced with steel sunk in plain ditch, aver | aging 14.7 feet wide and 10 feet high. with concrete cover, inverted steel
 siphons will be used at a few places to provide against danger from cloud | bursts The minimum thickness of the
 aqueduct walls will be 1-2 inches. | More than 100000 tons of cement will
 be used; and 5000 men will be employ ] ed.
 l The city will erect cement mill and make Its own cement a tan estimated cost of $1 a barrel A railroad will be constructed parallel with the proposed line of the conduit, together with te- legraph and telephone line, and over the road men and materials will be 1 carried to the points desired. The road
 will be about 100 miles long and will | connect at each end with the South ern Pacific. It is not impossible that, | after completing the aqueduct, the city
 will continue to operate the road as a
 commercial enterprise, to transport passengers and freight to settlements along the line.
 Or the 226 miles of conduit twenty l two miles will be an open unlined ditch through clay mainly in the Owens riv- CT valley twenty-two miles with be a covered ditch, lined with cement or rubble; 1S9 miles will be a covered con- duit of cement, eighteen miles with a tunnel through rock ten miles tunnel | through earth, nine miles of steel si- phons crossing canons and two miles of steel fumes crossing depressions. Eventually the conduit will be covered | throughout It's entire length, but at first that is not necessary or desirable.
 That part of the water needed for immediate use in the city will be sent