Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-11-08
CITY HAS AMPLE
WATER SYSTEM
WILL SUPPLY NEEDS UNTIL
AoUEDUCT is COMPLETED
MuLHoLLAND REVIEWS HISTORY
OF PLANT
Shows That by Careful Undertaking
Municipal Officers Have Been Able
70 Furnish Sources Sufficient
for All Purposes

At Yesterdays noon meeting of the
civ club President Hunsaker, in re-
ferring to election results. mentioned
in congratulatory terms the success
OF Governor Hughes in New YORK a
Republican nominee; Judge Ben LIND
say of Denver, an independent cand1-
date. and Judge Dunno of San Fran
cisco. who was supported by the DEM
ocratic ticket. His declaration their
elections were victories for good gov
eminent was applauded by the club
members.
william Mulholland. superintendent
OF the waterworks, spoke on the sub
iect: "Present Condition of the City s
water Supply" and he made emphatic
the important statement in that con-
nection that the present source OF city
water can be made amply large TO
supply the needs of the city until the
water comes through the aqueduct,
and for four or five years longer, If
necessary.
1--WE are frequently asked" he said
whether the supply from the Los
Angeles river and the pumping plants
will hold out until the owens river wa
ter Is available. / can answer, yes
emphatically even in the event OF con-
tinued drought. We only ask the peo-
pie to be careful of the water they get
ITO understand present conditions we
have to go back over the past. My con-
nection with the Los Angeles water
system began in 1879, when l was en-
ployed to turn the water into the city's
ditch and keep out the cattle, sheep
and other bacteria, and I have man
aged to stay with it ever since.
ssWhen the time for expiration of
the old city water company's franchise
began to draw near the officials of that
concern naturally ceased efforts at per-
manent Improvement. The city, there
fore, took possession of about as de-
crepit and rundown a system as could
be found In the United States. On top
of that came seven dry years, with an
unprecedented deficiency in precipita-
ton. We were up against it. The ca
pacity of 60,00O,000 gallons day ran
down to 80, 900, 900, while our population
doubled in five years. We could not
raise rates, for the first thing they
would say is, That's your municipal
ownership
1.-THE city was extremely fortunate
In having an energetic and courageous
body of men to face the problem. They
wisely decided not to increase the rates,
but to work out a solution in other
directions The daily consumption of
water per capita was 300 gallons, and
we decided the introduction of meters
would obtain a great saving. There
was great opposition to meters, and
many delegations came to us to pro-
test, but the meters were put in. not
withstanding. By their use we were
enabled TO get along with $50 gallons
per capita, and supply a city whose
population had expanded at an I'M
known rate. The meters cost the city
S350,000 for the creation of half the
city's water supply Now we are be-
sieged by people who wish meters on
their service.
''As the city grew there sprang up a
good market for vegetables and berries,
especially in the San Fernando valley.
Tt has been shown the abstraction of
water in that section materially af-
fected the flow of the river. We were
compelled to provide an additional
source of supply, and put in five pump
ing plants to maintain a suppl equal
to the demands of the people. This is
only a temporary source, but will be
equal to the emergency until the COM
pletion of the aqueduct.
when the city assumed control of
the water system there were 322 miles
of distribution pipes; now there are 654
miles. There were but $3.50 tons of cast
iron pipe, the only kind that should be
laid, but we have averaged an -installa-
ton Of nearly 1000 tons of cast iron pipe
every year since the citv took the
property. we nave Dutit nNe eApen-
sive pumping plants and added other
equipment, but never have asked a
cent of bonds. In fact. we have paid
S175,000 on the Owens river bonds out
of the city water revenues. The water
system cost the city bond issue Of
$517,500, and the revenue the last fiscal
year was $1,033. $50.
I'VE have learned enough since work
was started on the aqueduct to make
fQeI fhnFOIIpr1IU qGquFnd fHa UrnTlr
will not only be kept we'll within the
cost estimate, but the water to be de-
livered will be greater than anticipated
On the Owens river nro1ect the goods
will be delivered all the way through"