The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1910-11-24
REPORT OF THE HOOD RIVER
WATER SUPPLY.

On October q and 2Sth, at the re-
quest of citizens of Hood River, ! made
careful investigation of the present
and proposed water supply of the city,
The present water supply is obtained
from two springs known as the upper
and lower systems. The upper system
is in the center of a drainage area of
about ten acres surrounded by houses
and furnishes perhaps half of the
town. Repeated examinations of this
water during the last several years
have found it at various times con-
taminated with colon bacilli. The
lower system is perhaps better
situated than the upper the spring
being in the center of plot of ground
perhaps 200 feet square, fairly well
protected from contamination, but
the same condition holds true here as
in the upper system, and at various
times, colon bacilli have been found
in this water.
For the proposed supply further up
Hood River, a distance of about nine
miles from town, the town owns 10
acres of land on which is located a
spring known as fuckers, which fur
nishes approximately million gallons
day, which is about double the capa-
city of the present system. Analysis
of this water have always shown pure
but there are three objections in my
mind to its use. First, the INSULT
cheney of the quantity, as should tie
city grow during the next ten years as
it has in the past ten, the.supply would
be insufficient. Second, the fact that
at this time, it would not be possible
to supply the country known as the
west end, a thickly populated district,
which is practically part of the city
of Hood River, and third, perhaps
purely speculative, is the possibility of
contamination. Further south piece
of land now planted in an Orcha d.
the ground slopes at such an angle that
it might be possible to contaminate tie
spring.
The second proposed source of sup
ply at the Lava Beds is situated in air
| line about Ia miles from Hood River
and furnishes over six million gallons
day, the analysis of which shows
absolutely pure. Also from the loca-
| tion of the spring, it would be, in my
mind, absolutely impossible for it ever
to become contaminated. This would
furnish all the of the water desired in
| the city as we'll as the west end where
a thickly settled district with irriga-
tion through the summer and cesspools
and private wells render the district
menace to the health of those living
there. In my judgment, the Lava
Beds is by all means the best source
for the water supply for that city.
Hood River, Ore,
November II, 1910.
DR.. Calvin S. White, Secy.,
State Board of Health,
Portland, Ore.
Dear Sir:
have your letter of November 10th
and copy of your report to the Board
Of Health and thank you for same.
note what you have TO say abou
the quality OF the and conditions sur
rounding the present proposed source
of supply and think that you have
covered the ground fully, except tina
if you will look up the record of the
tests made by the State Bacterioligis
from time to time, and report it t.
your Board, you will find that the
lower spring has been constantly
shown to be the worst infected. 1t il
hardly necessary to discuss the tinan
cial and engineering end Of the water
question in the City of Hood River, in
asmuch as the voters have by al
overwhelming majority taken care OF
this long time since, and competent
/ EaN from
time to time to care for the engineer
ing end of it; however, feel it my
duty to put you right on some Of the
points you mentioned IN your report.
fuckers Spring is located five and a
quarter miles by pipe line survey from
the spring to the reservoir site within
the city (much less by air line) and not
nine miles as you state. The Lava
Bed Spring is about fourteen miles
from the city, but you we'll know q
pipe line could not be laid in an ali
| line under the conditions prevailing
in Hood River Valley. have beer
informed by a very competent engineer
that it would take at least twenty-five
miles of pipe line to reach the City
from that spring. This would necessi
tate the mourning OF an expense tha
would be beyond the ability or lega
right Of the city to incur. agree
with you that the Lava Bed Spring il
a magnificent one, but as said before
the taxpayers and electors of the City
of Hood River have settled that ques
tion so positively that it would not pro
fit us to discuss it. Furthermore, Layi
Bed Spring has been appropriated b!
the Middle Fork Irrigating Co., thei
filing having been made almost tw'
years, which the records of the Stat
Engineer Office will show, and in ad
dition to the filing they have actual.
appropriated this water to beneficial
use, to-wit, for irrigation purposes
and had you gone down the Creek iron
the spring, possibly 15O, yards ,yo
would have found dam and the Who'll
of the spring turned out into an irriga
. tion ditch and being used in conform
ity with the filing Of the Middle For
Irrigating Co.