Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-23
CITIZENS PROBE
WATER PROBLEM
MuIhOIIand Offers Plan of Selling
18,000-Inch Surplus to
Towns and Farms
PRICE SCALE is DISCUSSED
Engineer Believes City Can Earn
Million a Year from the
Owens River
PRICE SCALE is DISCUSSED
lnontInned from pnrn One,


we believe to be a liberal provision,
when it is considered that the free use
of water for irrigation in the San Fer
nando valley will result in q great ac-
cession to the Los Angeles river, all of
which will be available for diversion at
will by the present works., $4,000 inches
are left for disposal to outside territory,
which, on the basis of one inch to seven
and one-half acres, would supply 5000
acres. AS this area would include roads
and waste places, and also as there are
means afforded to store the winter sur
plus for summer use, the result in
practice, even allowing for all unavoid-
able waste, would exceed an inch to
five acres.
DISPOSAL OF WATER SURPLUS
GLOW, then, shall this water be dis
posed of so that the burden Of the ex-
pense of procuring it shall be evenly
borne by the beneficiaries?
1T will doubtless be contended by
the land owners that if they pay for
the water as they receive 1t they win
be doing all that should be asked of
them. The answer to this is that the
people of Los Angeles will also be pay
ing for the water they use, in addition
to annual tax levies for the cost and
the interest on the bond issue for the
aqueduct construction, from which out
side land owners are wholly exempt.
When it is considered that all or most
of the land that may be served by the
owens river water is now without an
adequate water supply, and considering
all of the other conditions above set
forth as to permanence of attachment
of the water to this land, the principle
of charging a substantial sum per acre,
by way of bonus, suggests itself as the
only one. What this amount should
be is a matter of business consfdera-
tion, and may be gauged entirely by
the difference in value between the
land in it's present condition and its
value with an abundant and reliable
water supply, such as the aqueduct WILL
afford.
1.-THE problem of a supply for the
neighboring towns will also have to be
met, but the fixing of a charge for wa
ter for this purpose is not as difficult a
proposition as might at first appear.
Take the case of the city of Los Ange-
les. The cost of delivering water to its
inhabitants is about Az cents per 1000
gallons. OF this sum, 11a cents per 1000
gallons pays all the cost Of putting the
water into the distributing reservoirs,
including interest on the cost OF reser-
voirs, conduits, dams, intakes and
pumping charges, together with inter-
est on the book value of the water at
$1,000 an inch. This amounts to almost
exactly SIS an inch per annum, and IL
we allow, as above suggested, one inch
to serve seven and one-half acres, the
cost for irrigation purposes would be
$40 an acre per annum, and in the op1n-
ion of the writer this would be the
proper charge for water to towns, the
distribution charges afterward to be
borne by themselves.
"The rate of $40 an acre per annum
is one that is fully justified by the av-
erage cost of water for agricultural
purposes in Southern California, and is
one that farmers can afford to pay, so
that, in effect, under the rates in the
subjoined table the rate is the same
whether for town use or agricultural
purposes.
SCHEDULE OF CHARGES
"For towns, 1875 per miners inch bo-
nus.
''For towns, SIS per miners inch per
annum.
For irrigation, $50 an acre bonus.
'For irrigation, $40 an acre per an
mum.
ION the basis of this schedule the city
would receive $6,75O,000 as straight bo-
nus on the $4,000 inches she would nave
to dispose of outside the present terri
tory, and would receive an annual rev.
enue of $1,350,00O gross.
"While these figures show that, con-
siderings the water alone, the CITY
would still be carrying more than It's
proportionate share of the burden, the
value of the power to the city would
much more than offset the difference,
in addition to which the city would
receive the very large indirect beneht
due to the enhancement of production
of the surrounding country.
"If it is assumed that it will take
S2.25OOOO to build the reservoirs and
trunk mains to lead to the various
districts that might contribute bonus
on the above schedule, then there
would be invested in the Owens river
aoueduct and appurtenances the sum
of S26. $50 900. Should the city re-
ceive the bonus above indicated-Viz.:
S6 675O. 900, her Indebtedness then for
the adueduct would be an even $780,
900, 000 If it is assumed that the dis
tribution of the water, maintenance
of the adueduct and all administration
charges amounted to $350000 per an
mum, which, by the way, is a some-
what extrayagant figure, then the net
revenue to the city would be $1,000 OOo
which is per cent on the $2O,O09OOO
"Of course, it will be remembered
that these figures are presented
merely for the purpose of opening a
broad discussion on llllS subject, anu
NAV be modified either in amounts or
principles of application. We believe.
how wever, that they would be accepted
as reasonable by the people, and all
prospective water consumers.
THE 81 ,000, 900 net would not repre-
sent all the earnings. as the amount
of 1000 inches assigned to the city
would at least earn it's SIS per inch
per annum, yielding $150,000 net, as
charges for it's distribution would be
wholly absorbed in the general ad-
ministration charges Of the water de-
partment
1T might be further suggested that
any water disposed of above elevation
1850 feet might properly be charged
with the loss Of power that would oc-
cur by the abstraction of the water
from the drop Of 800 feet into the San
Fernando reservoir, and where it is
designed a power plant shall be in
stalled This loss would amount to
slightly over one-half horse power per
miners inch, hence il 1t is assumed
that the power has a potential earn
ing value of $25 net per horse power
per annum, the additional charge to
equalize this would be $3.50 per
miners inch per annum in addition
to the base price Of SIS per inch, above
suggested"
When the clerk had concluded the
reading of this report the mayor said:
1.-THE council and the mayor are sup
posed to act as Jurors in this case and