East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-08-27

The A. S. Bent Construction Co, of
Los Angeles, was the successful bid
der for the contract to construct the
pipe line of the Pendleton gravity
water system, its bid Of approximately
S135, 900 being declared the lowest and
best bid by the city water commission
last evening. The contract to con-
struct the two distributing reservoirs
and buildings will be let separately,
the commission having reserved that
privilege.
Two Portland companies, Jeffrey IL
Button and the Consolidated Contract
Co, are the low bidders for this work,
the formers bid being approximately
$3.50 and the latter's approximately
$4,000. However, 1t now ap-
pears that Jeffrey & Button do not
want the reservoir contract, declar-
ing they we're bidding on the entire
system only However. they failed SO
10 specify in their proposal and may
be held to their bid, which is guaran-
teed by bond. The commission Will
probably meet this evening or in the
morning TO determine what action to
take.
Commence Work Soon.
The Bent Construction Co. is an
old and established firm and was one
of the first to manufacture concrete
pipe. 1t has already laid 1900 miles
of this kind of pipe on the Pacific
coast. The bid is considered by the
commission to be very good one.
Mr. Bent, who was himself here,
declared that he would have his
equipment and labor on the ground
and be ready to commence operations
within two weeks. He left this morn
ing for Seattle but sent wire to Los
Angeles ordering the shipment of the
eouipment He will also bring his
own skilled labor but will employ To-
cal men for the common labor.
BY the terms of his contract he
must have the pipe line completed by
June l, 1914, and he must give a
bond to fulfill the engineering re-
ouirements, one of which is that there
must not be over a two per cent loss
of water between the springs and the
reservoir.
He will establish plants for the
Pendleton. Mission and Cayuse and
will use Umatila gravel and sand.
which is said to be the best on the
coast for this purpose
IL Miles OF Pipe.
The pipe line will be about II 1-2
miles in length and the Los Angeles
company by its contract must lay
it all with the exception of 5000 feet
along the face of the rock cliffs at
Thorn Hollow. On account of the
roughness of the surface at this point,
the commission decided 1t could save
time and money by laying the pipe
itself on the day labor plan. Be-
tween the springs and the reservoirs,
there will have to be constructed In
the pipe line single syphons and one
double syphon on account of washouts
and gulches which intersect the line
The deepest syphon will be at a
point about ten miles east of the city
the declivity requiring 80 foot head
The first seven or eight miles east OF
the city, the line will run along land
of unbroken contour and the dirt will
be soft so that it is estimated that
the company will be able to dig 1000
yards of ditch day.
The two reservoirs will be con
structed about 400 feet to the south
of the present city reservoir and will
thus be considerably higher They
will be 1856 feet above the Main
street grade and between the Thorr
Hollow springs and the reservoii
there is a drop of 22O feet. The flow
of the springs when measured about
three weeks ago was a million and 8
half gallons daily. During the hot
test weather of the summer the max
imum amount of water used here wa:
$4,000 gallons a day, so that the
springs as a source of supply will bt
amply sufficient for the demands o.
the city for years to come.
The two concrete reservoirs will b,
SO feet by 124 In dimensions and botf
will be roofer over. They will b,
Joined by distributing house. and {
bypass system will be installed which
will permit the water to flow direct
ly from the pipe lines into the main!
without entering either of the reser
'voirs.
Suits to Be Settled.
City Attorney Carter promises tina
the SO condemnation suits against tn
Indian owners of land over which tn