East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-04-16
Great Power Possibilities
Continued from page one.)

A 1O-foot lift finger dam at the
foot of Little Goose Isle rapids will
drown out Little Goose and Big
Goose rapids.
Texas and Palouse rapids are too
dangerous and swift rapids to navi-
gate and have a fall of 27 feet in sew
en- miles At the foot of Palouse a
7 foot needle dam should be con-
structed, giving electric power and
easy, safe navigation over Palouse
ana Texas rapids
A 10-foot lift finger dam at the
foot of Long Crossing will drown out
| Long Crossing rapids and shoal Res
| cue Isle rapids and Pine Tree rapids
Five Mile Rapids.
At Five Mile rapids a dam similar
| to the Dry Gulch hydro-electric
dam should be constructed a 3O-foot
lift This dam will develop Is to 80
thousand horsepower, will give power,
light and heat to Pasco, Kennewick,
Two Rivers, Alfalfa Wallula, Walla
Walla, Dayton, Watsburg and Pen
dleton and will some day give electric
energy for causing natural rainfall
over Franklin, Benton and Walla
Walla counties.
This dam will drown out Five Mile
rapids, one of the most feared rapids
for pilots on Snake river. 1t gives
easy navigation over Tiger Head
crossing. Hard Rock shoal, McGor
mac rapids, Three Island Bend rap
ids, which are u long and tedious
strain for pilot to navigate.
These two are very necessary. and
the dams that will repay upon com
pletiOn for the outlay are those at
Dry Gulch and Five Mile. The full
power of these dams would immedi
ately be in demand The power from
these dams can be sold at good prof
it at 50 per II. L. per year Of "a
hours continuous use. This price will
be to near consumers, but to far |
consumers it would be slightly more. |
As Oregon built the portage rail- !
road at some $500, 600 cost and Wash
ington appropriated some 100000 !
for clearance improvements on the |
Columbia and Snake rivers, including
equipment costing $4,000 or more, |
which is still in active use, it seems
a slight request to ask Idaho to ap- |
propriate 100000 to be put towards |
the building of the Dry Gulch dam.
Dry Gulch Dam.
The normal rise of Snake river is
10 feet at flood stage.
There is a 21-foot fall in the river
from the head of Lewiston rapids to
the head of Dry Gulch rapids. The |
dam should have 81 feet lift The /
flow of the river at low water is 20
thousand feet per second. 1t would |
develop 22,727 II. p. under 1O-foot |
head at high water and 5S17 II. p. at
low water, using all the flow under a !
20-foot head.
The dam would back water up to |
the head of Slaughter House rapids in
low water. a distance of 8 miles and |
also a short distance up Clearwater 1t
would give the towns of Lewiston and
Charleston a depth of to s feet OF
water along their water fronts during
low water. During low water
months in the year electric power |
here can be developed for about SO |
per II. =. for steam as Is now done. |
At this rate of cost cheap electricity /
cannot be developed or can steam
plant compete with hydro-electricI |
plants situated several miles away
Electricity for Boats.
Vessels of the type and power OF
the Umatilla, 100 feet long, &c feet
beam feet draught developing or
dinarily 500 II. p. will consume ap-
proXimately one ton of coal per hour
in operation. This vessel If working
or under way every hour in the year
would consume $500 tons of coal at
cost of SC per ton, totaling $5l,7SO.
If this vessel We're powered with
electricity stored in storage batteries
and these batteries We're charged at
Hydro electric dams the cost per
horsepower, putting it at a high esu-
mate would not exceed $40 per horse
power per year, using every hour
in the wear. The 500 electric II. 7.
for this vessel would cost per year
s15. 900, as compared with $5l'Ioo
for coal the electric power showing
! a saving of $36,7OO.
Nearly 1000, 900 II. p.
| The approximate power in the
| Snake river from Pittsburgh Lanulhe
| to the mouth or the river, distance
| of 216 miles, under SlO heau 10 -
| 1872 600 at low water.
Power value in dollars and cents
per year for this stretch of river
based on minimum cost of $12 per
H. p, is $21,5O4,000.
The Columbia River.
The Columbia river from the
mouth of Snake river to Cello is lO4
miles. 1t has 1S4 feet fall in that
distance. There are sixteen rapids
in that stretch. having an aggregate
length of 10 miles. The slope per
mile varies from three feet per mile
to feet per mile. This current at
tains a velocity of miles per hour
in one or two rapids. The average
slope at low water over the reaches
If the flow of the Columbia were
concentrated at one place under this
1874 feet head (Which is not feasible)
approximately two million II p.
would be developed at the ordinary
stage of water, but the same amount
of power can be developed by distri-
buting power plants or hydro-electric
dams at intervals. Such for instance
: at Umatilla rapids. The rapids have
n fall of 16 feet in two and one-hali
miles. Here a hydro-electric dam OF
25 feet lift would give approximatel,
| at medium stage of water, $4,000
| horsepower 1t would raise watel
| sufficientlv high to distribute by grav