Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-05-21


the world will be completed
and placed in operation in the
course of this month by the City OF
Los Angeles, Cal The Aqueduct,
with it's system of five storage reser-
voirs, is 235 miles in length, and is
designed to carry daily supply OF
258,0O0,O00 gallons from the Sierra
Nevada mountains southwark across
the great Mojave desert, under the
Sierra Madre range and into the San
Fernando valley, twenty-five miles
northwest of the city. From here the
water needed for domestic consump-
ton will be carried in siX-foot steel
pipe into the citys present distribu-
ton mains. The system comprises the
longest aqueduct in the world.
The project was inaugurated in
1905, and since 1908 an army of 5000
men have been steadily employed
night and day in it's construction. On
the desolate and sun-scorched desert
the summer temperatures have
ranged as high as 120 degrees F. In
fact, one of the great problems has
been to provide the men and animals
with food and water and proper ac-
commodations to withstand the china
tic conditions.
Of Various Forms.
The Los Angeles Aqueduct, as it is
called, is of various forms and de-
signs. The first twenty-five miles is
unlined open canal, the following
thirty-eight miles is an open ditch, and
the remainder is in covered concrete
conduit, tunnels, and concrete and
riveted steel siphons, the latter being
used to carry the water across deep
canyons, or valleys. More than fifty
three miles of the aqueduct is COM
posed of tunnels driven through solid
granite, the longest being the Eliza
beth tunnel, under the Sierra Madre
mountains, with length Of five miles.
The system of four storage reservoirs
provides for the impoundins of fifty
billion gallons, which, at the rate of
the city's present daily consumption,
would be sufficient to supply the NUM-
cipality for three years.
Much of the work has been done
from five to thirty-fve miles from any
railroad. Preliminary to the construc-
ton of the aqueduct it was neces-
sary to build $50 miles of roads and
trails, four water systems with 100
miles of mains, three hydro-electric
power plants, telephone system $50
miles long, a standard gauge steam
railroad 100 miles into the Mojave
desert, and a cement mill costing
1915, 900. With the exception of one
small contract for nine miles of con-
Quits and tunnels, the entire work
has been done by the city.
The system is gravity one through
out, the intake being at an elevation
of 1872 feet above sea-level, and the
elevation of Los Angeles being on an
average only 276 feet. The cost of
the work has been s20,0O0,0O0, exclu-
sive of any power development. By
impounding the flow of the aqueduct
at its outlet during the rainy season
it will be possible to deliver more
than 300,000,00O gallons daily during
the dry season-April Is to October Is
in which no rain falls. This is
much more than sufficient to meet the
daily requirements of the City of
London. AS the City of Los Angeles
has a present population of only AGO.
600, and requires but 100000 gallons
daily, the surplus aqueduct flow for a
long period of years will be devoted
to the irrigation of $4,000 acres of
orange and lemon lands adjacent to
the city.
Chief Features.
One of the chief features of the
enterprise is in the generation of
hydro-electric energy. There is a fall
OF 1900 feet in the aQueduct forty
seven miles from the city, with the
possibility of developing 10000, 900
horsepower. OF this amount, $500
horsepower are now being developed
at a cost of s3,360,0o0. The power
houses will be ready for operation
within several months after the aque-
duct is placed in operation, and their
output will be devoted to lighting the
city's streets and bouleYards. The
designer and constructor Of this great
work, which in point of magnitude
ranks as the third largest hydraulic
work under way in the western hemis-
phere. is the City's Water Engineer,
Mr.. William Hulholland.
The accompanying picture gives a