The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-08-25
II Address Before High Tension Club
He Dlscusses Keokuk Dam With
Big Creek Job In
California.
PICTURES WERE SHOWN
Large Crowd Present at Y. M. c. A.
for Prosrar-Those Who Had
Charge Of Ar
engagements.

Inc Algn Ien6lOn CluD neiQ a pan
ner meeting in the Y. NJ C. A. audi
torium last evening. One hundred
and Atty members and guests of the
club were present. Interesting stere.
sopticon views and moving picture
hydro-electric development in the
Sierra-Nevada mountains in Cali
fornia. This work was ruilt by the
Stone & Webster Engineering cor
poration OF Boston and vas complet-
ed In 1913.
The Y. NJ G. a. auditorium was
beautifully decorated with the ma
tional colors and Stone e Webster
emblems. The program began short
ly after p. m. and G. A Sears, gen
eral superintendent of the MIssissip-
nj River Power Co, was introduced
as speaker OF the evening". M. Sears
rave a very interesting discussion of
the Big Creek work and explained in
detail, the stereopticon views and
motion pictures
Mr.. Sears spoke as follows:
Mr.. Sears Address.
Eve are assembled here this ewes
ing to see slides and motion pictures
OF an hydraulic power -eyeloDnlent
which stands shoulder to shoulder
with the Keokuk development. g
This development, which is known
as Big Greek and was built by Stone
& Webster Engineering corporation
for the Pacific Light & Power Cor
poration OF Los Angeles, is of a very
different type. as far as hydraulic
conditions are concerned, from that
OF Keokuk
The Keokuk plant is known as al
low head development, consisting OF
turbines working under difference
In water elevation OF about thirty-two
feet. while the Big Creek installation
works under difference In elevation
of almost 1000 feet.
You are AL familiar with the Keo-
lux development, Knowing that the
difference In elevation OF the water
is brought about by simply construct
Ing dam across the Mississippi riv-
er, the water flowing directly from
this pond through the turbines and IN
20 the tail race. The water in the
Big Greek development, however,
starts from reservoir, which is made
by constructing three dams In each
OF the three outlets OF large mead.
sow. The floor OF this meadow Is g.
500 feet (as compared with about
$50 feet at Keokuk) above sea level,
snd the pond will hold over 4,5OO,OOO,-
900 cubic feet OF water. This reser-
svoir is about four and one-halr miles
long and one-half mile wide, as COM
pared with the Keokuk reservoir
which is about forty-two miles long
and averages about a mile and hall
wide The Big Creek reservoir col
lects the precipitation from a water
shed Of about Lightweight square
miles, as compared with the Keokuk
water shed of 10000 square miles.
The Big Creek reservoir contains a
sufficient storage Of water to develop
$4,000 b. p. for $50 days. The keoKukI
storage would develop the same
amount Of horse power for three and
two-tenths days. The reason for TINS
difference is, as mentioned before,
that the Keokuk plant works under
difference Of head OF about thlrty-lWo
feet, while the Big Creek installation
works under difference OF head OF
about 1000 feet; the Keokuk installa
ton using large quantity OF water
under low pressure and the BIZ
Creek using small quantity OF wa
ter for high pressure.
Height of Dams.
The height of the dams Tor I'M
pounding this water in the Big Creek
reservoir, is 81 feet, 126 and AZ
feet high. respectively. and they are
constructed in ouch way by step
ping down stream side 20 that their
height can be increased later by an
addition OF fifty feet, thus obtaining
more storage.
.The water leaving this reservoir.
through a suitable intake provided
with gates, flows through a nine loot
diameter tunnel about seven-eights OF
mile long, driven through the solid
rock, then through pipe lines about
two miles long. The pipe lines IN
the last ,seven-eights Of mile drop
down the hillside to Power station
No. 1, at which point the water wnieh
turns the wheels, is 1900 feet below