Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1915-09-10
WILL USE UP FORTY THOUSAND
HORSE POWER OF THE
WATERS.
EIGHT HUNDRED MEN EMPLOYED
Some of the Big Figures Of Work
Men and Money Involved
in Harvesting the
Waters.
.-lI~,

The development of the water power
locations on the Chippewa River from
the point of selecting and determining
where dam may be built to the point
at which the finished prOduct-electriC
energy-is sent out over the wires, is
no one mans job. There is deal OF
power in the falling waters of the
Chippewa from start to finish. One
estimate is 100000 horse power. An
other goes as far as to estimate it at
100000 horse power. Either guess may
be right. One single company has &C
CURED control of the sites and the
hoWage from which it's engineers eX
pect to develop more than 100000
horse power, and there are industries
located on it which use from 1000 to
5000 horse power apiece. To deVet
op these opportunities for producing
power from the series of rifles and
eddies which indicate that the level
of the river bed is dropping lower and
lower as it proceeds to it's mouth, is
mighty intricate and stupendous job.
To begin with there is no profit in
attempting to produce power on a
small scale. What are called lOW-Wa'
ter heads, that is to say dams, holding
back the rivers water at height OF
eight or ten or twelve feet, would not
produce enough power in each instance
to warrant the heavy investments that
have to be made in dams, and power
houses and distributing lines. There
must be locations for considerable
heads, say of 40 or so feet, found be-
fore an ideal site for large production
Of power can go on.
Just now an exploration is being
conducted for suitable location for
a new dam, with which will go power
house and all the paraphanailia neces-
sary to make a power producing sta
ton. 1t may not be uninteresting to
follow from start to finish the process
of building a dam and the electric pro-
duction station which goes with it.
Foundations Must Go to Rock.
To begin with power dam cannot,
any more than the proverbial house of
the scripture, be built upon sand. It's
foundations must go down to the rock.
The first operation is, therefore, of the
kind that is now going on at Paint
Creek and will later go on at other
eligible dam sites. Gangs of men with
drain and drilling outfits are sent out
to test for the foundations. The drills
go through the surface earths and
clays and through the softer Over-bear-
ing of the bed rock until the fOunda-
ton rock itself is reached. This fOun-
dation rock, in the Valley of the Chip
pewa, is usually granite. This rock
may be found quite close to the sur
face, or it may be as much as 100 feet
below it. The higher figure is quite
unusual on the Chippewa, but wher-
ever it has the foundations must rest
upon it. In the cases of extreme depth
The pillars of concrete are built from
the rock upward to carry the dam
structures. Where the granite comes
close to the surface the debris is clear
ed off 1t and the surface made smooth
to become a solid and stable founda-
The higher the dam the deeper and
broader the foundations have to be,
so that the great block of artificial
stone which is formed into the retain
or of the waters will be heavy enough
and firmly enough set so that the
pressure of the waters which it holds
back may not bulge it.
The River Cut in TWO.
The first step in dam construction Is
TO cut the river in two so that work
may go on as far as half it's width is
concerned, and the waters of the river
keep on running through the remain
der of their natural course. This Is
accom- ished by constructing Golfer
dam half the width of the stream. To
provide the lumber for this structure
and for the forms which are used to
give shape to the concrete dam struc-
ture saw mill plant is provided at the
| location of the dam and such timber
as is available for saving is prepared
| right on the ground. AS rule nothing
| that will cut into piece less than
| two by six inches in dimensions is
used. The best of the timber has to be
used for the Golfer dam, but timber OF
almost any kind may be used for the
concrete forms. The Golfer dam has
10 be made waterproof, so that when
It is pumped out the workmen may
quarry down to the solid rock, smooth
off it's surface and make the joint be-
tween the natural stone of the founda-
ton and the artificial stone of the
construction upon it absolutely water
tight. Many a dam has gone to ruin
| by reason of the seepage of the water
| between it and it's foundation.
AS a rule the first half of the dam
which is constructed is that which con-
tains the sluices or gateways. The
purpose of this is obvious, being that
when the second part of the dam
comes to be built the portion first fin
lshed will furnish the least possible
obstruction to the flow of the waters
during construction. The first half be-
ing completed, the Golfer is removed
md reconstructed IN the remaining