History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 92

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

where the dam was to adjoin, was scraped clean and smooth. A crevice big enough to admit a needle would soon lead to the destruction of the work. The little stream of water that would pass through would become larger and larger, and, in the course of a few days or weeks, the heaviest embankment would be swept away by the waters that it had imprisoned, with a force that would be irresistible. There was tamped upon the solid, rocky bottom, and the rock walls on either side, tenacious clay, and clay and earth mixed and laid upon it. The dam consists of three terraces or, it would be cor- rect to say, it was built in three sections. For a distance of six hundred feet there was placed a solid bed of earth; upon this, another layer of carth four hundred feet wide, and then the third and last, tapering to the top, now thirty feet wide. A large quantity of this earth was placed in position by slicing from the hillsides, but the bulk of the work was done with horses and carts. From the bed-rock, on which building was commenced, to the top of the dam, in a perpendicular line, the distance is eighty- six feet. The inner side of the dam is covered with broken rock, to prevent any washing away of the earth. To provide for the surplus water, in winter, there is at one end, a raceway about twenty fect square, and when the water is rising rapidly the ·gate is raised and danger of overflow averted. Lake Chabot is about four hundred feet wide and three-quarters of a mile in length. The capacity is estimated at two hundred million gallons. The outlet is controlled by a vat near the dam, connected with the valve on the discharge-pipe. The water is clear, but of a deep greenish tint; the banks are clear, and no animals are allowed to pasture in its immediate vicinity.

Until June 1, 1872, all the water used in Oakland came from below Lake Chabot and from Fruit Vale. From the lake the water flows through the original bed of Temescal Creek for a mile and a half. The earth through which it passes acts as a filter, and the water is pure as the clearcst crystal when it enters the mains leading to the reservoir on Academy Hill, between McClure's Academy and the Theological Seminary. Near the former residence of the late J. Ross Browne, a mile above the village of Temescal, there is a small dam, and into this is the main of which we speak. The elevation of Lake Chabot is four hundred feet above Broadway Wharf; the dam last mentioned is two hundred feet above that level, and the reservoir on Academy Hill is one hundred and one feet above it. Hence, the water in use in Oakland has a head of a hundred feet, or a pressure of about fifty pounds to the inch. Friction greatly reduces this, but, when the water is still, a gauge will show the pressure we have named. This reservoir is one hundred and four feet square on the top, and the sides slope inwards, so that at the bottom it is thirty feet deep and about forty feet square; its capacity is one million gallons. As it is built of brick and lined with cement, there is not a single drop of leakage. Near the surface there is an escape pipe, so that the water cannot overflow. Water is brought into the city by two mains. There is a pipe from the bottom of the reservoir, for working out the mud that might accumulate, and when occasion requires the reservoir is carefully cleaned.

The East Oakland and Fruit Vale supply may thus be described: On an elevated locality near the head of Fruit Vale, there is a distributing-reservoir similar to that on Academy Hill, and of the same capacity. From that there is a main lead- ing directly into Brooklyn (East Oakland). In Brooklyn two artesian wells have

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been used, which are bored through the tide-lands, notwithstanding which the water is clear, soft, and pure. It is forced by steam-pumps into the mains, but is only drawn upon when extreme necessity exists.

While on the subject of water companies, it may be stated that, on February 12, 1872, the Lake Tahoe and San Francisco Water Works Company were granted the right to lay pipes through the streets of Oakland, while, on October 15, 1877, like privileges were granted to the Oakland and Alameda Water Company.

As long ago as April 29, 1854, the subject of City Water Works was mooted. In his message to the Council of that date, Mayor Carpentier regrets that the charter confers no power upon the City Council to authorize the construction of water-works by which some of the mountain streams might be brought into the city at a compar- atively small expense, thereby affording an abundant supply of water both for com- mon uses and for the extinguishment of fires. It was left for the Contra Costa Water Company to confer this boon. Suddenly it entered the heads of the City Fathers that Oakland should own its water-supply; therefore at a meeting held December 22, 1873, Mr. Spaulding called the attention of the Council to the matter, and moved that a committee be appointed to investigate the subject and report. Messrs. Spaulding, Knox, and Larue were nominated, and on January 19, 1874, made the following report :-

"Your Committee to whom was referred the matter relating to supplying the city with water, also the feasibility of the city owning its own water-works, have carefully examined the various sources from which a sufficient supply can be obtained, interviewed the owners of the different, water rights for whatever infor- mation could be gained from them; examined the reports of Water Boards of Eastern cities who own their own water-works, and now beg leave to report the following as the result of their labors.

" In examining the source of the supply of the proposed works of the San Fran- cisco and Oakland Water Company situated on the Calaveras Creek, thirty-eight miles from Oakland, we find an abundant supply of good water at an elevation of five hundred and sixty-three feet above low-water mark. Oakland can be supplied with an abundance of good water from this source through a twenty-two-inch main at a cost, say :--

" Dam and reservoir . $ 98,473 00 Thirty-eight miles, twenty-two-inch pipe . 797,500 00

"The above is exclusive of the right of way, franchises, distributing-reservoirs and distributing-pipes. When the proposed dam at this place is constructed at a height of one hundred and twenty-four feet, the reservoir is estimated to contain eight thousand six hundred and forty-seven millions seven hundred and forty-four thousand one hundred and seventy-one gallons.

" About eight miles below the above-mentioned locality, at a place called Suñol, we find a location made by Charles Felton and others, who are making preparations to construct a dam, which, when completed, will be thirty feet in height and about six hundred feet in length, and will flow the water to the railroad track. The bed of the creek at this point is about two hundred feet above low-water mark. Owing to

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

the peculiarities of the location, the dam will be required to be constructed of solid masonry, the cost of which has been variously estimated at from two hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. We understand the reservoir is to be constructed in another locality, of what capacity, or at what cost we have no definite information. The cost of thirty miles of twenty-two-inch main will be about six hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars. To these amounts are to be added the cost of reservoirs, distributing-pipes, street-mains, connections, distributing-reservoirs, water rights, etc.

"Your Committee have also visited the Contra Costa Water Works, and were kindly allowed to examine the books and plans belonging thereto. We find that this company owns and controls the right to the waters of Temescal, Sausal, and San Leandro Creeks. The drainage area of the Temescal Creek is equal to six square miles; that of Sausal Creek, about six square miles; that of San Leandro Creek, and its tributaries, at about seventy square miles, which, together, is capable of furnishing a daily supply of thirty-five to forty millions of gallons, and which, according to the reports of other water companies, will supply a population of over five hundred thousand people. This company have constructed a reservoir at Temescal, Sausal, and College Hill. ; The Temescal has an elevation of four hundred and twenty-five feet; Sausal of three hundred feet; and College Hill of one hundred feet above the city base. These reservoirs have a united capacity of two hundred and one millions five hundred thousand gallons. The company have only recently acquired the right to the water of the San Leandro Creek. The distance from the city of Oakland is eight miles. They have about sixteen hundred acres of land, which will be flowed at an average depth of one hundred feet, and are preparing for the construction of a dam which is to be one hundred and fifty feet in height. The dam is to be tapped for the supply-pipe at an elevation of one hundred and fifty feet above city base, which, when added to the height of the dam, will give a pressure equal to three hundred feet in the city, less the friction. The following is the estimated cost of this part of their works :-

" Dam-gates, waste-ways, etc. .$150,000 00

Land for Reservoirs. . 50,000 00

Constructing new roads, bridges, etc 25,000 00

Clearing lands 5,000 00

Distributing-reservoirs 10,000 00

Eight miles of twenty-two-inch pipe 170,000 00

Street-mains and connections in addition to those now laid 75,000 00

Incidental Expenses.

15,000 00

Total. $500,000 00

" The cost of the present works of the company now in operation, including the San Leandro purchase, amounts to five hundred and eighty-one thousand dollars. The total number of water-takers is twelve hundred and ninety. The average monthly receipts of the company are about five thousand dollars. The approximate receipts for the ensuing year is seventy-two thousand dollars. The annual increase of the receipts, as appears from the company's books, has been about thirty-five per cent., and, with a further outlay for mains and distributing-pipes of from fifteen to twenty thousand dollars, the receipts would be increased considerably above those figures.

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP-CITY OF OAKLAND.

"Your Committee have also examined the reports of Engineers and Water Boards of several Eastern cities, and submit them for your consideration and benefit such information as may tend to enlighten the Council upon the subject under con- sideration. It must be borne in mind that there are necessarily many items of expense incidental to maintaining water-works where they are subject to the damag- aging effects of freezing and thawing for several months in the year, which do not follow in a climate like ours .*

" Your Committee trust that it may not be considered as digressing too far from the subject-matter of their report to present in connection therewith a few facts touch- ing the character of the materials of which the water-pipes of this city are now composed.

" We feel warranted in making this digression because the public faith in the virtue of said pipes has been through ignorance, we think, and which false represen- tations have seriously impaired.

" We find that the water-pipes of the Contra Costa Water Company, now laid in this city, are even superior in many respects to those laid in those cities (at the East) above cited. The pipes of this company are constructed of the best materials, well riveted, and lined with cement, and coated with asphaltum, and before being used are subjected to a hydraulic pressure equal to a pressure of four hundred feet head. In the annual report of 1873.of the City Government of New Jersey we find the follow- ing remarks and quotations on the use of cast-iron and wrought-iron cement-lined pipes, made by an engineer appointed to investigate this subject. 'The action of Passaic water on cast-iron as shown in existing conduits and distribution-pipes develops the formation of accretions which in their early stage are small in size and hemispherical in shape, covered with a thin scale and filled with a substance resem- bling black mold slightly moist, and of an offensive odor. They appear to increase rapidly in bulk and numbers until the entire inner surface of the pipe is covered with them. Their growth not only diminishes the diameter of the pipe but affects its stability, as they destroy the metal beneath them, changing its characteristics and tending to render it unequal to the strain of even light hydraulic pressure. They also taint the water, imparting to it a discernible flavor.

"'The city of Portland has a large main of over sixteen miles long of iron and cement pipe. In our present thirty-six-inch conduit there were two thousand feet of such pipe laid, however, before the improvements in jointing and lining were made, which rendered the pipe of the American Water and Gas Pipe Company so superior to others of the kind.'

" Your Committee have corresponded and had personal interview with the officials of Water Boards of various cities where cement-lined pipe has been laid, and in refer- ence to our inquiries they have not only indorsed such pipe but praised it in terms of the highest commendation.

"We find by referring to a report of the Water Company of Saratoga that over twenty thousand feet of cement-lined pipe were laid in 1846 under an eighty foot head, and that it has cost comparatively nothing for repairs.

*It is not necessary to produce those statements compiled from the reports of Water Boards of Eastern cities.

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

" The following is an extract from the report of W. S. Whitwell, Esq., former Chief Engineer of the Cochituate Water Works of Boston, Massachusetts, and also Chief Engineer of the Jersey City Water Works, to the Board of Water Commissioners of Plymouth: 'The next question was the kind of pipe to be used. Two kinds of pipe were proposed; the cast-iron pipe and the iron-cement pipe known as " Ball's Patent." With the latter I had been acquainted for several years, and from its cleanliness, cheapness, and durability I was much inclined to advise its adoption without any qualification. As a precautionary measure I. proposed that a Committee of your Board should visit Rockland in Maine, where these pipes had been in use for nearly two years, to learn there if any objections existed in their use, and if they had answered the expectations that had been formed of them. Your Committee returned so well satisfied with the report received of them that they were adopted without further hesitation. The great objection to the iron pipe is found in the rapid incrus- tation which takes place inside of the pipe and very soon seriously diminishes its capacity; this becomes a matter of much more consequence with small pipes than with those of larger size, and while in a thirty-inch pipe the diminution of capacity would be scarcely perceptible for seven or eight years, in a pipe of ten inches diameter the incrustation of four years would probably reduce the capacity one-fifth.

"'The iron and cement pipe is free from the objection; the bore remains always of the same diameter; always clean, and becomes harder and more durable by age. With proper care in selecting the best quality of cement in the manufacture of the pipes and in making the joints I consider this as the best water-pipe now in use for the supply of towns and villages.' [Here follows a list of twenty-four of the principal cities and towns that have used and are using the wrought-iron and cement pipe in the distribution of water.]

" From the above facts and figures your Committee in conclusion would most respectfully submit that, in their opinion, the time has now fully come that the city of Oakland, as a matter of economy and self-protection, should take the necessary steps to secure for itself a supply of water which will not only meet the demands of the present but the future. It seems to us that in view of the facts already set forth, it is the only course which we can in any justice to ourselves and our posterity pursue. When this very desirable acquisition shall have been attained our city may challenge comparison with any other on the Pacific Coast for its felicitous attractions to the outside world to come with its wealth and population and make it what it should be, the STAR CITY OF THE PACIFIC."

On January 19, 1874, the Council passed a resolution directing the President to appoint a Committee to prepare, in conjunction with the City Engineer and City Attorney, a bill to be presented to the Legislature, authorizing the city to issue bonds for the purpose of acquiring water-works, Messrs. Spaulding, Knox, and Warner being so named; while, on the same date, Messrs. Knox, Warner, and Snook were appointed to ascertain the best terms upon which water-works and franchises can be purchased by the city. On March 2d Mr. Chabot, President of the Contra Costa Water Company, communicated to the Council the following propositions in regard to selling their works and property to the city: First-The Company will sell its works and property at a valuation to be determined by Commissioners, two to be chosen by

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the Council and two by the company, and in case the four cannot agree upon a valuation they shall choose a fifth and the decision of a majority of the five shall be final upon the question of valuation. The company will receive in part payment the bonds of the city bearing interest at the rate of eight per cent. per annum. Second- The second proposition is that the city lend its credit to the company, in bonds or otherwise, to an amount sufficient to complete the works on the San Leandro Crcek and connect the same by pipes with the city so as to make the water available for the use of the city as soon as possible: a Committee of the Council to see that the loan is properly applied to the construction of the works, and the loan to be secured on the property of the company; the company agreeing to pay the principal and interest of the loan as they fall due: the city to have the option to purchase the works at the end of ten years from the date of the loan at a valuation made as aforesaid, and the amount so loaned to the company shall be a part payment of the valuation so ascer- tained; the balance to be paid by the city on receiving possession. This communica- tion was referred to the Auditing and Finance Committee, who on March 9th reported " An Act to authorize the City of Oakland to aid the Contra Costa Water Company to complete its Works." On being referred to the Legislature, on March 30th, "An Act to authorize the City of Oakland to obtain a Supply of Water was approved." By this Act, the city of Oakland might exercise the right of eminent domain, by taking for public use, in order to supply herself and the adjacent towns, and the people therein, with water, any flowing stream, lake, or artificial reservoir, or places for the construction of the same within the county of Alameda. To conduct these affairs a Board of Public Works was to be appointed by the Governor for a term of four years, while the Act especially defined their various duties.

In his message of February 28, 1876, Mayor Webber says, under the head of the water-supply: "The Board of Public Works appointed by the Governor of the State, in accordance with law, has accomplished nothing decisive, and I do not think that anything will result from the continuation of this body under the present law. An effort has been made to ascertain the price at which the Contra Costa Water Company would sell its property and franchises, but no price has ever been stated. This com- pany can now supply Oakland with an abundance of water from the San Leandro Creek, an expensive dam having been built and an artificial lake of a large area created. I am not aware of any specific cause of complaint on the part of the public as to the policy of the company, but I believe it to be a sound principle in municipal government that every city shall own the water-supply upon which the people depend.

"During the last year the water question has been fully discussed in San Fran- cisco, and the Calaveras scheme (the most important debated) bears a striking simi- larity to the plan followed here. In both cases reliance is had upon catchment water, and the arguments for and against the plan are as pertinent here as they were in our sister city.

"It may be wise to delay public action on the water question for several years. The supply on the peninsula of San Francisco will soon prove inadequate, and it seems probable that recourse will be had to the lakes and streams of the Sierras. Sacramento, Stockton, and Oakland are in the line of the grand acqueduct that would be constructed, and it might be advantageous for these cities to share the expense

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

with San Francisco, and participate in the benefits. The supply will be practically inexhaustible, and, though the population around the bay of San Francisco may be enumerated by millions, there never need be scarcity of this necessary article."

In concluding this subject it may be stated that the water-works of the city of Oakland are still in the womb of futurity.

But to return to the doings of the year 1866. On April 25th privilege was granted to W. S. Learing & Co. to erect a soap factory within the city limits. On the 8th August we find the Police Judge complaining of the smallness of the emolu- ments of his office. The yield for the first three months was but two hundred and three dollars, or about sixty-eight dollars per month. The Judge in his report says: "No one can complain of the amount of labor the duties require, but the office, in con- templation of law, having always to be open, necessarily confines the Judge so closely that to do any other business is out of the question, unless he employs a clerk to take care of the office in his absence. * * * You will at once perceive that the emolu- ments of this office are wholly insufficient to cover one's actual expenses." This sub- ject having been referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Barstow, Wilcox, and Shattuck, they reported August 22d, that the Act establishing the Police Court contem- plated the allowance, by the Council, of a sufficient sum out of the city Treasury to make (added to the receipts of the office) a reasonable salary. That it is in the power of the Council to fix such sum as may be thought proper, as a monthly salary for that officer, but the salary of the Police Judge should depend in no way upon the fees of his office. On August 29th his salary was fixed at a hundred dollars per month. On the 17th of October Mayor Dwinelle and Aldermen Gibbons and Shattuck were appointed a committee to receive and entertain the Directors of the Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College of California, while on their tour in quest of a location for the same.

In the latter end of March, 1866, the Jackson Guards of Oakland were organized; while in the Legislature in that year there were passed, in connection with the city of Oakland, the following bills: An Act to establish a Police Court in the city of Oak- land and define its jurisdiction; duties and fees of Court and its officers. To have a Judge, Clerk, seal; to have jurisdiction in petit larceny, assault and battery, breaches of the peace, violation of city ordinances, city taxes, sums of money less than three hundred dollars, bonds, recovery of city property, license, etc. An Act in relation to the city Courts of Oakland; Mayor no longer to exercise power of justice. The Police Judge shall have power to hear cases for examination and may commit and hold offenders to bail. An Act granting to R. J. Vandewater, his associates, their successors or assigns the right to construct, maintain, and operate a railroad in certain streets of the city of Oakland. On Second, Fourth, Eighth, Twelfth, and Market Streets, including Twenty-eighth to the San Pablo Road, to the city limits. An Act to grant the Oakland Railroad Company the right of way for a railroad track in the city of Oakland and Alameda County, and to run horse-cars thereon. The Oakland Railroad Company, a corporation incorporated in 1861, to have right of way to run horse-cars from end of Broadway to Temescal Creek, and thence to the grounds of the College of California, for thirty years.

The improvements made during the first six months of the year 1866, in the

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northern portion of Oakland, far exceeded that of any other part of the city during the same period. Between Market and Clay, and between Twelfth and Sixteenth Streets, a village had sprung up, streets opened, and shade-trees planted along the sidewalks, where twelve months before naught was but a strawberry-patch. The north side of Fourteenth Street had been built upon pretty extensively by this time, while a proper spirit moved the citizens everywhere to improve thoroughfares and surround- ings. There was one drawback, however, which was keenly felt, and that the want of proper communication between Oakland and the County Seat at San Leandro, the means of reaching that point then being, as described by a writer of that period, as follows: "Starting from Broadway on the Oakland Ferry Railroad and thence to the Point: stepping on board the Washoe, the traveler is soon landed at the wharf at San Francisco, where he changes cars, or boats, transferring himself and other bag- gage co the steamer Alameda. At the expiration of another voyage on the briny deep, subjected to all the dangers of storm and sea-sickness, the pilgrim is heaved ashore at Alameda Wharf, where he tumbles himself into a train waiting his arrival. Another journey by rail and he finally arrives at the Land of Promise, after using up three or four valuable hours of time."

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 92

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood Number of Pages: 1206

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206