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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1916)
SECOND SECTION Pages 13-24 SECOND SECTION Pages 13-24 ROUND-UP SOUVENIR EDITION PENDLETON, OREGON, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1916 SPLENDID MOUNTAIN WATER SYSTEM PROVIDES PENDLETON WITH PURE AND ABUNDANT SUPPLY if r - OolWc!WriLCoicrU-XCorcrcT Conduit -4 t'm T Pipe I s 5 : ccrcu P - - .-.::zir"-:-v-- 'jggy t I ? 5 if ! ;i 1 i i i i v i a i s I I i i i Kll 2 3 .4 J 6 7 Mile H H re TO, 4 eievs. mt' U 11 ' lS ll ft-? 1. -.VJ?. "?iJJ : I - Ifr- . Lk VJjVjf f J.- i " I fiSLJiiKf -or -r -"1 - r ti,,, ,f j. ' .r;,-- II 1- -Z " " , , '1 iV "i wtj I " "-f" i i i tr-ir-"" "''' -- Top strip Hhuw route of pipe line fnun Thorn Hollovy to IVmllfton. The Kroup picture shows scenes hIoiik the line during construction work. No. 5 is view of the twin reservoirs; No. ill.wtrfttes the heavy pressure under the new system. The croup at therlKh. shows srenvs lit the Puhlic N:itHtorlum. supplied from the overflow from the water system. Not by uny mean th leat of Pen dleton' many aiwet.1 In her water sys tem. For a little more than two years now J'endletonlans have been drinking water brought a distance of more than seventeen mllea from mountain uprlngn IJke all good things such a Aupply was secured only after a lon, hard fight but that It was a fight well worth while none will now deny, not even those who fought the project re lentleealy. Bven In the hottest period of um mer, Pendleton'a mounWn water to to cold that no Iclnr la required to make It drinkable. In quality It la not even surpassed by the famous Bull Hun water of Portland. In quantity there la enough for Pendleton's need for years to coma In purity It Is be yond reproach. Year after year .hemista have analysed It and declar ed It free from any harmful bacteria,. and rendleton's physicians will fur nish testimony that the health of the city has been markedly Improved nine tbc mountain water was brought to town. Typhoid fever baa been al most unknown here during tht past two years and auch few ca.ea aa have beca reported have oecn truced di rectly to the lire of well water or to ot-f-town origin. Bowel Intoxica tion among children, which was so pwalont when the city used river wa tsr la seldom heard of now. 8"h city not only furnishes water to bar Inlia.ntunU but slo supplies the Rowtern Oregon State Hospital with water for domestic purposes. In fact Pendleton's promise to build a grav ity water line was one of the big fac tors In determining the location of that institution. The fulfillment of that promise Is an argument of some weight in the campaign for locating a normal school In this city. First steps toward securing a grav ity system for Pendleton were taken about seven years o. The people wanted It and, when the aubject was submitted to them for approval, thev voted a bond Issue by a big majority. At several subsequent elections, when the gr8-11' ay'1" wa an lue, they repeated their approval. Hefore all obstacles were cleared away, the water commission and In supporters had to fluht many battle The Indians upon whose ground were I located the fissure springs and over ; whose land the pipe line must pa.-, opposed the efforts to secure the land even though generous offers were made. It was nectv-nary to fight the ; matter through the courts. Sell'Uih interests in Pendleton, some lew citizens generally opposed to pro gress and others who favored other bources of supply fought the plans of ; the commission at every , turn. The story of the long fteht, of the methods employed to obstruct the efforts of the commission, would be a long but very interesting one. The main source of supply for the system Is a series of springs known as the Thorn Hollow spring and lying about eighteen miles east of Penlle- ton. The principal spring now being, ured. is the Wenljc spring The( springs now tapped furnish plenty or water, the minimum 24 hour flow during the pa-st summer having been 2.400.000 gallons. Anticipating the growth of Pendleton, a survey is now, being made to the Chapllsh springs about three miles beyond the Wenlx springs nd the pipe line will prob ably be extended there next year. This will give an additional 1,600. 000 gallons daily. The pipe line is sufficiently large to carry 6.000.00U: gallons of daily dally and thbj will be! sufficient for the needs of Pendleton j for many, years to come. The system was built with an eyej to the future. In fact the present; pipe line Is Just the fir.-t unit of the ultimate pipe line. When the water consumption of Pendleton becomes so large that the springs can no longer supply enough, the pipe line will be extended due east to the north fork of the 1'mntilla river, which is In the mtiunta;n and which runs pure, cold water. Here also an electrical power may be generated in case Pendleton should ever undertake to supply the city with municipally owned "Juice." The construction work on the grav ity project was ucUir11 undertaken Septemler 23. 1913. The general contract for the construction of the pipe line-was secured by the lient Construction t'o. of Los Angeles and the contracts for building the reser voirs and constructing the conduit f f f is" Y - . y ft. Kit St ri '- 'Jl W;' along the bluffs at Thorn Hollow were let to Jeffrey & Bufton of Portland. The, reservoirs were completed about April 15th. 1914. Bach reservoir has a capacity of one million gallons and they are arranged so one may be used while the other reservoir la being cleaned or repaired. Through the uaei of a pass the water from the springs' may be turned directly Into the dis tributing system without going l i through the reservoirs at all. Thla ar"j I rungement insures a cooler supply ofj ! water during the summer months and: j at the same time is protection against Inconvenience should the reservoirs' ever hecome disabled. ! The system is very favorably built! j in that the operation w ill require i practically no expense as the flow of j water Into the pipe line Is adjusted j automatically at the tank house at the, ! upper end of the line. j The pipe line Is of concrete and 'reinforced concrete. For a distance! of 35.000 feel a 24 inch pipe Is used.i 1 while for a distance of 17.675 feet a' j 20 inch pipe is in use. At other points 'the size of the line varies from IS Inches to H Inchest The conduit along the bluff at Thorn Hollow Is 14 inches reinforced. The siphons are also reinforced and there is a total of 17.655 feet of J4 Inch reinforced pipe line in the siphons. In the con struction of the line IS tons of rein forcement steel was used and 40,004 barrels of cement Along the bluffs below Thorn Hol low there are three different tunnels averaging- about 100 reet In length. A view of one of the tunnels Is shown above. There are four concrete tres tles on the line. The siphons vary from a 15 foot to a foot hydraulic head. In the building of the water system there was excavation work to the extent of 5J.00O cubic yards. Al ong the line there are Jg manholes at distances of half a mile apart. The drop on the pipe line Is one Inch to the 100 feet for the first six miles ot the line and for the last It miles the fall is more abrupt, tsere being a to tal fall of !00 feet between the tank house and the reservoirs to the cen ter of the city Is 25 feet The pres sure In the central portion of town, Im 110 pounds. The overflow from the system la used to supply the public natatortum with water. ,. - ,- .... . . - ' -l. : ' - ". ."V'WVrf , , I ' , ' ' 1 i 1- -A I' , 't: - ' 4 f e - V '