Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 147, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1911 — Gets Water Supply 250 Miles Distant [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Gets Water Supply 250 Miles Distant

LOS ANGELES. —Six years ago the people of Los Angeles voted an issue of (24,000,000 in bonds to pay for what they consider the finest supply of water furnished to any city in the world. The first issue of bonds was made in 1907 and the last will be made this year. The aqueduct which is 250 mile* long, will bring a sufficient amount of water to supply a city of 2,000,000 inhabitants across the country from Owens lake, which has an area of It> square miles, at an elevation of 3.812 feet in a group of 23 peaks, each of these more than 13,500 feet high. The first 20 miles of the aqueduct is open earth canal which foljpws the canyon of Owens river. Ty next 39 miles is *n open concrete dfnduit, laid upon the mountain sides, wench follows their contour like a mountain road. For 28 jtdles the conduit rests in ditches -arved from thegrocky walls, and for an equal distant f is sustained by artificial causeways |>f rocks. It next passes 160 miles thAuah the Mojave desert, on the edge 1 f Death valley, the moat desolate

under the Sierra Madre range of mountains emerges into Los Angeles valley, and there rests in storage reservoirs 1,000 feet above the city of Los Angeles and 20 miles away. Fifteen months was necessary for preparations before the work was begun. The upper part of the aqueduct passes through a very rough and what was then an unknown region, with no Inhabitants within 50 or 60 miles. In order to convey machinery and construction material ft was necessary to build 120 miles of railway, 225 miles of wagon road,, 148 miles of water main, 218 miles of transmission line, a cement plant with a capacity of 1400 barrels, a day and more than 300 buildings, such as bunk houses, mess halls, warehouses, hospitals, engineer? offices and residences