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RESERVOIRS

FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER

AND

DOMESTIC WATER-SUPPLY - |.

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF VARIOUS TYPES OF DAMS AND THE
METHODS, PLANS AND COST OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION

ALSO CONTAINING MISCELLANEOUS DATA UPON

THE AVAILABLE WATER-SUPPLY FOR IRRIGATION IN VARIOUS SEC-
TIONS OF ARID AMERICA; DISTRIBUTION, APPLICATION, AND
USE OF WATER; RAINFALL AND RUN-OFF FROM VARIOUS
WATERSHEDS; EVAPORATION FROM RESERVOIRS;

EFFECT OF SILT UPON THE USEFUL LIFE OF
RESERVOIRS; AVERAGE COST OF RESER-

VOIRS PER UNIT OF CAPACITY, ETC.

BY
JAMES DIX SCHUYLER
Member American Society of Civil Engineers; Member Institution of Civil Engineers, London;
Member Technical Society of the Pacific Coast; Member Engineers and Architects’

Association of Southern California; Member Franklin Institute;
Corresponding Member National Geographic Society

SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED
FIRST THOUSAND

NEW YORK
JOHN WILEY & SONS
Lonpon: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limitep
1908
Copyright, 1901, 1008,
BY
JAMES DIX SCHUYLER.

The Scientific Press
Robert Brummand and Company
New York
To tHE Memory or My BrorHeEr,

HOWARD SCHUYLER,

LATE M. AM. SOC. C. E.,

AN ENGINEER OF BRILLIANT ATTAINMENTS AND CHARMING CHARACTER,
WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE IN UNTIRING DEVOTION TO THE CON-
STRUCTION OF THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY AS ITS
FIRST CHIEF ENGINEER, THE INSEPARABLE
COMRADE OF MY CHILDHOOD, AND IN
YOUTH MY ‘‘GUIDE, PHILOSOPHER,
AND FRIEND,” INSPIRING MY
AMBITION TO THE ACHIEVE-
MENT OF EVER HIGHER
* IDEALS,

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.

BY
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

Tue kindly reception given to the first edition of this book, which
appeared in 1901, and which has been in sufficient demand to necessitate
a return of the forms to the press several times to supply the unan-
ticipated call for it, has been so flattering to the author that he has been
encouraged to accept the urgent advice of his publishers and many
friends among the engineering profession, and attempt such a revision
of the work as will bring it more nearly up to date. In the past ten or
twelve years, since the first compilation of data on the construction of
dams in western America was undertaken, the world in general appears
to have entered upon a new era of dam and reservoir creation, and there
has been such a remarkable degree of activity displayed in the conserva-
tion and utilization of water, that it may be quite reasonable to state
that more dams have been built in the decade that has just passed than
during any fifty years of previous history. This is true not only of the
United States but also of Europe and other countries. The present
appears to be an age of dam construction, and there has developed an
eager demand for information regarding the actual works accomplished,
their dimensions, character, plan, materials, methods of construction and
cost. The author has been gratified to find his book in the hands of engi-
neers in every part of the globe he has visited, which may be accepted
as an attestation of the fact that there is a wide field for such a work.
He has therefore felt it to be a duty to make it more complete, and more
worthy of the interest taken in it.

Much new matter has been added and some of the old has been
taken out as obsolete and of little present value. The chapter on
Hydraulic-fill Dams has been greatly extended by descriptions of later
constructions, and two new chapters have been added, descriptive of
reinforced concrete dams, the latest claimant to public attention, and

of structural steel dams, which have increased in numbers and size.
Vv
vi PREFACE.

The developments made in hydraulic-fill dams in the past few years,
and the wide-spread interest manifested in this novel utilization of the
forces of Nature to construct enduring barriers of unprecedented height,
at moderate cost, would alone have justified the publication of a sepa-
rate volume on that subject, embodying all the experiences of the author
and other engineers in that most fascinating and interesting field of
construction.

The chapter on Masonry Dams has been increased twofold by an
attempt to make some mention of all the most notable dams of the
world, and many that are very little known. Attention is particularly
directed to Plates 1, 2, and 3, in which profiles are shown of all of the
leading and better known masonry dams in existence, drawn to uniform
scale for easy graphical comparison. No such complete collection of
dam profiles has ever before appeared in print, assembled together on a
common basis.

The endeavor has been made to give the book greater attractive-
ness by the addition of 234 new cuts and photographs,—some of which
have been taken by the author’s pocket camera—an inseparable com-
panion.

Thus over sixty per cent of all the illustrations in the book are new,
and probably as great or a greater proportion of the reading matter is
also new or rewritten.

The labor involved in this revision has been enormous, but if his
efforts shall prove of value to the engineering profession the author
will feel amply repaid.

JAMES D. ScHUYLER,
Los ANGELEs, CaLiIForNiA, October, 1908.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

In 1896 the author was requested to prepare a brief descriptive account
of such of the principal dams and reservoirs as had come under his observa-
tion in the course of his professional practice in the arid region of the
United States, for publication among other Water-supply and Irrigation
Papers issued by the U. S. Geological Survey for the general information
‘of the public on topics of popular interest.

In compliance with this request a paper was written somewhat hastily
in the rare leisure intervals of a busy season, which was printed and cir-
culated as a portion of the 18th Annual Report of the Geological Survey,
in a more pretentious form than had been anticipated when the manu-
‘script was prepared. The rapidity with which the edition of the paper was
exhausted testified to the existence of a widespread interest in the subject
-of water-storage in the West, and a general demand for the facts regarding
the works which have been built and those which are projected. This has
encouraged the author to republish the paper in another form, revising and
adding to it as the material has become available. The work does not
‘pretend to be an exhaustive treatise on the subject of dam-construction
in western America, nor does it assume to cover the field by an account of
all the important dams which have been built. It is chiefly a straightfor-
‘ward description of those works with which the author has become familiar,
either as a consulting engineer, or as designer and constructor, or merely
as an interested observer of the development of the ideas of other en-
gineers. The field is too great to be completely covered by any one work,
and new projects are developing with such rapidity as to render the task
of enumerating them all quite beyond the power of any one individual.

For what it may be worth in the way of information or suggestion to
the fellow members of his profession, or to others interested in the storage
of water, the volume is modestly presented, craving indulgence for all
errors of omission or commission.

James D. ScHUYLER.

Ocrozer, 1900.

vii
INTRODUCTION.

THE development of a water-supply for irrigation in the arid West
sooner or later reaches a stage where the construction of storage-reservoirs
becomes a necessity. If the stream is one of considerable volume, numer-
ous irrigation-canals will be constructed from it at all convenient points,
and its entire normal] flow will be utilized before the impounding of flood-
volumes is thought of as a possibility. But with the varying seasons there
will occasionally come a year when the best of streams are so shrunken
below the normal as to limit sharply the area which can be irrigated from
it, and emphasize the regret that some means had not been provided for
holding back the wealth of water which at times pours into the sea without
benefit to any one, so as to render it available in the drier part of the year.
Other streams there are, which drain very large districts and at certain
times of the year are formidable and almost impassable rivers, that in the
summer and fall are dry for months at a time. If these sources are to be
rendered servicable storage-reservoirs must be built as the initial step in
irrigation development.

All streams, except they be regulated by nature by means of lakes or
subterranean reservoirs, are subject to great fluctuation. It is the function
of artificial reservoirs to equalize in a measure these variations in flow, im-
pounding the floods for use in the season when irrigation is necessary.
Were it possible to conceive of a stream flowing throughout the year without
change in volume, such a stream would not have its fullest measure of use-
fulness without storage of the water flowing during the period of the year
when irrigation is not needed.

Inasmuch as the total available water-supply of the arid region is vastly
short of the quantity needed for irrigating all the land requiring artificial
watering, it is evident that, under every condition and with every class of
stream, storage-reservoirs are needed to develop the fullest measure of use-
fulness of the existing supply.

Unfortunately it is beyond the possibility of hope that all the water
flowing can be stored or utilized. There is such a wide range in the total
run-off of every stream from one season to another that it would rarely be

possible to find storage capacity for the extremes of flow. On large rivers
ix
x INTRODUCTION.

the ratio between maximum and minimum years may vary as 12 to 1, while
on smaller streams the total flow one year may be one hundred times as.
much as that of the next year. Hence the reservoirs which might be pro-
vided to catch all the flow of average years would occasionally be over-.
whelmed by freshets so extraordinary as to fill them several times over.
This condition has an important bearing on the design of every reservoir
located in the path of floods, first, in emphasizing the necessity for provid-
ing ample spillway capacity, large enough to carry safely the greatest possi-
ble or probable flow, and, second, in fixing the proportion which the
capacity of the reservoir may bear to the total annual run-off of the stream,
so as to minimize the ratio of silt deposited to the total volume of water
impounded. It may be accepted as true that the destiny of every reservoir:
is to be filled with silt sooner or later. If a reservoir were created on a.
stream carrying silt to the extent of 1% of its volume on an average
(although few actually carry so much as 1%), and the average annual flow
of the stream were, for an extreme example, fifty times as great as the
capacity of the reservoir, the latter would be filled and become unservice-
able in two years, assuming that the greater portion of the silt carried was.
deposited in the reservoir. It would evidently, therefore, be unprofitable
to construct such a reservoir unless provision were made for an immediate
increase in height of dam, for diverting the river around the reservoir,
which is usuaily impracticable, or for sluicing or dredging the silt from the
reservoir, a process involving great expense. If, on the other hand, the-
reservoir capacity was made great enough to store rather more than the:
usual average flow for one year, the period of usefulness of the works would
be vastly increased, and the consideration of the problem of silt disposal.
would be left for future generations to solve.

The importance of reservoir-construction and water-storage for irriga-
tion was not so generally recognized in the arid region prior to about the.
year 1885 as it has been subsequent to that time, and it is only within a
comparatively recent period that capital has been extensively enlisted in
such works except for the storage of water for cities and towns. With a
few prominent examples of successful achievement in that line as precedents,
however, the subject of water-storage has awakened wide-spread attention,
and each year it appears to be attracting deeper public interest. Capital
has been slow to undertake the largest and most important works of this
character, because of the difficulty of realizing immediate returns upon the
investment. The development of a new section upon which water is but
recently introduced, the construction of distributing canals, ditches, and
pipes, the cultivation of the land and the planting of orchards—in fact the
conversion of a desert to a condition of profitable productiveness, is the work.
of time, which cannot be begun until the irrigation-works are actually com-
pleted, and when begun is slow of full development. Meantime, however,,
INTRODUCTION. xi

the interest account accumulates, and often is so far in excess of possible
revenues as to bring discouragement, and sometimes actual bankruptcy,
before a paying basis is reached. The uncertainty of the laws of the differ-
ent States governing water rights in reservoirs, the difficulty of establishing
fixed rates for water that will be high enough to afford an adequate revenue
to the capital involved and low enough to enable the farmer to pay for the
water he requires and make a living while developing his farm, and the
responsibilities involved in the risk from floods, accidents, and dry seasons,
have been potent in deterring capitalists from investing in the business of
storing and selling water, per se, unless it were coupled with the ownership
of the lands to be irrigated, or with the domestic supply of a growing town,
or with the possibilities of generating water-power.

The recent development of electrical machinery, by which power may
profitably be transmitted long distances with comparatively small loss, has
indirectly benefited the irrigation development of the country by adding
an incentive to the construction of storage-reservoirs for the primary and
more profitable purpose of generating power. Many reservoirs are being
favorably considered by capitalists for the power which they will afford that
would otherwise be regarded as comparatively valueless or unprofitable
investments for irrigation alone. As the great bulk of precipitation in the
arid region occurs in the mountains, where it increases with some degree of
uniformity with every foot of increased altitude, the mountains are coming
to be regarded as indispensable to the wealth of the country, valuable not
only for their precious metals, stone, and timber, but for the store of water
which they are able to supply to the thirsty plains below. The mountains
not only supply the water, but they usually afford the best sites for reservoirs
to impound it, in ancient lake-beds, and high, cool, deep valleys, surrounded
by forests; while the latter fulfila most important function and attain a
value far higher than the mere commercial one to be derived from their
lumber and firewood, by serving to retard the rapid run-off of the water-
supply. Forest growth is of primary importance in the preservation of the
source of streams, in preventing the mountains from being washed down
with destructive force to the valleys and the sea, and in creating natural
reservoirs on every square mile of their surface.

That storage-reservoirs are a necessary and indispensable adjunct to
irrigation development, as well as to the utilization of power, requires no
argument to prove. That they will continue to become more and more
necessary to our Western civilization is equally sure and certain; but the
signs of the times seem to point to the inevitable necessity of governmental
control in their construction, ownership, and administration. Those which
private capital may undertake should only be permitted to be erected under
the most rigid governmental supervision, to assure their absolute safety.
Many reservoirs are needed for the development of the arid regions which
xii INTRODUCTION.

are of too great a magnitude to be undertaken by private capital or organized
individual effort. In every other country such works are undertaken by
the national government. In general it may be said that the lands which
would be benefited by such works in arid America belong to the govern-
ment. ‘To make these lands productive aud capable of sustaining popula-
tion, the government of the United States shoald undertake their reclamation
and construct and administer the reservoirs. That sucha policy will ere
long be inaugurated seems inevitable. The purpose of this work is to
familiarize the public with the details of construction and the general
features of interest appertaining to the principal reservoirs constructed or
projected in the Western States and Territories which have come within the
knowledge or observation of the writer, describing in a popular way their
characteristics, their water-supply, the results accomplished or sought to
be accomplished by them, and the methods and materials employed in the
constraction of the dams which form them.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

RGOGRSPILE DAMS) Sees Sue aes vata tax tastes eee sve Sas ea eh tae a a et

Various types of rock-fill dams. described.—The Escondido dam, faced with
redwood plank—the first rock-fill dam built for irrigation storage.—Lower Otay
steel-core, rock-fill dam, general description of construction.—Morena rock-
fill dam, with concrete facing.—Chatsworth Park rock-fill, with concrete and
masonry skin.—The Pecos Valley, N. M., type of rock-fill dams, with earth
facing. —Quick-opening spillway gates—Walnut Grove rock-fill dam, and its
disastrous failure.—East Canyon Creek rock-fill dam, with plate-steel center-
core.—The English dam, Cal., timber-crib rock-fill, destroyed.—The Bowman
dam, an existing example of earlier rock-fill construction.—Castlewood rock-fill
dam.—Rock-fill and earth dams in New Mexico.—Combination dams, rock-fill
and hydraulic-fill, on Snake river, Idaho.—Zufii Indian combination dam,
N. M.—Minidoka combination dam, Idaho.—Rock-fill dams in Maine and
Georgia.—Dam in New Zealand.—Steel-faced rock-fill dam in Colorado.

CHAPTER II.
HyYpRaULIC-FILL Dams ee MEcatsret a ce LY Sete keg case Plesk SN Ak Reino dealt Ateadle

Principles of dam construction by the agency of water.—San Leandro and
Temescal dams, supplying Oakland, Cal., partially built by the hydraulic method.
—The Tyler, Texas, hydraulic-fill dam, the cheapest on record.—La Mesa, Cal.,
hydraulic-fil dam, and the assorting of rock and earth by the varying velocities
of water.—The Crane Valley hydraulic-fill dam, San Joaquin river, Cal.,—The
filling of high trestles with earth and rock embankment by hydraulic methods
on the Canadian Pacific and Northern Pacific railways, as illustrating the prin-
ciples of hydraulic dam construction.—Lake Frances, Cal., hydraulic-fill, built
by pump.—Hydraulic sluicing on Milner and Minidoka dams, Idaho.—Waialua
and Nuuanu dams’samples of Hawaiian hydraulic-fills—Terrace dam, Colo.,
the highest in America.—Hydraulic-fill dams in Brazil and Mexico, most perfect
and largest types of the new hydraulic construction.—Yorba dam, and Silver
Lake dam, Cal., built chiefly by material pumped through pipes.—Swink
hydraulic-fill dam, Colorado, one of the huge Colorado projects.—Croton and
Lyons dams, Michigan.—Little Bear Valley dam, Cal.—Failure of Snake Ravine
dam, showing danger of improper methods used.—General principles——The
core-wall question, Clay vs. concrete or masonry. Limiting height of dams.—
Hydraulic construction at Seattle, Tacoma, and elsewhere.

xiii

85
Xlv TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

MASONRY" DAMBij2 Oci2 ca siaeee nlite trasten nately adv anstna aunt aoamaweaaddvra Me

Elementary principles involved.—Curved vs. straight masonry dams.—The
advantages of curvature in all masonry dams as a safeguard against cracks due to
extreme changes of temperature.—The old Mission dam, erected by the Jesuit
Fathers near San Diego, Cal., one of the first structures of its kind in America.
—El Molino dam.—The Sweetwater dam, its original design, construction,
severe test and subsequent enlargement.—The silt problem in the Sweetwater
reservoir.—The Hemet dam and the irrigation of land from Lake Hemet reser-
voir.—The Bear Valley dam, the slenderest dam of its height in the world.—La
Grange dam, the highest overflow dam in America.—The Folsom dam, Cal.,
erected by convict labor. The San Mateo, Cal., concrete dam, the greatest mass
of concrete in existence.—Run-off streams supplying the San Mateo and adjacent
reservoirs.—Pacoima submerged dam.—Agua Fria dam, Ariz., and the limited
volume of underflow in streams shown by its construction.—The Seligman dam.
—The Williams dam.—The Walnut Canyon dam, Ariz., and the phenomenal
leakage of the reservoir behind it.—The Ash Fork, Ariz., steel dam, the only one
of its type in the world.—The Lynx Creek dam, and its failure, a conspicuous
example of how dams should not be built—Concrete dams at Portland, Oregon.
—The Basin Creek, Mont., masonry dam.—A masonry dam under 640-ft. head.
—Cornell University dam and the provision made for contraction cracks—
Bridgeport and Wigwam dams, Conn.—The Austin dam and its failure.—
The New Croton dam, New York.—Cross River dam.—Croton Falls dam.—
Spier Falls dam.—The remarkable dam built at Ithaca, N. Y.—Ashokan
dam, N. Y.—Sodom dam.—Boyd’s Corner dam.—Indian River dam, N. Y.—
Granite Springs dam, Wyo.—a good example of cost data carefully kept.—Lake
Cheesman dam, the highest masonry dam in America.—The Great Boonton dam
in New Jersey—The Wachusett dam, Mass.—Remarkable construction in
dam over Susquehanna river—Pedlar River dam, Lynchburg, Va., a novel
and well planned strusture——A notable dam in Georgia.—The mammoth
constructions of the U. S. Reclamation Service—the Roosevelt dam, Arizona,
and the Pathfinder and Shoshone dams of Wyoming.—The slender Upper
Otay dam in California—The dam of Mariquina river, for the Manila, P. I.,
waterworks.—Masonry dams in Guanajuato and other parts of Mexico.—
Masonry dams of Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Wales, Algiers, Germany,
Egypt, India, China, Australia, Peru, Brazil, and South Africa.

CHAPTER IV.

PUARTHEN DAMS oie eoSAs ahs wears aictre Ween A a eect eae lea woud ae mean ete

Ancient earth dams of Ceylon and India, of enormous dimensions.—Modern
dams of India.—General principles to be observed in earth dam construction.—
The Vallejo dam.—Cuyamaca dam and reservoir and the irrigation system sup-
plied.—Merced reservoir dam.—Buena Vista Lake dam.—Pilarcitos and San
Andrés dams, supplying San Francisco.—The Tabeaud dam, one of the highest
earthen structures.—The Chollas Heights dam, with sheet-steel core-wall.—Cache
la Poudre dam.—Earth dams erected by the State of Colorado.—Doubtful results
of State construction of storage-reservoirs.—The Canistear dam, New Ji ersey

416
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV

PAGH

Core-wall dam.—An arched earth dam with concrete core-wall, at Amsterdam,
N. Y.—The Laramie River dam, with triple-lap sheet piling under base.—The
highest core-wall of concrete in America, in Newark dams, Cedar Grove, N. J.
—Belle Fourche dam, 8S. Dakota.—North Dike of. Wachusett dam, Mass.,
watertight, without core-wall.—Druid Lake dam, Baltimore, Md.—Cold Springs
dam, Umatilla, Oregon, built without core-wall.—Slips in earth dam sometimes
due to soluble salts in earth.—Modern Indian dams.—The Talla dam of
Edinburgh, Scotland.—Discussion of core-walls in earth dams.

CHAPTER V.

STBET DAMS west cies cede sega ew nace eG b VEY Ok BAAR OG MELE EGS ARE alae a ek 453

The Ash Fork dam, erected in 1897, for the Santa Fé Pacific Railway, in
Johnson Canyon, near Ash Fork, Ariz., the pioneer in steel dams.—The Redridge
dam, Michigan, erected four years later—The highest and latest steel dam,
built across the Missouri river, near Helena, Montana, called the Hauser Lake
dam.—Failure of Hauser Lake dam in April 1908.—Contract for reconstruction
and borings to bedrock. Illustrations of the wrecked dam.

CHAPTER VI.

REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS 0.0... cece ccc ete tence eee eee eneeeeeneveeeens 465.

Principles on which the dams are designed—the hollow interior form
adapted to ease of building covered passageway to observation of the condi-
tions of water-tightness, and to manipulation of gates.—The latest form of
reinforced concrete dam illustrated by the Ellsworth, Maine, dam, completed
in 1908.—The Patapsco dam, Ilchester, Maryland, a type of dam containing
a power-house in its hollow interior, subject to submergence by overflow.—The
Juniata dam, Huntingdon, Pa., a type built on porous gravel foundation.—.
The Pittsfield dam, Mass, also founded on gravel.—La Prele dam, Douglas,
Wyo., under construction, the highest of its class.

CHAPTER VII.

NATURAL, RESERVOIRS 6 sissies dG mew ois v:oaie Bie Suess Sala TNS o SBA EEG SOE RAS 483

Depressions in the great plains of the West used as natural reservoirs by
providing outlets and feeders.—The formation of lakes and natural reservoirs by
landslides, and by glacial deposits of terminal and lateral moraines.—Twin
Lakes reservoir, Colo., an example of lakes formed by glacial moraines—the
author’s design of outlet structures——Larimer and Weld reservoir, Colorado,
and others fed by the Cache la Poudre river.—Marston lake, Colo., used for
Denver City supply.—Loveland, Colo., reservoir-site.—Laramie reservoir-basin
of colossal capacity.—Lake de Smet, Wyo., basin.—Natural reservoirs utilized
for irrigation in Arkansas Valley.—The Great Oregon Basin reservoir, Wyo.
—tThe Douglas Lake reservoir, Colo.—Fossil Creek reservoir.—Natural gravel
bed storage in the San Fernando, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana Valleys in
Southern California.—Lost Canyon natural dam, Colo.
XXvVl

MisczLLANEOUS

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

ee ee

A collection of illustrations received too late for classification in regular
order.—The rock-fill dams of Bowman lake, Eureka lake, and Weaver lake, on
the South Yuba river, Cal., types of earliest constructionThe Faucherie
timber dam.—Remains of the English Lake dam, partly destroyed by flood in
1883.—A recent view of the completed Lake Frances hydraulic-fill dam, with
full reservoir.—Hydraulie sluicing at Seattle, Wash., ilustrated.—The Hopkirk
wood-stave reinforced pipe for carrying liquid earth—The Milner combination
dam.—The Walnut Grove rock-fill dam—The Granite Reef concrete weir.—
The Hinckston Run, Pa., cinder-fill dam.—Latest view of Necaxa dam.—Four
notable masonry dams in Mexico, not hitherto described.—View of the Santo
Amaro hydraulic-fill dam, Brazil, with table of progress, ratios of solids carried,
ete——A remarkable illustration of stability of clay core of hydraulic-fill dam
under test conditions.—A high Japanese hydraulic-fill dam.—Dixville, N. H.,
earth dam, with concrete core on sheet-piles—Arrowhead dam, Cal.—A leaky
core-wall.—The John Days dam, Cal., a combination of concrete and earth.—
The Roland Park hydraulic-fill dam, Baltimore, Md.

APPENDIX.

Containing tabulated data of the cost of reservoir construction per acre~
foot in the United States and in foreign countries on various types of dams.

Also tables of the area and capacity of twelve western reservoirs, at varying
levels
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIGURE PAGE
1. Map of Escondido Irrigation District 1.0.0... cc cece e cence eee e were ne eeee 2
2. Feeder Canal, Escondido Irrigation District, Cal... 0.0.0... eee eee eee 3
3. Conduit Mountain Side Flume..... 0.2.0.0... cece ce cee een eee 5
4. Escondido Rock-fill Dam... 2.0... cece ee eee eee eees 6
5. Back of Escondido Irrigation District Dam. ....... 0... cece cece eee eee 8
6. Plans and Profiles of Escondido Dam .. ........ eee e eee eee cette eens 10
7. Details of Outlet Gate of Escondido Dam........... 0. eee cece eee eee 11
8. Contour Map of Escondido Reservoir.... 0.00... cece eee cee eee 13
9. Construction of Wood Facing of Escondido Dam... ........... 0.00 eee eee 14

10. General View of Escondido Dam and Reservoir........... 0.0.0.0 seen eee 14
11. Masonry Base of Steel Diaphragm, Lower Otay Dam., Cal................ 16
12. Lower Otay Dam, Rock-fill, Steel Core... 2... 0... ieee cece 18
13. Illustrating Construction of Lower Otay Dam... ... 1... cee ee eee eee eee 19
14. Anchorage of Steel Web of Lower Otay Dam.......... 0.0... ccc cece eee eee 20
15. Construction of Steel Plate Core-wall of Lower Otay Dam................ 21
16. Crest of Lower Otay Dam, showing Alinement of Steel Core............... 22
17. Contour Map of Lower Otay Reservoir ....... 0... cece eee eee eee eee ees 23
18. Plan and Sections of Lower Otay Dam ... 1.2... .. ee eee eee eee eee eee 25
19. Explosion of Great Blast, Lower Otay Dam........... eee eee cece eee eee 26
20. Barrett Dam-site, Cal., Foundation View. ....... 0. ccc cece cece een ceeeees 29
21. Morena Dam-site, Cal., Foundation View ............ ce ceceeeecececeecs 32
22. Morena Rock-fill Dam, Unfinished... 2.0.0.0... eee ee eee eee e eee 33
23. Morena Rock-fill Dam, showing Portion of Toe-wall..........cccceeeeeees 34
24. Map of Reservoir Locations in San Diego County, Cal... ........0ceeeeeee 34
25. Profile of Chatsworth Park Rock-fill Dam, Cal... ..........ceeeeeeeeeeees 35
26. Plan, Sections, and Elevation of Castlewood Dam, Colo............00s000- 38
27. Castlewood Dam, during Construction .............. 0. cece eee cecereeeees 39
28. General View of Castlewood Dam and Reservoir ........-.ccccceeceeees 40
29. Castlewood Dam after First Completion... .......... ccc eeeecceueeeees 41
30. Leakage through Castlewood Rock-fill Dam... ........ 0.000. c cece eee cues 41
31. Section of Castlewood Dam, after Reconstruction .............-.cecceeeee 42
32. Lake Avalon Dam, N.M. Plan of Dam and Canal.................00005 43
33. Lake Avalon Dam, N.M. Rock-fill under Construction ...............005 44
34. Lake Avalon Dam, N.M. As Originally Completed..................000- 45
35. Lake Avalon Dam, N.M. Canal Head-gates. ........ cc .ceceeeeeeceeee 46
36. Lake Avalon Dam, N.M. Quick-opening Spill-gates.............000 0005 47
Xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIGURE PAGH
37. Sections of Lake Avalon and Lake McMillan Dams... ........-.0000- eee AL
38. Map of Pecos Valley, N. M........ cece ccc e cece e ence eee ece cece eeeenees 48
39. Sketch of Pecos Valley Canals ........ 02... cee cece cence cence eee eeeens 49
40. Cross-section and Longitudinal Section, Walnut Grove Dam, Ariz....,..... 54
41. General View of Walnut Grove Dam and Reservoir ...........eeeeeeeaaee 55
42. East Canyon Creek Rock-fill Dam, Utah ........ 2... cece cece eee eee eens 62
43. Balanced-valve Reservoir Outlet, Lake Cheesman Dam, Colo. ............. 63
44. Plan and Section, Bowman Dam, Cal., Rock-fill Timber Crib.............. 66
45. Plan and Section, Fordyce Lake Beck: fill Dam, Cal... ........ 0... cece eee 67
46. Map of Milner Dam, showing Location of the Three Channels, closed by

Separate Dams, forming One Complete Structure............. facing page 68
47. Great Battery of 99 Waste-gates, Milner Dam, Idaho... ...............6. 71
48. “Irrigation Falls,” formed by Discharge from Waste-gates, Milner Dam,

Tdaho: viene nox ieviad acensetac Gitiiats we edinevaeg shane hoes BOS a ees 71
49. North Channel Dam, Milner, Idaho, during Construction... .............. 72
50. Milner Dam. Divers at Work placing Sheet-piling in 40 Feet of Water...... 72
51. Milner Dam, Snake river, Idaho, showing Rock-fill with Wooden Core-wall,

before Earth Sluicing began « «.0:...¢.545 099 vata eae eieon sare arate eee A Saree 73
52. Milner Dam. Near Viewof Some of the Waste-gates, showing Travelling Hoist 73
53. First Opening of Head Gates, Twin Falls Canal, Idaho, at Milner Dem ..... 74
54. Plan of dam, waterway and-Waste Tunnel for the Zufidam....facing page 74

55.

56.
57.
58.
59.

60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.

73.
74.

75.
76.

V7.

78.

Down-stream Face of Zufii Dam, N. M., showing character of Dry Masonry
inthe Rocke :44 ovosde ts ce ead ee evar tere wesc wea eee we Aes 76
Hydraulic-fill Side of Zufii Dam, showing Gravel Cover of Stone Rip-rap. . 76
Zuni Dam, N. M., showing Spillway Channel and Guard-wall in Foreground 77
Section of Zufi Det INS, Mie Sestanas af aediie.t anita e gtnelew gated Miata Melia coleraiahiautes sabe 77
Zui Dam, N. M., illustrating Method of Delivering Sluiced Material by

HON OD WMG) tos send eto Celede SV ama haa wee oa we bogies MAG Ey RR a Ree 78
Zuii Dam, N. M., showing Hydraulic Monitor at Work ................ i. 78
Minidoka, Rock- fill- Hydraulic-fill Dam, Idaho ...... 0... eee eee eee eee 80
Section of Alfred Dam, Maine ............ 00. cece cece eee e eee e tenes 81
Alfred Dam, Maine. Down-stream Face of Rock-fill................0000 82
Double-jointed Hydraulic Giant or Monitor... 0... ec cece eee ee eee ee eee ees 88
Deflecting Nozzle of Hydraulic Giant... 6... eee eee eee eee eee 88
Plans and Cross-sections of San Leandro and Temescal Dams, Cal.......... 90
Hydraulic-fill Dam at Tyler, Texas. ......... 6002 e eee ee eee eee ee eee 91
Hydraulic Sluicing with Pumped Water at Tyler, Texas...............-.. 92
General View of Sluicing on Tyler Hydraulic-fill Dam .............--..-4- 95
La Mesa, Cal., Hydraulic-fill Dam. View of Completed Dam. ............. 96
La Mesa Dam in Course of Construction .........0... 000 e eee ee ee eee eee 97
La Mesa Dam, showing Core-wall Trench, and Beginning of Hydraulic

SST OTS saa e bcaetanct a elialie4 ods Se SUAS c aeehcaugs sis a @ de Madandbyh wlanes Souk BG a ae el 100
Details of Outlet-gates and Well-culvert of La Mesa Dam... ......-..+++- 101
La Mesa Dam, illustrating an Unsuccessful Method of suspending Delivery-

pipe trom: Cable. xiaanees Ae ened sate ees eh ES h eR Re eS 103
Cross-section of La Mesa Dam, showing Theoretical Distribution of Materials. 104
La Mesa Dam, showing Distribution of Material through Pipes laid on

Trestles. . si tdesee . 105
Crane Valley: Dawnsite. Ga, ‘ dowine ‘Outines of ‘Hydraulie-All. ‘Dans. as

Paasche ek iss, deters Rees oe ao es BO wa as 106

View of Crane Valley Dam-site, Cal... ...... eee c cece ce eeteneee toot sxe L107
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

o

FIGURE

79.
80.

81.
82.
83,
84.
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86.
87.
88.

89.
90.
91.

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108.

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112.

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114.

115.

Crane Valley Dam, showing Wooden Fence or Central Core, built up from

Base about 30 Feet in Height... 0.0.0... eee
Crane Valley Dam, showing Discharge of Sluiced Earth at End of Conveying-

MUIMESS, a: ¢:-5 4, als Aectanend ais. & bana ape tmmniee Gidnayeanadt oo wien teeta ge ead ale inant oa. Gala aa Ec
Crane Valley Dam, showing Hydraulic Giant at Work .................005
Crane Valley Dam. General View, showing Borrow-pits in Distance.......
Plan of Lake Frances Hydraulic-fill Dam... ...........000005- Jacing page
Break in Original Lake Frances Dam... .... 02... ee eee eee
Near View of Bank exposed by Break in Lake Frances Dam ..............
Toe Levee of North Face of Lake Frances Dam...............-.20 00000
Dome over Gate Chamber and Outlet Culvért, Lake Frances Dam..........
West End of Lake Frances Dam, showing the Break Restored by Hydraulic

Sluicing, the Higher Dam nearly completed, the Giant in Operation. and

the Supply-pipe to Pumps... 2.0.0.0... 00. c cece cert e ene e eens
Hydraulic Giant in Action, Undercutting the Bank....................04,
Beginning Reconstruction of Lake Frances Dam............-..-.00000000e
Pumping Station, Lake Frances Dam, showing Temporary Dam for holding

Water pumped over and over .......... 0.00 cece cece ete ene ees
Lake Frances Dam, showing Main Flume and Laterals for Distributing

Sluicéd Materials. cic. sue veer hastens am herman ee tee ves Bee ce
Sections of Waialua Dam, Hawali............. 0... c ccc cece cece ene
Contour Plan of Waialua Dam, Hawaii...........0 000000. e ee eee ees
Waialua Dam, showing Trestle from which Rock-fill was built, and Hydraulic-

Al Sluiced Againstltis, ca. ecceed seg se ened dae Pe eve eee ac eee ws
Rock-fill Face of Waialua Dam ............... 00 cece eee eeeeees
Temporary Outlet Tunnels for Flood Discharge, Waialua Dam. ...........
Rip-rap over Hydraulic-fill Waialua Dam ...... 1.2... eee eee
Waialua Dam, looking Down-stream through Dam-site
Nuuanu Dam, Honolulu, showing Toe of Rock-fill
Plan and Sections of Terrace Dam, Colo... ........ 00.0.0 cece cece cece
Terrace Dam, Colo., showing Deposit of Sluiced Material on Up-stream Toe,
. about 70 feet above Base... 2.0... . 0.2 eee cee etc ete e eens
Hydraulic Sluicing on Terrace Dam, Colo . 2.0.0.0... 2. cece eee
Terrace Dam, Colo., Down-stream Slope, illustrating Gradation of Material

from Coarse to Fine toward Center... 00... ... cc cece eee eee ee eee eee
Terrace Dam, Coio., Deposit on Up-stream Toe.......... 2... e eee eee
Waste or Overflow Flume for Flood Discharge on Unfinished Terrace Dam. .
General View of Terrace Dam, Hydraulic Filling and Monitor in Operation. .
Santo Amaro Dam, Brazil, showing Plan of Distribution of Hydraulic

Sluiced Materials? .oi0s2.¢5 sguvesdet caw ee gee bee ek oe ose Sales pe
Santo Amaro Dam, General View from Up-stream Side .............000005
Hydraulic Monitor at Work, on Santo Amaro Dam, Brazil, delivering 8 sec-ft.

under 85 lbs. Pressure, through 4-inch Nozzle .............-00e0eeeeeee
Upper Toe Filling on Santo Amaro Dam, showing Lateral Flumes..........
Cross-section of Necaxa Dam, Mexico, showing Dimensions, Cut-off Trenches,

and Theoretical Distribution of Materials ..............0 cece cen eeaee
Contour. Plan.of Necaxa Hydraulic-fill Dam, Mexico............ facing page
Looking Up-stream through Gorge at Site of Necaxa Dam, showing Stripped

Slopes prepared for the Dam. ........... 0... cece cece eee eee te eene
Necaxa Dam, Hydraulic Monitor working under 180 Ibs. Pressure, with 6-inch

Nozzle, delivering 30 sec-ft. of Water. ....... 0... c cece ee eee eee eee

xix

PAGE

110
111
113
115
115
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118

119
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122

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129
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133
133
135
135
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140

141
142

143
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147
148

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152

153

154
xx LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIGURE PAGE
116. Necaxa Dam, Mexico. View from Pit with Monitor at Work, looking along
Up-stream Toe, January 1, 1908 ....... 0. eee cc cee nee 155
117. Necaxa Dam, Hydraulic Sluicing under High Pressure in Limestone and
Uae Rock ws ssaaads aes sae dee anhalt eaies a eae din eS 156
118. Stone carried through Flume to Up-stream Slope of Necaxa Dam. ......... 157
119. Measuring a Stone carried by Water through Flume to Down-stream Toe
of Necaxa Dam................-..- Heston ty Loi apg wom aa gue ayn Secor ee esos 157
120. Lower Toe Slope of Necaxa Dam, showing Masonry Revetment..........- 158
121. Illustrating Construction of Down-stream Slope of Necaxa Dam, showing
Flume, and Materials Delivered .. 00.0.0... ccc ccc eee cece eens 158
122. Lower Toe of Necaxa Dam, at Height of 85 feet, January 1,1908......... 159
123. Necaxa Dam, showing Pond on Crest, and Reservoir Partly Filled. looking
Wp sbe ak Oss sie cend ev seas B aecvean ces aches AMAA are acne Nahed harass ae ROG EIS 160
124. Necaxa Dam, Up-stream Slope, looking toward Sluicing Pit and SpillwayGap. 161
125. Necaxa Dam, showing Portion of Concrete Core-wall, on South End. Also
Overflow Drainage Pipe sc sno eareegie weeds Sei acne ng wake ae we gla 162
126. Lower Toe of Necaxa Dam, showing First Delivery-trestle, and Pipe originally
ised for Carrying ROC 2 sie cie 5 «iecuelae ard ores aus, srelds aunlbaa decade dissed tna se aaseie 163
127. Hydraulic Sluicing at Necaxa Dam, during Visit of Am. Soc. C. E. Conven-
tion, June; 1907 si csasceind Seana sae evade adn Kanes Sas Slaw gia 164
128. Necaxa Dam, Up-stream Toe, as it appeared October 26, 1907, showing Two
Lines of Flume and Hydraulic Elevator in Operation................6.. 165
129. Necaxa Dam, Up-stream Toe, December 9, 1907............0 20: e eee ears 166
130. Hydraulic Sluiced Material delivered through Pipes to Acatlan Dam, Tenango
River; Mexieo igcivis aie csnaed ota 3 Fen eee eae aes SN Pa RUN Gree Rae Mere 168
131. Ground Sluicing at Acatlan Dam, Mexico ...... 0... eee cee eee eee eens 168
132. General View of Pipe Distribution to Acatlan Dam.............. eee eee 169
133. Acatlan Dam, as completed, July, 1906............ 0. cee eee eee eee ee 169
134. Yorba Dam, Cal., Hydraulicking an Earth Bank with Water pumped ehnouglt
l-inch Nozzle mingles 25: ADS: PLeSSULE is. cin cbt te onde Dp irgceieiane Geined Aiea a 173
135. Yorba Dam, Cal., showing Discharge of Pumped Earth and Water along
Upsstreant Toe. levee hacer «das da hua iandeecateae Soak Pemenan waa eReN 173
186 Silver Lake Dam, Los Angeles, Cal., showing Sluicing of Earth to Pump,
and thence to Dam through a Booster Pump...........--...e eee e eee 175
137. Hydraulic-fill Dam at Croton, Mich., during Construction ................. 178
138. Flumes and Trestles used at Croton Dam.... 1... 6... ce cee eee ee 178
138a. Map of Little Bear Valley Reservoir ..........-------s esse eee facing page 180
139. Improvised Hydraulic Monitors used in Hydraulic Sluicing at the Croton
Dam, Mich, vuncevens eucdys eed ecru eee el iem yeas hen gays 181
140. Hydraulic Sluicing Canadian Pacific Railway. View of Pit and Hydraulic
(Fi aurat Sab WOTIE see diverees Be Gale ee petted arena asdastod se wndanot alk. nenat ay dudan sale ana, S eee weg v 194
141. Hydraulic R. R. Fills partially completed, at Mountain Creek, B.C......... 195
142. Hydraulic R. R. Fills, near View of Dump under Trestle at Mountain Creek,
Be CO oniO Pe Res scou.en sci .s Wi cele se aes tee ee Me Ss eek ey Sa Be ee 196.
143. Northern Pacific Railway, Hydraulic Filling of Bridge 190................ 197
144. Northern Pacific Railway, Hydraulic Filling of Bridge 189................ 198
145. Northern Pacific Railway, Hydraulic Monitor at Work.................... 199
146. Northern Pacific Railway, Hydraulic Filling of Bridge 184... ............. 200
147. Site of Lake Cheesman Dam. looking Down-stream. ............ 0s eee eee 203
148. Comparison of Profiles of Zola, Sweetwater, and Bear Valley Dams........ 207
149. Old Mission Dam, near San Diego, Cal. The First Irrigation Dam built in

the: UnitedsStatess jesse dco Se Bie val Sale ee date SOUS aeons s eae eles 214
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xxi

FIGURE PAGE
150. Original Sweetwater Dam, as completed to the 60-ft. Contour ............. 216
151. Elevation and Sections of Sweetwater Dam, Cal.... 0.0... . cece eee eee 217
152. Face of Sweetwater Dam, in 1899, after Two Years of Drouth. ............ 218
153. Details of Tower of Sweetwater Dam........ 0... cece eee eee eee eee 220
154. Sweetwater Dam, Cal., as finished, April, 1888......... Pease eames 221
155. Sweetwater Dam during the Great Flood of July 17, 1895... ............. 222
156. Sweetwater Dam, showing Intake Tower and Bridge..................05. 223
157. Spillway of Sweetwater Dam, as rebuilt after Flood of January, 1895....... 224
158. Sweetwater Dam, showing Apron, Water-cushion Weir. and Spur-walls to
protect Pipe Line built in 1895 2... 0... cee eee eens 227
159. Flashboard Weir formed on Parapet of Sweetwater Dam after Freshet of
160. Contour Plan of Sweetwater Dam, Cal... ..... 0.00.2 cece eee 229
161. Plan and Profile of Waste-outlet Tunnel, Sweetwater Dam. Cel............ 229
162. Details of Sweetwater Dam Plans........... 0... cee cece eee eee 230
163. Sweetwater Dam, showing Head of Outlet Tunnel and Partial View of
Spillway in Background... ceeacaotmnvie va cae eats Gere A gicd a Pinte ninarelens 231
164. Six Views of Sweetwater Dam, during Flood of 1895 and after Repairs made
the same: Year's sivas nigiesseaaee seesaw 4 eked be sea ee ee es Me 234
165. Map of Lake Hemet, Conduit and Irrigated Lands............. cee e eee 238
166. Hemet Dam, Cal., from below ....... 0... cece eer cee tenes eeeeeeee 240
167. End View of Hemet Dam, showing Curvature .......... 0. ccc eee eee e eens 241
168. Contour Map of Lake Hemet Reservoir ........... 0 cee cen ceecececeevees 242
169. Plan, Sections, and Details of Hemet Dam, Cal. ....... 2... 0. cece ee eee eee 243
170. Construction Plant, Hemet Dam, Cal. ... 20... 0... cece eee eee eee 244
171. Hemet Dam, Cal., Masonry Construction . ......... cece cece cere teen eee 248
172. Cross-section of Profile of Bear Valley Dam, Cal... ......c.. eee ee eee eeee 249
173. Plan and Elevation of Bear Valley Dain ........ cece cee eee cece eee eee 249
174, End View of Bear Valley Dam, showing Curvature... .............eeeeee 251
175. Spillway of Bear Valley Dam, showing Flashboard Gates closing the Channel. 252
176. Looking Up-stream at the Bear-Valley Dam, Cal.. showing in Foreground
the Base of a Proposed New Rock-fill Dam began in 1888 but never
COMPLETE cs eees5ac 5s ce ow wALdae dade tee aunlinde. woahalsna RAG ayer eave cdeain GitecoualS Bgdasaveleney 253
177. Outline Map of Bear Valley Reservoir ......... 00sec ccc cece cee eeeeeeee 255
178. Plan of La Grange Dam, Cal... 2... ... ec cc ete cece eee e cence nes 258
179. Profile of La Grange Dam, Cal. ...... 0. cece cece eee e ee aee sNews 3 Ge 258
180. Up-stream Face of La Grange Dam, showing Curvature. ........0.00.e0e- 259
181. La Grange Dam during Construction—finishing the Crest .............0.4- 260
182. General View of La Grange Dam, Cal., showing Overflow, when Dam was
nearing Completion ..........: sec ee cece een n ete e een n eee n een eees 260
183. La Grange Dam, Cal... 1... 6c. cece tenet eee e ence ene nes 261
184. Flood Overflow, over Completed La Grange Dam...........--..--++ eee 261
185. Lower Face of La Grange Dam just about Completed, showing Low-stream
Flow through Temporary Culvert ......... 0006 cee eee eee eee nets 262
186. Folsom Dam, Cal., over American River at Folsom State Prison. Masonry
Structure built by Convict Labor... 0.0.00... 0. cece eee e eee 203
187. Plan, Section, and Elevation of Weir and Headworks of Folsom Canal,
Folsom Dam; Calis: 3sc¢0 csce bs cued een es ce 25 Caw s bean e nase os Heels wees 265
188. General View of Folsom Dam, American River ............00eeeeeeeeeete 266
189. Hydraulic Jacks used for raising Shutter on Crest of Folsom Dam.......... 267
190. Plant for mixing and delivering Concrete at San Mateo Dam, California.... 269
xxii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIGURE PAGE
191. Illustrating Construction of Intake of San Mateo Dam and showing Up-
stream, Pacei:: 23 cemasuea dn rad been eee head Meee eareaMecr Sarswe aa 270
192. Moulds for Mammoth Concrete Blocks, San Mateo Dam .................. 271
193. San Mateo Dam. Roughing Surface of Concrete Blocks to receive Fresh
COMED G5 sacs Si-0 8 de See oie yaeig ioe Gone Haeea Rae a amet ondary) BOR Ese 272
194. End View of San Mateo Dam, showing Curvature. Photo taken during
Inspection by American Society of Civil Engineers, July, 1896........... 273

195. Plans and Sections of San Mateo Dam and Map of Crystal Springs Reservoir
facing page 273

196. Excavation of Trench for Pacoima Submerged Dam... .............--45 276
197. View of Flood passing over Pacoima Subterranean Dam...............+-- 277
198. Plan, Profile, and Sections of Pacoima Dam...............0 2c cee e eee e ees 278
199. Measuring-box used by Maclay Rancho Water Co................. 00000 280
200. Agua Fria Dam, Ariz., showing Foundation Masonry ...................5. 281
201. Profiles and Sections of Agua Fria Diverting-weir and Proposed Storage
AAU ss o.o.2 ick ccke esc ah'sncy asians BPS Rea acto sh me Toa, Rien BUGS E Aare gia Oe aad Gecko eee ure MRy ohare 282
202. Diverting Dam on Agua Fria River, Ariz., practically finished, but never
Pub: Ai Service acascdeacenmaa aa ics Sea tees POA ae Gee teats Guede ts 283
203. Submerged Dam near Kingman, Ariz. (Santa Fé System) ................. 285
204. End View of Seligman Dam, Arizona, during Construction................ 286
205. Up-stream Face of Seligman Dam. ..............00. 00.0. c cece eee 287
206. Section and Profile of Seligman Dam.................. 0000 c sees 287
207. Walnut Canyon Dam, Arizona, from below.. ......... 0.000. c cece ees 289
208. Walnut Canyon Dam, Arizona, Section and Profile....................005 289
209. Lynx Creek Dam, Ariz. After Rupture by Flood........................ 291

210. Lynx Creek Dam, Ariz. Section showing Facing Walls and Concrete Ileart. 291
211. Reservoir No 1, Portland, Ore., Waterworks. Concrete Dam with Earth

LCA Oe ont sack ON oe tea sh gti ops Nae tel ch Stan ads fea a th ds alls ae Shed 293
212. Concrete Dam, Reservoir No 3, Portland Waterworks, showing Hydraulic
Power-house in Foreground ........... 00... e cece eee tenet e nee ene 293
213. Exterior View of Reservoir Dams at Portland, Ore. Dam No. 4 in Fore-
ground Dam No. 3 in Background............... 0... 294
214. Concrete Dam, Reservoir No. 3, Portland, Ore., showing Power-house below.. 295
215. Concrete Dam, Reservoir No. 4, Portland, Ore. ........... 0... cece eee eee 295
216. Reservoir No. 2, Portland, Ore., showing Aeration Fountains.............. 295
217. Masonry Dam under 640-foot Head.................0...00... Bia are serene ah 297
218 New Croton Dam, N. Y., showing Spillway in Foreground Spanned by
Bridge is iis br ke race aes Cees cama in doe Peed Stee a ed 299
219. Profile of Cross River Dam, New York City Waterworks.................. 300
220. End View of Cross River Dam, showing Construction... ................0. 300
221 Profiles of Overfall and Abutment Sections of Spier Falls Dam, N. Y....... 302
222. Ithaca, N. Y., Brick-faced Dam. End View during Construction.......... 303
223 Section of Ithaca Dam as Originally Planned............... 00.0.0 cease 304
224 Profile of Ashokan Masonry Dam, N. Y., under Construction .............. 305
225. Profile of Ashokan Earth Dam, N. Y., under Construction. ............... 306
226. Contour Plan of Wigwam Dam, Conn.............. 0... cee eee eee eee 311
227. Section of Wigwam Dam ............. 2c cece cece cence ee eeeteveees 311
228. Austin, Texas, Dam and Power-house, before the Break.................. 312
229. Austin Dam during Flood of April 7, 1900, and immediately before the
Breaky -a:o net jones evokes tes dais ot es ovis Be ens Sued oa aie cas 314

230. Austin, Texas, Masonry Dam. View from North End a Few Minutes after
they Break OCCUrr OG sy xissa seesseesce hs hesntdce foatas doe cae kee: vine eenctn Swap Sioa od Sa ses 316
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Xxiil

FIGURE PAGE

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240.
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242.
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269.
270.
271.
272.
273.
274.
275.

276.

The Broken Dam at Austin after Subsidence of Flood, showing Section of
Masonry moved Bodily Down Stream............... 00000 c cee eee ee 316

Granite Springs Dam, Cheyenne, Wyoming. End View of Completed Dam . 318

Granite Springs Dam, Wyo., showing General Character of Rubble Masonry. 319

Contour Plan and Profile of Granite Springs Dam, Wyo.............,..... 320
De Weese Dam, Colorado, from below ...............00 0000 cece eee eee 324
End View, De Weese Dam, Colo., showing Curvature... .............-.-. 324
Boonton Dam, N. J. Elevation of Spillway and Section through Main Dam. 326
Profile of Wachusett Dam, Mass. ............ 0.000 c cece eee eee 327
General View of Wachusett Dam, showing Spillway...................0.. 328
Section of Connellsville Dam. Indian Creek, Pa...................-02005 330
McCalls Ferry Weir over Susquehanna River, Pa...............-. 0000000 332
Section and Details of Forms, McCalls Ferry Dam, Pa.......... facing page 332
Steel Forms and Construction Derrick, McCalls Ferry Dam................ 333
Pedlar River Dam, Va. Illustrating Concrete Block Construction ......... 335
Pedlar River Dam, Va. Longitudinal Profile, showing Air-vent Pipes to
Prevent; Vacuum... ces ca gots eet ey ds eas ce eed ates Be seats 335
Map of Roosevelt Reservoir, Salt River, Ariz., showing Sections........... 337
Plan of Roosevelt Dam, Arizona.............. 00000 c cece eee eee eae 338
Section of Roosevelt Dam, Arizona. ............0 000 c cece teens 339
Upper Otay Dam, Cal. Plan, Section, and Elevation.................... 342
Upper Otay Dam, Cal. Foundation Masonry and View of Gorge.......... 343
End View of Upper Otay Dam, showing Curvature...............--..005 344
General View of Upper Otay Dam.... ...... 2.2... eee 344
Profile of Mariquina Dam. Manila, P. I., Waterworks ................... 345
Front of Esperanza Dam, near Guanajuato, Mexico.................-.--5 348
“Presa de la Olla,’”’ or Lower Olia Dam at Guanajuato, Mexico. View of
Feast: Day Celebration: y 2.3: 24 .e:5s eau ovee es bee ed Bee eM OES BLAS frontispiece
Mercedes Dam, Durango, Mexico. General View from Below before Com-
pletion of Gate TO Wer sso. ds cp iesunsed ag aeedeeiod aly intents nodes aly tava 351
Mercedes Dam. End View during Construction... ................-0000- 353
Mercedes Dam, looking across Spillway Channel into the Reservoir........ 353
Furens Dam, St. Etienne, France. End View, showing Front............. 360
General View of Furens Dam and Reservoir...............--0 00 eee eee 361
Meer Allum Lake Dam, Hyderabad, India. Plan and Sections............ 378.
Barossa Dam, South Australia, showing Completed Dam................ 381
Plan of Barossa Dam, Australia .......... 0.0.2 eens 382°
Profile of Barossa Dam, Australia... 2.2.2.0... 0. cece eee 383.
Cataract Dam, Australia. End View, during Construction................ 385
Belubula Dam, Australia. Plan, Elevation, and Sections................. 387
Assouan Dam, Egypt, showing Discharge of Water through Sluices....... 389
Front View of Sand River Dam, Cape of Good Hope, 8. Africa............ 392
The Remscheid Dam, Germany. General View. .................000005- 394
Urft River Dam, Germany. Section .............00 000060 c cece eee eee 396.
Lennep Germany, Buttressed Dam. Plan and Elevations...... facing page 397
Lennep, Germany, Buttressed Dam. Sections showing Piers... .facing page 397
Gileppe Dam, Verviers, Belgium. General View, showing Curvature...... 400
Thirlmere Dam, England. End View, showing Curvature ................ 404.
Craig Goch Dam, Wales. End View showing Lake, Curvature of Dam, and
Spillway: over: Cresticico-secis cote eae ces aia ien Means SERS SORA 406
Craig Goch Dam, Wales. General Front View .........--...---+ees+eee 407
XXIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIGURE AGE
277. Carpa Dam, Peru. Showing Outlet Cut and Steel Bulkhead.............. 410
278. Quisha Dam, Peru. End View, showing Curvature ...........00+ 0+ eeeeee 412
279. Sacsa Dam, Peru. Typical Outlet Gates .........00. 000. cece eee ee 412
280. Huasca Dam, Peru, illustrating Bulkhead in Outlet Cut. ..............045 413
281. Autisha Dam-site, Santa Eulalia River, Peru............. 0000s serene 414
282. Autisha Reservoir-site, Peru. ........... 00.0 c cece eee eee teenies 415
283. The Ekruk Tank, Bombay, India. Plan. ............... 000 c seen eee 418
284. Ashti Earth Dam, India. Cross-section ........... 00 cee eee 420
285. “uyamaca Dam, Cal. View of Dam and Outlet Tower................+5- 424
286. Masonry Diverting-weir of the San Diego Flume Co., Cal. ..............05- 425
287. Plan and Elevation of Diverting-weir, San Diego Flume Co................ 427
288. Sample of High Trestle Construction, San Diego Flume................... 428
289. Map of Merced Reservoir and Feeder Canal, Cal... . 2.0.00. .....00. 00005 430
290. General View of Yosemite Reservoir, Merced, Cal..................00000. 431
291. Chollas Heights Dam, Cal. Sections showing Steel Core.................. 436
292. Section of Belle Fourche Earth Dam, 8S. Dakota.................-000000 442
293. Section of Cold Springs Dam, Umatilla Project, Oregon... ............... 445
294. Ash Fork, Ariz., Steel Dam, during Erection... ................0..00008 454
295. Ash Fork, Ariz., Steel Dam, showing Frame ready to receive Plates....... 456
296. Ash Fork Reservoir above Steel Dam. ............. 00. eee eee 456
297. Redridge Steel Dam, Michigan. View during Erection................... 457
298. Sections of Redridge Steel Dam, showing Computed Strains. ............. 458
299. Hauser Lake, Mont., Steel Dam. General View before Completion. facing page 459
300. Hauser Lake Dam, showing Curved Face Plates......... Ct SRR a Base 459
301. Hauser Lake Dam. Typical Sections with Computed Strains........... -. 460
302. Hauser Lake Dam. General View of Reservoir and Finished Dam.......... 461
303. Hauser Lake Dam. Up-stream Face nearing Completion ............... 460
304. Hauser Lake Dam. General View of the Structure after the Wreck of
April’ 14, 1908 4080s ci Gh etn eaten as ates Gh ew es PA ah eh eee eas »... 462
305. Hauser Lake Dam. Another View of the Ruins after Failure............. 463
306. Reinforced Concrete Dams. Typical Section, showing Resultants of Pressure
at Varying Levels of Water Surface ........00... 0.0 c cee eee 466
307. Form of Reinforced Dam Adapted to Low Heads and Hard Bottom....... 467
308. Type of Dam built on Gravel Foundations—relieved of Up-lift Pressura ... 468
309. Illustrating Passageway through Hollow Concrete Dams.................. 468
310. Section of Reinforced Dam, showing Resultants of Pressure and Computed
DURAN S22. is esenig ahs adie Sardaea Ine adel enith dog doddins lgsamtna dap dcgus akasont ace bela 469
311. Plan and Elevation of Ellsworth, Maine, Reinforced Concrete Dam........ 470
312. General View of Completed Dam at Ellsworth, Maine, showing Power-house. 472
313. A Detail of a Waste-gate Adapted for Movement by Hydraulic Power...... 493
314. Illustrating a Log Sluiceway through Reinforced Dam and its Closing
Mechanism sca esas eats bat a 8 eae eg ed et Ace See ok alee ed Sew aE 473
315. Showing Manner of Setting and Releasing Flashboards on Crest cf Hollow
WONCKECE MAINS ih oi sce oicasl hs eieusee miakeus Simbleds aleumdbnasd 4 Magih.e alive Gurcheua de adie laatets 474
316. General View of Rollway of Ellsworth Dam....... 0.0... ccc cece ecu eee 474
317. The Patapsco Dam, Ilchester, Md. General View. ............cecceceeee 475
318. Cross-section of Patapsco Hollow Dam, containing Power-house........... 476
319. Interior of Patapsco Submerged Power-house .. ...........cccecceeeceees 476
320. Floor Construction, Juniata Dam... 0. cece ne eeenees 477
321. General View of Juniata Dam, partially Finished........................ 477
322. Foundation View of Wheel-pit and Cut-off Wall, Juniata Dam............ 478
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, xXXV

FIGURE PAGE
323. View of Completed Juniata Dam, showing Water overflowing Crest........ 478
324. Section of Pittsfield Dam, showing Gate-house Contained in Center of Dam. 479
325. Longitudinal Section of Pittsfield Dam, showing Piers and Stepped Footings
ODISIOPES seteis sic. sae Pe Ra eG RS ad eR oe VO re oes AGS 480
326. View of Pittsfield Dam as Completed, from below...................-0055 481
327. Longitudinal Section of Dam 115 feet High........... 20... 00. eee eee 482
328. Section of Same, with Power-house. ............0 00sec cece eee eee 482
329, Section of High Dam planned for Subsequent Increase of Height........... 482
330. Map of Twin Lakes Reservoir-site................. 0000. eee ee facing page 484
331. Twin Lakes, Colo., Masonry Dam over Outlet, with Earth Backing on Top
Of Outlets Culverts by cis cs ceeds 4 awd ates Glas oe SO se eR en ane x 484
332. Elevation, Profile, and Sections of Twin Lakes Dam and Reservoir Outlets.. 486
333. Douglas Lake Dam, Colo., showing Dangerous Settlement Cracks.......... 492
384. Longitudinal Section of Lost Canyon Natural Dam, Colo.................. 494
335. Approximate Cross-section of Lost Canyon Natural Dam................. 495
336, General View of the Bowman Lake Rock-fill Dam, 8. Yuba River, Cal...... 498
337. End View of Bowman Lake Rock-fill Dam. ..............2.00....000000. 499
338. Dry Masonry in Face of Bowman Lake Dam................0..0.0000005 500
339. Measuring Weir in Front of Bowman Lake Dam....................00000. 501
340. Timber Crib Rock-fill Spillway of Bowman Lake Dam... ................. 502
341. Faucherie Timber Dam, and Reservoir .............. 000s cece cee eee eee 503
342. Detail of Timber Bracing of Faucherie Dam... ........ 0.0.0... eee eee eee 503
343. Front View of Eureka Lake Dam and Reservoir...............-.0000 000 505
344. End View of Eureka Lake Dam, Cal............. 0000 cee ec eet teenies 505
345. Weaver Lake Rock-fill Dam, Cal., Recent Construction ................... 506
346. Inside View of Remaining English Dam, showing Timber Lining Decayed
anid! Malling: A Partie ceccoses eseese sojaudl ya a wid dustin dcesermn Soe Radi 98d ating Sansaae ater,» 508
347. Another View of English Dam after 25 Years of Disuse................... 508
348. English Lake Rock-fill Dam, Down-stream Face...............-.00eee eee 509
349. Lake Frances Hydraulic-fill Dam as Completed ................0...00 000s 510
350. Hopkirk Wood-stave Pipe as used in Seattle, Wash.................-.04- 510
351. Showing Wear on Hopkirk Pipe after Six and one half Months Use......... 510
352. Hydraulic Mining in Regrading the City of Seattle, Wash... .............. 512
353. Opening a Street by Hydraulic Mining in Seattle. ....................00. 513
354. Delivering Spoil to build up Low Ground in Seattle...................... 515
355. General View of the Three Dams across Snake River at Milner, Idaho,
forming Headworks of the Great Twin Falls Canal..................... 516
356. The Walnut Grove Dam, Hassayampa River, Ariz., before its Destruction.. 517
357. The Granite Reef Dam, Arizona........ 0... eee cece eens 519
358. The Hinckston Run Cinder-fill Dam, near Johnstown, Pa................. 520
359. Construction of Hinckston Run Dam, showing Steel Outlet Tower. ........ 521
360. Section of Hinckston Run Cinder-fill Dam, Pa.................0..0..005. 523
361. Necaxa Dam, Mexico, taken July 1, 1908.22.00... 0. 0c cece cece eee eens 528
362. Esperanza Dam and Reservoir, near Guanajuato, Mexico................. 526
363. End View of Esperanza Dam, along Front ........... 0000s cece eee eee 526
364, Discharge End of Spillway of Esperanza Dam. .............--++eee- sees 527
365. The Spillway Channel as it leaves the Esperanza Dam................--.- 528
366. The Six Main Outlet Pipes and Gate-valves of the Esperanza Dam, Mexico.. 528
367. The Upper Olla Dam, Guanajuato, Mexico ...........6 22 ee eee eee eee eee 530
368. The Lower Olla Dam, Guanajuato, Mexico ............. eee e eee eee cree eee 530
369. Rollway from Waste Channel, Lower Olla Dam... ....-...eeeeeee seen eee 531
XXV1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIGURE PAGE
379. Detail of Front of Lower Ola Dam .......0.. 060 eee ene 532
371. General End View of the San José Dam, near San Luis Potosi, Mexico,
during Constructions sis ocacen sos Saka ea bees het BE SSAA G AEE Re Ew 533
372. One of the Two Gate Structures of the San José Dam.............-----44- 534
373. Front Face of San José Dam, and Side of Spillway Channel..............-. 535
374. Mexican Masons at Work on San José Dam... .......... 2-6-5500 e eee 536
375. Bonding of the Masonry of San José Dam... .... 2.0 es 536
376. The Santo Amaro Dam, approaching Completion ...................0.05- 537
377. Clay Core of Santo Amaro Dam, Exposed to View by Break in Levee....... 539
378. Contour Plan of Projected Japanese Hydraulic-fill Dam................-- 541
379. Section of Ikawa Dam, Oigawa River, Japan............. eee eevee eee ee 542
380. Longitudinal Profile, Ikawa Dam-site, Japan ...... 0.0... 06. e eee eee eee 544
381. Roland Park Hydraulic fill Dam, Baltimore, Md. ............. eee eeeee 546
PLATES.

1. Profiles of Foreign Masonry Dam, Colored.

2. Profiles of Foreign Masonry Dams, Colored.

3. Profiles of American Masonry Dams, Colored.

4. Profiles of American Earth Dams.

5. Profiles of English Earth Dams.

6. Profiles of English and French Earth Dams.
RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER,
AND DOMESTIC WATER-SUPPLY.

CHAPTER I.
ROCK-FILL DAMS,

THE natural fertility of resource in the American people has led to
many novel experiments in the constrnction of dams to adapt them to the
materials most conveniently available, and this has resulted in the develop-
ment of numerons interesting types. Among these the most conspicuous.
are the rock-fill dams, which may be said to have originated about the middle
of the last century in the mining region of California, where dams were
built in remote and almost inaccessible locations, to which the transporta-
tion of cement was impracticable. These were considered to be of a tem-
porary nature, where dams of permanent masonry were not warranted,
but where a water-supply for mining purposes needed to be impounded.
They began with timber or log cribs filled with loose stone. Their next.
stage was an embankment of loose stone a portion of which was laid up
as a dry wall, with a facing of two or more thicknesses of plank to secure.
water-tightness. The latter type has proven so serviceable that it is still
regarded as one of the most desirable classes of dam that can be built,
where economy is of prime consideration. In the attempt to secure a
greater degree of durability other types have been developed as follows:

1. Rock-fill dams with a vertical central core of steel plates, protected
with a coating of asphaltum and burlap, and supported by thin concrete
walls on each side.

2. Rock-fill dams with a facing of steel plates riveted to I-beams Jaid
on the inner slope of the embankment at an angle varying from about 20°
off the vertical to about 45°, the wall being hand-laid to a sufficient thick-
ress to give requisite stability.

3. Rock-fill dams, with face of masonry, built vertically or slightly
inclined, backed with earth or rock, and protected on the lower slope by
a covering of stone laid in mortar.

4. Rock-fill dams with facing of Portland cement-concrete, either re-
inforced with steel rods or expanded metal, or without such reinforcement.

5. Rock-fill dams with facing of earth.
be: RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

6. Rock-fill dams with inner core-wall of wood, faced with earth sluiced
in position, filling the voids in the rock above the wood partition; gener-
ally called the ‘combination roek-fill and hydraulie-fill dam.”

7. Roek-fill with facing of concrete.

Existing examples of these various types and their variations will be
considered in the following pages.

The Escondido District Dam, California.—I ew of the irrigation districts
organized in California under the well-known Wright law have been suc-

 

 

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Fic. 1.—Map oF Esconpipo I[rRIGATION Districr AND SYSTEM OF Works.

cessful in accomplishing the purpose of their organization, and many
disastrous and Jumentable failures have to be recorded in the practical
operation of a law which, at one time, was looked upon as a wise and
feasible measure for the general irrigation of the arid Jands of the States.
Amony the very few that succeeded in selling bonds and constructing a
storage-reservoir and distributory system is the Escondido district in the
northern portion of San Diego County. The district (Fig. 1) is in a valley
whose description is implied by its Spanish name, Escondido—hidden. It
is surrounded by mountains and embraces 13,000 acres. ‘The storage-dam
supplying the district is located on the Von Segern branch of San Elijo
THaO’ AO AGIG AHL NO TYNYY)

 
4 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Creek, which passes through the town of Escondido. It is about two miles
east of the district at its nearest point, and at an elevation of 1300 feet
above sea-level, or about (50 feet above the town.

The immediate watershed tributary to the reservoir measures about
S sqnare miles, which in that region affords insuflicient run-olf to fill the
reservoir, although adding materially to it at times of heavy rainfall.
lfence the main supply had to be brought to it from the San Luis Rey

tiver, the nearest stream to the north, by a conduit which taps the river at

an altitude of 1600 feet, in a wild, rocky canyon, which is almost inaccessi-
ble by reason of its ronghness. The conduit has a capacity of 28 second-
feet, and is 5.6 miles long, consisting of 67,287 feet of ditch built along the
rngged mountain-side (see Fig. 2), 14,142 feet of flume, and S06 feet of
tunnel. The intake is made by a tunnel 356 feet long, heading in the river
3 feet below low-water level, while at the other end the rim of the reservoir-
basin is pierced by a second tunnel 450 feet long. ‘This tunnel discharges
into a ravine leading down to the dam, 34 miles below. The intake tunnel
is cut through solid granite, which is excavated below grade at its lower
end to form a settling-baain, in which sand accumulates at the rate of about
1000 cubic feet daily. This is slaiced back into the river by the opening of
a side outlet-gate. By this means the water of the conduit is kept com-
paratively clear and but little sediment has accumulated in the reservoir.

The upper 8000 feet of the conduit consists of a flume (lig. 3), sup-
ported on posts on the sides of a rugged canyon, which in places presents a
vertical face of considerable height. The lumber of this flame was hauled
by a roundabout road to a bluff on the opposite side and 600 feet above the
river-bed, whence it was transported by a wire cable with a span of 1500
feet by means of a trolley manipulated by hand windlass and rope. At
other points the lumber was hoisted to the line by horse-power, by means
of a car and portable track several hundred feet in height. ‘I'he flumes
are mainly 4 feet wide by 3 feet deep, and the ditch is excavated with a
bottom width of 5 feet and side slopes of 1 on 1, the minimum excavation
on the lower side being about 3 feet. The formation throughout that
region is granitic, partially decomposed, the disintegration of the rock
forming a few feet of soil, from which protrude large bowlders of very hard
granite embedded in softer rock im sitlu.

The total cost of the conduit was $116,528.60, or $1.29 per foot for
construction and engineering, and 12 cents per foot for right of way, com-
missions, ete. The conduit is capable of filling the reservoir to its present
capacity in a little over sixty days when running to its full capacity.
Should the dam be completed to the height of 110 feet as it has been pro-
jected, the conduit would require to run full for rather more than six
months to fill the enlarged reservoir.

Tn seasons when the precipitation exceeds 20 inches the run-off from the
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 5

immediate watershed above the dam is alone expected to fill the reservoir
as at present constructed. For the preservation of the main conduit, of
which nearly 20% is wooden flume which should be kept wet for proper
maintenance, it would be desirable to maintain a flow of water through it
the entire season. For this purpose the construction of an auxiliary reser-

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 3.—FEEDER CONDUIT OF EscONDIDO [RRIGATION DISTRICT.

voir at the head of the conduit is regarded as one of the most desirable of
the projected improvements to the system. A very capacious reservoir-site
exists at Warner’s Ranch, 15 miles above the head of the canal, where the
drainage of 210 square miles of watershed may be impounded. A much
greater volume of water can here be stored than would be needed by the
district. In fact the capacity of a reservoir with a dam 100 feet high at
this point would be 193,200 acre-feet, covering 5535 acres, which is far
beyond the probable yield of the watershed in years of maximum rainfall.
6 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

A cross-section of the dam-site is shown in Fig. 177, where the width of the
site at 100 feet is seen to be but 590 feet. A more modest dam of earth,
36 feet high, to hold 30 feet depth of water and to impound 6400 acre-feet
in a reservoir covering 740 acres, would serve all the requirements of the

 

 

 

Fig. 4.—Esconpipo IRRIGATION DAM, LOOKING NORTH, SHOWING SPILLWAY.

district and at moderate cost, provided the land is obtained at reasonable
rates.

The Escondido dam is of the ordinary type of rock-fill, with facing of
redwood plank. In this respect it resembles the mining dams of northern
California, although the use of redwood has given the facing a longer life
than the more perishable pine used in the North. This structure appears
to have been built with unusual care, and though ragged and unfinished in
appearance, it is of ample dimensions for the pressures it withstands and is
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 7

reasonably water-tight. It is 76 feet high, 380 feet long on top, 100 feet
on bottom, with a base of 140 feet, and a thickness at the crest of 10 feet.
A spillway has been excavated at the north end on the right bank of the
Teservoir, in solid rock, 25 feet wide, its bottom being at the 71-foot
contour, or 5 feet below the crest of the dam. This is left open and
unobstructed, although it hus been customary near the end of the rainy
season to build a barrier of sand-bags across it in order to impound a greater
depth of water, after the danger of floods is presumed to be over.

The slopes of the dam are 4} to 1 on the water-face, and on the back
1 to 1 for half the height, flattening to 14 to 1 from mid-beight to base.
The cubical contents are 57,159 cubic yards, of which 6000 yards were
hand-laid in courses of dry rubble on the face, the thickness of the wall
being 15 feet at bottom, and 5 feet at top. The remainder consists of
loose, angular blocks of granite, of all sizes up to 4 tons weight (Fig. 5),
which were loosely dumped from cars and placed to some extent with
derricks. No small quarry-spawls or earth were used, and the result is a
clean rock-fill, which has not settled more than three inches since its final
completion. No large ledges affording well-defined quarries of any con-
siderable extent were uncovered in the course of construction, but all the
material was taken from scattered bowlders and rock-masses protruding on
either side of the canyon above and below the dam for a distance of 800
feet. Temporary tramways were built at different levels on either side, as
the dam rose in height, so arranged as to permit the cars to run to the dam
by gravity, the empty cars being hauled back by horses. These tracks were
carried across the dam on elevated trestles, the posts of which remain buried
in the embankment. This arrangement involved the pushing of the cars
across the trestle by hand, which was a slow and expensive process. The
entire method of work was costly and inconvenient compared with the
modern systems of cableway transportation of such materials.

In stripping the foundations bed-rock was found about 4 feet below the
bed of the creek, nearly level across the canyon from side to side. The top
soil was removed over the entire base of the dam and the filling of rock
placed directly upon the granite foundation. The bed-rock was of the
formation described as prevailing along the main conduit, which is a
common characteristic of southern California, and consists of disintegrated
granite holding hard bowlders indiscriminately through it. The formation
is not impervious to water, and for that reason is not considered a desirable
or satisfactory foundation for a heavy masonry dam because of the resultant
upward pressure on the base due to that condition, but for a rock-fill strue-
ture of this class it is unobjectionable. Into this bed-rock a trench was
excavated at the upper toe of the dam, from 3 to 12 feet deep, which was
refilled with rubble masonry 5 feet thick, laid in Portland-cement mortar.
Into this masonry was embedded the plank facing, which was thus
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 9

connected all aronnd the toe with the canyon walls and bed. The dry wall
forming the upper face of the dam was so laid as to embed in its surface a
series of redwood timbers, 6’’ x 6” in size, placed in vertical parallel lines,
5 feet 4 inches apart between centers. These timbers projected 2 inches
beyond the face of the wall, and the planks were spiked to them. As each
row of plank was put in position, beginning at the bottom, concrete was
rammed into the 2-inch space between the plank and the face of the wall,
giving a fall bearing for the plank throughout. ‘This provision was
certainly a wise one, and so far as the writer is informed was never employed
before in the dams of this class previously constructed. On the lower third
of the dam the facing plank are 3 inches thick, on the middle third
2 inches, and on the upper third 14 inches, all being doubled throughout.
Joints were broken as far as possible, both at the vertical and the horizontal
seams, by the second layer, and they were calked with oakum and smeared
with hot asphaltum.

Springs of water were developed in the excavation of the foundation to
the extent of 30,000 to 40,000 gallons per day, constant flow. These were
led ont by pipes to the outer toe. The leakage through the dam when
filled to the 47-foot level was found to be 130,000 gallons daily, exclusive
of the springs. This increased to 450,000 gallons daily when the reservoir
filled to the top. It is not known whether this leakage comes through the
joints of the facing or percolates through the disintegrated granite beneath
the dam. Whatever may be its origin, it is entirely harmless as far as can
be observed, and is not a source of anxiety. In the winter months when
irrigation is not required this leakage-water is used for domestic service,
and the whole of it is at all times picked up by the diverting-dam and
carried into the distributing system. Hence it occasions no direct loss of
water. While this amount of leakage would be dangerous to an earth dam,
and even in a masonry structure would indicate the existence of an upward
pressure that might endanger its stability if the section were too light, yet
in a work of this nature the drainage through the open, loose rock is so
perfect that the gravity of the mass is not lessened or disturbed by it, and
no serious consequence can be anticipated.

The facing-planks have been carried up 3 feet higher than the top of
the rock-fill as a wave protection, so that the extreme crest is 9 feet above
the floor of the spillway as shown by the section illustrated in Fig. 6.

The outlet was originally designed to be controlled by means of a tower,
the foundations of which were laid at the upper toe of the dam near the
south end, but the plan was changed and a grating placed over the base of
the unfinished tower a few feet above the gate covering the outlet. The
gate is of cast iron with brass facings, set in a frame, also faced with brass,
and bolted to the cast-iron outlet. It is set at the incline of the upper
slope and is controlled by a long rod resting in guides at frequent intervals,
 

Profile of Rock-Ffil/ Dam e

 

  
  
    

VERTICAL SCALE

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10 Fie 6.—PLans anD PROFILES oF Esconpipu Dam.
ROCK-FILL DAMS. il

fastened to the wooden facing, and leading to a worm- gear placed at a con-
venient height above the top of the dam (Fig. 7). The outlet-pipe is 24
inches in diameter, consisting of a cast-iron elbow connecting with vitrified

 

Fig. 7.—DETAILS OF GATE OF EsconpIpo Dam.

sewer-pipe of ordinary weight, laid in a trench cut in the bed-rock and

embedded in concrete, which covers it fully 12 inches in depth.
The total cost of the dam under the contract. was $86,946.21, or $27.82

per acre-foot of reservoir capacity below the spillway level. The land for
12 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the site cost in addition $23,112.88, including clearing. The total cost
was therefore $110,059.09, or $38.41 per acre-foot of capacity. The
prices paid were unusually high for such work, and were the following per
cubic yard: earth excavation, 30 cents; rock excavation, $1.10; rock-fill,
$1.50; dry stone masonry, $3.75; rabble masonry in cement mortar, $8;
concrete, $14; lumber, $50 per thousand feet board meagnre.

The detail of this work is given with special fullness, as it is the first
rock-fill dam to be constructed in California for irrigation storage, and is
of a type which is likely to be employed quite commonly in the future in
localities better adapted for its use than in this particular case, where
stone was comparatively scarce in the immediate vicinity of the dam.

The works of the district summarize in cost as follows:

Main feeder conduit......................2...... $116,328.60
Dati and TESeHVOll cs css5e vassie sae eevedadeeuw ees 110,059.09
DistTibUtlon Sy stO Minos sascwocie meen be eed ews 85,727.80

DOTA sc ccncrypena ee dong na iegaieeaieeey abel 25 1549

The catchment of the reservoir has been approximately as follows:
1895, 48 feet depth= 880 acre-fcct ,
1896, 60 ‘‘ fC = 4925 "

1397, 74 §* §€ = 3700 vt

1898, 59.5 ‘‘ «= 1000 a

1899,47 ‘f ‘f = 830 ue

Total: cisco aes 8335 acre-feet, or an average of 1667 per annum,

Lower Otay Rock-fill Steel-core Dam, California——One of the most
interesting of all the rock-fill types of dam yet constructed is located on
Otay Creek, San Diego County, California, 22 miles southeast of San
Diego, 10 miles back from the coast, and not more than 5 miles from the
Mexican boundary-line. It forms the lower one of a series of four
mammoth dams projected by the Southern California Mountain Water
Company, to impound water for the municipalities of San Diego and
Coronado and for the irrigation of an extensive area of frostless mesa lands
adapted to citrus-fruit culture, reaching from the Mexican border north-
ward to San Diego, including the peninsula of Coronado, and for the
domestic supply of the villages and towns within reach of the distributing
system to be built from the reservoir. The Lower Otay dam was com-
pleted in August, 1897.

The Otay Creek, at the point selected for the dam, cuts through the
great dike of porphyry which traverses San Diego County from north to
south nearly parallel with the coast-line. ‘lhis dike in places is 10 miles
or more in width, and at others less than 1 mile, and occupies the middle
ground between the granite formation lying east of it, and the mesa forma-
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Fic. 10.—Esconpine (Cau.) Rock-FILL Dam. Wooven Linine.
14
ROCK-FILL DAMS, 15

tion, which is an irregular strip of land, 10 to 15 miles wide, lying between
the porphyry dike and the shore of the Pacific. The mesa formation is
alluvial in origin; consisting of marl, indurated sand, gravel, cobbles, and
all shades of soil from clay to sandy loam, but is devoid of hard rock, while
the porphyry is an igneous rock, exceedingly tough, of high specific
gravity, without regular cleavage, but broken by numerous fine seams with
infiltration of reddish clay. The highest protrusions of the dike form the
San Ysidro and San Miguel mountains, 2500 to 3000 feet in altitude. It
is intersected by all the streams of the county that reach to the ocean,
affording sites for the Lower Otay, the Upper Otay, the Sweetwater and
La Mesa dams, and others further north that are projected. ‘'he Escondido
dam is but a mile or two east of the dike in granite formation. The Otay
dam is within a few hundred feet of the western limit of this dike, and in
fact the outlet tannel of the reservoir avoids it entirely and was excavated
through the soft brown marl of the mesa formation.

The site of the Otay dam was an ideal one for a masonry structure,
because of the satisfactory character of the bed-rock foundations, and the
abundance of suitable rock and sand at the site, while its convenience to a
port of entry rendered the cost of cement very moderate. The usual
incentive for building rock-fill dams in preference to masonry, due to their
remoteness and the high cost of freiguting cement to the site was lacking
in this case, and in fact the work was originally planned as a masonry dam.
A foundation was laid for this purpose 65 feet thick at the base, reaching
down to a depth of 31.4 feet below zero contour, and carried up to a height
of 8.6 feet above zero, with a length on top of 85 feet. A view of the work
is shown in Fig. 11.

Whether the change in plan from masonry to rock-fil: with steel core
has resulted in economy of first cost is difficult to determine, as the actual
cost of construction has not been made public, or whether there may be
grounds for regret that the change was made cannot be known until the
stability of the structure is fully tested by the lapse of time. ‘The reservoir
has never filled since the completion of the dam, and until it is filled
and remains full a considerable period without developing signs of
weakness or extensive leakage, the success of the novel design cannot
be known. Meantime the engineering profession will entertain the
liveliest interest in the development of this novel type of dam, which,
if successful, will certainly have wide application to other sites where
the choice of material has a more limited range. The credit for
originating the idea of making a rock-fill dam water-tight by inserting
in its center a web-plate of steel, filling the entire cross-section of
the canyon from side to side, and for putting it in application on a
large scale, belongs to the former president of the water company,
Mr. E. 8. Babeock, of San Diego. When this plan was decided upon a
16 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

heavy T iron was anchored to the top of the finished masonry foundation
by 1-inch bolts, set in the masonry. ‘The vertical leg of the T was punched
with £-inch rivet-holes, spaced 3 inches center to center, and the bottom
plates riveted to it. The plates were 5 feet wide, and 17.5 feet long, and
the three bottom courses were 0.33 inch thick. From 28 to 50 feet high
they are 4 inch thick, and above 50 feet they are 8 feet wide, 20 feet long,
and lessening in thickness as the top is approached. After riveting the

 

 

Fie. 11 —Masonry Founpation or LowER Oray Dam.

plates together with hot rivets they were chipped and calked on the side
next to the water, and coated with Alcatraz asphalt, F grade, applied hot
with brushes. Over this coat a layer of burlap was placed on each side of
the plates, while the asphalt was still hot. This adhered tightly to the
plate and served to hold the soft asphalt from flowing. A harder grade of
asphalt was subsequently put on over the burlap, and the whole then
encased in a rubble-masonry wall laid with Portland-cement concrete, 2 feet
thick, the steel plate being in the centre. This wall at base is 6 feet thick,
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 17

tapering to 2 feet in a height of 8 feet. The moulds for the concrete, con-
sisting of 1-inch boards laid horizontally and 2 x 6-inch vertical posts, were
left in position permanently and the rock-fill built against them on either
side. The steel core, or web-plate, was carried into the side walls of the
canyon in a trench excavated to the depth necessary to reach solid rock and
anchored with bolts leaded into the rock. ‘The end plates were not trimmed
to fit the irregular line of the rock cutting, but the masonry was widened
to a maximum thickness of 20 feet at the sides, tapering from the normal
thickness of 2 feet in a distance of about 20 feet. Fig. 14 shows the trench
on the right bank about at the 40-foot contour. The function of the wall
is to steady and stiffen the web-plate and protect it from injury from the
loose rock piled against it, and as the wooden moulds were not removed the
embankment is free to settle without injuring the concrete or the plates.

The expansion of the plates after they were riveted together, and the
obtuse angle up-stream on which they were first started, which gradually
was obliterated by an approach to a straight line toward the top of the
dam, gave them a very irregular alignment, as will be seen in Fig. 13, which
is a view looking along the top of the dam toward the left bank just before
its completion.

The dam is a loose, rock-fill embankment, lying as it was dumped,
without any portion of it, except the 2-foot core-wall, being laid by hand.
In this respect it differs from its predecessors of the same type, which have
been built with a considerable proportion of their slopes on the water-side
laid up asa dry wall. It was designed to be 20 feet wide at top, with side
slopes of 1} on 1 on each side. When work was suspended the up-stream
slope, composed of the finer grades of materials coming from the quarry,
had assumed about the slope stated, but the lower slope was steeper and
stands about 1 to 1, while the top width is from 9 to 12 feet. When
visited by the writer in September, 1899, the material excavated from the
spillway cut was being dumped on the upper slope and the top width
increased. The spillway is located some few hundred feet from the east
end of the dam, and will consist of a channel 30 feet wide, 300 feet long,
with a maximum depth of 30 feet, cut in the rock to a depth of 10 feet
below the crest of the dam. ‘The depth of water will be controlled by
flash-boards resting at an angle of 30°, between channel-iron frames placed
5 feet apart. A wagon-bridge will be built over the top of these frames,
from which fall control of the flash-boards will be had. The discharge of
the spillway will reach the creek channel several hundred feet below the
toe of the embankment.

The entire volume of stone used in eke work, approximately 180,000
cubic yards, was quarried immediately below the dam on the right bank,
and was transported from the quarry by means of a Lidgerwood cableway,
the cable having a diameter of 24 inches, and a span of 948 feet between
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Fic. 14.—SrTEEL WEB-PLATE AND ANCHOR-TRENCH AT WEst END oF Lower OTAY
Z Dam.

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22 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC,

towers, crossing the canyon diagonally, at an angle of about 60° with the
axis of the dam. The head tower was 130 feet high, the tail tower down-
stream 60 feet high, the tops being practically level, and a direct line
between them crossed the axis of the dam 260 feet above the bed of the
stream. The cableway had a guaranteed capacity of 10 tons, center load,
under which its deflection was 88 feet, or 42 feet higher than the top of the

 

 

Fie. 16.—Crest oF Lowrer Otay Dam, showing WEB-PLATE OF STEEL EMBEDDED
IN CONCRETE. DAM NEARING COMPLETION.

dam. Up to the height of 75 feet the rock dumped under the line of the
cable was distributed by means of derricks, but subsequently a secondary
cableway was erected parallel with the line of the dam, underneath the
main cable. This was anchored at each end to heavily ballasted cars rest-
ing on tracks, which permitted the cable to be shifted 30 feet, or 15 feet
either side of the center of the dam. The loaded skips from the quarry
brought to the dam by the overhead cable were picked up by the secondary
cable and carried to any point desired along the line of the dam. Tools,
materials, derricks, 35-I. P. hoisting-engines, and all other articles required
23

ROCK-FILL DAMS.

 

.—Map oF

 

Lower OTay RESERVOIR.

Fie. 17

 

 

 
24 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

to be moved from one position to another were hauled rapidly and safely Ly
means of these cableways, and not infrequently the employees preferred the
aerial journey across the canyon by the cableway to the more laborious
climb over the trails. Fig. 18 illustrates the general plan of the dam, with
a cross-section of the site and details of the outlet tannel.

Quarry.—All or the greater portion of the rock used was loosened in
the quarry by very heavy blasts, the first of which was made by driving a
tunnel 5) feet into the face of the cliff with lateral drifts, 18 and 28 feet
long respectively. In the shorter drift, 4000 pounds of Judson powder
(containing 54 nitro-glycerine) under a vertical depth of 70 feet, and in the
larger, 8000 pounds under a depth of 85 feet, were exploded simultaneously,
which resulted in loosening and throwing out about 50,000 to 75,000 cubic
yards. <A view of this blast taken at the moment of explosion is shown in
Fig. 19. The second large blast was prepared by sinking a shaft 115 feet
deep, 85 feet back from the nearly vertical face left by the first blast. At
a depth of 50 feet two drifts were run laterally a distance of 25 feet each,
and at the bottom of the shaft two more drifts, 30 and 35 feet long respec-
tively, were extended into the rock toward the face and in the opposite
direction, and the four holes thus prepared were loaded with 30,000 pounds
of powder, of which the greater portion was located in the bottom drifts.
This blast did greater execution than the first, and supplied sufficient rock
to complete the dam. Minor blasting of the ordinary class was necessary
throughout the work to break up the larger masses to sizes that could be
handled by the cableway. ‘The quarry being near the lower toe of the dam,
the first large blast filled in the toe with large bowlders, some of which
weighed upwards of 50 tons, and a subsequent freshet, pouring over and
through these rocks, scoured out the sand beneath them so as to settle them
well to bed-rock, which was a fortunate occurrence.

The watershed of Otay Creek above the reservoir is abont 100 square
miles in area, but as its average altitude is not over 1600 feet the precipita-
tion is light and the run-off insufficient to fill the reservoir except in occa-
sional years. In dry seasons there is no flow whatever. The catchment in
four years prior to September, 1899, did not exceed 5000 acre-feet. To
make up for this shortage in supply and to fill the reservoir regularly the
company is planning to divert water from Cottonwood Creek, a stream
adjoining on the south which drains an extensive region of the highest
mountains of the main range. This stream enters Mexican territory and
returns again, emptying into the sea near the boundary-line, where it is
known as the Tia Juana River. The conduit for diverting its flow will
start at the second reservoir of the system, known as the ‘‘ Barrett dam,”
at an elevation of 80 feet above the stream-bed, or abont 1650 feet above
sea-level, and be supported along the southerly slopes of Lyon’s Peak to
Dulzura Pass, where the divide will be crossed by a long tunnel, from which
 

 

  

  

  

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

   

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ROCK-FILL DAMS. 27

the water will drop into the east fork of Otay Creek an thence to Otay
reservoir. The conduit will be a trifle over 8 miles in length, and consist
of a succession of cement-lined tunnels in granite. To regulate the flow
of the stream and store additional water the company have under con-
struction two dams of mammoth size—the Barrett and Morena, the latter
having been projected as a rock-fill dam, while the former is to be a con-
crete structure of gravity type.

Spilway.—The spillway excavated at the cast end of the dam is of
liberal dimensions considering the limited run-off of the stream. It is
cut in solid rock for a distance of 400 feet, is 40 feet wide, 6 feet deep,
lined with concrete. The reservoir has never filled higher than within 15
feet of the spillway level, or 109 feet above base. This height was
reached during the winter of 1906-7. The storage at that height is about
24,000 acre-feet, or 64 per cent of the full capacity to the overflow (37,460
acre-feet). When the water reached the maximum stage a small leak
appeared below the dam, on the west end, 20 feet above the base, meas-
uring about 225,000 gallons per day.

Outlet Tunnel.—There are no pipes or outlets through or under the
dam proper, and the only outlet provided isa circular tunnel through a
narrow part of the enclosing ridge 1000 feet west of the dam. ‘his tunnel
is 1150 feet long, the bottom of which is at the 45-foot contour. Below
the tunnel-level, therefore, as will be seen by reference to the table of reser-
voir capacities in the Appendix, there remains a volume of water of approxi-
mately 2000 acre-feet (652,400,000 gallons), covering nearly 160 acres af
surface which can never be drawn off. The material encountered in this
tannel was a brown hard-pan, resembling marl, and cemented gravel, both
bone-dry. The western limit of the porphyry dike is between the tunnel
and the dam. For 500 feet from the inner heading the tunnel was lined
with concrete to aclear circular diameter of 5 feet, the lining being 12 to
18 inches thick and plastered with cement mortar. At the end of this
section a shaft, 104 feet in depth, reaches to the surface. Below this shaft
a 48-inch riveted steel pipe is laid to the outside, and the entire annular
space between the pipe and the walls of the tunnel is filled with concrete,
with a minimum thickness of 12 inches. This pipe was put together in
sections of 38 inches in length, stovepipe fashion, the insertion at each
joint being 2 to 3inches. The joints were driven as closely as possible, but
owing to the sag of the pipe and the absence of careful ramming of the
concrete at the bottom of the joint it was found on completion that there
were cavities which rendered it impossible to calk the joints from the inside
and make them water-tight. As it was desirable to utilize the fall depth
of the reservoir pressure on the conduit outside the tunnel, it was essential
to stop the leakage in the pipe lining of the tunnel, and a plan was de-
vised by H. N. Savage, M. Am. Soc. C. E., consulting engineer of the
28 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

company, to do this by means of threaded “ patch-bolts,” tapped into the
joints at intervals of 3 inches, thus drawing the plates together. When
this was done cement grout was pumped into the cavities at one
of the bolt holes, an inside band was inserted covering the heads of the
patch-bolts, and the space filled with cement. The location of this tunnel-
outlet through the hill saved a mile or more of pipe-line through the canyon
from the dam, although the latter might have been cheaper. The main
conduit from the reservoir to San Diego consists of a 36” and 42” wood-
stave pipe, 20 miles long, operating under a maximum head of 391 fet

and terminating in the city reservoir, on University Heights.

The Barrett Dam.—The middle one of the chain of three great reservoirs
under construction by the Southern California Mountain Water Company
is located about 40 miles southeast of San Diego, and about 6 miles north
of the Mexican boundary, at an altitude of about 1600 feet. It occupies a
singularly valuable strategic position, as it is the lowest feasible reservoir-
site on the stream from which water can be conveyed by gravity conduits
without passing through Mexican territory. Itis also at the lowest elevation
‘from which water can be distributed to the most valuable mesa lands
adjacent to the coast, and at the same time it is low enough on the stream
to receive the run-off from the greatest area of mountain watershed avail-
able for any reservoir in southern California. ‘This area is abont 250 square
miles. The precipitous and rocky character of this watershed insures a
‘maximum average run-off and catchment in years of normal precipitation.

In 1897 the company erected a masonry dam, shown in Fig. 20, 72
feet in height from its base, which is 22 feet below the stream-bed, to its
top 50 feet above. This structure rests on solid granite bed-rock through-
out, and is 14 feet thick at bottom, 5 feet at top, and about 30 feet long
on the crest. This was to be used simply as a pick-up weir to divert
water into the Dulzura pass conduit. Subsequently it was decided to
built a storage dam, similar in plan to that of the Lower Otay, to an
extreme height of 175 feet, and a new location was chosen about 1000
feet further down stream, where rock could be more conveniently obtained
for a rock-fill structure. Here a new masonry dam was built in 1898,
reaching to bed-rock in the stream-bed and extending about 35 feet
above, upon which to begin the sheet-steel core of the rock-fill. The
dimensions were as follows:

LenGth OR TOPs cnc cette atendegy edd winged deamon, 115 feet
Thickness at base s< a x.dscsaesscemseee ews aweaews ss 30 *f
os 1 TOD. Gloreinauviendeats sainteie oa Sake’ RGKO 13‘

Its cubical contents are 3100 cubic yards, and there were consumed in its
6z ‘USISOP (BUITTIO WII] sud Jo oFULYD aIINbar 0} sv YIdap YOns OF OWUPIZ pajeIsajzUIsIp st TMOYS 910 YOOI 9} 9Aoge Fuvq 4a] wo peuayer oy
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30 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

construction 1777 barrels of cement. An outlet tunnel, 88 feet in size,
600 feet long, has been excavated in solid rock on the right bank, at a
height of SO feet above the stream, which is the beginning of the tunnel
conduit to Dulzura Pass. Actual work upon the rock-fill portion of the
dam was never started, and after a delay of several years plans were
prepared for a dam of concrete, and work of stripping begun. This de-
veloped such soft material on the south side of the canyon above the
stream-bed as to necessitate some material modification of design, which
has not been definitely announced. The vast importance of this struc-
ture as the key to the entire system, not only for storage but for the
diversion of water, doubtless emphasizes the necessity for unquestionable
stability, and suggests the wisdom of relying upon masonry. It cannot
be claimed for rock-fill dams that they are inherently superior to masonry
or concrete structures of heavy gravity section, and they are only to be
preferred as a substitute where natural conditions render them very
much cheaper, and hence practicable for use in cases where the greater
cost of masonry would be prohibitive.

Watershed.—The tributary watershed of 250 square miles ranges in
altitude from 1600 to 6000 feet, and probably averages 3600 feet. The
mean precipitation on this shed may ordinarily be expected to be from
10 to 20 inches greater than that of San Diego, from the natural increase
due to altitude, and in some years it may be 30 to 35 inches greater,
The mean precipitation for San Diego for 40 years from 1850 to 1890
was 9.86 inches, ranging from 3.02 inches in 1863 to 27.59 inches in
1884. To fill the reservoir to the 175-foot contour will require 47,970
acre-feet (20,900,000,000 cubic feet) which would be supplied by an
average run-off of 3.6 inches from the water-shed. Under favorable
conditions this depth of run-off would be expected from an annual rain-
fall of 24 inches, and may at times be the product of but 15 inches pre-
cipitation, depending largely upon the distribution of the storms, and
the frequeney with which they succced each other. In years like 1884
or 1895 the run-off may be as great as ten times the capacity of the
reservoir, and the maximum spillway capacity to be provided may reach
40,000 second-feet.

Morena Rock-fill Dam.—The third great reservoir of the Southern
California Mountain Water Company is located 10 miles east of the Barrett
dam, on one of the two streams that unite just above Barrett, at an altitude
of 3100 feet above sea-level. It is 50 miles from San Diego, and 7 miles
north of the international boundary. ‘The dam is a rock-fill structure,
placed in a narrow canyon, cut through massive granite cliffs that tower
hundreds of feet high, on the brink of a precipitous fall or cataract, where
the stream takes a plunge of 1200 to 1300 feet in a mile of distance. This
canyon is filled with enormous bowlders throughout, and at the site of the
dam the narrow fissure eroded by the stream was found to be more than
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 31

100 feet deep below the stream-bed. Fig. 21 is a view taken of the dam-
site looking up stream, and well illustrates the character of the rock-masses
filling the gorge. The tree growing at the right of the picture is on the
line of the masonry toe-wall. This wall was carried down to the bottom of
the fissure, 112.5 feet below the general stream-bed at that point. This
wall is at the upper toe of the rock-fill, and is 36 feet thick at the bottom,
where the width between solid walls was but 4 feet fora height of 12 feet.
The widest part of the fissure was 16 feet, and at the zero contour it was
80 feet wide. At this point the thickness of the masonry was made 20 feet.
It was carried up 30 feet higher, where the thickness is 12 feet. The top
of the wall is shown in the view of the partially finished dam (Fig. 22) just
above the water-line. The upper toe of the rock-fill, which will be finished
on a slope of 14 to 1, will reach to the top of this toe-wall, and will be
covered with 5 feet of Portland cement, uncoursed rubble masonry, over
which it was intended to lay a sheet of asphalt concrete, 12 inches thick at
base and 4 inches thick on top, extending into a groove moulded in the
wall, 5 feet in depth. The plan for using asphalt concrete has been
abandoned recently and some other material will be substituted. The rock-
fill, as shown by this view, is about 80 feet high above the wall.

The canyon walls are of clean, hard granite, singularly free from fissures
and seams. The width between them is but 80 feet at the stream-bed and
470 feet at the height of 160 feet above. The sides thus have a slope
steeper than 1 to 1, or about 41° from the vertical. Had the planes of the
side slopes continued beneath the surface the maximum depth to bed-rock
would have been but 30 feet instead of 112.5 feet where it was found. The
situation is a favorable one for any type of dam, except earth, and especially
favorable for a masonry structure, although the freighting of cement to the
site would have made that class of work more costly than at the Lower
Otay. Work was begun in the summer of 1896, and by the fall of the fol-
lowing year the rock-fill had reached a height of 80 feet above the top of
the toe-wall, when work was suspended. ‘he ultimate height to which the
dam is designed to be carried is 160 feet, to hold a maximum depth of 150
feet of water, and impound 46,733 acre-feet (20,360,000,000 cubic feet).
The volume of rock in the structure, computed on slopes of 1 to 1 on the
face, and 14 to 1 on the back, will be approximately 400,000 cubic yards.
If the face is given a slope of 14 to 1, the volume will considerably exceed
this amount. ‘The thickness at base is over 800 feet, while the extreme
height of rock-fill from the lower toe down the canyon will be in excess of
250 feet. Large blasts were employed in loosening the rock for the dam in
a similar manner to the method used at the Otay dam, with the exception
that the quarries were located on each side of the canyon above the top of
the dam, in such position that much of the rock was thrown down in place
thereby and did not subsequently require removal. Dowlders weighing
‘ESVG ONIMOOT ‘ALTIS-NVQ VNANONT—'IZ Ol

 

 

 
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 33

hundreds of tons were thus deposited in the bed of the canyon and on its
slopes.

The first blast of 100,000 lbs. of powder, exploded December 26, 1896,
was estimated to have moved 75,000 cubic yards. A second blast, fired five
days later, with 80,000 lbs., did good execution, and on March 24, 1897,
the explosion of 70,000 Ibs. is reported to have loosened 100,000 tons.

The machinery assembled for the construction is said to have cost
$175,000. Two lines of Lidgerwood cableway span the chasm at a height
of 400 feet, operating from the quarries on either side. These cableways
are attached to heavily ballasted cars, supported on three lines of railway-
track on either side, with a range of movement of 100 feet each, parallel
with the axis of the dam. Powerful derricks of the most improved types

 

 

Fig, 22.—Morena Rock FILL DaM IN Process oF CONSTRUCTION. SHOWING TOP
OF TOE-WALL ABOVE THE WATER-LINE.

have been placed in convenient position, and no less than twenty hoisting-
engines have been assembled for the work.

Outlet.—The water is to be drawn from the reservoir through a tunnel,
600 feet long, cut in the granite on the south side at the 30-foot contour,
the dimensions of which are 8 x 8 feet. This tunnel is to be controlled by
a series of balanced valves to be placed at the reservoir end, while the water
is to be discharged into the canyon and flow down the channel to the
Barrett reservoir below.

Watershed.—The area of drainage intercepted by the dam is 130 square
miles, or rather more than half of that tributary to the Barrett, of which it
isa part, and ranging in altitude from 3200 to 6000 feet, averaging about
4000 feet. Both reservoirs cannot be expected to fill every year, although
there are frequent seasons when the run-off will surpass the capacity of all
34

RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETu.
three reservoirs in the system.

By providing ample storage and holding
over a large surplus every year, the
the tributary streams.

maximum duty can be obtained from

 

 

 

23.—Morena Rock-Fitt Dam, sHOWING A PorRTION OF TOE-WALL UNDER
CONSTRUCTION.

    

 
 
   
     

   
 

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Fie, 24.—RESERVOIRS NEAR San DieGo, CALIFORNIA.

Chatsworth Park Rock-fill Dam.—A structure »f more than common

interest as an example of ‘Show not to do it’? was erected on Mormon
Canyon, in the westerly part of San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Co.,
California, near the station of Chatsworth Park, in the winter of 1895-96,
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 35

for impoundir.g water for irrigation and to serve as a diverting-dam for a
conduit to carry the flood-water of the stream to a secondry reservoir of

+4

  

N
0. Fill of rock-quarry Spaw!s
; and sand

 
        

Canyon
an Ee 3 oO

 

     

 

>

Fie. 25,—SKETCH OF RECONSTRUCTION OF CHATSWORTH Park Rock-FILL Dam.
much larger capacity a short distance away to the south. Two failures of
earth dams erected at the same site had already occurred prior to the build-
ing of the dam in question, both having been overtopped and carried away
by reason of insufficient spillway capacity. The last one was swept out
shortly before beginning work on the rock-fill, chiefly as the result of bad
management. ‘The spillway had been filled with sand-bags to make the
reservoir hold a little more, and when the flood came there was no one at
hand to remove them. When the attendant finally arrived the sluice-gate
was stuck fast and could not be opened, and before any relief was afforded
the water rose over the top of the dam and washed it away, although it was
a well-built structure.

The rock-fill dam was built 41.33 feet high above the creek-bed, 10 feet
wide on the top, with sides sloping at an angle of 60°, above and below
alike, or 1 vertical to 0.57 horizontal, which gave a base width of 60 feet.
The length on bottom is 100 feet, and at top 159 feet; cubical contents,
6,025 cubic yards; area of water-face 7700 square feet, covered with
Portland-cement concrete from 8 inches thick at top to 16 inches at bottom.
The rock used for the fill is a soft sandstone, quarried on the line of the
dam at one end, 500 feet away, and 75 feet to 100 feet higher than the top
36 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC,

of the dam. The quarry-face was 30 to 40 feet high. A light trestle was
built on a sharp incline from the quarry to and across the dam, and a cable,
passing over a dram or pulley at top and with a car attached to each end,
was the means employed for transportation, the loaded cars fetching up the
empty ones. ‘The material was dumped in place promiscuously and without
selection. Some of it disintegrated and crumbled into sand when blasted,
hammered, or dropped from a few feet in height, and, as everything
loosened in the quarry was put into the fill, the proportion of sand and
earth is very large and the natural angle of repose of the mass is much
flatter than that of rock alone, and flatter than the slopes proposed by the
plans. The specifications required the slopes to be laid up two feet in
thickness as a dry wall of uncoursed rubble, but this was done in such an
indifferent manner that within two weeks after the contractor had moved
off the work more than three-fourths of the lower face-wall fell or slid
down, followed by some of the embankment behind it so as to leave the
concrete facing unsupported and its under side exposed to view for several
feet from the top of the dam. ‘The dam was not of much value for water-
tightness, as it leaked considerably with but 10 feet of water behind it.
The work was done by contract, at a total cost of abont $9000, part of which
was payable in land. After the work was done the contractor took advan-
tage of the failure of the company to comply with the California law
requiring contracts to be recorded to make them valid, and bronght suit to
recover a greater amount than the contract price. Ie succeeded in getting
a jury to give judgment for about 40% additional, while the owners have
been obliged to reconstruct the dam. This was begun on the plan illus-
trated in Fig. 25, the lower slope being hand-laid to a thickness of 4 feet,
and covered with a masonry slope-wall G feet thick, although the work is
still incomplete. This is believed to be the first case on record of a dam
falling down before the water-pressure had been applied to it.

The watershed area above the dam is about 15.5 square miles, from 1000
to 3800 feet in elevation, from which maximum floods of 700 to 800 second-
feet may be expected—snificient to fill the reservoir in three or four hours,
as the capacity is not in excess of 200 acre-feet.

The Castlewood Dam, Colorado.— The Chatsworth Park dam, just
described, bears some resemblance to the Castlewood dam erected on Cherry
Creek, some 35 miles above Denver, Colorado (which city is at the mouth
of the same stream), although the latter structure is a much more success-
ful engineering work and of greater size and importance. ‘The Castle-
wood dam was built in 1890 by the Denver Land and Water Company, for
the impounding of water for the irrigation of some 16,000 acres of fertile
mesa land lying between Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, and
extending to the city limits of Denver.

The area of watershed above the dam is about 175 square miles, from
which the run-off after severe cloud-bursts on the ‘‘divide’’ sometimes
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 37

reaches or exceeds 10,000 cubic feet per second for a short time. The
reservoir covers about 200 acres, and has a capacity of 4,000,000,000
gallons, or about 12,280 acre-feet. The dam is a rock-fill with a masonry
wall on the upper face, while the lower slope is covered in steps of 2 feet
with large blocks of stone laid in cement mortar, the general slope being 1
tol. The facing wall is of rough rabble masonry, 4 feet thick, standing
on a slope or batter of 1 to 10. The two walls are joined at the top with a
coping of large stones, forming the crest of the dam, 8 feet in width, 4 feet
thick. The geological formation at the dam-site is peculiar. The floor of
the reservoir basin is covered to a great depth with hard, blue clay, over-
lying which is a great sheet of sandstone and conglomerate rock or
** pudding-stone ’’? 100 feet or more in thickness. ‘The dam was founded
on the clay, and the facing-wall was carried down into it to a depth of 6 to
22 feet. The lower slope-wall was also founded on this clay at a depth of
10 feet from the surface. The general dimensions of the stracture are:
length at top, 600 feet; extreme height above floor of reservoir, 70 feet;
height above foundation of face-wall, 92 feet; width on top, 8 feet. The
main spillway is located in the center of the dam, and is 100 feet long by
4 feet deep. An auxiliary spillway, called a by-pass, is located at the west
end of the dam, and is 40 feet in width. The total spillway capacity thus
provided is about 4000 second-feet, while the outlet-pipes, eight in number,
each 12 inches diameter, have a combined capacity of about 250 second-
feet.

A ‘* water-cushion ’’ has been provided at the toe of the dam, to receive
the impact of the waste water pouring over the structure and to prevent
erosion of the toe. This is 25 feet wide, 200 feet long, and consists of a
rock pavement, 3 to 6 feet deep, heavily grouted at the top with cement
mortar. :

The face-wall has been reinforced by an embankment of earth placed
against it, and covered with stone riprap, 1 foot thick. This embankment
reaches to within 30 feet of the top of the dam at the outlet-tower near the
center, and rises to the full height at either extremity. The outlet-tower
is a rectangular structure, built in the body of the dam, with a central
opening of 6 x 7.5 feet reaching to the top. Into this the eight 12-inch
outlet-pipes discharge at four successive levels, 6 feet apart from the base
up, the gate-valves being placed inside the tower. From the base of the
tower the water discharges into the creek channel through a 36-inch open
pipe, made of concrete 4 feet thick, surrounding a cement pipe of standard
dimensions. The water ia picked up 13miles below the storage-dam by a
low diverting-dam, 125 feet long, and conveyed through 40 miles of canals,
with maximum capacity of 75 second-feet, to the lands irrigated and to an
auxiliary reservoir, formed from a natural depression in the plain. This
RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-PO WER, ETC.

38

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40 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

reservoir has a surface area of 60 acres and a capacity of 700 acre-feet, its
maximum depth being 16 feet.

The construction of the Castlewood dam was attended by much
opposition from the citizens of Denver, who were apprehensive of its

 

fig. 28.—Vinw or CastLEwoop Dam anp Reservoir, CoLorapo.

 

 

safety and severely criticised the plan. Unsuccessful attempts were
made to enjoin the construction, but it was finally permitted to be
completed.

On April 30, 1900, after a very heavy rainfall exceeding all pre-
vious records, the reservoir was filled, and it was reported that 500 cubic
feet per second passed over the top of the dam, and through the 40-foot
ROCK-FILL DAMS.

 

 

 

Fic. 29.—CastLewoop Dam, Coto,

 

 

 

Fic. 30.—CastLEwoop Dam, Coto., SHowinc LeakaGEe THROUGH ROCK-FILL.

41
42 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

spillway at the side, while the discharge pipes were wide open. At the
same time a large volume of water found its way through the cracks in
the masonry wall, and poured out in large streams through the rock-fill
for 10 to 15 feet above the base.

The photograph, Fig. 30, shows an enormous, amount of this
leakage, and the cause for the alarm created in Denver, which lies
directly in the path of the escaping water. That the dam was able
to withstand such a volume of leakage is a testimonial to the stability
of rock-fill dams, which in this case afforded such complete drainage as
to be unaffected by leakage that would immediately have destroyed an
all-earth dam.

Subsequently repairs were made in the manner illustrated by Fig. 31,
taken from Engineering Record.

An earth embankment, 8 feet wide on the crest, was built on the
up-stream side to the full height of the rock-fill, with slope of 3 on 1,

c--= 78% ===»

  
  

 

 

 

+—— 718" ~~»

 

 

30 Coment Pipe! 7 ‘ ee > mn

Fic. 31.—Casttewoop Dam, Coto. SEcTION AFTER RECONSTRUCTION.

faced with 12 inches of riprap. Underneath this embankment the outlet
pipe was extended from the valve chamber to the up-stream toe by
building a 40-inch woodstave pipe, surrounded with reinforced concrete
1 foot thick. This pipe connects with a steel box encased in concrete,
into which all of the eight 12-inch pipes that pass through the masonry
make connection.

The 40-foot spillway, which had been seriously damaged in the flood, was
repaired, and another one, 12 feet wide, with side slopes 1 on 1, was built
at the opposite end. The dam in its present condition, as reconstructed,
is practically a combination rock-fill and earth embankment, having a
masonry core-wall throughout, and is manifestly a safe and substantial
structure. The dam was planned and built by A. M. Welles, C.E., of
Denver, with Mr. Alfred P. Boller, M. Am. Soc. C. E., of New York, as
consulting engineer.
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 43

Pecos Valley Rock-fill Dams, New Mexico.—Two rock-fill dams with
earth facings have been constructed across the Pecos River, in the Pecos
Vallsy, New Mexico, which have boldly and successfully exemplitied a dis-
tinct type of dam that is considered to be preferable to all other rock-fills
where the proper conditions exist and suitable materials are obtainable.
One of these dams is located 6 miles and the other 15 miles above the town
of Carlsbad, N. M. They were built by the Pecos Irrigation and Improve-
ment Company.

Lake Avalon Dam.—The lower dam, designated locally as the Lake
Avalon dam, was built primarily as a means of raising the level of water of
the river in order to divert it into a canal at a safe height above the reach
of maximum floods, and at the same time to equalize the flow by providing

 

Fig. 32.—Sxercu-mar oF Dam at Heap or Pecos Canal...

a considerable volume of storage in the reservoir thus created. The
dimensions of the dam were as follows: length on crest, 1050 feet; maximum
height, 48 feet; outer slope of rock-fill, 14 to 1; width of rock base, 106
foet; crown, 10 feet. The earth facing has also a crown width of 10 feet,
making the total width 20 feet on top. The slope of the earth embank-
ment that is built against the rock-fill is 3.5 to 1, which is covered with a
revetment of loose stone 2 to 3 feet thick for wave protection. The rock-
44 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

fill before the addition of the earth facing is illustrated by Fig. 33, a view
taken during construction. Fig. 34 is a view of the finished dam, taken in
1892. The grade of the main canal leading out from the dam on the east
side of the valley is 10 feet above the base of the dam, and is excavated
in limestone to a maximum depth of 38 feet. Fig. 35 is a view of the main
canal and headgates, taken from the lower side.

 

aaa TTT

 

Fie. 33.—Lake AvALon Dam. ROockK-FILL IN PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION.

The dam was in service until August 3, 1893, when it was ruptured by
a flood-wave that was in exce’s of the spillway capacity, the maximum flood
disc arge cing 42,500 sec.-fe t. The water poured over its crest, and, as t= 1s
style of dam is not calculated to withstand such an overflow, it speedily
washed out a breach to the bed-rock over 300 feet in length. This was
immediately repaired and built 5 feet higher, at a total cost of $86,000.
The capacity of the open spillway at the west end of the dam was increased
by widening it from 200 feet to a width of 240 feet, and by cutting it 3 feet
deeper, making it begin to discharge while the water is 15 feet below the
crest. A second spillway in rock was cut about half a mile to the west of
spillway No. 1, having a length of 300 feet. In addition to these discharge-
channels the main canal below the dam is so arranged that surplus water
will begin to slop over its banks at a height of 13 feet above the bottom of
the canal, over a length of about 200 feet. By opening the headgates and
partially closing the secondary gates across the canal below, this slop-over
can be given a large capacity of discharge. Ordinarily, however, the
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 45

water-level in this section of canal is maintained to a depth of over 20 feet
above the floor of the canal by a series of thirty-one gates placed on the side
of the canal, parallel to it, and across the spillway. These gates are hinged
at the sides, and are each 5 feet 4 inch wide by 7 feet 2 inches high.
They can be opened in an emergency almost instantly by the stroke of a

 

 

Fig, 34.—Laxe AvaLon Dam, Pecos River, New Mexico. SHOWING THE CREST
OF COMPLETED DAM AND SPILLWAY DISCHARGING.

hammer upon a latch-releasing bar at each gate, when the pressure forces
them to fly open like a door. The opening can be closed above the gates
by flash-boards, permitting the closing and latching of the doors. (See
Fig. 36, taken from Engineering News, Sept. 17, 1896.) The total
capacity which the spillways now have is estimated at 33,000 second-tfeet,
while the water-level is still below the top of the dam.

The original cost of the dam was about $90,000, and the reconstruction
was therefore but little less than the first cost.

Mr. H. H. Cloud, formerly of the Colorado Midland Railroad, was the
chief engineer of the dam, with Mr. E. 8. Nettleton acting as consulting
engineer, and Mr. Louis D. Blauvelt as principal assistant. Mr. Cloud
ascribes the cause of the overtopping of the dam to the fact that the spill-
ways were choked by the débris from bridges, together with the bodies of
drowned cattle brought down by the river. Another account states that
the gate-keeper and his assistants were in Eddy at the time, indulging in a
drunken spree, and did not start for the dam until the only bridges across
46 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC,

the river were washed away, and they could not cross. When they finally
secured boats for crossing and reached the dam just before the disaster,
they were unable to open the waste-gates because of a defect in construc-
tion, since remedied. It was believed that if the lateral waste-gates along
the canal had been opened when the flood-wave first reached the dam,
the relief thus afforded would have avoided the disaster. No loss of
life was reported as a result of the flood, and but little property was
damaged.

The reservoir capacity of Lake Avalon from the floor of the canal to the
spillway-level is about 5578 acre-feet. When filled to the 23-foot level

 

 

   

Pets
Bee
mT ge
oe }

 

 

_ Fig. 35.—Canat Herapeates, Lake Avaton Dam.

it had a length of about 5 miles and a maximum width of 1.5 miles. It
submerged an area of 934 acres.

Water-tightness of Lake Avalon Dam.—The dam for some time after
completion was apparently free from direct leakage through it, although
water stood in a pool at the base of the dam, which was believed to come
from springs, issuing from the rock. From the dam down for several
miles there are springs of large volume coming out on the river-banks,
whose total flow at the stone dam at Carlsbad, as measured by the writer
in October, 1897, was approximately 90 second-feet. Since the con-
struction of the reservoir these springs are said to be increasing in number
and volume. The largest one, flowing 5 to 6 second-feet, broke out in a
new place in 1896, some 3 miles below the dam. Distinct swirls and
miniature maelstroms have been observed on the surface of both reser-
ROCK-FILE DAMS. 47

    

ENo.News.

Fig. 36.—QUICK-OPENING GATES IN SPILLWaY OF LAKE AVALON RestRvork, Pecos
Vauuey, N. M.

 

  
  
 

SURFACE OF WATER

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Fria. 37.—SEctions or Lake AVALON AND Lake McMILLAN Rock-FILL AND EARTH
Dams, Pecos Vauuey, N. M.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ven Rivers)
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GREAT DAM!
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Fig. 38.—Mapr oF Pscos Vauuey, N. M., showine Location or RESERVOIRS
AND CANALS.
48
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 49

voirs, from which it is surmised that water in considerable quantity is
thus lost through the limestone formation, and that some of the springs
are fed from this source, although many were in existence prior to the
building of the dams.

This leakage did not apparently affect the stability of the dams,
although it may have been the contributing cause of the second failure
of Lake Avalon dam, which occurred at 11 P.m., Oct. 1, 1904. An account
of this failure, prepared by E. C. Murphy, Assoc. M. Soe. C. E., for Engi-
necring News (July 6, 1905), states that the dam failed by the water
forcing a passage through the dam, and not by flowing over the top.
He says: ‘There are two opinions as to the cause of the failure. One is
that animals burrowed into the earth part of the down-stream side and

 

Fic. 39.—SkEtTcu-mMap oF Prcos VALLEY CANALS.

weakened the earth facing; the other is the failure occurred near the
base at the right back, due to a faulty connection of the dam with the
bank.” The flood discharge at the time was estimated at 82,000 cubic
feet per second.

After the partial destruction of the dam the entire irrigation project
passed into the control of the United States Reclamation Service, and
the Avalon dam, which was an indispensable: link in the system, was
‘reconstructed on the plans and under the supervision of Mr. B. M. Hall,
M. Am. Soc. C. E., as engineer in charge. The old dam was increased in
top width from 20 feet to 43 feet by a substantial addition to the earth-
fill on the up-stream side, and a core-wall of concrete, heavily reinforced
50 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

with }-inch square steel rods, 12 inches apart, both vertically and hori-
zontally, was built through the dam its entire length of 1050 feet. This
reinforced section of the core-wall is 24 feet high from the top down, is
s inches thick on top, 12 inches at bottom, and rests on a concrete base
wall over a portion of the length, and for the remainder on top of a line
of steel sheet piling driven to bed-rock, a total depth of 65 feet below the
crest, or 12 to 19 feet below the river-bed. The maximum length of
these piles is 45 feet. They were driven where the depth of excavation
through the old fill to reach bedrock would have been excessive and
rendered an open trench for the core-wall inadvisable. The portion of
the core-wall made of rubble masonry was 7 feet thick at the base, 3 feet
thick at the top, and had a maximum height of 45 feet. The position
of the core-wall is at the up-stream edge of the embankment road-
way.

Lake McMillan Dam.—The Upper Pecos River reservoir is called Lake
McMillan, and is formed by a rock-fill dam of the same general type as the
lower one. This was built in 1893 under Mr. Louis D. Blauvelt as chief
engineer. The dam has a top length of 1686 feet, and a maximnm height
of 52 feet. The rock-fill portion was made 14 feet wide at top, and the
earth-fill 6 feet at top—making the total width 20 feet as in the lower
dam, the slopes being the same, viz., 14 to 1 on lower and 3.5 to 1 on upper
side. The inner face of the rock-fill against which the earth rests has a
batter of 0.5 to 1, the wall being laid up 2 feat thick by hand. The dam
contains 102,400 eubic yards of rock, 103,600 yards of earth, 3800 yards
of dry retaining wall, and 6200 vards of riprap. Its cost complete is stated
to have been $200,000. An auxiliary embankment, 5200 feet long, 10 feet
wide on top, 18.8 feet maximum height, with slopes of 1.5 to 1 and 3 to 1,
and containing 78,400 cubic yards, was thrown up to close a gap in the
ridge near the dam, at a cost of $10,000. It was made entirely of earth,
paved with stone for a portion of its height on the water-side. When
visited by the writer in the fall of 1895, and again in 1897, the dam showed
no signs of leakage, or settlement, or any form of weakness, although the
reservoir was more than half full. The works have never been completed
to store more than 50,000 acre-feet, covering an area of 5500 acres, and it
will be necessary to construct an expensive spillway before a material addi-
tion can be made to the volume of storage. At present the limit of storage
is 17 feet below the crest of the dam, above which the water passes off
through a gap of such dimensions as to carry 200,000 second-feet before
the dam could be overtopped. The plan proposed is to close this gap with
an embankment and excavate a small spillway through solid limestone on
the right bank, with a capacity of 10,000 second-feet. When this is done
the water-level will be raised 7 feet, or 10 feet below the crest, and the
ROCK-FILL DAMS. ol

volume of storage will be approximately 89,000 acre-feet, covering 8331
acres of surface.

Outlet.—The outlet for the water is provided by means of a canal 1100
feet long, cnt through solid limestone at the east end of the dam, to a
maximum depth of 35 feet below the crest. This is controlled by massive
wooden headgates, placed on the line of the dam, six in number, each
4 feet wide, and arranged to open to a height of 8 feet by screws. Above
these openings is a solid wooden bulkhead filling the cross-section of the
canal. The gates are 6 inches thick, heavily ironed. The water issuing
from the gates passes back into the channel of the river and thence flows to
the lower reservoir. The canal is 30 feet wide, and required the excavation
of 68,000 enbie yards of rock, solid measurement, all of which was used in
making the rock-fill of the dam. The canal headworks cost $20,000.

The gates have a discharging capacity of 4400 second-feet when the
depth of water over the floor of the canal is but 18 feet, and considerably
in excess of this amount when the maximum depth of 25 feet is reached.

This type of rock-fill dam appears to possess every element of safety so
Jong as sufficient spillway is provided to insure them from being overtopped.
Tt seems particularly well adapted to the conditions found in the Pecos
Valley, where ledges of limestone crossing the valley appear at the surface
at intervals, affording reliable foundations for dams, and material for their
construction; where an abundance of suitable earth is available for backing,
and where dams of but moderate height are required to impound large
volumes of water. Here also the country is so open as to make the work
easily accessible from all sides. These conditions do not prevail in moun-
tain canyons as a rule, and in such localities, where construction is cramped
for room, and earth is scarce and hard to obtain, some other material for
water-tight facing is cheaper and preferable to earth. For the special con-
ditions existing where they were built these dams must be regarded as the
best that could have been planned.

The total cost of the two reservoirs and the canal system depending
upon them was 8776,000, an average of about $7 per acre for the 110,000
acres of land commanded by the canals. The same company has built an
expensive cut-stone masonry dam for power purposes at the town of Eddy,
or Carlsbad as it was subsequently renamed, and another system of
canals near the town of Roswell, 90 miles further up the valley. The
dam is ogee in section, is 320 feet long, 6 feet high, with abutments 20
feet in height, and cost $22,000. It was nearly destroyed by the flood
of 1893, when the Lake Avalon dam gave way, and was subsequently
rebuilt. A canal leading from it on the east side, called the Hagerman
Canal, covers about 5000 acres, of which 300 acres are irrigated. The
Northern Canal, near Roswell, N. M., commands 59,000 acres, of which
52 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POW ER, ETC.

4000 acres were irrigated in 1897. The canal is 38 miles long and has a
capacity of 300 to 120 second-feet. It is fed directly from springs that
form the sources of the IIlondo River.

Water-supply.—The area of watershed drained by the Pecos River above
the southern boundary of New Mexico is approximately 24,400 square
miles, having a maximum elevation of about 11,802 feet. After leaving
the main monntain range in Northern New Mexico, where it has its source,
the Pecos enters upon a tortnous course across the great plateau of eastern
New Mexico and western Texas, skirting to the eastward of the foothills of
various mountain groups and isolated peaks, from which the river receives
numerous important tributaries, but no feeders come to it from the east or
the region of the ‘‘Staked Plains,’’ whose drainage is caught in shallow
pools, or sinks into the limestone formation anderlying the plains. The
maximum flow of the river is in the months of May, June, July, and
August as the result of summer rains, more than 75% of the entire precipi-
tation of the year falling in these months. Of the total watershed of the
Pecos in New Mexico

5<¢ has a mean precipitation exceeding 20 inches.

50% ~ ve from 15 to 20“
204 “6 as ce sé 10 to 15 ee
Rog Se OM ef under 10 ss

These data are taken from the maps of the U. 8. Weather Bureau, pub
lished in 1891, from which the following data as to mean and maximum
precipitation at various stations within the Pecos watershed are compiled:

 

|
Mean Annual Maximum Annual | Elevation ahove

 

Station. Precipitation, Precipitation. Sea-level.

Inches, Inches. Feet.

Fort Stanton, N. M........... 19.05 28.70 6154
“Sumner, Oh | y iaseaimaanes 15.01 27.27 4300
Puerto de Luna, ‘ ...,....... 16.29 16.70 4500
Gallivas Spriugs, “6 wee. ealeotll 17.08 27.82 4800
Fort Union, a sagas 19.14 28.14 6750
Las Vegas, Oo Sep ssid haces 72 | er re 6418
Roswell, Ve pecy ye aan cael sears 1h.82 3857
Eddy, - 12.60 15.55 3140

The estimated discharge of

the stream past the southern boundary of
New Mexico was approximately 700,000 acre-feet in 1890, 1,300,000 acre-
ROCK-FILL DAMS, 53

feet in 1891, and 1,000,000 acre-feet in 1897. In 1893 the discharge
exceeded that of 1891.

The minimum flow above Lake McMillan in August, 1891, was 202
second-feet, and in August, 1897, 225 second-feet. The maximum of 1893
was estimated at 42,500 second-feet, and that of 1904 at 82,000 second-
feet. The total flow of the stream is thus seen to be from 10 to 15 times
the combined capacity of the two reservoirs, a fact which suggests the
probability of a somewhat rapid filling of the reservoirs by silt. carried
in suspension, and also emphasizes the necessity of ample spillway
capacity. Furthermore it indicates that as the maximum flow is during
a portion of the irrigation season, the reservoirs do not require to be
drawn upon except at the lower stages of the river, and hence their duty
promises to be unusually great. The great surplus of unappropriated
water is also suggestive of the need for additional reservoirs on the stream
above, where many desirable sites are known to exist.

The Walnut Grove Rock-fill Dam, Arizona.—Of all the rock-fill
dams that have ever been built or projected in the West unquestionably the
slenderest and most flimsily constructed was that erected across the
Hassayampa River, 30 miles sonth of Prescott, Arizona, in 1887-88, the
destraction of which by a flood on the night of February 22, 1890, was accom-
panied by the loss of 129 lives. This disastrous result was predicted when
it was building by those familiar with its construction, as an event that was
likely to occur, and the frightful consequences that ensued illustrate and
emphasize the necessity and importance of governmental supervision of the
plans and details of construction of all strnctures of that class, either by
the State or Federal authorities, It should never have bean permitted to
be built of the dimensions given to it, and the manner of its building was a
conspicuous display of criminal neglect of ull requisite precautions to secure
the safety of any dam, and particularly one of the rock-fill type.

The dam was 110 feet high, 10 feet thick at top, 158 feet thick at base,
about 150 feet long at the bed of the stream, and 400 feet long on top.
These dimensions would not have been excessive for an overfall dam of
solid masonry laid up in Portland cement, but for a rock-fill the slopes
were so much steeper than the natural angle of repose of loose rock
(20 horizontal to 47 vertical on the upper side, and 70 horizontal to 108
vertical on the lower side) that it was really in danger of settling or sliding
down to flatter slopes without the assistance of water-pressure against it.
That it did not do so was solely due to the fact that the faces of the
embankment were laid up as dry walls, each having a thickness of 14 feet
at’ base and 4 feet at top, the center being a loose pile of random stone
dumped in from a trestle. If these faciug-walls had been carefully Jaid
54 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

with large stones, on level beds, and an adequate spillway provided to carry
the waste water around the dam and prevent it passing over the top, and if
proper foundations had been laid for the entire structure, it might have
been standing to-day. In a paper read before the Technical Society of the
Pacific Coast, on October 5, 1888, eighteen months before the dam failed,
Luther Wagoner, C.E., who was employed on the construction of the dam
part of the time, called attention to ‘‘ some very bad work ’’ on the outer

     

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wall near the mid-height, and states that he ‘‘ advised the company to cut
a large wasteway and put the loose rock below the dam to strengthen this
weak place.’? The following is extracted from Mr. Wagoner’s paper: ‘‘ The
history of the construction of the dam is one full of blunders, mainly caused
by the officers of the company in New York. Work was commenced on
company account by Prof. W. P. Blake, who carried a wall across the
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 55

canyon to bed-rock through about 20 feet of sand and gravel. He was
succeeded by Col. E. N. Robinson as chief engineer, and the work was con-
tracted for by Nagle & Leonard of San Francisco. Under Col. Robinson
the dam was commenced in the rear of the Blake wall, and was described
in the specifications as being composed of front and back walls 14 feet at
the base and 4 feet at the top, with loose rock-filling between, the dam to
be made water-tight by a wooden skin or sheathing.

‘* Quarries were opened by the contractors upon both banks of the
stream above the top of dam. ‘ Coyote’ holes from 8 to 15 feet deep were
charged with low-grade powder (4% nitro-glycerine), and the stone dislodged
in large amounts. ‘The stone was loaded up in cars, having the bed inclined
at about 15°, and these were lowered onto the dam by a bull-wheel and

 

Say

 

Fig. 41.—ViEw oF WALNUT GRovE Dam, ARIZONA.

brake, a three-rail railroad being laid on trestle across the dam, at a height
of from 10 to 15 feet. On the slope midway was a turnout so as to allow
the loaded car to pass the empty one. The loaded car was unhooked on
the level and run out and dumped and returned above by the next loaded
car. The legs of the trestle were left in the wall, only the caps and
stringers being raised. During the first stages of construction derricks
were used to distribute the larger stones; later the center was kept high
and the stones from the wall were moved by bars. The effect of this upon
the stability of the dam is bad, because it tends to form curved beds whose
slope makes an acute angle with the direction of the resultant pressure.
56 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

‘The company purchased a sawmill and cut the lamber for the dams,
buildings, etc., and the skin was pat on by contract. Cedar logs, 8 to 10
inches in diameter, 6 feet long, were built into the wall on the upper face,
and projected out one foot. Vertical stringers, 6” x 8", of native pines
were bolted to the logs; the stringers were about 4 feet apart. At each
joint of the stringers a cedar log was built into the wall about 2 inches
above the joint, and two 4” x 10” spliced pieces, bolted through the log
and spiked to the 6” x 10” pieces with galvanized-iron boat-spikes, com-
pleted the joint. Upon the main wall of the dam a double planking of
3-inch boards was laid horizontally, having a tarred paper put on with
tacks between the planks. The outer row of planks was calked with
oakum and painted with a heavy coat of paraftine paint,—refined asphaltum
or maltha, dissolved in carbon bisulphide. The junction of the plank-skin
and the bed-rock was secured by a Portland cement. Through the dam is
a wooden culvert, 3 x 4 feet inside, about the level of the old creek
channel; this is boarded with 3-inch plank inside and has a gate to draw
off the water and waste it.

“The contract for the dam proper was for 46,000 cubic yards, lumped
at $2.40 per cubic yard. The skin and cementing was extra. Lumber cost
about S15 per M at the dam.

‘“ With 70 feet of water above bed-rock the dam leaked 3.75 cubic feet
per second. Various theories were advanced for the cause of the leak; one
was that settlement of the dam had forced an opening of the junction of
the inclined and horizontal skins; and another was that it leaked over the
whole surface. The extreme right-hand skin below the bed of the stream
is made of but one layer of plank. The machinery for draining the water
was inadequate, and the men who did the cementing assured me that they
worked in 4 feet of water, and that they did not go to the bed-rock. The
probable cause of leakage, I believe, is due to all three of the reasons
named.”?

The outlet provided for the reservoir was a culvert made partly in
tunnels through a spur on the left bank, and partly as an arched masonry
conduit, in which were laid two 20-inch iron pipes with gate-valves at the
lower end below the dam. These pipes terminated above the dam in a
square wooden tower 90 feet high built of 8” x 8” timbers, 8 feet long,
notched one-half at each end, secured by a 2-inch rod through each corner,
the joints calked with oakum, and the ontside painted with paraffine
paint. Two wooden valves were placed to admit water into this tower, one
at the bottom and the other 20 feet higher. They were arranged to slide
on wood, on the outside of the tower, with wooden valve-stems, 6 inches
square, running up the outside to the top, where the operating device con-
sisted of two pinions, a spnr-wheel, and a rack. ‘The openings were each
about 15 square feet in area, against which the pressure with full reservoir
ROCK-FILL DAMS, of

amounted to a resistance or load of nearly 40,000 lbs. (estimating the
coefficient of friction of wood on wood at 0.40), while the lifting-device
gave a maximum power of less than 1000 lbs. These were put in regardless
of the protest of Mr. Wagoner, for the reason assigned that ‘‘ they were
designed by an engineer and must work.’’ ,

This defect in outlet, however, in no way affected the stability of the
dam, and even had it been possible to raise the gates at the approach of the
flood, the relief which they would have afforded could not have averted the
disaster, as the maximum capacity of the pipe was less than 200 second-
feet, while the flood must have been several thousand second-feet for
a considerable period.

Spillway.—The wasteway as bnilt was 26 feet wide and 7 feet in depth,
constructed at the right bank adjacent to the dam, the spill falling near
or against its toe. Its maximum capacity when full was 1700 second-
feet. As recommended by Mr. Wagoner, the material taken from this
spillway was placed against the lower side of the dam, as a loose dump,
increasing its bottom thickness to abont 185 feet, and reaching nearly half-
way wp.

Mr. H. M. Wilson, bydrographer, U. 8. Geological Survey, in an able
review of the construction of this dam published in 1893,* says:
“Mr. Robinson designed a wasteway 55 feet wide and 12 feet deep, cut
through a ridge one-half mile north of the dam and spilling into a separate
watercourse, which would in all probability have carried off the great flood
of 1890, For some unaccountable reason a much smaller wasteway was
ultimately constructed.”

It is stated that the spillway was being enlarged at the very time of the
destruction of the dam. Mr. Wilson further says: ‘‘ One of the much-dis-
cussed points in connection with the construction of this dam was its
foundation; it was intended that it should be founded on bed-rock.
Witnesses before the courts, men who had taken part in its construction,
claimed that the foundation did not reach bed-rock on the up-stream face.
The body of the loose rock rested on the gravel bed of the river. The
lower wall rested on bed-rock, but a portion of the upper wall rested only
on river gravel. This fact was discovered daring construction of the dam.
An excavation was made under the dam and a masonry wall, 14 feet deep
and about 14 feet wide, was laid, presumably to bed-rock, with another
portion of this wall turning inward to the east on bed-rock. It was
claimed, however, that this wall did not come within 5 feet of bed-rock, so
that in fact, even after the alterations, the dam still rested on the gravel.
The main up-stream wall of the dam rested for only 23 feet on this
secondary base which was built under it, the remainder of the thickness of

 

*« American Irrigation Engiueering,” page 298.
os RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the wall resting on the buttress which inclined inward to bed-rock. ‘The
correctness of this view of the construction of the dam is indicated hy the
fact that considerable water passed under or through the dam in spite of its
plank sheathing.’

One year prior to the bursting of the dam, Prof. W. P. Blake prepared
a paper describing it which was published in the Transactions of the
American Institute of Mining Engineers, New York, in February, 1ss84,
from which the following extract is taken:

“The reservoir was filled by the first floods and the water rose rapidly
to and beyond the 80-foot contour-line. As to the effect upon the stream
below there has been an agreeable surprise either from a partial opening of
one of the gates ora leak. There has been a constant flow of water from
the dam, and this has kept a constant stream through the valley, giving
more water than usual along its course, so that instead of the owners of
water-privileges denouncing the dam and asking for injunctions, they are
hoping the dam will always leak to their advantage. These results are of
great value as to the demonstration of what the funcitons of such dams and
reservoirs may be throughout the arid regions of the West; even if not
perfectly tight, they would be of immense value in catching the temporary
floods and in equalizing the flow of such intermittent streams as the
Hassayampa and many others.”’

It is remarkable that the designer of this dam should have looked upon
the really enormous leakage developed in it in a spirit of exultation, as an
achievement worthy of note, rather than asa source of alarm and danger.
To write of such leakage as one of the results ‘‘ of great value ”’ requires
unusual confidence in the stability of one’s work.

None of the published descriptions of the construction of the dam have
stated what disposition was made of the culvert under the center of the
dam at the stream-bed, after construction was finished, or whether it was
walled up or merely closed by a wooden gate.

The elevation of the dam-site is about 3000 feet above sea-level, while
the drainage-basin of 311 square miles reaches to maximum altitudes of
S000 feet. The mean precipitation of the shed is estimated at 16 inches.
The capacity of the reservoir to the spillway-level, 83 feet above the ontlet
tannel, was about 10,000 acre-feet.

The water was intended to be used for placer-mining and irrigation.
A diverting-dam, located some 20 miles down the canyon, was in process of
construction at the time of the final catastrophe, under the supervision of
Major Alex. 0. Brodie (late Major of First, Regiment U. 8. Volunteer
Cavalry, subsequently Governor of Arizona after distinguished services in
the Spanish war), who barely escaped with his life.

East Canyon Creek Dam, Utah.—A modification of the Otay steel-core
rock-fill dam was completed April 1, 1899, on East Canyon Creek, Utah,
forming a reservoir of 8900 acre-feet capacity, to be used for irrigation,
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 59

supplementary to the supply of the Davis and Weber Counties Canal
Company.

The dam was originally built 68 feet high above the creek-bed, where
the width of the canyon is but 50 feet. The length of the dam on top
was 100 feet at that height.

A concrete wall, 15 feet thick, was carried down through the gravel bed
of the caryon to bed-rock, a depth of 30 feet, and in the center of this wall
the steel web-plates were anchored. These are 4°; inch thick for the lower
20 feet, | inch for the middle 20 feet, and ;3; inch for the upper 28 feet.
The rock-fill is given a slope of $ to 1, on upper side, and 2 to 1 on lower
side, the top width being 15 feet. In construction all the rock necessary
was thrown into the canyon after the concrete base was laid, by a series of
heavy blasts, and the fill consists of masses that in some cases have a bulk
of 100 cubic yards. The canyon walls rose to a height of more than 100
feet above the top of the dam on either side, and the material in falling
packed very solidly together. After the rock-fill was thus thrown down in
sufficient quantity an open cat was excavated in it down to the concrete
wall, having a width of 15 feet at base, and as little slope on sides as possi-
ble. The steel core was then erected in the cut, and a wall of stone was
laid up on either side, leaving a space of 4 inches each side of the plate,
which was filled with asphalt concrete, consisting of 30% sand, 70% gravel,
and sufficient asphalt to fill the voids, requiring 8 lbs. per cubic foot of the
mass. ‘I'he inner portion of the rock-fill was laid up as a substantial dry
wall with headers and stretchers, reaching from the plate ont to the water-
face, the main rocks being placed with a derrick. Notwithstanding the care
given in this construction the settlement of the wall as the water rose upon
it toa height of 45 feet was so great as to draw the asphalt concrete away
from the plate, an extreme distance of 5 feet at the top, bending towards
the lake, and forming a curve from a point abont 30 feet below the top,
and finally the upper portion of the wall fell off, as indicated by the broken
line in Fig. 42. The down-stream portion also settled somewhat, causing
the concrete to part from the steel plates about 6 inches at the top.

This peculiar action is thought to have been caused by the adhesion of
the asphalt to the stone wall, the bond being stronger with the stone than
its adhesion to the steel plates. The rock used is a conglomerate with an
admixture of red clay, which disintegrated when wet and produced the
extreme settlement.

The dam cost $60,200 and required 23,000 cubic yards of rock; S10
cubic yards of cement concrete; 183 cubie yards of asphaltum concrete;
69,800 pounds of steel; and 50,500 feet B.M. of lumber.

The outlet to the reservoir is by means of a tunnel 200 feet long, the
bottom of which is 10 feet above the original stream-bed. At the entrance
to the tunnel two 30-inch riveted steel pipes 2 inch thick are imbedded in
60 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

concrete, controlled by 30-inch Ludlow valves bolted to them, operated
from a platform projecting from the face of the cliff above. The valve-
stems are 24-inch steel pipes. The main control of the outlet is by means
of two other valves of the same size, placed at the bottom of a shaft, 50 feet
back from the mouth of the tunnel, between two lengths of cast-iron pipe,
the whole being imbedded in concrete which completely fills the tunnel.
These are the working valves, the others being used only in emergency.

The spillway is at one end of the dam, and consists of a flume 6 feet
deep, 27 feet wide, discharging below the toe of the dam. The available
depth of the reservoir between the bottom of the spillway and the floor of
the tunnel is 52 feet.

Mr. W. M. Bostaph was the engineer in charge, and Mr. Samuel Fortier
was consulting engineer.

This account of the construction isan abstract of an article in. Lugincer-
ing Record, ly M.S. Varker, M. Am. Soc. C. E. The writer is indebted
to the Record for the loan of the eut lastrating the construction.

Theoretically the plan of imbedding the steel core in the center of a
wall of asphalt concrete was an improvement upon that of the Otay dam,
and had there been no settlement of the rock the construction would have
been faultless. But in the Otay dam the steel core and the cement conerete
either side of it are independent of the rock-fill, which is free to settle
without pulling on the core. This is undoubtedly a superior plan, although
the ultimate action of settlement when the reservoir is filled remains to be
tested in the Otay dam, as up to the present writing it has never been filled.
Tt has been feared that a rupture of the plates might be produced by the
strains of unequal settlement.

During the winter of 1900-01, the dam was enlarged and increased
to a maximum height of 93 feet, at a cost of $35,500, making the total
eost of the work $95,700. The additional material required was 16,000
cubic yards of rock; 410 cubie yards of masonry; 370 cubic yards of
concrete; 62,000 pounds of steel, and 20,000 feet B.M. of lumber. The
area of the reservoir was increased to 262 acres, and its capacity increased
from 3845 acre-feet to 8900 acre-feet. The dimensions at this height
are: Length on top, 173 feet; width of crest, 10 feet, maximum width
of base, 285 feet. The addition to the dam was made upon the down-
stream side. The water-slope was extended to the new crest, but the
sheet-steel core-wall was continued to the top as an exterior facing on
the slope, laid at an angle of 50° from the vertical and backed by cement-
concrete filling, between the plate and the dry stone wall of the dam.
This filling is 1 foot thick, exeept at the sides of the canyon, where it is
made 5 feet thick, and the plates are imbedded in a concrete block of
triangular form, set in a trench 2 feet deep blasted out of the bed-rock.
     

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

               

  

  

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The exposed portion of the plates was covered with a plank sheathing
to protect it from the sun, and from falling rocks. Plans are being pre-
pared to still further extend the dam to a height of 150 feet, enlarging
its storage capacity nearly three times. The investment has been profit-
able, as the value of the crops produced by the reservoir water the first
year was estimated at $40,000.

Cheesman Rock-fill Dam.—QOn the site of the dam which has since
become famous the world over as one of the highest and finest types of
masonry dam in existence the Denver Union Water Company started in
1900 to build a rock-fill dam with a facing of steel plates, riveted together
on the up-stream slope. This dam was located on the South Platte River
in Colorado, and was to have been 210 feet high, and 600 feet long on
top, with a base width of 450 feet,—the lower slope being 1} to 1 and the
upper slope, hand laid, 3 to 1. This was to be covered with 12 inches
of conerete as a backing for the steel-plate face, which was to be riveted
to 6-inch I-beams, to be anchored into the rock-fill with anchor rods 5
feet long.

Work was begun in 1898, and continued until May 3, 1900, at which
time the masonry toe wall had reached to a height of 38 feet above the
stream-bed, and the rock-fill behind it was 26 feet higher at the crest.
During this construction the water of the river was diverted through a
tunnel which was to be used as the main outlet of the reservoir. This
tunnel is 7 feet wide, and 6 feet high, for about half its length, to its
junction with an inclined spillway tunnel, whence its size increased to
8 feet wide, and 9 fect high, the total length being 470 feet. This tunnel
was controlled at the upper end by a balanced valve, set over the tunnel
mouth, at an incline of 30° from the horizontal. Fig. 43 shows the con-
struction of this valve, which consists of four hoods or chambers of cast
iron, resting on a heavy framework of T-beams, and opening out into the
tunnel at the bottom. A continuous shaft passes through all the hoods
from end to end, upon which are fastened heavy disks of cast iron, so
placed as to close all the openings in the hoods when the valve is shut,
and uncover openings at each end of each hood when the shaft is moved.
The valve closes by gravity, but is opened by hydraulic pressure con-
veyed to the cylinder at the upper end of the gate through lead-lined
steel pipes from a small reservoir located at a considerable height on the
adjacent mountain side above.

Destruction of the Dam.—In the latter part of April, 1900, an un-
precedented rainfall of 9 inches, added to the melting snows, caused a
flood on May 38, so far exceeding the capacity of the outlet tunnel as to
overtop the masonry toe wall, and wash away the loose rock-fill below.
But for this unforeseen contingency the dam would doubtless have been
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 63

successfully completed, and would have had every prospect of enduring
stability, as ample spillway capacity had been anticipated in the plans,
to provide against future overtopping. When thus completed it would
have been the highest rock-fill dam in the world. The failure of the
structure naturally discredited that particular type of dam for that
locality, and the engineer who had planned it. New engineering talent
was brought into requisition and a masonry dam was built on the site
which is a structure entirely creditable to its builder, but involving a
very much greater capital outlay. The existing dam is described in the
chapter on masonry dams.

 

Fic. 43.—BaLancep VALVE USED FoR Reservoir OvuTLer, CHeEsMAN Dam, Coto.

The English Dam, California—Among the earlier constructions of the
rock-fill type was one known as the English dam, situated on the headwaters
of the Middle Fork of the Yuba River, in California, at an elevation of
6140 feet, which was destroyed Jone 17, 1883. The reservoir was formed
by means of three timber crib-dams, and covered an area of 395 acres,
impounding 650,000,000 feet of water. It was supplied by the run-off from
a drainage area of 12.1 square miles, reaching to the summit of the Sierra
Nevada. The middle dam, the largest of the three and the one which was
subsequently destroyed, had a vertical height of 100 feet on the interior,
and 131 feet on the exterior, above the deepest part of the foundation. Its
thickness at base was 185 feet, length on top 331 feet, and bottom length
about 50 feet. The original construction consisted of a crib made of tama-
rack logs, 79 feet high, 100 feet thick at base, with inner slope of 60° from
64 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the horizontal, the crib being filled with rock, and the whole structure
faced with plank. It was built in 1856, and repaired in 1876-77, by tear-
ing out the decayed portion of the old crib and replacing it with new
timbers. At the same time an addition to the thickness and height was
made by building a stone facing on the outside, laid up asa dry rubble
wall, on a slope of 44°. ‘his wall was carried up toa height of 14 feet
above the top of the original dam, meeting a similar wall laid on the inner
slope. The upper 7 feet was formed of a substantial timber eribwork.
The addition to the dam cost $70,000, and the entire cost of the three struc-
tures was $155,000, or $10.40 per acre-foot of storage capacity. The
high-water mark, or the spillway-level, was 14 inches below the top of the
upper cribwork. From the time the repairs were completed until the
destruction of the dam, about five years, no signs of weakness or leakage
were manifest, and the water-level was raised annually to the high-water
mark. Ou the evening before the break the water-level was 24 inches below
the spillway. The first intimation given of the break was at 5.30 a.m,
when the watchman heard two violent explosions, and on reaching a point
where he could see the dam he observed the water pouring through a wide
breach in the upper cribwork. It was inferred that the break had been
caused by dynamite. In a few moments the water cut an immense gap
through the structure to its very foundation and the entire contents of the
reservoir were emptied inside of an hour. The flood-wave caused a rise of
+0 feet at a point 43 miles below. At Marysville, 85 miles below, the rise
observed was but 2 feet 8 inches, and at Sacramento the extreme rise was
but 8 inches. The damage done by the flood was estimated at about $4000
to some wheat-fields that were overflowed. The flood was 24 hours in
reaching Sacramento, and the total time in passing that point was 26 hours.
Had the break occurred in time of flood the opinion is expressed by A. J.
Bowie, M.E., that it would not have been observed by a marked increase
in the level of the larger streams of the Sacramento Valley—the Feather
and Sacramento rivers.* While the composite character of this structure,
and its age at the time of its failure, would lessen confidence in its stability,
it is the only one of its type which has given way, and the circumstances
seem to point to malice rather than inherent weakness as the possible cause
of its failure.

The volume of water released by the breaking of the dam was about
600,000,000 cenbic feet, which exceeded by nearly 20% the contents of the
South Fork reservoir whose failure produced the frightful Johnstown,
Penn., disaster in 18s, and that there was no loss of life resulting from it
and very slight property damage is quite remarkable.

 

* Transactions Technical Society of the Pacific Coast, vol. 11. page 10.—A Paper
on the Destruction of the English Dam.
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 65

The Bowman Dam.—The timber-crib rock-filled dams of the mining
regions of California are well illustrated by the Bowman dam, located on
the South Fork of Yuba River, and impounding the drainage from 19
square miles of the higher Sierras.

The dam was built in 1872 to the height of 72 feet in a manner similar
to the original construction of the English dam, consisting of a timber crib
of unhewn cedar and tamarack logs, notched and bolted together and filled
with small stones. The slopes on each side were 1 on 1, and the face was
made with a skin of pine planking, laid horizontally. In 1875 the dam was
raised to the extreme height of 100 feet, by adding an embankment of stone
to the lower slope, wide enough to carry the entire structure, including the
crib-dam, to the desired height. The outer face of this embankment was
made as a hand-laid dry rubble wall in which stone of large size were used.
This wall is 15 to 18 feet thick at base, and 6 to 8 feet at the top, the stone
weighing from # ton to 44 tons. Vertical ribs were bolted to the wall on
the water-face, with 3-inch rods, 5 feet long, and to these the plauk were
spiked. These were 9 inches thick, in three layers, for the bottom 25 feet,
6 inches thick for the next 55 feet in height, and 3 inches thick on the
upper 36 feet. The outlet to the reservoir is arranged by three 18-inch
wrought-iron riveted pipes, about 25 feet long each, extending from the
inner face of the dam to a culvert, built in the dam from the lower side to
the gates placed at the outlet end of these pipes. The combined discharg-
ing capacity of the pipes is 280 second-feet, when the reservoir is fall.
They discharge into a covered sluice or flume in the bottom of the culvert,
21 inches high, 73 feet wide. The gates are upproached by a walk above
this flume. The culvert is 8 feet high, 7.5 feet wide at bottom, 54 feet at
top, made of dry rubble side walls, covered with heavy granite slabs,
18 inches thick, 6.5 feet long.

The dam is 425 feet long on top, and has a base thickness of 180 feet.
Its contents are 55,000 cubic yards, and its cost was $151,521.44.

Like many of the earlier types of rock-fill dams it was built with an
obtuse angle in the center, whose apex is pointed up-stream. This angle is
165°. Its purpose was evidently to give a fancied additional security, and
was the nearest approach to the arched form which could conveniently be
given to such a structure.

The reservoir covers an area of nearly 500 acres, when full, and has a
maximum capacity of 918,000,000 cubic feet or 21,070 acre-feet. Its cost
was therefore an average of 37.19 per acre-foot of storage capacity.

The annual precipitation at the Bowman dam, as recorded for sixteen
years prior to 1887, ranged from a minimum of 44 inches to a maximum of
120 inches, the mean being abont 72 inches. The watershed is of a
character to yield maximum run-off estimated at 75% of mean precipitation.
Maximum floods from melting snows reach 5000 to 7000 cubic feet per
66 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

Cross SFGTION

Fie. 44,—PLAN AND CROSS-SECTION OF THE BowMAN Dam, AN EARLY TYPE OF
THE CALIFORNIA RocK-FILL Dam FoR HypRavLic MINING STORAGE.
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 67

second. The minimum annual rainfall is sufficient to give ample run-off
to fill the reservoir, while the maximum precipitation would yield sufficient
to fill it four times in one year. The crest of the spillway is placed but 18
‘aches below the crest of the dam. The latter is made as a coping of hewn
cedar, 18 inches wide on top, anchored by iron bolts into the wall. The
structure is so well built that a few inches depth of water overflowing the
crest of the dam would pass off without injury to the lower slope-wall.

 

 

CROSS SECTION.

Fic. 45.—PLAN AND CROSS-SECTION OF THE ForpycE Rock-FIut. DaM,
CALIFORNIA.

The reservoir is owned by the North Bloomfield Mining Company, and the
water is used for hydraulic mining.

The same company have four smaller reservoirs of similar type, con-
structed at a total cost of $95,000. The following table gives the capacity
of the principal mining-reservoirs of California, which have been the proto-
types of rock-fill dam construction in the West, some of which have been
more fully described in the foregoing pages. Many of them are located at
the sites of natural lakes whose surfaces have been raised by the erection
of dams at their outlets.
   

PLAN OF

‘THREE COMBINATION HYDRAULIC-FILL AND ROCK: FILL DAMS, ES
MILNER, IDAHO

AT HEAD OF TWIN FALLS CANAL ON SNAKE RIVER.

SECTION OF DAM
: - 20MiElev. 4105

  
 
   
  

 

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{To face page 68.]
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 69

character and height to be utilized as spillways,—one of them taking
the natural overflow when the canals are full, and the other affording a
location for a battery of 99 regulating gates, by which all excess water
not required for diversion could be turned back into the channel. The
maximum flow of the river in flood is about 60,000 second-feet, which
can be carried by the gates. The main channel dam has the following
dimensions: length on crest, 340 feet; height above lower toe, 86 feet;
height above upper toe, 80 feet; width of rock-fill on crest, 10 feet;
down-stream slope of rock-fill, 14 on 1; up-stream slope of rock-fill,
$on1; crest width of earth-fill, 10 feet; slope of earth-fill, 4 on 1; volume
of rock-fill, 39,650 cubic yards; earth-fill, 58,000 cubic yards. The
middle dam is 335 feet long on top, 81 feet high above lower toe; 56 feet
above upper toe, and contains 42,800 cubic yards of rock, and 62,850
yards of earth.

The south dam has a top length of 560 feet; a maximum height of
66 feet, and contains 34,700 cubic yards of rock, and 48,000 cubic yards
of earth. The entire cost of the three structures was approximately
$500,000. The total length of the three dams, spillway, and regulating
gates, considered as one structure, is 2100 feet.

The method of construction of each dam was practically the same,
although the south and center dams being in high-water channels were
simple and easy as compared with the channel dam, where the water
at the beginning was 20 to 30 feet deep, and over 5000 second-feet was
flowing at the minimum. In the high-water channels, the ground being
first. stripped of all loose material, trenches, 5 feet wide, were dug to
bed-rock and filled with concrete, into which the posts of the wood-
partition were imbedded. These were 3’’ x6’ pine, placed vertically,
2 feet apart, center to center, against which 2-inch planks were spiked,
in two layers, carefully breaking joints. The planks were surfaced on
one side and both edges, and were of uniform thickness. The rock-fill
was built up on either side of this fence, hand-laid for 5 feet in each
direction. The remainder of the embankment was loosely filled by drop-
ping the rock from a cableway spanning the gorge. The rock was quarried
from the main canal within a mile of the dams by electric drills, hauled
by electric locomotive, and hoisted and placed by electricity, power
being furnished by a temporary contractors’ plant of 500 H.P., on the
river-bank. The rock is a hard basalt, which broke in large masses,
with unusually small percentage of fine spawls.

To build the channel dam it was first necessary to construct a tunnel
through the point of the South Island, of sufficient size to carry the low-
water flow during the period of erection of the dam. This tunnel was
cut in a layer of hard clay about 9 feet thick, underneath the main mass
of basalt constituting the island. It was made in eight sections, each
70 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

5 feet wide, by 9 feet high, with heavy side walls of concrete, and parti-
tions of timber and plank between them. Heavy gates of cast iron,
with powerful hoisting gear, were set at the upper vertical face of the
tunnel, on line with the battery of 99 gates for river control after com-
pletion of the works. The diversion of the river was effected in the
following manner: An earth embankment, or coffer-dam, was placed
across the channel approaching the head of the tunnel to keep out water
during its construction. At the same time rock in large blocks, was
deposited in the river channel, forming two lines of embankment at the
up-stream and down-stream toes of the rock-fill, leaving a space between
wide enough to permit the sinking of 24’x12’ timber cribs, with the
upper faces on the longitudinal center of the rock-fill crest. The water
found its way through and over these parallel levees of rock, which were
built up until the water-level was 13 feet higher above than below. By
this time the tunnel was completed, the coffer-dam was blown up by
dynamite, and as much of the river turned through the tunnel as would
go. About 4000 second-feet found exit that way and 1000 second-feet
passed through the loose rock of the channel dam. With the aid of
divers the timber cribs were sunk on the center line of the rock-fill, and
a double thickness of sheet-piling was spiked to the upper face of the
cribs, which were loaded with stone. This piling was fitted to the bed-
rock bottom as carefully as possible, and the joints made tight by means
of concrete in bags, placed against the upper footing of the sheet-piles.
This work was done in a maximum depth of 40 feet of water, and finally
all the water was forced through the tunnel. The remainder of the work
above the water-line was similar in plan to the other two dams—the
wooden fence being built as a continuation of the sheet-piling.

Much difficulty was encountered in making the wooden core-wall
sufficiently tight to prevent loss of earth sluiced into the rock-fill above
it. The material used for the earth-fill was exceedingly fine in texture,
free from grit, and an almost impalpable powder. It is the soil of that
country, classed by geologists as loess or zxolian soil. When packed it
makes a water-tight embankment, but when in suspension in water would
flow as freely as any liquid through a hole or crack in the fence. After
final completion the dams were found to be absolutely water-tight, and
have shown no subsequent leakage or settlement. The work was done
by contract with the State of Idaho for the reclamation of lands granted
to the State by the United States Government under the terms of the
Carey Act. The project has been remarkably successful in every respect,
not only from an engineering standpoint, but as a commercial and agri-
cultural enterprise.

The main canal on the south side of the river is about 70 miles long,
and has a capacity of 3000 second-feet, carrying a depth of 10 feet. It
ROCK-FILL DAMS, 71

 

 

Fig. 47.—Mitner Dam, Snake River, Ipano. DiscHarGE THROUGH THE CREAT
Battery oF 99 WasTE-GaTes Formine “Irrication Fauzs,” 40 Freer Hicu.

 

 

 

Fic. 48.—Mitner Dam, Snake River, Ipsno. SHowinc Waste-way GATES AND
DiscHARGE OF River Over “IRRIGATION Fats.”
72 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

Fic. 49.—Mitner Dam, SNake River, Ipano. NortH CHANNEL DAM BEFORE Com-
PLETION OF SHEET Pitinc. AxBout 500 SEcOND-FEET 18 PassING THROUGH
Rock-FILL, UNDER Heap oF 13 Fret.

 

Fig. 50.—Mitner Dam. Divers. at Work Puiacinc SHEET Pivine 1n 40 FEET oF
WatTeER.
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 73

 

Fig. 51.—Miner Dam, Snake River, Ipano. SHowine Rock-FILL wirH Woop-
CORE IN Main CHANNEL OF RIVER.

 

Fig. 52.—Mitner Dam, IpaHo. SHow1ne A PaRT oF THE BaTTERY OF 99 WaSsTE-
GATES.
74 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

supplies 240,000 acres. On the north side of the river the canal has not
yet been constructed, but surveys have determined the feasibility of
irrigating about 150,000 acres. Two or more reservoir basins of large
capacity will be utilized along the canal line for storage of water during
the non-irrigation season.

Figs. 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, and 52 illustrate the construction of these
notable dams, and Fig. 53 shows the type of head-gates successfully

 

 

 

Fic. 53.—First Openine or Heap-cates oF Twin Fauis Canar, Marcu 1, 1905.

used in the canal. They are eight in number, each 12 feet wide and
11 feet high. For description of hydraulic filling of these dams see pages
125 and 126.

The Zuni Dam, New Mexico.—Near the western boundary of New
Mexico, on the Zufii Indian Reservation, 45 miles south of Gallup, a coal-
mining town on the line of the Santa Fé railway, the United States Indian
Bureau has built a dam 70 feet in height for the storage of water to be
used in the irrigation of the lands of the Indians. The work was done
under the general direction of W. H. Code, Chief Engineer United States
Indian Service, by J. B. Harper, C.E., Superintendent of Irrigation, the
writer acting as consulting engineer. As originally planned the dam
was designed to be an earth-fill throughout, the material to be placed
by hydraulic sluicing. In view of the torrential character of the stream
and the possible occurrence of freshets exceeding the capacity of the
outlet tunnel during construction, it was finally decided to change the
 

    
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

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PLAN OF
DAM, WASTEWAY AND TUNNEL
FOR THE
ZUNI DAM é
NEW MEXICO

Scale of Feet

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[To face page 74.}
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 75

plan to the combination type of rock-fill and hydraulic-fill. The fact
that there was an abundance of basaltic rock on the site of the dam,
overlaid by fine earth of a suitable character for hydraulic sluicing, ren-
dered the selection of these materials in combination a natural one.

The rock-fill was built as a dry wall, with all the stones in the outer
faces placed by derricks operated by steam-engines, while the interior
of the mass was chinked carefully with small stones. The dimensions
of the rock-fill were as follows: Crest length, 720 feet; crest width, 5 feet;
down-stream slope, 1.25 on 1, in regular steps of 18 inches height; up-
stream slope, 0.5 on 1. The total volume of the dry wall so placed is
40,160 cubic yards. All the work was performed by Indian labor, with
white foremen. This made the work very slow and expensive, as the
Indians are entirely unskilled and inefficient, and ready to throw down
their tools at any time to perform their religious dances and observe
their numeorus feast days. The total cost of the rock-work averaged
$2.50 per cubic yard. The embankment was built up to the top from
either end, leaving a gap of about 75 feet in the center, at the stream
channel for the passage of floods. This was a fortunate provision, as a
freshet occurred April 24, 1905, of greater volume than had been pre-
viously known, estimated at 14,000 cubic feet per second for four hours,
and over 9000 second-feet for 20 hours following—the total discharge
of 24 hours exceeding the entire capacity of the reservoir. This great
flood scoured the bed of the stream 10 feet deeper than it had originally
been and increased its width, so that the volume of rock required in the
dam was increased 24% above the original estimate. No damage was
done to the rock-fill, however, and after it was over the gap was closed
and preparation made to sluice in an earth-fill against the up-stream
face of the rock-fill, with a slope of 3 on 1, on the water side. A levee
was first built at the up-stream toe of the earth embankment by hauling
in earth by teams, and, to prevent the liquid earth from passing through
the voids in the rock-fill, a narrow embankment of earth was placed
against the rock, as no core-wall of wood or concrete had been provided
in the rock-fill. The layer of earth next to the rock was from 5 to 10 feet
thick. It was found that when fine sand was used no water found its
way through this layer, although at the outset when moist clay was
placed against the rock shrinkage cracks appeared which permitted
leakage and loss before they would soak up and close.

For sluicing purposes there was no gravity water available, and a
steam-pumping plant was installed with a capacity of delivering 2.5
cubic feet per second, under a pressure of 90 to 95 pounds per square inch
at the nozzle of the hydraulic monitor, the maximum lift to the monitor
being 73 feet from the level of the pond above the dam. The total
volume of earth in the dam is 60,120 cubic yards, of which about 40,000
76 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

Fic. 55.—Down-streaM Face or ZuN1 Dam. SHow1nG CHARACTER OF Dry Masonry
IN THE ROcK-FILL.

 

 

Fic, 56.—Hyprav.ic-FILt Sipp or ZuNr Dam. SHow1na GRaveL Cover oF STONE
Riprap.
ROCK-FILL DAMS, 77

yards were placed by the sluicing process. This work was accomplished
in a total working tine of 800 hours, distributed over 232 working days,
The average ratio of solids delivered to water pumped was 15% and
the total cost of the work, including labor, pumping, fuel, and operation

 

   

 

 

 

Fig. 57.—ZuN1 Dam, N. M., tooxina Nortu, SHowinG TOWER AND BRIDGE IN
DISTANCE, SPILLWAY GUARD-WALL IN FOREGROUND.

of sluicing was 12 cents per cubic yard, of which one-third was for pump-
ing. The material was delivered along the dam by a “V” flume, measur-
ing 20 inches on the sides, laid on a grade of 3%, and consisting of a

SECTION OF
ZUNI DAM
NEW MEXICO
Parapet Elev. 1016’ 29" troadway

Fill Elev. 10u5’ Séaleror Ruck

   

Fig. 58.

succession of sections, each 16 feet long, overlapping at the ends, and
made to deliver material at any point by lifting out a section and insert-
ing a lateral flume, directing the stream to either side as desired. Nearly
one-half the entire amount of earth sluiced was deposited in the month
of May, 1907, when the average delivery was 750 cubic yards per day
78 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of 8 hours. During this period the ratio of solids was nearly 28% of
the water used.

Owing to the fact that all of the earth used was either very fine sand
or clay, both equally impervious in an embankment placed and solidified

 

 

Fic. 59.—ZuN1 Dam, N. M., Intusrratinc Meruop or DELivery oF SLUICED
Marerrats BY “ V’’? FLuMg, AGAINST Face or Rock-FILu.

by water, no attempt was made to separate the particles, or segregate
the clay from the sand, as is customary in building hydraulic-fill dams,

 

 

 

Fic. 60.—ZusS1 Dam, New Mexico, Ssowinc Hyprattic Monrror In ACTION.

where the available materials are an admixture of gravel, rock, clay,
and sand. Hence it was immaterial at what point against the rock-fill
the material was discharged, so long as no horizontal stratifications
appeared.
ROCK-FILL DAMS, 79

Fuel for producing steam was obtained from a coal-mine opened
for the purpose on the reservation, a few miles above the dam. The
power thus provided averaged about 120 H.P.

The geological formation of this locality is quite peculiar. The Zufi
River has here broken through a sheet of lava which at some remote
period flowed from a volcano to the north of the valley and spread in a
wide, horizontal blanket over the country, covering the alluvial soil to
a depth of about 30 feet. Underneath the lava cap (the top of which
is at the crest of the dam) are successive layers of sand and clay, while
at a depth of 20 feet below the river-bed dense blue clay is encountered,
forming the impervious sub-floor of the reservoir. The erosion of the
sand strata in the canyon and the breaking down of the lava cap by
undermining had left the stream-bed filled with masses of hard basalt.
This gave the impression of a canyon cut in rock from top to bottom,
and was good ground for the presumption that a masonry dam would
be best adapted to the site. Excavation, however, proved the un-
suitability of the foundations for such a structure, and led to the final
adoption of a type of dam which is flexible, and at the same time im-
pervious to water. A spillway has been excavated in the solid rock
on the south side of the dam, 100 feet wide, 10 feet deep.

The reservoir has a capacity of 16,000 acre-feet (700,000,000 cubic
feet) covering an area of 623 acres, and receiving the run-off from 650
square miles of watershed, whose maximum elevation at the Continental
Divide is 9200 feet.

The measured run-off of this shed at the dam was 15,115 acre-feet
in 1904, and 106,630 acre-feet in 1905.

Fig. 58 is a section of the dam, and Figs. 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, and 61
are photographs taken during construction.

The Minidoka Rock-fill Dam, Idaho.—One of the projects of the
United States Reclamation Service for the ultimate irrigation of about
150,000 acres from Snake River, involved the construction of a divert-
ing dam, located about 8 miles southwest of Minidoka, Idaho, at a cost
of $425,923. f

The dam is a rock-fill structure, with earth facing and concrete core-
wall. The length of the dam is 625 feet, its maximum height 80 feet
above bed-rock, and about 60 feet above the original bed of the stream.
The width on the crest is 25 feet, its base averages about 300 feet, and
its total volume 191,000 cubic yards. The concrete core-wall is built
upon a solid rock foundation throughout the entire length of the
dam, and at each end reaches to within about 11 feet of the top of
the earth and rock part of the dam, while through the central por-
tion its top is 44 feet below the crest of the dam. The down-
stream portion of the dam was built of large rocks, of 1000 pounds
80 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

minimum weight, dropped in place from a cableway stretched across
the stream.

In construction, a diversion channel was first excavated, and then
two separate lines of fill were extended across the river about 150 feet
apart, the upper one of earth, the lower of rock. By this means the
natural channel was gradually contracted and the water forced through
the by-pass channel. When the rock-fill was thus carried across, the
leakage through it was estimated at 1000 second-feet, but this was
gradually cut off by dumping gravel and earth on the up-streain slope

 

 

 

Fic. 61.—Min1poxa Dam, IpaHo, LooKING Nortu.

from cars running on a track laid across the rock-fill. The earth-fill
was then made by a second cableway and by cars, and the core-wall
was built in the trough between them. Upon its completion the fill
was carried up on both sides and over the top of the core-wall until the
required dimensions of the dam were made. The earth and gravel used
in the fill were loaded into cars by means of a steam-shovel. The closure
and diversion by the rock-fill were made in April, 1906, and the entire
flow discharged through regulating gates, and the dam was completed
Sept. 14, 1906, under the supervision of F. C. Horn, construction engi-
neer. The dam was planned by John H. Quinton, M. Am. Soc. C.E.
ROCK-FILL DAMS, 81

The dam is provided with a concrete spillway of irregular alignment,
built on solid lava rock, and having a maximum height of 14 feet and a
crest length of 26,000 feet, containing 4000 cubic yards of concrete. The
crest of the spillway is 10 feet below the top of the dam, 7 feet above
the sill of gates of the north side canal, 6 feet above the grade of the
south side canal, and 48 feet above the bottom of the diversion
sluice-way, in which a concrete dam is built with five Coffin sluice-
gates, each 8 feet wide, 12 feet high. This structure is provided with
penstock openings for the future development of power, to be
utilized for- pumping water to higher lands above the south side
gravity canals. It is estimated that 10,000 to 30,000 H.P. may be so
developed.

About 70,000 acres of land are irrigable by the gravity canals, mostly
on the north side, and 80,000 acres may be watered by pumping to higher
levels on the south side.

The entire project is estimated. to cost $2,600,000.

The Alfred Dam, Maine.—The highest dam in the State of Maine
was completed in December, 1905, at Alfred, Maine, to provide storage

 

Fig. 62.—SEcTION OF Avert Dam.

to equalize the flow of the Mousam River for power purposes for the
Alfred Light & Power Co. The dam is of rather novel design, as it con-
sists of dry rubble, built with split stone, the three lower courses laid in
Portland cement and the up-stream face and crest covered with concrete
2 feet thick. See section Fig. 62.

The dam is 39 feet high, 995 feet in length, with a spillway section
in center 580 feet long. It contains 12,150 cubic yards of dry rubble,
and 2790 cubic yards of concrete. The stream was handled during
construction by diversion through the penstocks of the power plant,
by a coffer-dam thrown across the entire river.

The rock being dimension stone, laid by hand, the dam is not
strictly to be classed as a rock-fill, but is interesting as a cheap type
of permanent construction of a better grade than the ordinary rock-fill.
82 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The dam was completed in 90 days after stone-laying began, and
in 105 days from the beginning of clearing.

 

 

 

Fig. 63.—ALFrReD Dam, Mz. Dry Rock Masonry wiTH Concrete Facine AND
CREST.

The Idaburn Dam, New Zealand.—An overfall dam, 50 feet high,
of similar construction to the Alfred dam just described, was built in
1904, across a canyon known as the Idaburn gorge, for the formation
of a reservoir to irrigate 10,000 acres. The dam is but 42 feet thick
at the base, 6 feet at the top, 100 feet long on the crest. The up-stream
face batter is 1:24, while the down-stream face forms a series of tangents
as points on a vertical curve of long radius. The structure is laid up
as a dry wall, with a face of 2 feet thickness of concrete on the crest
and down-stream slope, while the base and up-stream face are roughly
squared blocks of stone laid in mortar to a thickness of 2 to 4 feet. This
is the extreme of economy in dam construction, and must be regarded
as having an exceedingly small factor of safety. (See Plate 3.)

The Roswell Rock-fill Dam, Georgia.—Sometime before the Civil
War a rock-fill dam was built at Roswell, Georgia, for power purposes,
having a height of about 28 feet, and a base width of 30 feet, the down-
stream face being vertical, while the up-stream face was laid a few inches
depth in Rosendale cement or lime mortar. This was used continuously
until 1892 when the dam was repaired and the water slope covered with
cement mortar, on which a plank face was laid. Ten years later the
dam was raised about 6 feet above its former crest level, by the addition
of dry rubble to the down-stream face, resting on a masonry base, laid
ROCK-FILL DAMS. 83

on bed-rock, with the upper face sloping toward the crest at a ratio of
2on1. This base reaches to an extreme height of 9 feet, and is 12 feet
wide. On this the dry rubble wall was laid in courses with a batter
of 1:3.5. The up-stream slope and crest are faced with 3’’ 6’ yellow
pine planking. The length of the spillway is 138 feet and its depth
5 feet. The total length of the dam is 251 feet, and its extreme height
38 feet.

The original dam was laid of flat stratified rock, the interior of the
fill being made up of a very poor quality of slate. The last construction
on the down-stream face was done while the water filled the reservoir
to the top of the dam, the level being kept below the spillway by means
of sluicing gates. The crest and up-stream facing was built with the
pond drained during a time when the mill was shut down for repairs.

The Victor Rock-fill, Steel-faced Dam, Colorado.—In 1901 the Pike’s
Peak Power Co. built a unique dam on the West Fork of Beaver Creek,
54 miles east of the town of Victor, and 10 miles south of the summit
of Pike’s Peak, to form a storage reservoir for power purposes. The
dam is a rock-fill, with a facing of steel plates as a water-tight skin on
the reservoir side. It has a maximum height of 70 feet, is 220 feet long
at the bottom, 405 feet long at top, 20 feet wide on the crest, and has
a base width of 148 feet. The up-stream slope is 30° from the ver-
tical (0.577 on 1), while the down-stream slope is 50° from the vertical,
or 1.22 on 1. The foundation is a granite bed-rock.

The novel feature of the dam is the use of sheet-steel plates to form
the facing, the first structure of this type that has ever been constructed.
The plates are uniformly 15 feet long, 5 feet wide, laid horizontally, their
thickness being } inch for the lower 30 feet, then diminishing to 3 inch
and 4 inch at the top. The horizontal seams are riveted with butt-
straps, while the vertical seams are riveted to angle-bars, 5” x}, which
are placed in pairs at the seams and riveted together, with a 32”
filler placed between them. The seams were all calked as thoroughly
as in boiler work by the use of pneumatic riveters and calkers. At the
base is riveted to the plate a pair of 5’’ x8” angle-bars, and a foot above
another pair, both of which are imbedded in the concrete toe-wall. The
ends are treated in a similar manner, with angle-bars riveted on up the
slope. The plates are painted with a protective coating to protect
them from rusting.

The granite back-fill against which the steel plate rests is a dry wall
of granite blocks, of 20 to 80 cubic feet each, chinked with fine quarry
sprawls. A space of 6 inches was left between the plates and the back
wall, which was filled with sand and gravel packed with water and
thoroughly drained before water pressure was applied.

The outlet of the reservoir is a 24-inck wood-stave pipe, built in
84 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, FTC.

concrete through the base of the dam and extending into the reservoir
for 240 feet. The reservoir formed by the dam covers an area of 130
acres, with a capacity of 102,000,000 cubic feet (2340 acre-feet). The
surface elevation of the water is 9018 feet, giving a maximum depth
of 63 feet to be drawn upon.

The dam was designed and built by Mr. R. M. Jones, Engineer and
General Superintendent of the company.

Power generated with a drop of 1160 feet to the extent of 1600 K.W.
is transmitted to Victor over a line of 8 miles in length. The wood-stave
pressure-pipe is 23,400 feet long, the limit of pressure being 220 feet,
below which a 29-inch steel pipe, } inch to 2? inch thick, 2900 feet long,
is laid to the power-house.

The Animas Dam, Colorado.—In 1906 a large rock-fill and timber
crib dam with plank facing was built for the creation of a storage reser-
voir of 960 acres, to be utilized for power development in San Juan
County, Colorado, 25 miles from the city of Durango, by the Animas
Canal Reservoir and Water Power Investment Company. The dam
is 750 feet long, 55 feet high above the original surface, the foundation
being carried down a depth of 33 feet through loose material to bed-
rock. The cribs on the down-stream side are stepped in five benches
or steps, from the bottom up, formed of logs and filled with rock. The
dam is to be replaced eventually by a concrete dam, 100 feet high, 1400
feet long, increasing the reservoir to 1161 acres. Water is fed to the
reservoir by a flume, 6X8 feet, 34 miles long, leading from Cascade
Creek. Water from this reservoir is conveyed through a flume 8800
feet long to a penstock reservoir, formed by a small earth dam with
concrete core, 30 feet high, from which a riveted steel pressure-pipe
2844 feet long leads to the power-house, where an effective head of 960
feet is utilized. Power is transmitted to Durango and Silverton at 50,000
volts pressure. The works were built by Geo. M. Peek, M. Am. Soc. C. E.
CHAPTER II.

HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS.

Tue forces employed in hydraulic mining for tearing down banks
of sand, gravel and rock, by means of a large volume of water issuing
at great velocity from a nozzle under high pressure, have been utilizod
in the evolution of a novel and interesting type of dam-construction,
called the ‘“‘hydraulic-fill dam,” which is becoming recognized as the
most economical method of handling earth, as well as the most positive
and satisfactory means of compacting it in a solid and immovable mass.
By the skillful direction of the currents of water by which the material
is conveyed, the disintegrated earth is assorted and deposited where it
is desired to perform the required functions of stability and water-tight-
ness in the dam, thus reversing the destructive process of mining and con-
verting it into an upbuilding of great structures serviceable to mankind.

This development of hydraulic mining doubtless originated in the
Pacific Coast, where many new and peculiar methods of mining auriferous
gravel on a large scale were evolved by necessity, and the ready inventive
genius of American miners. It was first employed for making small
storage reservoir dams in and around the mines, with the detritus from
wuicn the contained placer gold had been washed. These dams were
used either for impounding mining tailings, or for water.

Subsequently the principles involved in the utilizing of water of
varying velocity for loosening, conveying, assorting, distributing, deposit-
ing and consolidating the materials were more carefully studied and
scientifically employed in the design and construction of higher and more
important dams. These principles are adaptable to the building of dams
of any desired height, provided suitable materials are available and the
conditions permit of economical construction.

The only limit of feasible height for dams of this class is one which
is fixed by the cost, for if the embankment to resist water pressuze be
made sufficiently wide and massive, and with materials which may be
so consolidated as to become impervious to water, there is no reason
why dams of 300 feet or more in height should not be built, if justified
by the cost. There are innumerable instances in different parts of the
world where nature has built hydraulic-fill dams, which form lakes of

great depth. The dimensions of such dams, built as glacial moraines,
85
86 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

with bowlders, gravel, sand and rock-dust, are usually very much greater
than any artificial structure would need to be for absolute safety.

Requisite conditions for the proper design of hydraulic-fill dams
are the following:

First. They require to be located on a stable and impermeable foun-
dation, whether it be clay, gravel, rock, or other material which is or
which can be made impermeable to water under pressure.

Second. They must be formed of materials, which when packed in the
mass of the embankment, are practically water-tight throughout the
whole or a large proportion of their entire cross-section.

Third. They must have slopes sufficiently flat to render the struc-
ture stable under all conditions of saturation from the water in the
reservoir or from soaking rains, or both combined.

Fourth. The elevation of the crest above the highest possible level
of water in the reservoir must be sufficient, in connection with unob-
structed spillways of ample dimensions, to insure against the possibility
of the dam ever being overtopped by extraordinary freshets due to
cloudbursts, or by waves driven up the slope by gales of wind or by any
combination of such contingencies.

Fifth. They must be so constructed that after completion they shall
not settle or crack or show any material sign of movement or change
in form or position.

This latter requirement implies a radical change during construc-
tion from a condition of liquid mud and unstable equilibrium to one
of solidity and absolute stability under all vicissitudes of time and
change. Such changes of form and adjustment of the particles composing
the mass by the pressing out of the water contained in the voids, is a slow
process, particularly if the materials contain a large percentage of clay.

To secure stability and perfect drainage it is essential that the outer
slopes of the embankment, composing about one third of the mass,
equally divided between the .up-stream and down-stream slopes, shall
be composed of rock, gravel, or sand, which will afford friction and
stability, as well as drainage to the interior of the dam. This interior
two thirds is the water-tight section, composed of the finest clay or silt
‘as segregated from the other material. It is at first thoroughly unstable
and would slide from its position if unsupported by the stable sections
on either side. With the slow settlement following gradual drainage
and the pressing of the water from its voids, it becomes more and more
dense, and finally assumes a condition of mature solidity and impermea-
bility that fits it to resist the pressure of the water in the reservoir behind
it. The best practice in hydraulic-fill dam construction is to test the
structure at all stages of its growth, by permitting the reservoir to follow
up the rising dam, always 10 to 15 feet below the top (at the same time
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 87

maintaining a pond of water on top of the embankment), although this
is not always feasible. When such a water-level is maintained against
the dam as near the top as possible, the principal drainage of the interior
mass of the dam will be out through the down-stream zone of permeable
material, permitting of partial filling of the voids in the up-stream
permeable zone with fine silt.

The conditions best suited for the economical employment of hy-
draulic-dam construction are:

Ist. The existence of an abundance of water at the proper elevation
to form a sufficient ‘‘sluicing-head’”’; and,

2d. An abundant deposit of materials for forming the dam, con-
venient to either end, and high enough above the top of the proposed
structure to permit of the requisite grades for carrying the material.

The volume of water necessary for a “sluicing-head’’ should be from
5 to 20 cubic feet per second, although smaller heads may be used.
Twenty to thirty second-feet may be readily handled in one head, and
is more effective proportionally than smaller heads. The duty of water
in hydraulic mining in California per miner’s inch per 24 hours, ranges
from 2 to 5 cubic yards of solid bank measure loosened and washed
down. This is equivalent to a duty of from 80 to 200 cubic yards
removed in 24 hours per second-foot of water. The ratio of water to
solids would thus be from 2.5% to 6.25%. In hydraulic gold-mining
it is essential to keep the percentage of solids quite low to permit the
gold to drop freely to the bottom of the sluice-boxes, where it is caught
by quicksilver. In dam-construction, on-the contrary, it is desirable
to maintain as high a precentage of solids as the water will transport.
With sluice grades of 6% to 10%, the volume which may be transported by
a sluicing-head of 10 second-feet is 3000 to 8000 cubic yards per
24 hours.

The most suitable material is an admixture of soil, clay, sand, and
gravel of all sizes. Angular stones, not exceeding 2000 lbs. weight may be
carried through the sluice-boxes with a sufficient amount of sandy soil
or unctuous clay to enable it to flow well. It is customary to deposit
the materials on the dam on the lines of the two slopes, which are stu-
diously kept higher than the center of the embankment. The larger
stones are here dropped, while the finer materials are carried towards
the center where the water is drawn off through stand-pipes which lead
back into the reservoir or which conduct it to a flume or pipe by which
it may be wasted below the dam.

The material for this class of construction may either be loosened
by a hydraulic jet of water issuing under pressure and playing against the
bank, which is the cheaper and more rapid method, or if pressure is not
available it may be plowed or picked and ground-sluiced.
88 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The Hydraulic Giant.—The latest improved form of hydraulic monitor
or “giant,” as developed in the mines of California, is shown in Fig. 64.

The weight of the nozzle is counterbalanced as required by filling
the wooden box with stone. The vertical movement of the nozzle is
made by a ball and socket joint. The horizontal movement is on the
ball-bearing joint between the two elbows around a center.

 

Fic. 64.—DovuBLE-JOINTED HyprRaULic GIANT.

To enable the operator to handle the giant with ease and change
the direction of the stream quickly, a device called the “deflecting nozzle”
is placed at the end of the nozzle of the giant, by means of which the
dower of the issuing stream is controlled to move the entire machine.

 

Fic. 65.—Tue Deriectinc Nozze oF GIANT.

When this nozzle is pressed slightly against the jet, the giant is moved
in the opposite direction. By means of the lever this movement can
be effected by a child, and a column of water weighing many tons can
be thrown instantly through an arc of 180° or more. (Fig. 65.)

The earliest form of hydraulic giant is known as the single-jointed
monitor, in which the movement is confincd to one direction in a ver-
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 89

tical plane, and the machine had to be shifted by bars to change the
horizontal direction.

Streams of water of all sizes requiring nozzles from 2 to 10 inches
in diameter, and working under heads from 100 to 600 feet or more,
have been used. To prevent a scattering or rotary motion of the water
after it has issued from the nozzle all the taper pieces are fitted on the
inner side with guide-vanes, and the jet is thus discharged in as solid
and columnar form as possible thereby increasing its effectiveness.

San Leandro and Temescal Hydraulic-fill Dams, California.—This pro-
cess of building up reservoir-embankments has been in vogue in a small way
in the mines of California from the earliest days of hydraulic mining, but
the first application of it on a large scale was made by Mr. A. Chabot, in
the construction of the reservoir-dams for the water-supply of Oakland,
California, a city of 60,000 inhabitants.

These dams were planned and built by Mr. A. Chabot, who, though not
an engineer, had had years of experience as a practical hydraulic miner and
was the principal owner of the water-works. They are both earthen dams,
of which the central portion, including the puddle-core, were built up with
scraper teams and rollers in the ordinary way, but extensive additions to
their slopes and height were made by hydraulic sluicing.

The Temescal dam was built in 1868. It is 105 feet high, 18 feet wide
on top, with original slopes of 24 to 1, which have been greatly increased
by the material sluiced in from year to year subsequently. The water
available being limited in supply to a few days each season after storms, the
work was continued for a number of seasons as an economical method of
increasing the bulk of the dam. It forms a reservoir of 18.5 acres, with a
capacity of 188,000,000 gallons.

The San Leandro dam was built in 1874-75, and has a height of 125
feet above the stream-bed. It is located 9.5 miles east from Oakland,
1.5 miles above the village of San Leandro, at an elevation at base of
115 feet above tide. The dam is 500 feet long on the crest and 28 feet
in width. The width of base from toe to toe of slopes is 1700 feet. The
original slopes were 24 to 1 on the down-stream side, and 3 to 1 on the
reservoir side. Subsequent additions to these slopes were made by
hydraulic sluicing. The extreme depth of puddle core is 30 feet, making
the total height of dam from bottom of puddle core to crest, 155 feet.
The total volume of the dam is 542,700 cubic yards, of which about
160,000 yards were deposited by the hydraulic process. The water was
krought 4 miles in a ditch, and the sluiced materials were conveyed in a
flume, lined with sheet-iron plates and laid on a grade of 4% to6%. The
water used was 10 to 15 second-feet, and the ground-sluicing method was
alone employed, as it was not convenient to get water under pressure. The
Cost was estimated at one-fourth to one-fifth that of putting the earth in
place with carts or scrapers. The entire cost of the dam proper was about
90 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

$525,000, but the outlets, wasteway-tunnels, and improvements of various
kinds about the reservoir have increased the total to over $900,000, or about
868 per acre-foot of storage capacity. The reservoir covers an area of 335
acres and has a maximum capacity of 13,270 acre-feet, or 4,323,446,000
gallons. The area of the watershed tributary to the San Leandro dam is
50 square miles, from which the run-off is ordinarily in excess of the storage
capacity, and considerable difficulty was experienced in disposing of the
surplus, without washing away the dam, until a waste-tunnel, 1100 feet
long, with a capacity of 2000 second-feet, was constructed in 1888, discharg-
ing into the stream half a mile below the dam.

The plans and sections of these dams are shown in Fig. 66, in which are

 

   

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represented the restraining levees for holding the sluiced material in
terraces, as it was deposited on the outer slopes. The deposit on the inside
was made by simply dumping the contents of the flume into the water and
allowing it to assume its own slope on the surface of the embankment.
Hydraulic-fill Dam at Tyler, Texas.—In projecting improvements to the
water-works of Tyler, Smith County, Texas, in May, 1894, the engineer of
the company, J. M. Howells, C.E., conceived the idea of creating an
impounding-reservoir by means of a dam to be constructed by the hydraulic-
jet and sluicing method. The only means of getting water to the works
was to pump it, and all the materials used in the dam were sluiced in from
a neighboring hill. The total cost of the work, including the plant and all
the appurtenances of the reservoir in the way of gates, outlet-pipes, etc.,
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HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 93

was but 43 cents per cubic yard. The dam, Fig. 67, is 575 feet long on
top, 32 feet high, and contains 24,000 cubic yards, the inner slopes being
3 on 1, and the outer 2 on 1, with a 4-foot berm on the inside 10 feet below
the top. The maximum depth of water is 26 feet; the reservoir covers 177
acres and impounds 576,800,000 gallons, or 1770 acre-feet. The water
used in sluicing was forced through a 6-inch pipe by a Worthington steam-
pump of 750,000 gallons daily capacity, belonging to the old city pumping-
station situated on the opposite side of the valley from the hill which
supplied the material. This hill is 150 feet high, and the pipe terminated
about half-way up from its base, where a common fire-hydrant was placed
to which, was attached an ordinary 23-inch fire-hose, with a nozzle of 14
inches diameter. From this nozzle the stream was directed against the face
of the hill under a pressure limited to 100 lbs. per square inch (Fig. 68).
The washing was carried rapidly into the hill on a 3% up-grade which soon
gave a working face of 10 feet or more, increasing gradually to 36 feet
vertical height. By maintaining the jet at the foot of the cliff the latter
was undermined as rapidly as the earth could be broken up and carried
away by the water. The material found in the hill consisted of a soft,
friable sandstone infiltrated with ocher of varying shades of yellow, brown,
and red, alternating with clay and sand, the whole overlaid by a surface
soil of sandy loam, 2 to 6 feet deep. Experiment and observation led to
the conclusion that 65% of the entire mass washed into the dam was sand,
and 35% was clay.

In beginning the work a trench 4 feet wide was excavated throngh the
surface soil down into clay subsoil, a depth of several feet, and this trench
was refilled with selected puddle-clay sluiced in by the stream. Then the
form of the dam was outlined by throwing up low sand ridges at the slope-
lines, which were maintained as the dam rose in height, in the form of
levees by men with hoes (Fig. 69). A shallow stream of water was thus
maintained over the top of the embankment, the water being drawn off
from time to time, either into the reservoir or outside, as preferred. As
the embankment rose it assumed a grade-line from the side nearest to the
source of supply to the opposite side. The material was transported from
the bank in a 13-inch sheet-iron pipe, put together with loose joints, stove-
pipe fashion. This pipe extended from near the face of the bluff, where
the jet was operating, across the center line of the dam, and was so arranged
as to be easily uncoupled at any point, so as to direct the deposit where
required to build up the embankment uniformly. When the end of the
dam nearest the bank reached the full height the pipe was raised on a
trestle to give it grade for transporting the sand to the opposite side. A
spillway was cat out by the same sluicing process, at the end of the dam
farthest from the side where the main sluicing operation was conducted,
and the earth from it was also placed in the dam. It was found that the
quantity of solids brought down by the water varied from 18% in clay to
94 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETUC.

30% in sand. Sharp sand does not flow as readily as rounded sand or
gravel, and is improved in delivery by an admixture of clay and stones. In
this case the clay acted as a lubricant, which served to increase the carrying
capacity of the water.

The entire volume of water pumped in building the dam, if computed
by the percentages of solids given, must have been less than 20,000,000
gallons, although it is unlikely that these percentages were maintained
throughout. The volume discharged through the nozzle under the stated
pressure must have been about 1.4 second-feet, which is a very small
sluicing-head. The nozzle velocity was 115 feet per second. The limita-
tion of the nozzle pressure to 100 Ibs. per square inch restricted the
delivery of water and its effective power in disintegrating and transporting
the soil to considerably less than might have been accomplished with higher
pressure.

The entire cost of the dam with all its accessories is said to have been
but $1140, which must be regarded as a marvel of cheapness for a structure
of the size of this one and performing the function of an impounding dam
of its magnitude. Another interesting feature connected with it was that
the construction of the reservoir permitted the new pumping-station
supplying the city of Tyler to be located on the border of the pond so much
nearer to the town than the location of the original pumping-plant, which
was at the site of the dam, as actually to save the cost of the dam in the
length of main pipe that was thereby dispensed with.

The average cost per acre-foot of storage capacity in the reservoir formed
by the dam was but $0.65. The dam is reported to have no apparent
defects and gives satisfactory service. Mr. L. W. Wells was engineer and
foreman in charge of the works, from whose memoranda, furnished by
courtesy of Mr. Howells, consulting engineer, the foregoing description has
been compiled. The accompanying illustrations were obtained through the
courtesy of Mr. Ben R. Cain, of the Tyler Water Company.

La Mesa Dam, California.—In the spring of 1895 the San Diego Flume
Company, which supplies the city of San Diego, California, with domestic
water and furnishes an extensive territory of agricultural land with an
irrigation-supply through a long line of flame, built an impounding-
reservoir on the Mesa, or tableland, 8 miles northeast of San Diego, near
the terminus of the flume, for the purpose of impounding the tail-water
of the flume and the surplus accumulating at night, as well as to stere the
flood-water of the San Diego River in winter to the extent of the unused
capacity of the flume. The dam (see Figs. 70 and 72) was designed and
constructed by J. M. Howells, C.E., who was then president of the
Flume Company.

With the successful experience obtained with hydraulic dam-construc-
tion at Tyler, Texas, the previous year, Mr. Howells applied the same
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98 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

methods in a modified form to the erection of La Mesa dam. The situation
and materials available were less favorable than at Tyler, and it was not
possible to obtain water under pressure for disintegrating the soil. Hence
it was necessary to resort to ground-sluicing alone.

The dam-site is in a narrow gorge cut through hard porphyry, whose
walls are but 40 feet apart at the stream-bed, and stand nearly vertical on
one side for 40 feet in height, from which elevation the ground slopes
gently upward on both sides. ‘The site had been regarded as particularly
suitable for a masonry or rock-fill dam, as the foundations were of the best
character and the materials at hand all that could be desired. With these
advantages in view the first plans made were for a rock-fill with plank
facing, of the following dimensions: height, 55 feet; length on top, 470 feet;
thickness at base, 110 feet; at top, 12 feet; upper slope, 4 to 1; lower slope,
1 to 1; volume, 15,000 cubic yards. Bids were received on these plans,
the lowest of which called for 99 cents per cubic yard for the rock-fill, and
$2.08 for dry rubble wall. These prices are but 55% to 66% of the contract
prices paid for the Escondido dam. The total cost under these bids would
have been $20,260, exclusive of the plank facing and the outlet-gates and
pipes. The hydraulic-fill dam proposed by Mr. Howells was given the
preference by the company on a guarantee of a material reduction of cost
below the bids for the rock-fill dam, and, although numerous difficulties
were encountered, it was finally completed for about $17,000, including
plant, excavations for foundations and spillway, outlet-gates, culvert and
stand-pipes, paving of slopes, and all accessories, and furthermore it was
built to a height of 66 feet, or 11 feet higher than the proposed rock-fill.
It was made 20 feet wide on top, with a base width of 251.5 feet. All of
the dam except a few feet on top, which had to be finished out with
wagons, was put in place by flowing water. The surplus water from the
flume was used at a time when little or no irrigation was going on, and at
the same time the water was stored in the reservoir as it was being formed
back of the dam.

The total volume of material handled was 38,000 cubic yards, some of
which was transported an extreme distance of 2200 feet, and taken from
an area of 11.5 acres, which was stripped to a mean depth of 2 feet. Had
the material been as abundant and as accessible throughout the construc-
tion as it was up to the time one-fourth of the dam was in place, the entire
structure could have been finished for 25% to 30% of its ultimate cost, but
unfortunately it was found that below a depth of 2 feet from the surface
the gravel and cobblestones of the mesa were cemented together so hard as
to resist further washing, and this condition necessitated the employment
of horses and scrapers to bring much of the material used to the slaiceways,
at greatly increased cost. The results, considering all the unfavorable con-
ditions, are an indication of what can be accomplished by this process where
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 99

surrounding conditions are more auspicious. The surface soil and sand
contained in the coarse gravel constituted less than one-third of the mass,
and consequently the dam can properly be termed a rock-fill with an earth
core. The deposit on the dam being always near the outer slopes, the
larger stones were naturally dropped there, while the finer materials shaded
cff towards the center. The gravel is of all grades, from egg size to large
cobbles, 8 to 10 inches in diameter. On the outer slopes the largest of
these were laid up in a dry wall of uniform slope and surface.

In beginning the work a trench was excavated in bed-rock, as shown in
Fig. 72, from 2 to 5 feet deep, 20 feet wide at center and tapering to 5 feet
at the ends. At right angles to this trench in the bed of the gulch a
culvert was built to reach entirely through the dam at its widest point.
This culvert, whose details are shown in Fig. 73, consisted of a concrete
conduit, 48 inches wide, 30 inches high, extending from the inner face of
the dam outward 180 feet, to a point 72 feet from the lower toe, where it
connects with two 24-inch cast-iron pipes, that form the outlet to the
reservoir. One of these pipes connects with a wood-stave pipe supplying
water to San Diego, and the other is used as a waste, or clean-out, pipe.
Both are controlled by gate-valves at the toe of the dam. The walls of the
concrete culvert are 12 inches in thickness, and four vertical stand-pipes
connect with the culvert at intervals of 35 feet from the inside end. These
stand-pipes consist of 24-inch vitrified pipes, surrounded with concrete,
which pass upward through the body of the dam, and are now used as
outlet-pipes to the reservoir at four different levels. During construction
they performed the important function of conveying the water into the
reservoir after it had dropped its load of gravel and sediment on to the
surrounding embankment. They were built up a joint at a time in 2-foot
sections, as the work progressed, and were finished off at the top with brass
ring and flap-valve, the latter being controlled by rods reaching up the
slope through the water to the surface. (See Fig. 70.) These flap-valves can
only be opened when pressure is relieved by closing the gate-valves below.

The volume of water used in constructing the dam was from 300 to 400
miner’s inches—6 to 8 second-feet, which was all that could be spared from
the flume after supplying the domestic consumption in San Diego and along
the line, and the little irrigation which is kept up, even in winter, when
the rains do not come just right. From the end of the 37-mile flume,
which terminates on the mesa 10 miles from San Diego, the water was
siphoned across a deep ravine by a 36-inch wood-stave pipe, 3000 feet long,
discharging into a ditch which carried the water 1.5 miles to the top of the
ridge overlooking the dam-site on the south. From this main ditch at
various points laterals were carried down the slope of the hill towards the
dam on a grade of 6%, dividing the ground into irregular zones of 50 to 100
feet in width, by several hundred feet in length. In sluicing these divisions
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102 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

were stripped off clean to the cemented gravel bed-rock, beginning next to
the head ditch and working downward toward the dam across the end of
the strip. The fall from the upper-line ditch to the lower side of the zone
was as great as the slope of the ground would admit,—the greater the fall
the more rapidly the sluicing was done. The work accomplished was satis-
factory as long as this slope was not flatter than about 25%, but as the hill
from which the material was taken rounded off toward the top the velocity
of the water in the cross-ditches became lessened, until it was insufficient
to erode the material from its bed, and the process had to be assisted by the
use of picks or plows, where the ground was not too soft for teams to get
over it. ‘This additional labor of loosening materially increased the cost.
All of the material was obtained from one side of the dam, which was a
further disadvantage.

As the stream secured its load of earth or gravel it was conveyed along
the line of the lower ditch by 24-inch wood-stave pipes until deposited on
the embankment. About 2000 feet of this piping was used in the work,
the first cost of which was 90 cents per foot, exclusive of the lining of
strips of tire-steel subsequently added to resist wear and tear. It was made
in sections of 10 to 14 feet, loosely placed together and connected by strips
of canvas wound around the ends of abutting joints and held in place by
an ingenious tourniquet of tarred rope placed back of the last round band
on the end of each section, the twist on one being made by a long nail, and
on the other by an 8-inch piece of 4-inch gas-pipe, the nail slipping into
the gas-pipe and so preventing both ropes from loosening or untwisting.
During a portion of this work the pipes were supported to the desired
grade-line on the dam by trestle-work. A wire cable was also used for this
purpose, although the latter did not give satisfactory results. Fig. 74 illus-
trates both methods of suspending the pipes, and shows the dam when about
30 feet high. The necessity of frequently unjointing the pipe on the dam
for distributing the material evenly over the line from side to side made
the use of a canvas joint over that portion of the pipe inconvenient, and it
was replaced by loose straps of iron bolted to the pipes on the sides,
which kept them in line, and the water would shoot across the joint with-
out material loss. These joints were easily taken apart when desired.
The pipes were found to wear very rapidly, and were lined, first with strips
of wood, and later with strap-iron or tire-steel. Cast-iron pipe or open
flumes would be preferable for this sort of service.

The work on the dam began February 14, 1895, and during the first thirty
working-days, of 24 hours each, 21,000 cubic yards, or 55% of the entire
dam, were put in place—an average of 700 cubic yards per day, although at
times more than double this amount was moved in 24 hours. The ratio of
solid embankment to water used during this period was about 3.3%. The
force of men employed varied from 27 to 45, working in eight-hour shifts.
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104 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Two men were kept on the dump directing the stream of material and
building up the outer edges of the slopes to the proper lines, while the
others were chiefly engaged in ground-sluicing. With looser or deeper soil,
br under conditions permitting the use of a jet of water under pressure, the
cost of loosening, which in this case was the chief item of expense, would
be reduced to a nominal amount.

It is apparent that an embankment built in this manner is compacted
as thoroughly as it could be by any process of rolling and is not subject to
further settlement. It is also manifest that the finer materials are by this
process precipitated in the interior of the fill, next to the discharge-outlets
for the water, and that the particles are in a general way graded in size
from the outside toward the center. In this dam all of the stand-pipes are
placed inside of the center line, as shown by the section of the dam
(Fig. 75), and therefore more of the coarse and permeable bowlders and
gravel are placed on the outer half of the embankment, where they afford

 

2-Lines of 24"Cast iron lye

r 2-24"Pressure Gares

    

 

bs | -24°Cast lratt Fipe.l2 Long

 

 

 

Fie. 75.—Cross-sEcTION OF LA Musa Dam.

ready drainage to the percolation that might find its way through the dam.
(See Fig. 75.) Thus the failure of the structure through the ordinary
process of supersaturation and the sloughing of the outer slopes is rendered
highly improbable if not impossible. A dam built in this way is tested as
it grows by the pond of water standing on top of it and the rising lake
behind it, and if any weakness exists it is sure to be discovered and remedied
by the operation of natural laws.

This dam is not entirely free from leakage, although as the water comes
through quite clear it causes no anxiety and shows no tendency to increase.
The leakage measures 100 gallons per minute when the water in the reser-
voir stands at the 54-foot level, and 23 gallons per minute when the water
stands at 46 feet.

The reservoir-basin is large enough to impound 18,890 acre-feet if the
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS, 105

dam be raised to the 140-foot contour. Such adam, of safe dimensions,
would contain 682,000 cubic yards, and its construction has been seriously
considered, the material to be obtained by excavating the interior of the
basin, conveying it to the dam by the hydraulic method and then hoisting
it in place by mechanical means.

The elevation of the base of the dam is 433.5 feet above sea-level, and a
24-inch wood-stave pipe, 6500 feet long, banded to withstand 180 feet
maximum pressure, connects it with a 15-inch steel main that is laid from
the end of the main flume to San Diego. The location and elevation of the
connection of these pipes has practically determined the 43-foot contour in

.

 

Fie. 76.—La Mesa Hypravuic-FILL DAM, SHOWING Pipe DiscHARGING MATERIAL
ON THE Dam.

the reservoir as the lowest level to which the water will ordinarily be drawn
when used for city service, unless a more direct connection be made. In
times of scarcity the water below the 43-foot level has been pumped from
the reservoir.

Crane Valley Hydraulie-fill Dam, California.—Some years ago the San
Joaquin Electric Company erected a power-plant on the San Joaquin River,
34 miles north of Fresno, to utilize water brought from the North Fork of
the San Joaquin to the power station. The power-drop at this place is
1410 feet, and the plant is remarkable as one of the first to make use of so
high a drop, as well as for the long distance of the transmission of power,
as the company deliver electricity to Hanford, a distance of 70 miles, as well
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108 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

as to Fresno. The plant was designed and built by J. J. Seymour, C.E.,
nresident of the company, and by J. S. Eastward, chief engineer, under
contracts with the General Electric Company. The plant was entirely
successful until a severe drouth developed such an unprecedented shortage
in the low-water supply as to diminish the possible power output below
the demands upon it. To remedy this deficiency, and the annual shortage
during three or four months in average years, the company undertook the
erection of a storage-dam for impounding the flood run-off of the North
Tork. The dam was planned and supervised by J. M. Howells, C.E.,
and is a structure purely of the hydraulic-fill type. The general dimen-
sions of the original plan were as follows:

Maximum height........ 0.2... 2.2.4: 100 feet.
Length on top ........... ee Neste ee 720 ‘‘
With OMtOWiacs. dake tat ee cath ge 5 29."
Slope on water-side....... peeie,  aethe. Go eeele

«ec lower side....... weer wees, Tegel:
Width of canyon at base........ 0.2... 50 feet.
Width 60 feet higher... ........0..... 300‘!

Water for sluicing was brought to the dam-site a distance of 5 miles,
by flumes and ditches. The volume used was 15 second-feet (750 miner’s
inches), which was delivered to the summit of a hill overlooking the dam
and 200 feet above it. This hill, which furnished the materials for
building the dam, was surveyed and explored by borings to determine
the quantity and quality of available earth for the purpose. The hill has
an underlying base of granite, which has disintegrated very irregularly,
leaving hard exposures at various points, while in places the depth to
solid rock is very great. This disintegrated material is sandy in places,
and in spots it has passed into the clayey stage, while fragments of granite
still lie bedded intact, furnishing rock for the outer paving of the embank-
ment. Hard bed-rock is exposed over nearly the entire area covered
by the dam. It is of granite throughout, hardest near the level of the
stream, where erosion has polished it smooth and glassy. Higher on the
sides it is not so hard, but has made an excellent foundation. Advantage
has been taken of a cut, blasted out from the solid rock, at a level 14 feet
above the stream-bed, by an old mining company for a ditch grade, in
which to place the outlet-sluices. This cut was arched over with masonry
for the entire width of the dam, and served to carry the flow of the stream
during construction. Gates were set in this cut on the center line of the
dam, to be closed when the dam was finished and storage began. The
gate-stems extend up through a circular shaft, 22 inches in diameter,
3 inches thick, reaching to the top of the dam. This shaft is made of
IY DRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 109

successive rings of cement pipe, 6 to 12 inches in height, which were
added one at a time, as the dam rose. During construction this shaft
served to draw off the surplus water from the pond formed on top of the
embankment, after its load of material had dropped on the rising dam.
In preparing the foundations the center line of the dam was ex-
cavated to bed-rock and all loose material removed for a width of 20 feet
from the center line on the up-stream side. Then a concrete wall, 2 feet
in thickness, and about 2 to 5 feet in height, was built on bed-rock, into
which was firmly imbedded the footings of a wooden core-wall, of doubled

 

 

Fig. 79.—Crane Vattey Dam. SHowinc Woopen Fence, or Center DIAPHRAGM,
WHICH WAS CaRRIED Up To a HercuT or 30 FEET ABOVE BEp-ROCK.

l-inch surfaced sheeting. This wooden partition was continued to a
height of some 30 feet above the base of the dam, its object being mainly
to prevent the stratification of material deposited by the water from
extending across the center of the dam from either side. It was also
designed as a check against percolation through the dam.

It had been intended to carry this partition to the top, but as the
dam building progressed it was found that stratification could be effect-
ually prevented by a system of cutting into the plastic material of the
central part of the dam by pushing down broad wedge-shaped planks
or paddles, 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide. This was systematically carried
on while sluicing was in progress, and in continuous lines, at intervals
110 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of 2 feet, parallel with the center of the dam on the up-stream side, for
a width of 20 feet out. As the workmen were able to shove the paddies
into the mushy mass to a depth of 10 fect or more, the cleavage across
the stratification was repeated over and over again. On the withdrawal
of the paddle the fine silt would immediately fill the hole, and thus alter
the composition of the mass.

The result of this kneading process was so satisfactory that on the
sides of the canyon, at an elevation of 60 feet from the base, the wooden

 

 

Fic. 80.—Crane Vattey Dam SHowine DiscuarGce or Situicep Eartu at END oF
CONVEYING FLUME.

core-wall was carried no higher than 6 feet above the concrete founda-
tion.

A porous cement conduit, or pipe 3 inches diameter, was laid on
top of the concrete wall against the wooden sheeting on the down-
stream side, throughout its entire length. At the lowest point in the
stream-hed the pipe from either side connected with a 6-inch cement
pipe laid on the bottom outward to the toe of the lower slope. These pipes
were designed for drainage, but through a series of mishaps they came
near causing the destruction of the dam. During a sudden freshet
which threatened to overtop the dam, it heeame necessary to use powder
to blow out a weoden gate that had accidentally closed the outlet cul-
vert. The explosion shattered the 3-inch drainage pipe at one point
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 111

over the culvert, and started leakage of muddy water carrying sand
through the 6-inch outlet. This continued until it carried out sufficient
material to produce a crater in the dam, conical in shape, reaching to
the top, and discharging over 1000 cubic yards of the finer material of
the center portion of the dam before it was finally checked. As the
dam had then reached a height of 70 feet, and the reservoir was nearly
full the situation was alarming. The cavity was hastily filled with
gravel, sandbags, etc., and the leakage finally ceased. A shaft was

 

 

 

Fic. 81.—Crane Vautitey Hypravuic-rirt Dav. SHowrne Metuop oF LoosENING
THE MATERIALS SLUICED INTO THE Dam.

then sunk down to the break, and the fact discovered that the break
had been self-mended by being plugged with roots and leaves that had
been washed into the dam in the process of sluicing, rather than by the
sandbags and other fillings that had been thrown into the cavity.

Owing to long delay in securing permission to use the ditch, which
passed through a United States Forest Reserve, it was necessary to
begin sluicing by means of a pump. A steam-pump with a capacity
of 2.25 second-feet was installed on the bank of the stream, above the
dam-site, and delivered water through an 11-inch riveted steel pipe
to a “Little Giant” monitor with 23-inch nozzle at the borrow-pit,
75 to 110 feet above the stream.

About two-thirds of the total amount of material placed in the dam
112 2ESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

was conveyed by the water pumped. When the permit to use the ditch
was finally granted, the remaining third was ground sluiced in by the
use of the flumes that were employed for the conveyance of pumped
water. These flumes were laid on a grade of 6°¢, which was the mini-
mum permissible for free operation with the comparatively small volume
of water delivered by the pump. The flumes were made of 1-inch pine
boards, 12 inches wide, 10 inches deep, covered on top except across
the dam, where the cover was omitted. With this small flume, and the
small quantity of water used, it was not possible to convey any rock
to the dam, or material co:urser than fine gravel, even on 6; grades.

Two sets of flumes were used, one on either side, in alternation.
When one side of the embankment was raised to a height from which the
heavier particles, making their own gradients toward the center, ap-
proached the center as closely as was deemed expedient the stream of
material was shifted to the flume on the opposite side, which was then
raised accordingly. At the base of the dam the coarser sand was not
allowed nearer than about 40 feet from the center line, but as the dam
rose and its top width decreased this distance was decreased corre-
spondingly.

After both sides had been raised to the same level, by an even dis-
tribution on each, all the way across, the water-level of the pool, always
remaining in the center of the embankment, was then raised by adding
one of the cement rings to the circular drainage shaft, through which
the surplus water was allowed to escape. This raised the water-level
of the central pool about 13 inches. The process of sluicing was then
repeated. As the dam approached the 60-foot level this was found to
throw the water-line too near the edges of the dam, and rings 6 inches
in depth were added thereafter. The flumes were so placed that when
the dam had reached an elevation equal to the lower end of the flume,
which was of course on the further side of the dam from which the exca-
vation was taking place, the line of the flume was at the outer edge of
the embankment. The flume was then raised, moving it toward the
center of the dam sufficiently to allow the process to be repeated on the
higher level. The trestles supporting the flumes were made of 2” x4”
plank, which could generally be pried out of the sand and used again.
A handspike with a sharp iron spur bolted to the end would suffice to
start any one of the posts of the trestle from its bedding in the sand.
The flumes were thus raised about 10 feet in elevation each time.

At short intervals slotted openings were made in the bottom of the
flume through which a driblet of water was allowed to run. This carried
with it a large percentage of the coarser sand, which was thus deposited
where it could be cast by shovels to the slope line.

The discharge from the flume to the dam of the greater portion of the
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 113

water with its load, was made at convenient points by side gates in the
flume, formed of a short section of the side board sawed in such a way
that it could be swung across the flume, turning out the entire flow at
that point. From these points of discharge the sand and silt were
distributed on light grades until the central pool was reached, when
precipitation of the sand took place at once, forming bluff banks under
the water near its edge, while the fine silt particles were distributed
across the pool.

The construction was suspended when the dam reached a height
of about 70 feet, where a temporary spillway was available over a gap

 

 

Fic. 82—Borrow-Pits FROM WHICH MATERIAL WAS SLUICED TO THE CRANE
VaLLeY Dam IN BacKGROUND.

in the crest of the horseshoe shaped hill, around which the river formerly
flowed. It is planned to be extended later to the full height of 100 feet.

On completion of sluicing, the embankment was rip-rapped on both
faces with broken stone, partially taken from the temporary spillway,
and partly gathered from the adjacent hillsides.

The preliminary estimates of cost of the dam contemplated an expendi-
ture of $25,000 for the 100-foot structure. At that time the necessity
for pumping was not considered. The actual cost of the work done could
not be definitely ascertained.

This example of hydraulic-fill dam building, considering the class
of material available and the conditions under which it was constructed,
114 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

affords a most valuable illustration of the flexibility of the hydraulic
process in adapting itself to the building of a stable dam at small cost
with materials from which it would otherwise or by other methods have
been impossible to secure stability or water-tightness in an embankment
of similar height. In this locality the cost of either a masonry or rock-
fill dam would have been so great as to be commercially unprofitable,
while the materials which might have been used for the ordinary
type of earth dam occurred in such irregular pockets, interspersed
between huge granite bowlders, as to be difficult of access and
consequently expensive. The material was also of doubtful value
for earth-dam construction, built in the usual way, with plows and
scrapers, because of the difficulty of securing solidity and compact-
ness and proper bond with the bed-rock, with such material, with-
out a segregation of the fine from the coarse, as by the hydraulic pro-
cess.

There were occasional pockets of red clay mixed with sand which
had been filled in by the action of water, instead of originating from
the disintegration of granite rock in place as the bulk of the material
was formed. When the material from the clay pockets came onto the
dam it gave trouble to the workmen to keep the outer edges of the
embankment up to the steep slopes at which they were designed, owing
to the tendency of the slippery clay to slide down to flatter angles of
repose. The decomposed granite, however, was regarded as ideal material
for hydraulic dam building, as it was found to contain 70% to 80%
of sand and gravel of all grades, from a hazelnut size down to very fine
grains. The remaining 20% to 30% was still more finely divided, dis-
coloring the water like clay and requiring considerable time to settle.
Such material, when once settled and drained, offers enormous resistance
to the percolation of water, and its behavior in this case at the time
of the break is not easily understood. The leakage through the bottom
pipe was small—never more than 30 to 40 gallons per minute, but even
that amount of water passing through the core material should have
been impossible if the central portion had been composed exclusively
of the fine silt or clay. There must have been some unbroken lines of
coarser sand crossing the central zone as far as the partition. It is
doubtless true that drainage of the central impervious zone of hydraulic-
fill dams should be made exclusively through the porous friction-bearing
materials composing the outer slopes, and not by any defined channel
of considerable size, such as the cement pipes laid under the base of this
dam, which, as this example shows, may become a source of dangerous
concentration of drainage.

The dam has been in service ever since its completion, and is regarded
as a safe structure.
, SECTION THROUGH WEIR AND BASIN

   
  
    
  

Scale of Feet iy.
SS ot
0 -10 20 30

         

\
\_ New Spillway ye 165
C lou

    

0159 — fs 8" Concrete

    
 
 
 

       
 

     
   

oh ee a og 3
Cis Concrete Side Wall7 Side Slopes and Bottom Paved with 2 Top of
Stone to beginning of Channel s eA lOpOls
2 Old Spillway ~.~ Center Lin
£2] lived with Timber’ —
= ‘
& \
5 Culvert ~

PLAN OF DAMA

Scale of.

AVERAGE SECTION,
6-FT. CULVERT

 

AVERAGE SECTION,
5-FT. CULVERT AND 3-FT. PIPE

 

Fu
NE A-B
‘Feet

 

 

 

—,—— iy
2 50
00 250 Grown of New Dam, 6 ft.wide,Contour 166. Length, 1300 feet gout
Top of Contour 164, 16 ft wide
ici eee eens a

 

ntour 125, on Nortu Face of Old Dam

Dam

SECTION THROUGH CULVERT
Scale of Feet

    
  
   

Inlet Crib

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Dam

 

Foe of both Ola and New Dams
425

— Te

Tate

PLAN AND SECTIONS,
OF. THE
DOBBINS CREEK HYDRAULIC-FILL DAM,
YUBA CO., CAL, .
BUILT FOR.THE BAY COUNTIES POWER CO.

[Vo face page i15.}
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. Llo

Lake Frances Hydraulic-fill Dam, California——As an example of
unusual difficulties and adverse conditions successfully overcome where
other methods have failed, the repair and enlargement of the broken
Lake Frances dam by the hydraulic method is perhaps the most con-
spicuous which could be selected.

This dam was originally built as an ordinary earth dam, by fie Bay
Counties Power Company, two miles above the Colgate Power House,
on a little tributary of the Yuba River, called Dobbins Creek. It is
located about 35 miles from Marysville, in the mountains of Yuba County,
at an elevation of 1500 feet above sea-level. The watershed intercepted

 

 

Fig. 84.—BreAK IN ORIGINAL LAKE FrRaNcES Dam. LOooKING UP STREAM.

is but 6.5 square miles above the dam, from which the run-off fluctuates
from a mere trickle of 3 or 4 miner’s inches to an extreme flood flow
of about 1000 second-feet. The dam was intended to form a small reser-
voir for emergency service, and is located 400 feet higher than the pen-
stock of the power-house, which receives its water supply from the North
Fork of Yuba River through a wooden flume nine miles long, built in
the rocky canyon of that stream. The flume is subjected to occasional
interruption from falling rocks, and in such an emergency the small
reservoir storage of the Lake Frances reservoir is drawn upon for a few
hours at a time to maintain the operation of the plant. It was originally
planned to utilize the power at certain hours of the day when the demand
was less than the output by pumping water from the flume up to the
116 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

higher reservoir, and a 4-stage 10-inch centrifugal pump was ordered
built for this purpose. This plan was not carried out, but one-haif the
pump was subsequently finishea up and used for the hydraulic-fill work
which will be described.

The original dam built in 1899 had a maximum height of 50 feet,
was 992 feet long, 16 feet wide on the crest, and was given slopes of
3 on 1 and 2 on 1, on the up-stream and down-stream sides respectively.
It formed a reservoir of 42.67 acres area at the spillway level (4 feet
below the crest), and gave a storage capacity of 30,545,000 cubic feet.

 

 

Fic. 85.—Near View or Ricut Sipe or BREAK IN EMBANKMENT OF LAKE FRANCES:
Dam SHowine Roots Exposep By THE BREAK.

The site of the dam as well as a large part of the reservoir-basin
was covered with pine forest when construction began, and had to be
cleared and grubbed to get at the material in the borrow-pits.

For two-thirds of its length from the east end where the embankment
was lowest in height, it was built with slip and wheel scrapers, the earth
being spread in layers of 6 and 8 inches depth and moistened and rolled
as is customary. The remainder, covering the highest and most im-
portant portion of the dam on either side of the original stream channel,
was built late in the season when the ground had dried out and the water-
supply had practically failed. The rainy season was approaching and
there was such haste in completing the dam that the earth was dumped
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 117

in any way most convenient, as in an ordinary railway embankment,
without any attempt at spreading in layers. The steep hill slope at the
west end was not even cleared of stumps and roots over much of its
surface, as the subsequent break revealed.

The material of the hillsides consisted of red clay and gray sandy
soil, resulting from the disintegration of syenite rock, devoid of mica.
In the valley proper the soil contained some gravel and enough vegetable
mold to constitute a dark loam.

Rupture of Original Dam.—A few days after the fill had been com-
pleted, a rainfall of 9 inches in 36 hours caused the reservoir to fill rapidly,

 

Fig. 86.—Tor Lever or Nortu Facer, Lake Frances Dam, AND INLET Crip aT Heap
oF FIvE-FooT OUTLET CULVERT.

and when the water had risen to within six feet of the spillway level,
at 11 a.m., Oct. 21, 1899, the dam was suddenly ruptured, and a hole
washed through it 100 feet wide at top, extending down to and below
the original stream-bed. The dam originally contained 80,265 cubic
yards, of which 16,160 cubic yards, or about 20%, were washed away.
Repair and Enlargement by Hydraulic Method.—During the summer
following the break the writer was employed to report on the repair
of the broken dam, and after examination recommended that the hy-
draulic sluicing method be employed. In the spring of 1901 he was
placed in charge of construction, associating with him Mr. J. M. Howells,
M. Am. Soc. C. E., who corroborated the writer’s recommendation of
the hydraulic-sluicing process as the most desirable means for recon-
struction. It was decided that it would be unwise to repair the dam
118 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWLRK, ETC,

by simply filling the gap, as it would subject the remainder of the em-
bankment, which had already failed at one point, to the possibility of
a repetition of the same disaster, as well as subject the old and new parts
to unequal settlement. It was therefore proposed to place a heavy
layer of earth against the upper slope of the original fill of sufficient
thickness to give an impervious core of selected fine clay between zones
of porous, stable material. This added thickness was recommended to
be 125 feet, measured horizontally, which, if carried out simply as a
repair of the old dam, would have left it with a crest width of 141 feet.
With this broad crest it was evidently safe to add 25 feet to the height

 

Fic. 87.—Dome on Gate CHAMBER, Lake Frances DAM; aLso TWENTY-TWO-INCB
Siuice Pipe.

of the dam. The filling of the break and the 125 feet facing required
133,782 cubie yards of material, while the increase in height proposed
involved but 81,371 cubic yards additional for which the plant would
have been already installed. As the storage would be increased three
and one third times the extra cost was manifestly justifiable, and the
work was ordered on that plan.

Sluicing with a Pump.—As a gravity water-supply was not obtain-
able it became necessary not only to pump the water for sluicing, but
to build a small storage-reservoir below the dam to store up a supply
and pump the water over and over again. Owing to delay in com-
pleting the two-stage tandem centrifugal pump (one half of the large
pump referred to) on account of a machinists’ strike in San Francisco,
work was begun on a small scale May 10, 1901, with a 6-inch single-stage
centrifugal pump, direct connected to a 30-H.P. motor, installed with
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 119

electric current supplied from the Colgate Power House, two miles away.
This pump delivered 1.76 second-feet under a head of 100 feet, and
did very good service until June 15. By its use 4090 cubic yards were
deposited in the repair of the break, at a cost of 18.27 cents per cubic
yard. The larger pump was finally installed and put in service Aug. 30,
1901. It continued to supply the water for sluicing until the completion
of the dam June 28, 1902.

The pump had a capacity for delivering 6 cubic feet per second,
under a pressure of 120 pounds per square inch, through a line of 20-inch

 

 

 

Fig. 88.—West Enp oF Lake Frances Dam, SHOWING THE Break RESTORED, THE
HicHeR DAM NEARLY COMPLETED, THE HyprauLic GIANT AT WORK, AND THE
Main Pirr LINE SUPPLYING WATER TO THE PuMP.

pipe, 300 to 700 feet long. The pump was belt-connected with a 350
H.P. synchronous motor, using alternating electric current at 2400 volts.
; A careful test of the plant made Feb. 5, 1902, showed the efficiency

of the pump to be 61% to 63%, and the combined efficiency of pump
and motor of 50% to 52%, when delivering 4.1 to 4.66 second-feet,
under 104 pounds pressure.

The first work of the new plant was to complete the filling of the
gap in the original dam by depositing the remaining 9620 cubic yards.
This work was much hampered and delayed by the contracted area
to which it was reduced, requiring frequent suspension of work to allow
for proper settlement and drainage. Levees were maintained along the
up-stream and down-stream slopes, one or two feet in height, composed
120 RES’ RVOIRS FOR lLRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of the most stable materia] brought down by the water, while the fine
clay mud was deposited in the pond confined between these levees.
The excess water was drained from this pond by flumes at one end, or
by a pipe siphon, and returned to a pond at the north side of the dam.
The sediment deposited from this overflow, together with one or more
slides or slips from the slope, of the filling in the break, added 5220 cubic
yards to the zone calied the “North Face.” These slips and sloughing
down the slope were due to the lack of sufficient coarse gravel, rock,
and sand to afford the desired friction and requisite freedom of drainage.

During ali this filling of the break as well as in all subsequent work

 

 

Fig. 89.—Hyprautic Grant In AcTION UNDERCUTTING THE BANK.

the water contained in the fine mud which composed the bulk of the
interior of the dam was constantly being pressed out as settlement
of the mass continued, and appeared as a continuous ooze over the
entire face of the slopes. In fact this ooze was apparent for some months
after the dam was completed.

Owing to the great length of the dam (1300 feet on the crest) and
the necessity for securing all the material of construction from one end,
it was necessary to use gradients as low as possible, to avoid exressive
height of trestle supporting the flume and pipe for delivering the mate-
rial. The minimum was found to be 2.2%. For this reason it was not
possible to transport mucl of the rock encountered in the borrow-pits,
and there was constant Jack of sufficient coarse material to maintain
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 121

the slopes, and prevent slides. It was finally found necessary to resort
to the use of pine and cedar boughs and other brush 6 or 8 feet long
laid into the slopes with the butts inside, to prevent the tendency to slip.
This was effectual in knitting the mass together sufficiently to overcome
the sliding and sloughing tendency.

The general plan of building the north face and the top embank-
ment was to deliver the sluiced materials that had been loosened and
washed out by the hydraulic giants, under pressure of 40 to 75 pounds
per square inch at the nozzle, through a 22-inch riveted steel pipe, placed
on a high trestle running parallel with the axis of the dam, and far

 

 

 

Fig. 90.—Laxe Frances Dam, NovemBer 6TH, 1901. From SoutH Borrow-rit,
LOOKING ALONG AXIS OF OrIGINAL Dam.

enough inside the slope lines to make delivery through lateral flumes of
moderate length, terminating at the edges of the rising embankment.
They were of varying length, according to the height at which they were
designed to deliver, and were made about 25 feet in average height.
The longest trestle with which the additional height of 25 feet above
the original dam was built was 1560 feet long, with 13 branch trestles,
as shown in Fig. 92. The highest bent in this trestle was 40 feet high.

The sections of pipe laid on the trestles were separated by a space of
two to four feet, which space was filled by a loose curved plate or half
pipe clamped over the joint with key bands that could be quickly un-
jointed by driving out a key and slipping off the band. Thus delivery
of a part or the whole discharge of the pipe could be made at any point
desired.
122 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC,

?

The volume in the completed dam is 280,700 cubic yards, of which
amount 182,937 cubic yards were deposited by sluicing in the period
of 253 days.

A record of the actual time of sluicing shows an aggregate during
this period of 1581 working hours, or a little over 25% of the total time.
Omitting Sundays and half the nights, the sluicing, in shifts of 10 hours
per day, was carried on about one half the maximum available time,
The other half was lost by reason of stoppages required for building
trestles, and also from lack or shortage of power.

 

mB tee

 

Fig. 91.—Lakr Frances Dam ConstrucTIon. PUMPING STATION, SHOWING SUCTION
PIPE CONNECTED TO TANDEM CENTRIFUGAL Pump. Cris Dam IN FOREGROUND
BUILT TO STORE WATER FOR EARLIER OPERATIONS.

The volume of water used was carefully measured and found to vary
from 4.5 to 7.0 second-feet. The total water pumped was estimated
at 30,740,000 cubic feet, while the total volume of solids transported
and deposited in the dam amounted to 4,940,000 cubic feet, or 16.6%
of the entire amount of water pumped. This was in addition to about
2% or 3% of silt carried in suspension and drained back into the reser-
volr.

The weekly percentages of solids carried by the water varied from
a minimum of 6.1% to a maximum of 47.7%. With unlimited power,
clear water, good material in the pit, a bank over 25 or 30 feet high
and all conditions favorable, the material poured in rapidly and the
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 123

ratio was maintained for several weeks from 32% to 38% of solids. A
frequent cause of delay was due to accumulation of roots and stones
in the borrow-pit, preventing a continuous flow of earth to the sluice
ditch. Another cause was the occasional clogging of the delivery-pipe
by reason of the light grade, and a momentary increase in percentage
of solids carried. The best week's work was 22,350 cubic yards, deposited
in 94.5 hours, an average of 236 cubic yards per hour with 6.5 second-
feet of water, and a ratio of 27.2% solids. The power used averaged
236 H.P., showing a combined efficiency of pump and motor of 53.9%.

 

 

Fig. 92.—Laxe Frances, Cat, Hypravtic-FILL Dam BurtpiIne. SHOWING OUTER
Levers MaintTaineD wiTH BrusH, DerFLectinc Boarps For DISTRIBUTING
SLUICINGS ALONG SLOPE, GENTLE SLOPES TOWARD CENTER OF Dam, AND GRADUAL
MoveMENT oF DRAINAGE TOWARD EXTREME END.

The total power used, at } cent per H.P.H., cost $2054, or about 1 cent
per cubic yard moved.

The minimum cost for labor during any one week’s run was 3.8 cents
per cubic yard. The average labor cost was about 15 cents per cubic
yard, and the total cost, including all power, materials, and plant, was
probably less than 20 cents per cubic yard. Under more favorable
conditions the work might have been done at an average of 3 to 5 cents
per cubic yard.

These improved conditions. easily attainable for hydraulic-fill dam
construction in many localities, may be outlined as follows:

(a) Constant, uninterrupted power amply sufficient to do the work
124 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

required if the water has to be supplied by pumping, but preferably a
gravity supply of 10 to 30 second-feet, giving greater carrying power
and greatly increasing the output of material with the same force of
attendants.

(b) Shorter top length of dam, permitting the use of steeper gra-
dients in the sluice boxes and delivery-pipes, and consequently giving
higher velocities and ability to move rock of considerable size for sta-
bility of slopes. In this case much rock was necessarily left in the pit
where it was in the way and was a source of diminished efficiency, although
greatly needed on the dam, because of lack of transporting power.

(c) Delivery from both ends of a dam simultaneously, instead of from
one side alone, which would permit of increased gradients and more
effective delivery of coarse material throughout the entire iength of the
slopes.

(d) A larger proportion of sand, gravel, or broken stone of less than
10 or 12 inches diameter, rendering the slopes stable without the use
of brush, and avoiding the building of dry levees with teams.

Settlement—The dam was constantly undergoing settlement as the
water was being pressed out of it. This was observed by the distor-
tion of the flumes and pipe trestles, and the slope boards on the slopes.
The greatest amount of settlement measured on the posts of the last
trestle used on the north face was 3.48 feet, or about 9% of the height.
The original dam settled 2.5 feet vertically, notwithstanding the fact
that it had been exposed to the rains of two previous winters, and was
presumably solid.

Comparison of the volume of the dam with that taken from the borrow-
pit (covering 7.12 acres, excavated to a mean depth of 21.5 feet) indi-
cated that the former was but 84.6% of the latter, and estimating the
silt carried off by the tail-water at 4.4%, the shrinkage of the soil from
its natural condition in the bank to its compacted state in the dam was
about 11%, a practical illustration of the solidifying action of water
in building dams by this process. In fact, from the compact condition
of hydraulic-fills generally, it appears certain that it is not possibie to
secure such density of earth by any other process, even at many times
the cost.

Stratification —The same means were used in this work to prevent
or break up stratification across the center as were employed on the
Crane Valley dam. The work of thrusting down paddles or planks
was continuously kept up, the men working from boats or rafts float-
ing in the pond of mud on top of the dam. Where any tendency was
discovered for the formation of local stratification of sand streaks across
or near to the center it was corrected by a change in the position of
the dump and the grade from the sides toward the center.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 125

Spillway.—The service outlet of the Lake Frances dam is a 30-inch
cast-iron pipe, laid through the embankment and surrounded with
masonry. Alongside of this pipe a masonry culvert was built for draw-
ing off surplus water at will before the reservoir is filled to the spillway
level. The spillway proper is 80 feet long, and is formed by a slab of
concrete, 8 inches thick, reinforced with continuous sheets of expanded
metal. Owing to the absence of rock this concrete slab, of Ogee form,
was laid on the natural earth and discharges into a paved basin, from
which a ditch leads to an isolated rock cliff, 500 feet away.

After the completion of the dam, during the winter of 1904-5, the
lake was filled to overflowing, with the 5-foot culvert discharging its
full capacity, and water ran 22 inches deep over the spillway. Evi-
dently, the original spillway, 40 feet wide without an auxiliary dis-
charge culvert, would have been totally inadequate, so that the first
dam was doomed to ultimate destruction even had it not been breached
as it was.

Hydraulic-filling of the Milner Dams on Snake River, Idaho.—In
the foregoing chapter on rock-fill dams, a description was given of three
combination rock-fill dams built on Snake River, Idaho, in 1904-5.
The hydraulic filling was of a character quite distinct from that em-
ployed in the pure types of hydraulic-fill dams hitherto treated of in
this chapter, and is deserving of further notice. The earth available
for this work was of one class only, and consisted of fine white or grayish
soil which covers the plains of that region to a depth varying from one
to twenty feet or more. It is exceedingly fine in texture, an almost
impalpable powder, free from grit and wonderfully uniform in quality.
A test made by the writer showed that it was like finely-ground cement,
as nearly 90% would pass through a sieve of 10,000 meshes per square
inch. It is classed as loess or wind-borne soil, and is doubtless a fine
voleanic ash. It absorbs water slowly in bulk, like flour, but when
once wet packs very solidly and becomes as stable, as impervious, and
as dense as clay, with this advantage that it does not shrink and crack
in drying. Using this material as a backing for the rock-fill, it was
very evident that the voids in the rock-fill above the wooden-core wall,
described in the previous chapter, could only be filled by sluicing the
earth in place with water. It was also considered that desired water-
tightness of the mass could best be obtained by a thorough saturation
during construction. The earth had to be obtained at a distance
of 2000 to 8000 feet from the dam. A portion of it nearest to the
dam was scraped into a box at the borrow-pit, by slip and wheel
scrapers and dump wagons, and, water being pumped from the river
to the box, the earth was thus sluiced through a flume to the point of
discharge at the dam. The volume of water discharged hy single
126 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

4-inch centrifuga! pumps was about 1.5 second-feet. The flumes were
about 12 inches square, open at top. No determinations were made
of the percentage of solids carried in this way, but the water seemed
to be well loaded at all times, and flowed freely on grades of 2% to 5%.

In building the two dams in the high-water channels there was no
difficulty in maintaining a levee of dry earth at the outer toe of the
slope with teams, the earth being hauled in by wagons and scrapers.
All of the earth for the south dam and a large part of that for the middle
dam, except for the base, was hauled by cars and electric locomotives
from borrow-pits a mile or more away, on the south side of the river.
It was loaded into the cars either by teams through traps, or by an
electric shovel, and dumped at the nearest end of the dam at such an
elevation that the water would carry it on a grade to the-further end.
The grade naturally assumed by the earth thus sluiced was from 2%
to 4%. The liquid mud freely entered the voids of the rock-fill, and
filled them solidly as far as the center core-wall of wood. As it rose
in height some slight leakage would show below for a time, but the
joints in the wood quickly swelled and filled with mud and became
entirely tight. The earth was always twenty feet or more below the
top of the rock-fill, and the work progressed at such a moderate rate
that the embankments had ample time to settle and solidify. The
earth packed so readily that in four days’ time after sluicing was sus-
pended a team could be driven over the embankment without sinking
in, although while sluicing was in progress a pole could be pushed down
into the mud to a depth of 10 feet or more, particularly at the extreme
end where the water stood longest in the pool.

Very little surface drainage was required to get rid of the surplus
water. It seemed to be absorbed and disappear, without showing up
either above or below the dam. The earth came to the dam in a pul-
verized, dusty condition, and the water was sprayed upon it and at
once saturated it to the softest of mud. About 80% of the earth in
the south and middle dams was sluiced in place, and 20% put in by
teams at the outer slope. This dry portion constantly absorbed moisture
from the adjacent mass of mud, and thus became equally hard and solid.

The hydraulic-filling of the north or channel dam was principally
delivered from the north side of the river through a flume into the upper
end of which a receiving-box was placed, into which the earth was
dumped from wagons through a trap where the pumped water sluiced
it down to the dam.

The earth was loaded into the wagon by means of a travelling exca-
vator with belt conveyors that delivered a continuous stream of earth
to the wagons travelling by its side until each received its load.

In this case the water used was about 1 second-foot and the lower
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 127

end of the flume discharged along the upper side of the wooden core-
wall, on top of the rock-fill, first filling the voids in the rock and then
extending up-stream into deep water 20 to 30 feet in depth. On reach-
ing the water it assumed a very flat slope under the water-line of 6
or 7 to 1. When the fill had reached the top of the water by this process
the slopes were drawn in to the regular 4 on 1 slope.

The contract prices for this work were as follows:

Dry earth embankment—........... 27.5 cents per cu. yd.
Earth embankment placed by sluicing 37.5 ‘' ‘* ¢*

These prices were necessarily high on account of the remoteness of
the locality, the high cost of fuel, labor, supplies, and materials.
Waialua Dam, Hawaii—Beginning about the year 1889, extensive
development in the growth of sugar-cane was made upon the island
of Oahu by means of irrigation with water from artesian wells located
near the seashore, the water being forced by powerful pumps to varying
levels up to 650 feet above the sea-level. Costly pumping stations were
installed and provision made for the delivery of very large volumes of
water. The fertility of the soil is such that an expenditure of $50 to
$75 per acre per annum for pumping water was amply justified by the
yield of cane to be secured by that means. One of the latest and largest
of the pumping systems installed on the island is on the Waialua Sugar
Plantation, 22 miles from Honolulu, stretching for several miles along
the north shore, and extending back to an elevation of 700 to 800 feet.
The aggregate capacity of the pumps in the four great pumping-stations
on this plantation is 72,000,000 gallons per 24 hours, their average lift
being from 231 to 540 feet, with an extreme lift of 650 feet. The cost
of pumping runs into high figures. The fuel bill for irrigation pumping
alone in 1902, before the introduction of California oil, was over $180,000,
and the average cost of water was $63.36 per acre for that year. To
reduce this cost of lifting water to the higher levels, as well as to increase
the water-supply and extend the irrigable area, the plantation manager
decided in 1903 to undertake the storage of flood water by the building
of a dam on an intermittent stream, called the Kaukonahua Gulch,
which flows through the property, and in May of that year the author
was engaged to report on the construction of the dam, which had been
projected by the Wahiawa Water Co. This company had been or-
ganized by Mr. L. G. Kellogg some years before to supply water to the
Wahiawa Colony lands, located on a high plateau between the two forks
of the Kaukonahua Gulch, where a colony of Americans were engaged
in growing pineapples. The company built a ditch to the Colony, and
subsequently surveyed the reservoir-site and contracted with the Waialua
128 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Sugar Plantation to take stock in the Water Company to supply funds
for building the dam, and purchase the reservoir water at an agreed
rate.

The Kaukonahua heads in the Koolau Mountains at an elevation of
2360 feet, where the annual rainfall is about 180 inches, well distributed
through the year. The watershed is of limited area, but the run-off
is at times very great, fluctuating spasmodically between wide extremes,
so that storage is needed to utilize the stream to any advantage. From
the limited data available it was estimated that the total annual run-off
was about 50,000 acre-feet, so distributed through the year that the
reservoir, which has a capacity of but 7800 acre-feet (2,500,000,000.
gallons) could be filled and emptied several times each year, and there-
fore be as serviceable as a much larger reservoir filled less frequently,
inasmuch as the irrigation season is practically continuous. The reser-
voir occupies two forks of the stream which join immediately above
the dam, water backing up in each from 4 to 6 miles. They are generally
parallel, and are practically two miniature canyons cut down through
a sloping plain to a depth of 150 to 200 feet. The formation thus exposed
in section is all of volcanic origin and consists of decomposed lava, in
alternating layers and of all shades of color from red to reddish brown
and purple to bright yellow. This formation is generally quite free
from any tendency to slide, and will often stand vertically in trenches
or tunnels without timbering for an indefinite time. It is so free from
grit that it resists the erosive action of water in a remarkable manner.
It was apparently not sufficiently stable to afford a reliable foundation
for the masonry dam that had been originally considered, and after
examining the site the author recommended the adoption of a com-
bination rock-fill and hydraulic-fill, with a wooden diaphragm in the
rock-filled portion, to be imbedded at the bottom in a concrete wall,
the latter to be carried down in a trench far enough to intercept various
strata of porous, cinder-like material encountered in the test-pits; the
earth-fill to be sluiced into place against the rock-fill and the diaphragn:
and to have an up-stream slope of 4 on 1. Mr. H. Clay Kellogg, C.E.,
of Santa Ana, California, who had made the original surveys and test:
pits of the dam and reservoir-site, was employed to build the dam, and
carried out the work in a very efficient manner, substantially on the
plans described. The dam has the following dimensions:

Maximum height above stream-bed............. 98 feet
~ ‘€ above base of core-wall........ 136 ‘‘

Tenigth, onerestia vase sycitiiaie hai alsenes esacth Mateuraeele 460 ‘‘

Wadthonicrestrs: .c.caG ded «4s scdadeoadagannes 25: 8
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 129:

The rock-fill portion has a base width of 80 feet, crest width 11.5 feet,
down-stream batter 0.75:1, up-stream face vertical; volume 26,000.
cubic yards. The wood diaphragm is located two feet below the up-
stream face of the rock-fill, which is chiefly composed of a hand-laid
dry wall. The diaphragm consists of double 2-inch redwood plank,
laid horizontally and spiked to 3 by 6 inch posts, placed two feet apart,
center to center, with a double layer of burlap dipped in hot asphaltum
between the two layers of plank. This latter precaution secured abso-
lute water-tightness to the diaphragm during construction, preventing
any leakage of liquid earth through the rock-fill.

The rock was brought to the site by a train of cars and locomotive
from a distance of one to six miles, and consisted of basaltic boulders.

LONGITUDINAL-SECTION

Top of Dam
High Water Line

 

    
   
 
 
  

 

Scale of Feet
0 2% © 50 100 150 200

 

CROSS-SECTION

Hydraulic Earth-fill

    

Hand placed Stone on
each side uf Core

  

Bed _of Creek

&
Fig. 93.—WataLua Dam SEcTIONS.

found in the dry-stream channels of the Waianae Mountains, many of
which required blasting for convenience of loading by hand.

They were dumped from the top of a trestle built at the outset to
the full height of the dam (see Fig. 95), and the larger stones selected
from the dump for laying up the faces of the wall. The height from which
the rocks were dropped consolidated the embankment quite effectively, so
that little or no settlement has been noticeable since the completion of
the dam, although shortly before completion the outer facing wall, some
2 feet thick, bulged out about a foot beyond the slope line over a limited
area, indicating that some settlement had occurred. This was corrected
130 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

by relaying the bulged portion to the true line, after which no further
movement was observed.

The concrete core-wall, as shown by the longitudinal section (Fig
93) extends to a depth of 38 feet entirely across the bottom of the valley,
and into the hillsides laterally from 10 to 20 feet.

  
 
 

Scale of Feet

50 100 #150 200 230

  
  
  
   
 

Fria. 94.—Controur Puan oF Waratua Dam.

8.5407,
“EEE. sop
U, Hd

a,
= = ae.

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3/ we?
Ss OQ pwe!
St =u
gf «yous
2 ao Sa
a oO =ZeXy
FE 3
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2

The trench was cut about 5 feet wide and entirely filled with con-
crete. The wall extends 2 to 4 feet above the surface, stepped down
the sides of the canyon in horizontal and vertical steps as indicated.
During construction the flood-waters were handled by a large flume,
supplemented by three capacious tunnels, one of which was subsequently
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 131

utilized for the permanent outlet of the reservoir by a 48-inch pipe laid
through it.

Water for hydraulic sluicing was delivered by a pipe laid from the
lower end of the Colony ditch to a point about 50 feet higher than the
top of the dam and 2000 feet distant from it. Between this point of
delivery and the dam was a body of earth, consisting of the decomposed
lava described, which was considered suitable for the embankment.
The method employed for moving the earth was that known in placer
mining parlance as ‘“‘ground sluicing.” As the head available was in-

 

 

 

Fic. 95.—WazaLua Dam, SHOWING HyDRAULIC-FILL BEING SLUICED IN AGAINST
THE ROCK-FILL.

sufficient to do effective work in cutting and loosening the earth by
the hydraulic jet usually employed, and as the material was peculiarly
resistent to erosion, it became necessary not only to plow the ground,
but to devise means for placing the loosened material into the flowing
stream of the ditch in order to accomplish its delivery to the dam.
Ordinary soils can be washed very readily by flowing water over the
surface, even without plowing. In this case, however, the peculiar
cohesiveness and unctuous character of the soil made it exceedingly
difficult to sluice, and the method finally adopted was to dig a ditch
about 4 feet deep at the upper end, and 12 to 16 feet deep at the lower
end next to the dam, having a bottom gradient of about 4%, through
which the water was turned to the amount of 8 cubic feet per second.
132 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

This ditch was 1300 feet long. The soil was then plowed to a width
of 12 feet on either side by means of plows drawn by cables from portable
winding engines stationed at each end—the ordinary English steam
plow. After plowing the ground, the traction-engines of the plow were
used to drag a V-shaped scraper or “Crowder,” as it was called, along
the plowed surface, thus crowding the loosened earth into the running
water of the ditch alongside. Receiving its load of earth in this way,
the velocity of the water was sufficient to carry the material to the dam,
although when merely turned over the surface of the plowed ground
the water ran over it clear without picking it up and washing it away,
for lack of the gritty, cutting-tools of erosion, such as sand or gravel.
This process of alternately plowing and crowding was continued until
the ditch grade was reached, when a new strip was plowed, and the
ditch shifted over to the bluff bank on either side of its original position.
This work of loosening and delivering the soil to the ditch was done
by Japanese under contract for eight cents per cubic yard. The cost.
of distributing it on the dam averaged 3 cents per cubic yard, a total
of 11 cents per cubic yard. The total volume of the earth-fill was 141,000
cubic yards, of which 100,000 cubic yards were put in by the aid of the
four steam-plows borrowed from the plantation. The remaining 41,000
cubic yards were put in by hand labor, blasting, picking, and shovelling
into the ditches. An area of eleven acres was stripped to an average depth
of 8 feet to secure the material for the dam. The total cost of the dam
was $281,000, including a diverting or relief dam, 29 feet high, built at
the up-stream toe of the main dam, with sheet-piling core, and also
including four long tunnels around the dam, the regulating-gate tower,
48-inch outlet-pipe and gate, and the spillway, which is 135 feet in
width, 6 feet deep, lined with concrete, stone rip-rap on the upper face,
18 inches thick, ete.

The material composing the hydraulic-fill had the remarkable quality
of settling so rapidly that the water flowing off at the further side of
the dam was clear enough to drink, while the fill immediately became
hard enough to walk upon, and within a few days the outer surface
became so firm that stakes could be driven into it with difficulty. There
appears to have been no settlement of the embankment whatever after
completion of the dam, and when examined by the author in May, 1907,
a year after it had been filled and in service, the water-line along the
slope was an absolutely straight line, without deviation or distortion
whatever.

During the first year of service a stream of clear water measuring
about 0.4 second-foot issued from the lower toe of the dam, apparently
coming from the sides, and probably around the dam. Since that time,
this leakage is reported to have materially diminished and practically
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 133

YW OW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 96.—RocK-FILL ON DOWN-STREAM SIDE OF WAIAULA Dam.

 

 

 

Fic. 97.—Watzatua Dam, Hawa, SHowine FLoop DiscHARGE THROUGH OUTLET
TUNNELS DURING CONSTRUCTION, UNDER Heap oF 8 Fret at Uprer ENp oF
TUNNELS.
134 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC

ceased. The elevation of the spillway of the dam is 844 feet above
sea-level, and the ditch taken from the outlet commands all lands on the
plantation below the 700-foot level.

After the completion of the dam in 1905, it was decided to widen
the spillway from 50 feet to 125 feet and the material excavated was.
sluiced to the lower toe of the dam against the rock-fill, where it assumed
a natural slope of about 5 on 1, reaching to a height of 25 to 30 feet upon
the down-stream face of the dam. This addition was considered of
doubtful valuc because it was not previously underdrained, and tended
to cut off the drainage afforded by the rock-fill although increasing the
stability of the steep rock-slope. Inasmuch as seepage has steadily
decreased, however, since this work was done, it must be admitted that
the toe embankment is unobjectionable. During the freshets in the
summer of 1907 the reservoir was filled to overflowing, and water poured
through the enlarged spillway to a depth of 2 feet for a considerable time.

The ditch from the reservoir was built a distance of eleven miles,
with a capacity, of 96 sec. ft. It involved the excavation of twenty-one
tunnels, 6’ x6’, aggregating 20,780 feet, the longest being 1700 feet.
They were excavated by contract at a cost of 40 cents per linear foot
in earth, 60 cents to $1.00 per foot in soft rock, and $4.00 per linear
foot in ‘solid rock. Open ditch excavation cost 16.5 cents per cubic
yard. It also required the building of three notable inverted siphons
of riveted steel pipes of following dimensions:

Pohamoho Gulch, 54 inches diameter, 1320 feet long, 400 feet max. head.
Halemano ce 54 ae Ue 300 << bc 6
Opaeula “48 “c oc 900 ‘* ¢ 200 ¢é “e it

All work was done by Japanese laborers and artisans, including the
placing and field riveting of the pipes.

At one point a ravine was crossed with a temporary flume, 50 feet
‘igh, which was. subsequently substituted by an earth dam _ sluiced
in place by the water from the ditch and forming a convenient service
reservoir for night-water storage. This work was planned and executed
by Mr. W. W. Goodale, manager of the Waialua Plantation, the entire
dam being finished in about three weeks to a height of 50 feet. It has
slopes of about 2 on 1 on each side. It is composed entirely of the red
volcanic soil of the country.

The description of the work has been given somewhat in ertenso
because it is unique in many respects, and is a successful example of
the marked advantages of the hydraulic-sluicing system in overcoming
natural difficulties that were generally regarded as insurmountable.
With the experience derived from the behavior of the soil under hydraulic
sluicing, it is apparent that there would have been no risk in building
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 135

 

 

 

 

 

Fic. 99.—Watatua Dam, Hawa. Looxinc Down-sSTREAM THROUGH Dam-SITE,
SHowine Divertinc Dam at Upper Ton, AND TRESTLE FOR MAKING THE Rock-
FILL.
136 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the entire dam of earth by this method, and at much less cost, as the
scarcity of rock and the distance from which it had to be gathered
rendered the cost of the rock-fill excessive. The sole reason for its use
was to secure drainage, and because it was considered that the soil com-
posing the embankment, even though deposited under water, might
not prove to be wholly impervious. The author is indebted to Mr.
L. G. Kellogg, of Honolulu, for many of the photographs used in the
illustrations, as well as for the data of methods of work employed under
his superintendence.

The Nuuanu Dam, Honolulu.—The territorial government of Hawaii
is engaged in the construction of a dam in the Nuuanu Valley, four miles
from the city of Honolulu, for the storage of water for the domestic
supply of the city and incidentally for the development of power, as the
reservoir is over 1000 feet higher than the city, the water surface ele-
vation being 1030 feet above the sea-level.

The area of watershed directly supplying the reservoir is but 930
acres, but as the mean observed rainfall for 15 years has been 136.3
inches the volume of run-off is very large, amounting to an average
of over 11,000,000 gallons daily. The stream has been utilized to the
extent of 4,490,000 gallons per day by a pipe line supplying three small
reservoirs at a lower elevation. By the reservoir under construction,
it will be possible to utilize a further amount, estimated at 3,300,000
gallons per day, which has now to be supplied by pumping from artesian
wells at sea-level.

The dam is to have a maximum height of 77 feet above the bed of
the stream, and a crest length of about 2100 feet. It is to be 10 feet
wide on top, at a height of 6 feet above the spillway level, and will create
a reservoir of 84.4 acres, impounding 629,340,000 gallons.

The dam was designed by 8. G. Walker, M. Am. Soc. C. E., who
intended it as an earth embankment with a central core-wall of wood,
the material to be principally deposited by the hydraulic-sluicing method,
and a contract was let in 1905, under specifications prepared by him.
After the work had progressed a year, H. C. Kellogg, C.E., was called
to consult on the plans and recommended a number of changes in design,
among which was the substitution of a rock-fill on the down-stream side
of the core-wall, over the channel section, about 150 feet in length. In
1907 the author was employed to report upon the work, and suggested
raising the dam 10 feet higher to give 60% increase in capacity.

A core-wall trench was excavated throughout the entire length of
the dam, from 10 to 45 feet in depth below the original surface, through
successive layers of porous lava and volcanic ash material, to an im-
pervious hardpan or bed-rock base, and in this trench a diaphragm of
Oregon pine, consisting of double 2-inch planks, spiked to 4” x4”
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 137

uprights, was built. In the center section of 152 feet the trench was
filled with a concrete wall, reaching from elevation 935 at the west end
up to elevation 972, on top of which the diaphragm was continued
with California redwood to the top. The deep trench either side of
the diaphragm was refilled with clay. The rock-fill was laid on a
slope of 1 on 1 on the down-stream side, as a hand-laid wall, the up-
stream face being made vertical, 10 feet away from the wood core-wall,
the space between being filled with clay.. The volume of rock required
was 17,000 cubic yards, which was brought by gravity from a quarry
about 2500 feet distant, the empty cars being hauled up by a winding

 

 

Fig. 100.—Nvuvanu Dam, Hono.vtv, SHowine Tor or Rock-Fitt Portion oF Dam.

engine. The surface outlet of the reservoir is a 30-inch wood-stave
pipe, heavily reinforced with concrete, 9 to 12 inches thick, extending
through the embankment from a square valve tower placed at the
up-stream toe of the dam. This pipe connects with the main leading
to city distributing reservoir No. 1, a distance of 10,900 feet, of which
the upper 3400 feet is wood-stave, the remainder being of lock-bar steel.
A washout pipe of the same size and construction also passes through
the dam.

On account of the lack of sufficient water under gravity head with
which to do hydraulic sluicing, a steam-pump with a capacity of 3.5
second-feet was installed with which about 170,000 cubic yards was
expected to be deposited. The contract price for hydraulic-fill was
138 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

16 cents per cubic yard, while the portion of the embankment placed
by other mechanical means was contracted for at 60 cents per yard,
or nearly four times the cost of hydraulic filling, a ratio which may be
taken as a fair one between the two classes of work on the average run
of earthen dams.

The quality of earth available for sluicing was quite similar to that
used in the Waialua dam, a clay soil produced from the decomposition
of lava.

The original contract having expired by limitation, work was suspended
for some time during the latter part of 1907. Meanwhile Judge Frear
was appointed to succeed Mr. Carter as Governor of the Territory, and
the new Governor appointed Marston Campbell as Superintendent of
Public Works, to take the place of C. S. Holloway. New specifications
were prepared at once for the completion of the dam, and in JFebrnary,
1908, a second contract was let for finishing the structure for the follow-
ing unit prices:

Barth: flune aces esse rae neces $0.314 per cubic yard.
Roel: lle no ace Skea ees lag. a
SLONETIPTA Pac sed ssundedk ih karate 1.36 ‘“ square “
Broken stone under stone riprap... 0.28 “ i
Concrete riprap. .............0-. Zel8: fh Ake ne
Broken stone under concrete riprap 0.14 “= “
Concrete in corewall.............. 15.26 “ cubic “
Concrete in spillway.............. 20.41 “ °« "
Paving in spillway. .............. 2.50 “ square “
Masonry wall in spillway.......... 7.52 “ cubic “
Lumber in corewall............... 56.32 “ 1000 ft. B.M.
Excavation in corewall trench..... 0.54 ‘ cubic yard.
Excavation in spillway............ 0.33 “  «
Clearing reservoir basin. .......... 259.00 ‘ acre
Clearing dam site................ 450.00 “ “

The new specifications called for the earth embankment to be “ con-
structed by the method known as hydraulic sluicing’”’ and required the
contractor to designate the general plan of work and type of machinery
he proposed to employ. The original contractor proved to be the lowest
bidder on the new work. He proceeded to erect a pumping plant with
two centrifugal pumps, driven by two gas engines of 125 H.P. capacity
each, to lift 5 cubic feet per second from the pool behind the dam to a
height of 150 feet, delivering the water into the suction side of duplicate
pumps located at the upper station. These pumps are driven by engines.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 139

of equal size to those at the lower plant, and will force the water through
hydraulic giants to excavate and disintegrate the earth in the mountain
side under adequate pressure to do effective work. _

The material so excavated is delivered to the dam through sheet steel
flumes of prismoidal form, 10 inches deep, 27 inches wide on top, 13}
inches wide on bottom, placed on 3% grade.

The cost of the work under the second contract is within the estimate
made by the author.

Power.—The net head on the pipe at the lower reservoir, after deduct-
ing friction, is about 500 feet, which will produce 1100 H.P. during
8 hours daily, the capital value of which for city lighting, sewage pump-
ing, etc., is safely estimated at $400,000. The saving in pumping the
increased supply given by the reservoir will amount to $37,000 per
annum.

Terrace Dam, Alamosa River, Colorado (Fig. 101).—The highest
hydraulic-fill dam yet projected in the United States, in vertical height
as well as in altitude above sea-level, has been under construction each
summer since 1905, and is expected to be completed in the season of
1908 or 1909. It is designed for the storage of water for use in irriga-
tion in the San Luis Valley. The location is at the head of the lower
canyon of the Alamosa River, a few miles above the point where the
river enters the valley. The dam-site is most unusual in its topography,
as the lower 70 feet of the dam occupies a narrow, tortuous slit in the
bed-rock from 20 to 60 feet wide, where the river had worn down through
a ledge of hard trachyte, forming a canyon with vertical side walls.

Above this ledge the section across the canyon has a bowl-shaped
form like the end of an ellipse. The dam was originally projected to a
height of 180 feet and a tunnel 10 feet wide, 7 feet high, 725 feet long,
was excavated through the solid rock on the north side of the canyon,
discharging at the lower toe of the projected dam. This tunnel was
intended to carry the stream during construction and subsequently
serve as the only outlet to the reservoir. A shaft 75 feet deep was
sunk at a point about 200 feet down stream from the crest of the dam,
and gates for controlling the discharge of the tunnel were placed at the
bottom of this shaft. After the first season’s work it was decided to
increase the height of the dam to 225 feet above the lower toe, which
rendered an extension of the outlet tunnel necessary. The height at
the center line will be 210 feet; crest width, 25 feet at an elevation of
20 feet above the high-water or spillway level; up-stream slope, 3 on 1;
downstream slope, 2 on 1; length of crest, 605 feet. The change in
height necessitated a removal of the crest-line of the dam down stream
about 100 feet, the up-stream slope remaining unaltered. A concrete
core-wall was built on the original center line, extending from the stream-
140 RESERVOIRS FOL [kRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

TERRACE RESERVOIR DAM
ALAMOSA RIVER, CONEJOS CO., COLORADO

'
oo) 59’ oo”

sop Y
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y

LONGITUDINAL CROSS-SECTION

 
 
  
 
   
  
 

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Core
Wall

1

COntlet Tunnel CROSS-SECTION AT C-D

CROSE-SECTION AT CREST OF DAM AT A-B

Fig. 10L
HY DRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 141

bed to the top of the narrow part of the canyon. This was made 15 feet
thick throughout, curved on a radius of 50 feet.

Connecting with this wall and extending up the slopes, two parallel
concrete walls were built 25 feet apart and reaching 2 feet above the

MALY AL
10 HO],

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WV@ULS-d() NO ‘IVINDLVJY GHOINIG dO LIsOddq DNIMOHS “O10D ‘WVG Dovuut[—ZOL ‘DI

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original surface. These walls were all intended to be founded on hard
bed-rock, and were designed to intercept seepage along the surface of
the rock and be enveloped in the body of the puddle clay composing
the center core of the dam. Unfortunately, they were built by con-
tract under such careless supervision that subsequent examination
proved them to be worthless and they were ebandoned. They do not rest
on bed-rock, and are composed of porous, rotten concrete. When this
142 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

determination was reached, several cross trenches were made through
the bowlders in the river-bed to the solid bed-rock, and these were re-
filled with the finest quality of puddle clay, upon which reliance will
be placed for an impervious connection with bed-rock.

The method of building the dam by hydraulic sluicing was first
suggested by Mr. T. W. Jaycox, M.A. Soc. C.E., State Engineer of
Colorado, by whose recommendation the author was engaged to make
an eXamination and report upon the project in June, 1905. At that
time, a contract had been let for the entire work to one of the stock-

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 103.—Hypravtic SLUICING ON THE TERRACE Dam, CoLorRapo.

holders of the company at a price of 18 cents per cubic yard, the con-
tractor to furnish his own plant and materials. He first built a ditch
and flume five miles in length, with a capacity of 40 second-feet, a suffi-
cient elevation to deliver water to a penstock 325 feet higher than the
crest of the dam, at the south end. The cost of the ditch and flume
and all the pipe and plant for hydraulic sluicing, was $34,500. Two
pressure-pipes of No. 16 riveted steel, each 15 inches in diameter, convey
water from the penstock to hydraulic giants located in the sluice fields
on the south side of the canyon. The ditch was completed too late
in the fall of 1905 to begin sluicing, but in the following season about
120,000 cubic yards of material were sluiced in place from August Ist
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 143

 

 

Fic. 104—Turrace Dam, Cotorapo, LooKinc Up-srrmam. In.ustratinc GRrapa-
TION OF MATERIAL TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE DAM FROM THE PoINT OF
DeEposiIT aT THE SLOPES.

 

 

 

Fig. 105.—Trerrace Dam. Deposit or Hypravutic FILLING ON THE UPPER
Tor Soper.
144 RESERVOIRS FOR IPRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

to November Ist, when freezing weather forced a suspension of overa-
tions. The best average work for 30 days was 46,000 cubic yards
delivered at a cost of 6.5 cents per cubic yard for labor.

The depth of filling at the down-stream toe was 55 feet, at the up-
stream toe, 43 feet, and in the center, 18 feet. The material delivered

SUMMER oF 1907.

Ea

Py mike

 

Fic. 106.—Wasteway Fiume ror Fioop DiscHarGrE ovER LOWER Siope oF TERRACE Dam.

 

at the two slopes was clean rock and gravel of all sizes up to about 2
cubic feet, while in the center the puddle clay was of fine texture, leaving
little to be desired as an impervious core, whose base measurement
exceeds 500 feet up and downstream. The material was delivered
to the dam through square flumes, lined with slabs and round poles to
take the wear, and laid on a grade of 7%. The volume of water used
was about 26 second-feet.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 145

As the depth of material in the borrow-pits has often been less than
6 feet considerable difficulty has been experienced in loosening it with
sufficient rapidity to give fair efficiency to the carrying power of the
water. Many flat, angular rocks were encountered which impeded
the frec flow of the approaches to the flumes and often necessitated

‘aNnNouDMOVG NI DNIOINTG
OVINVUGAT]T DNIMOHS ‘OTVHOTO) ‘NVQ BOVUUGL 'ONITIY TOL YIMOT JO MAIA— LOL ‘DIY

 

 

turning the monitors from the face of the bank to driving the material
into the head of the flume.

At the opening of the season of 1907, the company took over the con-
tractor’s plant and continued work through the season on its own
account. Owing to the small size of the outlet tunnel, it became neces
sary to build a large flume (Fig. 106) over the top of the unfinished dam
146 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

and down the lower slope to care for the June freshet, an expedient which
was successful, although sluicing could not be resumed until the river
subsided to the capacity of the tunnel. This flume was 72 feet wide, 4
feet deep, and at times carried a flood discharge of 450 second-feet.
The total volume of the dam will be approximately 500,000 cubic yards.
The progress of the work was about as follows:

 

Prior to 190725 00g owa eee a 120,600 cubic yards
March and April, 1907............... 25,846 ‘* <
May eis steadied veaanw ase 15,654 ‘S&S
June and ily iy acess pieibedusaeiaiseeaes 20,140 ‘<= ¢
AUIDUS bese e cio dah Rin dla waka ee aes 11,485 ‘* “
Depbtember icc siege do aee soa 11,325 ‘ ‘§
Total. cccccacks nus eee eaves 205,000 ‘‘ ‘f

At the close of the season of 1907 the dam had reached a height of
100 feet at the down-stream toe and 70 feet at the up-stream toe. With
nearly 300,000 cubic yards yet to be deposited, it will be necessary to
increase the rate of the past season about three times to complete the
work in 1908.

The reservoir formed by the dam will have a storage capacity in
excess of 25,000 acre-feet. The water will have high value, as the duty
to be accomplished by it will be the irrigation of nearly one acre for
each acre-foot of water impounded.

The Terrace Dam presented a situation where the cost of a masonry
dam was prohibitive, where the materials for an earth dam of the usual
type were not available because the earth is so intermingled with stone
ss to be practically inaccessible, and where the sole resource was to
separate and deposit the materials at hand by the aid of water, which
was to be had in abundance, under sufficient head or pressure to do
the work. The results so far accomplished appear to the author to
warrant the forecast that the dam when completed will be entirely
successful. The work is under the general engineering direction of
Mr. T. W. Jaycox, to whom the author is indebted for drawings and
photographs used in illustration.

The Santo Amaro Dam, Brazil.—The Sado Paulo Tramway, Light &
Power Company, Ltd. (a Canadian corporation) in 1895 erected a dam
and installed a power-plant with a head of 70 feet at Parnahyba, on
the Tieté River, in the State of Sio Paulo, Brazil, 22 miles below the
thriving city of Sa0 Paulo, where 15,000 H.P. is generated and trans-
mitted to the city for tramway service and for light and power. To
partially equalize the flood flow and make up for shortage in dry seasons,
the company, on the advice of its vice-president and consulting engineer,
LET ‘STVUALW] NV
SqNATJ HDQOUNL IVINALV]Y GAOINIG JO AUTATIAQ] AO GOHLATY DNIMOHY (°

 

SNOT FMT 1) “Wavug ‘otavg ovg ‘Nv OUVNY OLNVE—soT ‘DIT

=

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INKS . : & 2 S “ AS TAS

 

 
SFI ‘LOG ] €9 LHOIG_T WAWIXV] ‘LAG COGS HLONGT
TVLOL “ATMSAN YT, TVULNG) NO AUDAITAC, AO STEAD] AUN], ONIMOHG “LOGI ‘TZ “DAY “Tzvag ‘WY OYVINW OLNVE JO MSTA TVNANADH— GOT ‘DIT

 

 

 
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 149

F. S. Pearson, Dr.Sc., M. Am. Soc. C. E., has undertaken the construc-
tion of a dam 14 miles above the city, on a branch of the river known
as the M’Boy Guassu. The dam will have a total length on the crest
of about 5300 feet, a maximum height of 63 feet, and a volume of
715,000 cubic yards. The crest width will be 10 meters (32.8 feet) at a
height of 3 meters above the spillway level. The up-stream slope is
3 on 1, down-stream slope 2 on 1. The dam is being built of clay and
disintegrated granite obtained from a ridge 150 feet high at the west
end of the dam, the materials being loosened by hydraulic jet under
75 pounds pressure at the nozzle of the monitor, with water supplied

 

 

Fie. 110.—Santo Amaro Dam, Brazit, sHowine Hyprautic Monrror at Work,

DELIVERING 8 SECOND-FEET UNDER 85 PouNnps PRESSURE THROUGH 4-INCH
Nozz1e.

by a four-stage centrifugal pump, actuated by an electric motor, with
current from the Parnahyba power-house.

The river here flows in a low-water channel, 80 feet wide, 8 feet deep,
at the foot of the hills on the west side of the valley. At flood time,
when the discharge exceeds 2500 second-feet, it spreads over the broad
bottoms for nearly 2000 feet to the eastward. On the east of this level
flat, the land rises gently for 3300 feet to the elevation of the crest of
the dam. The bottom lands are swampy and covered with tropical grass
and trees, and material for an earth dam could not have been obtained
from borrow-pits at the sides. It was evident that the most suitable
material was that of the high ridge to the west, and the simplest way
150 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of loosening and distributing it was by water pumped from the river
and conveyed through flumes built lengthwise of the dam with lateral
fluines at intervals leading to the slopes. The site of the dam was first
stripped of sod, which was placed in the form of rectangular levees,
6 to 8 feet high, at or just outside the toe of the slope on either side.
Hardwood triple-lap sheet piles were then driven to a depth of 10 to
15 feet over a distance of 2600 feet from the river bank easterly, beyond
which similar piles were set in a deep trench and puddled in place for
the remaining distance. Steel-sheet piles were driven in the channel
section to a depth of 22 feet over a distance of 125 feet, connecting with

 

   

Fig. 111.—Uprrr Tor FItiine on toe Santo AMARo Hypravuic-FILL Dam, Braziu,
sHOWING LATERAL FLumgs.

the concrete work of the outlet culverts, built at the foot of the high
ridge, and founded on granite bed-rock. These piles penetrate the
bed-rock 2 to 4 feet. The culverts are three in number, each 8 feet
wide, 18 feet high, controlled by radial gates of steel at the down-stream
end. The culverts are built in an excavation made in solid granite
bed-rock, and have partition walls and abutments 6 feet thick. The
thickness at the crown of the arches is 2 feet. About 5000 cubic yards
of concrete were used in these culverts and the wing-approach walls.
The stream has a low-water discharge of about 10 second-meters (353
second-feet), which was diverted through the culverts before work on
sluicing began. The sheet piles referred to extend a few feet above
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 151

the stripped surface and are connected to a diaphragm of corrug:ted
steel plates that reach above the water-line of the reservoir as a check
to the burrowing of animals or ants. These plates are spiked to hori-
zontal wale-pieces bolted to the center post of the main trestle support-
ing the sluice flumes.

The year 1906 and the first half of 1907 were consumed in the pre-
liminary work of preparation, but finally the work of hydraulicking
began in July, 1907. From that time until Dec. Ist, sluicing continued
day and. night for 128 days, during which the interruptions amounted
to 39% of the total time. The work accomplished was the delivery
of 381,000 cubic yards with an average volume of water of 7.94 second-
feet, giving an average ratio of solids conveyed to water used of 19.2%.
The main flume was placed on a grade of 3%, and reached a distance
of 2000 feet from the west end of the dam. East of this point for 700:
feet to the end of a dry earth levee built as the extension of the dam,
where the height is less than 20 feet, the material was delivered by a
booster pump, discharging through a closed flume.

The best work done was in the month of October, when a delivery
of 156,000 cubic yards was accomplished with a mean of 8.35 second-
feet. The interruptions amounted to but 18 hours during the month,
or 2.4% of the total time. The cost of power at the rate charged of
4 cent per K.W. did not exceed one cent per cubic yard for the month.
The dam was to be completed by May, 1908. The construction since
January, 1907, was in charge of Thos. Berry, C.E. The preliminary
plans were prepared by the author after a visit to the site in October,
1905. The plans for the outlet-gates were drawn in the New York
office of F. S. Pearson, Dr.Sc., M. Am. Soc. C.E.

Reservoir—The reservoir formed by the dam covers a total area
of 8320 acres, and has a capacity of 192,400,000 cubic meters (156,600:
acre-feet). It therefore ranks among the largest reservoirs of the world.

The mean annual rainfall at Sao Paulo for 12 years, 1890 to 1901,
was 1319 millimeters (54 inches) and the mean rainfall of the watershed
was estimated at 2500 millimeters, with an average run-off of 50%.
As the area is 244 square miles (63,200 hectares) the yearly run-off was.
computed at 780,000,000 cubic meters, or 4 times the reservoir capacity.
During nine months, from March to November, 1907, the measured
run-off was 419,515,000 cubic meters, with three months of rainy season
to complete the year.

The power-plant at Parnahyba utilizes a total fall of 72 feet, and
under full load requires 70 cubic meters per second (2470 second-feet).
The function of the reservoir will be to supply a shortage in supply during
the dry season, when a maximum deficit of 85,000,000 cubic meters in
one such season has been experienced.
152 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, LTC.

Hydraulic-fill Dams in Mexico.—The Mexican Light & Power Co.,

=I
300

——
250

T
200

Scale of feet
5

100

“oS

 

/ of
5
yeaa 2
Ww 3
> =
Ae =
<> ay oat
Ay 2
sa] 5
°3
=|
od
2
2
fa 2
a:
D
9

Elevation of Spillway Crest, 4389.6

fROSS-SECTION
OF
DAM NO. 2 AT NECAXA, MEXICO.
SHOWING
DIMENSIONS, CUT-OFF TRENCHES AND THEORETICAL DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
    
      
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ciay

IED fig

G ft.

(Impers ious)

159 ft.

viginal 189 ft. civiea)

a

sue

 

   

|

 

Fig. 112.

Ltd., aCanadian corporation, organ-
ized by F. 8S. Pearson, Dr.Se., has
installed a power-plant at the foot
of the falls of the Necaxa River,
State of Puebla, 100 miles northeast
of the city of Mexico, where a max-
imum drop of 1400 feet is utilized,
developing +0,000 H.P. which is
transmitted to the capital of the
Republic and to the mining camp
at El Oro, a total distance of 170
miles. To equalize the flood flow
of the streams and store water for
use in the dry season, the company
has been engaged since 1904 in the
erection of five storage-reservoir
dams of earth, which when com-
pleted will create an aggregate stor-
age capacity of 123,000,000 cubic
meters (100,000 acre-feet). Two
of these dams, at Necaxa and Tez-
capa, are to be of unprecedented
height, and of enormous volume,
190 and 175 feet respectively, while
a third, on the Los Reyes River,
is to be 100 feet high. The hy-
draulic-fill process is being employed
on all but one of these dams, for the
adoption of which the responsibility
rests with the author, who was
called upon in January, 1905, to
report on the subject, and has since
been retained as consulting engineer
to supervise their construction.

The highest and most important
dam of the group is that at Necaxa,
whose chief function is to serve as
a penstock reservoir at the head of
the pressure-pipes, and afford a stor-
age of over 43,000,000 cubic meters

(34,850 acre-feet) on the main Necaxa River, a stream which fluctuates
between extremes of 2 and 200 cubic meters per second.
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Fie. 113.
   

MEXICAN LIGHT AND POWER CO,LTD.

PLAN OF DAM NO. 2
AT NECAXA, MEXICO,
Contour Interval, 2 Meters
mak
Scale of Feet

0 _ 50 100 150

(To face page 152
WYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 153

The dam-site is of peculiar geological formation at the line of junc-
ture between the original limestone and the succeeding lava flow which
has partially filled the valleys between the limestone mountains. The
lava is in all stages of decomposition, varying between hard basalt and
light cinders, in successive layers, some of which are very porous and
will pass water freely while other layers are firm and impervious. In
stripping for the dam irregular masses of hard basalt were encountered
here and there which gave rise to the hope that the foundation would
prove suitable for a masonry structure, but these were underlaid by
soft, treacherous material at slight depth.

 

 

Fic. 114.—Looxine up Stream at Site or Dam No. 2, at NecaXa, SHOWING
Srrippep ABUTMENTS FOR THE DAM ON EACH SIDE.

The tunnel excavated through a spur against which the south end
of the dam rests revealed the existence of pockets of quicksand, which
further indicated that it was unworthy of confidence as the abutment
of a high masonry dam. The only apparent alternative was to build
the dam of earth, and plans had been prepared to build the earth dam
by the usual methods, excavating with steam-shovels, hauling by cars
and locomotives, spreading the earth in layers, and wetting and rolling
it after the usual fashion. There was an abundance of clay to be had
on the adjacent mesa, of purely volcanic origin, but the enormous quan-
tity to be moved and the cost of building as high a dam as was required
for necessary storage, caused the management to hesitate. The solu-
154 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POW i: Rk, ETC.

tion of the difficulty was afforded by the existence right at hand in the
slopes of the high limestone ridge to the northwest of the dam of a suffi-
cient mass of broken fragments of stone of all sizes intermingled with
pure yellow clay of superior quality to build the dam by the hydraulie-
mining process, using powerful jets of water under high pressure to
be brought to the site by a ditch. This material could not be
handled economically or sorted and deposited in a way to produce
stability and drainage of slopes, and compact imperviousness to the
core of the dam in any manner except by the hydraulic method.

 

Fic. 115—Necaxa Dam, Mexico. Hyprautic Monitor Worxkinc unDER 180
Pounps Pressurr, 6-1ncH Nozz_r, 30 Seconp-FEET or WATER.

Somewhat similar arguments applied to all of the other dams of the
group.

The proportions of rock and clay are about equal, and their dis-
tribution can be so controlled and regulated by the varying velocitics
of the water as to permit of the formation of two rock dams at either
slope resting against and confining an enormous mass of dense,
impervious clay between them. In this manner the dam when com-
pleted cannot fail by shpping or sliding, and must be proof against
leakage.

The dam will contain 1,639,690 cubic meters (2,143,520 cubic yards),
and will have the following dimensions:
HYDRAULWIC-FILL DAMS, 155

Length on crest... 0.0.2.0... Siwaneamveeser L220 feet
Height above lOWer lee mcescucdcccascce., 100
Height above up-stream toe................... 178 ©
Width of crest.......... Mursameseteceee coe
Super-elevation above spillway ................ 16.4 feet

Up-stream slope......... mptstvemaro tcusncvastsstauetaasiencer stax TORO Muh

DOMiies Peat Opies escacsauwwectacersenennce 200m 1

Bane WIUED Gaus terreus ere ciauemumesoeenense Oiadeer

 

Fic. 116.—Hypraviic Monrror in Action, witH 30 Seconp-FEET UNDER 180
Pounps Pressure, 6-1ncH Nozzue. Up-srrzam Tor or Dam sHown, WITH
Taitinac Ponp av Lert.

Sluice Ditch.—The supply-ditch for sluicing is 17.5 km. long, and
as it passes the site of Dam No. 3 on Necaxa River, 6 miles above Dam
No, 2, will furnish water for building both dams. It has a capacity
of 70 second-feet as far as Dam No. 3, and 53 second-feet, the remain-
ing distance, delivering water to Dam No. 2 at a height of 728 feet above
its base. The elevation gives most effective and powerful cutting-jets
at all working levels, above the crest of the dam as well as below. The
ditch was extremely difficult to construct, as it was excavated on steep
mountain sides in rock, requiring cement lining in many places and
one jong siphon with head of over 400 feet. Its total cost was about
$250,000 gold, but as it can be utilized to generate 1700 H.P. after the
dams are finished, its cost is not entirely chargeable to the building
156 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of the dams. The drawing, Fig. 113, illustrates the location of the
dam and the general process of construction. Fig. 112 is an ideal sec-
tion of the dam, showing the cut-off core-trenches, two on each side
of the concrete core-wall.

Stripping Foundations.—The preparatory work of stripping at Dam
No. 2 consisted of the removal of all surface soil to a depth of 2 to 3
feet over the entire base of the dam, and the excavation of all loose,
pervious material over the middle third down to hard-pan or bed-rock.

The hard-pan is a species of soft lava, locally called ‘‘tepetate,” and

 

Fic. 117.—Hypravric Monrror WorkKING oN Ling or ConTACT BETWEEN LIMESTONB
AND Lava iN Sprupway Cut, Necaxa Dam, Mexico.

the rock is basalt that was encountered in the form of thin layers, or
kidneys, disconnected and of irregular masses. The depth of this
stripping in the valley was from 10 to 15 feet. It was a tedious work,
occupying more than two years, part of the time with two steam-shovels
and two locomotives and trains of dump-cars. Part of the material was
placed at the upper and lower slopes of the dam, to the extent of 75,000
cubic yards, but the greater portion was wasted. It amounted in all to
272,487 cubic yards. The trench for the concrete core-wall was exca-
vated to a depth of 40 feet below the stripped surface across the valley
portion and from 5 to 20 feet deep on the slopes. It cut through various
strata of porous, rotten tepetate, and finally ended in a hard, imper-
vious layer. It was about 6 feet wide and filled with concrete made of
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS 157

 

Fic. 118.—Stone Carriep THROUGH FLUME TO Up-sTREAM SLOPE OF THE
Necaxa Dam.

 

Fig. 119.—ILLUSTRATING THE SIZE OF STONE DELIVERED BY FLUME TO THE
Necaxa Dam. Tue LARGEST ONE MEASURED CONTAINED 18 CuBic FEET.
158 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWLR, ETC.

 

Fic. 120.—Lower Tor or Necaxa Dam, Looxtna NortH, SHOWING DELIVERY
oF Rock aNp CLay By PLUME.

 

Fic. 121.—Down-stream Store or Necaxa Dam, sHowinc Masonry PAvemMEeNT
ON FackE AND CHARACTER OF SLUICED MaTERIAL.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 159

Portland cement and hydraulic lime in proportions to insure water-
tightness. It was carried about 2 meters in height above the stripped
surface, finishing with a width of 1 meter on top. It contains in all
about 5600 cubic yards of concrete. The exterior of the exposed part
of the wall which is enveloped in clay puddle was made very rough by
projecting small stones to form a bond and to avoid the smooth surfaces
which water may follow. The two trenches up-stream from the core-
wall, and parallel with it, were excavated to the clay floor of the valley,
and were refilled after sluicing began with the clay puddle that forms
the heart of the dam.

The preliminary plant for the delivery of material to the dam con-

 

Fie. 122.—Necaxa Dam From Betow, at Heicut or 85 Fert. January 1, 1908.

sisted of two trestles, 40 to 60 feet high, built parallel with the center
line and supporting two lines of 20-inch riveted steel pipe laid on a grade
of 5°; from the borrow-pits on the mountain side, opened by the hydraulic
“oiants.” These trestles were located about 100 feet in from either
toe, and the material carried was delivered to the outside by branch pipes,
16 inches in diameter, which were supported by cables suspended across
the dam between the exterior footings and the trestles. As a larger
quantity of rock was desired on the down-stream slope, one of the pipes
was laid to the lower trestle from borrow-pit No. 2, yielding about 95%
of broken stone, while the other pipe to the up-stream face was taken
from borrow-pit No. 1 where the material consisted of clay to the extent
160 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of 60°% to 70% mingled with stones of all sizes. The photographs,
Figs. 118, 119, 120, 121, and 124 show the nature of the materials
delivered to each and the manner of delivery.

A striking feature of this work, as illustrated by the photographs,
Figs. 118 and 119, taken by the author in January, 1908, is the large
size of rocks which have been transported through the fumes and deposited
on the dam. Many of these contain upwards of 15 cubic feet and weigh
over 1 ton. In this respect the magnitude of the operation exceeds
any hydraulic sluicing ever before attempted. The down-stream slope
is being covered with 2 feet of masonry laid in Portland cement, using

 

 

Fic. 123.—Necaxa Dam anp Reservoir. Siuice Ditcu 1n Uprer Ricut-Hanp
CoRNER OF PICTURE.

the larger stones brought down by the flume. The purpose of this is
to protect the work from the consequence of a sudden freshet, which
might exceed the capacity of the flood discharge outlet-pipes provided.
These are two in number, one of which is oi steel 8 feet in diameter,
in the main outlet tunnel, the other is 10 feet in diameter of concrete,
built for construction purposes only and to be plugged when the dam
is finished. Two overflow towers 8 feet diameter are built at the head
of this pipe in successive layers, as the lake across the dam rises, per-
mitting of storage following up the construction. The solidity of the
rock-fill is attested by the lack of settlement cracks in the masonry
facing built on the slope of the fill.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 161

The rocks transported by the water are carried along at a velocity
of about 20 feet per second, and as they drop in place they act as power-
ful rammers to consolidate the embankment. The material leaves
the end of the raceway at such a velocity as to pile up several feet higher
than the top of the flume. It has been the practice to build up the
dump from the extreme end of the flume, retreating and removing section
by section as the embankment is formed until the ridge is made entirely
across the valley along the slope line, to be followed by another line
of flume, 15 to 20 feet higher, built a little nearer the center line. There

 

 

Fig. 124.—Necaxa Dam, Up-streaM SLOPE, LOOKING TOWARD S.uicinG Pir anp
SPILLWAY GaP.

is great wear and tear in the flumes and linings, but the material is used

over and over until worn out.

When working in clay the ratio of solids carried to water used has
reached as high as 70%, but in rock the ratio is as low as 3°7, and the
average falls below 10% of solids.

The cost for labor alone averages from 3 to 10 cents gold per cubic
yard.

Sluicing began in April, 1907, and continued throughout the year,
with many interruptions due to drought and shortage of water, breaks
in the ditch, etc. By May 1, 1908, a total volume of 622,990 cubic
meters had been delivered, and it is estimated that the dam may be en-
tirely completed before the end of the year.
162 RESLRVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATLR-POWER, ETC.

After the borrow-pits lad been well opened, it was found that a
much greater percentage of large rock would have to be handled than
was anticipated, and to save the cost and delay involved in breaking
the rocks to a size that would pass through the sluice-pipes, it was
determined to substitute open flumes. Two lines of flumes were accord-
ingly built on 8‘, grade, crossing the dam about midway between the
first lines of trestle and the outer slopes. When these were put in
service they were able to carry rock of a maximum size of 12 to 18 cubic

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 125.—Necaxa Dam. IncLinep Pire wiTH PERFORATIONS FOR DRAINAGE OF
WATER AFTER SETTLEMENT OF StuIcED MATERIAL ON Dam. ALSO COoRE-WALL
as COMPLETED.

feet weighing a ton or more. The velocity of the water through the
flumes was about 20 feet per second. They were made rectangular,
4 feet wide with V-shaped bottom, lined with sheet steel and T-rails.
The maximum volume of water carried is about 30 second-feet. The
hydraulic monitors, or “giants,’’ discharge varying amounts, accord-
ing to the pressure and the size of nozzle used. The nozzles employed
vary from + to 6 inches, according to the work required, and discharge
from 15 to 30 second-feet. Ixperienced hydraulic miners from Cali-
fornia are emploved to manipulate the monitors. Visitors to the work
find a peculiar fascination in watching these powerful jets of water,
issuing at a velocity of 200 to 300 feet per second, tearing down the
mountains, ripping up the ledges of stratified Hmestone, and: tossing
HYDRAULIC-rILL DAMS. 163

about huge stones weighing tons as though they were pebbles. The
greater portion of the material for the dam will come from the excavation
of the spillway, which requires a cut over 150 feet deep. The surplus

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water, draining from the pond, which is maintained on the center of
the dar, is carried off through holes in an inclined concrete pipe (Fig.
125), built up the steen slope near the south end of the dam on the
opposite side from the borrow-pits. To raise the pond it is only neces-
sary to close the lower of these holes with wooden plugs. In this manner,
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HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 167

the line separating the central clay puddle, from the semi-porous mixture
of clay and rock can be controlled, as it is found that the deposit drops
off under water at a slope of 1 on 1. Under the water of the pond, the
fine clay is deposited almost absolutely level. The water in the pond
is usually from 12 to 15 feet deep over the bed of clay beneath. In
this manner two stable dams of rock are being built up with an
enormous core of clay, having a maximum thickness of 500 to 600
feet between them.

Dam No. 1, at Acatlan.—This structure was completed in June,
1906. It serves as a diverting weir to turn the water of the Tenango
River to the Necaxa, ihrough a 3000 foot tunnel. Its extreme height
is about 30 feet and it was built of earth by the ground-sluice method,
with water taken from the stream through a short ditch. Figs. 130,
131, and 132 illustrate the construction of the dam, and Fig. 133 shows
the finished dam viewed from the tunnel portal. It is divided into two
sections by a concrete weir located in the stream channel at the deepest
portion. When examined with an earth auger to a depth of 20 feet
below the crest six months after completion the core material was
found in a plastic but compact condition. The dam has shown no sign
of leakage or seepage and but very slight settlement.

Dam No. 3, at Tezcapa.—This dam, the second in height of the
series, is located six miles above Necaxa, and will form a reservoir of
19,000,000 cubic meters, or less than half the capacity of Necaxa reser-
voir. After the site had been partially stripped, work was suspended
pending the completion of the Laguna and Los Reyes Dams, Nos. 4
and 5, where subsequent surveys proved that greater storage can be
secured at less cost and in shorter time. For this reason it will probably
be the last of the group to be finished. In many respects it will present
fewer difficulties of construction than any of the others, and can be
completed with the plant in use at the Necaxa dam.

Laguna Dam.—A large natural basin near the end of one of the
tributaries of the Necaxa River was acquired by the company and
utilized as a storage-reservoir by building a long low dam across its
outlet. It is fed by a 5-mile canal of 10 second-meters capacity from
Necaxa River. ‘This site is 20 miles distant from Necaxa, and 3000 feet
higher. The dam was planned to have an ultimate height of 66 feet
with a crest width of 25 feet and slopes of 3 on 1 and 2 on 1 respect-
ively, and was to have been made as a hydraulic-fill, with water pumped
from the lake. The urgent necessity for securing a storage of 12 to
15,000,000 cubic meters in the shortest possible time, led to the adop-
tion of a plan for building the up-stream toe of the large dam to the
height of 40 feet of the material chiefly obtained from stripping the
middle third of the main dam. As there was a large amount of loose
168 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

 

Tig. 130.—Liquip EartH BEING DEPOSITED THROUGH PIPES ON OU1ER SLOPES OF
Dam No. 1, Tenanco River.

 

 

Fic. 131.—Grotunp-stutcine on Dam No. 1, TeNANGO RIvER.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 169

 

 

Fic. 132.—Mnrrnop or Disrrisutine Stuicep MATERIALS THROUGH Pires, DAM
No. 1, at AcaTban, Tenanco River.

 

Fig. 133.—Dam No. 1, av AcaTLAN, TENANGO RIVER, COMPLETED JuLy, 1906. THE
MATERIALS FOR THE DAM WERE GROUND-SLUICED FROM THE BoRROW-PITS IN THE
BaAcKGROUND.
170 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

rock in this stripping, it was decided to build the lower half of the dam
as a loose rock-fill, with down-stream slope of 1 on 1, and crest width
of 2 meters, while the up-stream half was to be of earth. Between
the two materials a diaphragm of double 2-inch pine planks spiked to
round poles set vertically was built, backed by a layer of choice puddle
clay 2 meters thick, on the up-stream side. This diaphragm was started
in the bottom of a trench in the bowlder and tepetate formation beneath
the surface soil, the trench being 2 to 5 meters deep. Considerable
water was developed in the trench but was drained off without difficulty,
All the material in the dam was put in place by peon laborers with
“chiquihuites,”’ or baskets which they carry upon their backs with a
leather strap passing across the forehead. The earth was moist enough
to pack well under the thousands of trampling feet, and though no roller
was ever placed upon it, the dam has shown no perceptible settlement.
The dam was completed before the end of the rainy season of 1905
sufficiently to store the desired volume of 10,000,000 cubic meters, and
proved to be entirely tight with the exception of one rather serious leak
near the outlet-pipe, which was shut off by driving sheet-piling in the
clay puddle. The reservoir proved to be so useful that it was resolved
in January, 1907, to enlarge it as quickly as possible by the addition
of 4 meters to the height of the dam, giving a capacity of 44,000,000
cubic meters to the lake. To make this enlargement most economically
it seemed best to change the center line to that of the temporary core-
wall and build a permanent core-wall of concrete, 1 meter thick, on
the up-stream side of the plank diaphragm. This was done by exca-
vating one half of the clay puddle and bracing the trench from the
diaphragm to planking placed on the opposite side. This was done and
the trench solidly filled between the forms which were not removed.
The up-stream slope was changed to 2 on 1 and covered with a blanket.
of selected clay puddle 1 meter thick. The slope of the down-stream
half was increased to 2 on 1 and the filling made of the best material
available, well under-drained from the interior rock-fill by trenches filled
with rock reaching to the lower toe, at intervals of 20 meters.

Cost of Basket Earthwork.—To those who are unfamiliar with methods
in vogue in parts of Mexico in handling of earth and rock on men’s
backs by baskets and other home-made receptacles, a brief account
of it may be of interest. In northern and western Mexico the peons
use a ‘basket made of raw hide, while in the central and southern
portions the basket is made of bamboo about 19 inches deep, 173 inches
in diameter at top, 74 inches at the bottom, and containing 1.4 cubic
feet. These cost 40 cents (Mexican) each, and unless reinforced will.
not wear longer than 3 or 4 weeks. By stringing wires through them
or putting rawhide over the outside, they are made to last two to four
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 171

times as long. These are carried on men’s backs with a loop of leather
or fiber passing over the basket and across the forehead. The most
satisfactory method of working the laborers is to give them a task of
a certain measured quantity to be excavated, loaded in baskets and
delivered as a day’s work. This varies from 2 to 5 cubic meters, accord-
ing to the distance. The average wage is 75 cents per day. With a
“tarea’’ of 3 cubic meters carried a distance of 150 meters from the
pit, up a 2 on 1 slope a part of the way, which is a fair day’s work,
the cost would amount to 9.5 cents gold per cubic yard, pit measurement,
or about 12 cents per cubic yard measured in the settled embankment.
With such cheap labor as is available in Mexico the economy of hy-
draulic-fill construction is not so pronounced as elsewhere, and it is to
be preferred chiefly on the ground of the superior quality of the embank-
ment produced by the process.

Los Reyes Dam.—The fifth dam of the system is located on a stream
to the north of Laguna, and not tributary to the Necaxa River. A
tunnel through the intervening ridge was required to make its water
available to the power-plant. This diversion was made before the work
on the dam was begun. The site is a favorable one for a dam of 100 feet
height, forming a reservoir of 28,000,000 cubic meters capacity. The
gorge is narrow, and the volume of material required for an earth dam
is but 183,000 cubic meters, which is small in comparison with the storage
secured. Here, too, the emergency of maintaining a water-supply to
the power-plant, already taxed to its limit, necessitated the employ-
ment of the temporary expedient of building a toe dam while the founda-
tions of the larger structure were being prepared. This was made in a
similar manner to the Laguna Dam with a combination of rock-fill,
wood core-wall and earth-fill on the up-stream side, with a much thicker
clay puddle against the diaphragm.

The concrete core-wall in the center of the main dam is being carried
down through soft, seamy sandstone to a maximum depth of 60 feet.
When finished up to the top above the stripped surface, it will be enveloped
in clay puddle sluiced in by water supplied by a larger pump capable
of delivering water under sufficient head to afford a cutting stream for
loosening the earth and then do away withhandwork. The down-stream
slope will be composed of loose rock 50 feet thick at base, 5 feet at the
top, resting against the clay puddle and affording the requisite stability
and drainage.

In building the toe dam the principal part of the earth was put in
place with baskets, and a plant was not installed for sluicing until the
work was two thirds compieted. Then a couple of Cameron steam-
pumps, with combined capacity of 500 gallons per minute, were coupled
together and water to the amount of about 300 gallons per minute was
172 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC

pumped from the pond above the dam to the head of a 10-inch V-flume
laid on 10% grade, terminating on the dam above the wood core-wall.
Earth was brought in baskets and dumped into a box at the head of
the flume, whence the water carried it to the dam. The maximum
work of this crude apparatus was 540 cubic meters (700 cubic yards)
delivered in 10 hours, with a ratio of 75% of solids carried by the water.
The cost of earthwork done in this manner during the month of Decem-
ber, including basket delivery of earth not sluiced, was under 11 cents
gold per cubic yard.

These various works are being executed under the control of R. F.
Hayward, M. Am. Soc. C. E., general manager, by Mr. F. 8. Hyde, chief
engineer.

The Yorba Hydraulic-fill Dam, California—H. Clay Kellogg, C.I.,
of Santa Ana, Cal., who built the Waialua combination dam near Hono-
lulu, described in the foregoing pages, has constructed an earth dam
chiefly by the hydraulic process near Yorba Station, 30 miles south of
Los Angeles, which has many interesting features and illustrates the
adaptability of the method to conditions apparently unfavorable. The
dam is 47 feet high, 800 feet long on the crest, having a slope of 3.5
on 1 on the water-face and 2 on 1 outside, with a crest width of 16
feet. Its contents are about 100,000 cubic yards, of which 80% was
excavated, conveyed, and placed by the agency of water. The dam is
located at the edge of a mesa, where it breaks off at the side of the
valley of the Santa Ana River, and the top of the dam is but little lower
than the level of the mesa. It closes the outlet of a small valley in the
mesa, and forms a reservoir of 51,000,000 cubic feet capacity (1170
acre-feet) to be used for irrigation as an adjunct of the main canal of
the Anaheim Union Water Co. This canal, from the Santa Ana River,
feeds the reservoir and passes around it at an elevation but a few feet
higher than the top of the dam, and the water used in sluicing was that
supplied by this canal. The work was begun in February and completed
in November, 1907, with a small force.

Owing to the lack of head for hydraulicking under pressure, the
lower half of the dam was built up by the ground-sluicing method, the
materials being loosened by plows, picks, and bars and washed into
the dam through flumes, one on each side, laid on grades of 4% to 7%
and using 3 to 4 second-feet in each flume. The side levees were built
up at the beginning 4 to 8 feet high, with earth scraped from the center.
Subsequently they were maintained by earth brought in from either
end by cars and scrapers. The average cost of ground sluicing was about
eight cents per cubic yard. ‘

July Ist, when the dam reathed a height above which it was no
longer possible to secure the required gradients for conveying the mate-
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 173

 

Fic. 134.—Yorsa Dam, Catirornra. Hyprauticking AN EartH Bank WITH
Water Pumpeep THROUGH 1-1INcH NozzLE UNDER 25 Pounps PRESSURE.

 

 

 

Fic. 135.—YorBa Dam, Catirornta. SHowine DiscHarce oF PuMPED MaTprtaL,
ALONG Up-streAM Tor LEVEE.
174 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

rial by gravity, a single stage centrifugal pump, operated by gasoline
engine of 60 H.P., was installed to deliver sluiced material through an
8-inch pipe to and along the dam, a maximum distance of 800 feet from
the pump. The latter was located at one end 20 feet below the crest
height of the dam, and had a capacity of 3 cubic feet per second. A
second centrifugal pump, with a capacity of 0.5 second-foot, was in-
stalled near the ditch for supplying the hydraulic stream used for
cutting the earth bank, delivering the water through a nozzle 1 inch
in diameter at the end of a 2inch hose, under a _ pressure of
35 pounds per square inch. This small stream, easily controlled
by two men, sufficed to do the mining, clear water being added
to the extent of 2.5 second-feet to convey the loosened earth to
the lower pump. In this manner about 600 cubic yards was
delivered daily in 10 hours, at a total cost of about 12 cents per cubic
yard.

The material consisted of adobe clay soil, sand and gravel. <A goodly
proportion of the material is gravel 4 inch to 4 inches in size. The
average ratio of solids delivered to water pumped is about 15%. The
dam has no core-wall, but has a deep puddle trench excavated through
the top-soil into hard blue clay. This trench is refilled with fine clay
segregated from the soil in the sluicing operation, which constitutes so
large a proportion of the heart of the dam as to insure water-tightness
of the structure. The material left on the slopes is coarse enough to
afford good drainage during construction and insure the exterior of
the dam from future super-saturation.

Fig. 134 shows the operation of hydraulic sluicing, and Fig. 135
illustrates the method of delivery of earth upon the dam. The surplus
water was drained from the pond through stand-pipes built up in
successive layers and connecting with the main outlet-pipe through
which the water was fed into the reservoir. The entire cost of the dam
was about $38,000.

Silver Lake Dam, Los Angeles.—In constructing an earth dam in
the city limits of Los Angeles, for storage and domestic distribution
service, Mr. Wm. Mulholland, M. Am. Soc. C. E., superintendent of the
city waterworks, made notable use of the hydraulic system in some-
what novel ways which further illustrate the flexibility of the sluicing
method of dam building, and the fact that it is not essential to go out-
side the limits of the reservoir or above the high-water line to secure
material for a hydraulic-fill dam. The dam is 900 feet long on the crest,
56 feet maximum height, and contains 146,000 cubic yards, all of which
was taken from the reservoir basin and the greater portion of which
was handled with pumps through the medium of water. The elevation
of the crest of the dam is 450 feet above sea-level. The reservoir is fed
AYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 175

by a conduit from Los Angeles River, and has a storage capacity of 156,-
000,000 gallons (479 acre-feet).

For the purpose of cutting off percolation underneath the dam a
trench was excavated to bed-rock on the central axis of the embank-
ment, throughout its entire length, reaching a depth of 40 feet below
the original surface in the center of the valley. This trench was filled
with a concrete core-wall, which was carried up into the body of the dam
a height of 3 to 6 feet above the original surface. In the deepest part,
for a considerable distance, this wall was built between parallel lines

 

 

Fig. 136.—Sitver Lax Dam, Los ANGELES. Tur Eartu, Loosrnep By THE Hy-
DRAULIC JET, Is CONVEYED To THE Pumpine Station SHown aND PUMPED TO
THE Dam.

of steel sheet-piling about 6 feet apart, driven into the sandstone bed-

rock in advance of the excavation of the earth between them.

At the lower levels the material used to build the dam was loosened
and dissolved by ground sluicing with water taken from a grade-line pipe
passing through the reservoir. The liquefied earth flowed by gravity
down the slope to a sump whence a centrifugal pump forced it through
a pipe to the dam, where it was distributed by flumes and lateral branch
pipes. At a later stage the hydraulic jet was used for loosening the earth,
the water being pumped by a single-stage centrifugal pump through
4-inch pipe, and delivered under pressure of 70 to 100 pounds through
2-inch nozzles, controlled by a local modification of the more expensive
hydraulic monitor used in the mines.
176 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

When the material within 2000 feet of the dam was exhausted on
one side the plant was removed to the other, and successive settings
of the pumps were made, retreating further away each time, until before
the dam was finished the material was being forced through 4000 feet
of 8-inch pipe, with the main pump working under 40 pounds pressure,
and a ‘“‘booster” pump, located midway on the line, operating under
12 to 15 pounds per square inch. The actual lift represented only about
20% of the total head pumped against, the remainder being the friction
in the pipes. During the later stage of the work the water used was
about 2.5 second-feet, and the rate of delivery of material was about
500 cubie yards in 9 hours. The ratio of solids to water was therefore
about 17%. At the earlier stages this ratio was as high as 28%. When
the material was being delivered through 1500 feet of pipe, a careful
summary of the data showed the cost to average 11 cents per cubic
yard. Toward the end of the work, a careful account of cost on the
delivery of 8000 cubic yards showed the average to be 16 cents per
cubic yard, including all labor, materials, fuel, etc., including the work
of building up the side levees by shovelling.

The water used was returned to the reservoir, which was half filled
before the dam was finished. The main pump was always located at
the water edge, where it could take additional water to dilute the stream
of mud from the jets.

The material consisted solely of surface-soil, 3 to 4 feet deep (over-
lying hard-pan), of a heavy sandy loam quality, containing a consid-
erable percentage of clay, which was carefully separated and placed
in the center of the dam by the action of water, the sand being left on
the sides of the embankment.

To prevent a slipping of the outer slope while it was saturated from
the pond on top of the dam, six 2-inch drain-pipes were driven hori-
zontally into the down-stream face of the embankment, a distance of
60 feet. Each was provided with a well-point and strainer at the inner
end. They were about evenly spaced over a length of 200 feet of the
highest part of the dam, and 6 to 10 feet above the surface. The greatest
amount of seepage from any one of these drain-pipes measured two
gallons per minute, which diminished to one fourth in a few weeks.
These drains were effective in keeping the face of the dam dry and stable.

This dam is of special interest as a demonstration of what can be
done with a cheap “pick-up” plant in gathering low-lying material
from a distance, and forming a dam of superior compactness at moderate
cost.

Swink Hydraulic-fill Dam, Cotorado.—The Apishapa River is a
torrential stream, which drains an area of 837 square miles, ranging
in elevetion from 4600 to 14,000 feet, and enters the Arkansas River
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 177

from the south a few miles above Rocky Ford. Its mean annual run-off"
is from $0,000 to 100,000 acre-fect, but it is so irregular and flashy in
flow as to require storage to utilize it for irrigation. Owing to the
absence of good storage-sites on the stream, the plan formed by Senator
G. W. Swink, of Rocky Ford, for impounding the water is to build a
diverting canal, 24 miles long, 31 feet wide on bottom, 6 feet deep, with
a capacity of 1100 second-feet, from the stream to a flat basin in Patterson
Hollow, where he designs to construct a reservoir covering an area of
2300 acres, with a capacity of over 46,000 acre-feet, by means of a dam
7150 feet long, 40 feet high, with inner slope of 9 on 1, outer slope
2 on 1, crest width 200 feet, and cubic contents of 2,800,000 cubic
yards.

The materials for this huge dam are to be brought to it by the canal
in its descent from the crest of the ridge between the valley of the
Apishapa and that of the reservoir, a distance of 7 miles, where the
fall is 147 feet to the top of the dam.

The soil is an extremely fine sand which has great cohesion when
compacted under water. The depth to shale bed-rock over the area
to be sluiced is from 8 to 15 feet. The canal will speedily cut down
to bed-rock, and the soil must be carried forward to the dam. The
dam slope levees were built to a height of 12 feet by scraping from the
space between them. They are 644 feet apart from out to out. The
canal will flow the entire length of the dam between these levees and
discharge into the reservoir at the far end. The plan is quite unique,
and the scale of the work is so ambitious that much time may be re-
quired to complete it, although the cost should be very moderate, and
will chiefly consist in building up of the side levees from time to time,
as the canal will only need intelligent guidance to excavate all the
material it can carry. The construction will, in a measure, be auto-
matic.

The reservoir will have 16 outlet-pipes through the dam at vary-
ing levels, in 8 pairs on either side.

The dam is estimated to cost about $100,000.

Croton Hydraulic-fill Dam, Michigan.—In constructing a power-
plant on the Muskegon River, at Croton, Mich., in the winter of 1906-7,
the Grand Rapids-Muskegon Power Co. employed the hydraulic-sluicing
process most effectively and economically for the erection of an earth
embankment 200 feet long, 40 to 60 feet high, containing 104,000 cubic
yards. The total cost of the work* averaged but 6.8 cents per cubic
yard, including all expense for plant, materials, supplies, labor, power,
ete. The detail of cost was as follows:

 

* See Engineering News, of Oct. 14, 1907, illustrated article, by W. G. Fargo, C.E.
178 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Plant (one half cost) including pumps, piping, sheet steel

flumes, hose, nozzle, etc............... Peano Paaa as $1871
Ta Os fo tes Aasal ade aeteraeateceu seers See Ghia auni sed epee rears acecclags OULD
Teams, removing stumps, stones, hauling flumes, and timber. 248
IS GIS Wacsetare ee howe bi ercenn Piieialahacim Curnhy PRR Are E alate ae open Ske een tee 18
Oil, waste, pump repairs and sundries ......... Saeeene a Rios 119
Power, 92,000 IxX.W. hours at 1 cent............. RS peer 920
MOtOPrentalls scmeciacianceueetanies aide ayteiatais Ub aLavahe alae p 125

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 137.—Croron Hypravuic-FInL DAM, MICHIGAN, DURING CONSTRUCTION.

 

 

Fic. 188.—Croron Dam, Micnican, ILLUSTRATING FLUMES AND TRESTLE SUPPORTS
USED IN HypRaULic SLUICING.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 179

Seven Underwriter’s rotary fire-pumps were used, all belt driven by
electric motors, but on account of the severe service for which they
were illy adapted an average of 50% of the pumps were out of service
and undergoing repairs.

The material sluiced was fine yellow sand, common to all the pine
country of northern Michigan, and was handled in semi-circular steel
flumes, 30 inches diameter, in 10-foot sections, lapped 6 inches, and
laid on 8% to 9% grades. 5

The river, flowing a minimum of 700 second-feet, was diverted through
the spillway channel or waste-gate section of the dam by rock-filled
timber cribs sunk across the channel to be occupied by the hydraulic-
fill. A low fill cf long, flat slope was then made under water on the
up-stream side of the crib by hydraulically sluicing material into the
channel from the bluff, 75 feet higher than the top of the dam at one
side. The temporary closing cribs, when thus faced with a sluiced fill
on the down-stream side, were made nearly tight under a head of
15 feet of water, demonstrating the possibility of making tight
embankments with material deposited under water by hydraulic
sluicing.

Prior to beginning the permanent embankment a continuous row
of steel sheet piling was driven through sand and gravel 20 to 40 feet
deep to and into a layer of hard-pan underlying. On top of this line
of sheet piling a reinforced concrete core-wall, 12 inches thick, was
built to the top through the embankment and 2 feet above the water
surface to serve as a wave protection as well as a cut-off to prevent
seepage through the fill.

The dam extends from the power-house located in the center of the
channel to the highest bluff bank of the river at one side, a distance
of 200 feet. It has slopes of 2} on 1 to 6 on 1 on the up-stream side,
and 2 on 1 to 4 on 1 on the down-stream side. The nozzles used at the
face of the excavation were attached to 4-inch rubber hose and clamped
to a 12-foot plank pivoted to a standard, by which two men could
readily control its action. The nozzles tapered in 24 inches from 4 inches
to 14 inches. The greatest distance to which material was moved in
the flumes was 800 feet. These flumes were supported on light pole
trestles, easily erected and moved.

As an incident to the construction of the dam, a fill of 20,000 cubic
yards was made by hydraulic sluicing for an approach to a highway
bridge, just below the dam, using a 3-inch Gould rotary fire-pump,
driven by 30 H.P. motor, the material being delivered into the fill in a
sheet-iron flume 20 inches wide, 5 inches deep, on 15% grade. Cost
data kept on 3000 cubic yards of this fill showed a total cost of 1.4 cents
per cubic yard for labor.
180 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The publication of the author’s experience in similar work* a short
time prior to the construction of the Croton dam doubtless encouraged
the designers of this work to adopt the hydraulic method, then entirely
new in Eastern practice.

Lyons Hydraulic-fill Dam, Michigan—The Commonwealth Power
Co., of Jackson, Mich., an ally of the Muskegon Grand Rapids Power
Co., during 1906 and 1907 built a similar dam to that of the Croton
dam, just described, for power development on Grand River near
Lyons. The embankment extends from the penstock of the power-house
150 feet to a high clay bluff that forms the river bank on that side. The
embankment contains 23,000 cubic yards of material placed by hydraulic
sluicing during 45 days of December, January, and February under
difficult conditions, owing to the severity of the weather. The cost
of the plant, less salvage on sale, was $1200, or 5.13 cents per cubic
yard. The labor cost was 27.3 cents per yard, a total of 32.40 cents
per yard for the entire embankment. The material for the fill was
taken from a clay bluff capped with 10 feet of sand and gravel. Owing
to the tough character of the clay the overlying material alone was
used, requiring high and expensive trestles to carry the flumes to the
dump. Ice and freezing weather, necessitating the use of powder to
break up the earth, made unusual difficulties and greatly increased
the cost, but nevertheless there were no possible means of doing the
work so cheaply by other methods under the conditions prevailing.

The construction of both the Croton and Lyons dams was carried
out under the supervision of Mr. W. G. Fargo, hydraulic engineer, of
Jackson, Mich., to whose courtesy the author is indebted for photo-
graphs illustrating the construction. (Figs. 136 and 137.)

Little Bear Valley Dam, California.—The dam which is under construc-
tion by the Arrowhead Reservoir and Power Co. in the San Bernardino
Mountains on the headwaters of the Mojave River, is one in which the
hydraulic-sluicing process is used to wash the fine materials from railway
dumps in either slope to the center. The material is all excavated by
steam-suvveis, hauled in cars by locomotives and dumped into fills
started at each toe of the embankment. Pipes are laid along the tracks
from which outlets are provided for hose used for washing the materials
as dumped. The water is supplied by steam-pumps. The dam is to
have an extreme height of 200 feet from the stream-bed, and is built
with a slope of 2 on 1 down-stream, and 24 on 1 up-stream, the crest
width to be 20 feet at a height of 15 feet above the flow line of the reser-
voir. A concrete core-wall is carried up a little in advance of the earth-

 

* Transactions American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LVIII, p. 196, “Recent
Practice in Hydraulic-fill Dam Construction,” by James D. Schuyler, M. Am. Soc.
C.E.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

THE IMPROVISED NozzLe CONTROL,

. THE Croton Dam, SHOWIN¢

ON

Fic. 139.—Hypravtuic SLuUICING

181

or Hyprautic Monitor.
182 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

fill in the center of the dam. This is built in a trench 20 feet deep and
is uniformly 20 feet thick up to the stream-bed, thence it batters to
38 feet at the water-line in 185 feet of height above stream-bed. The
volume of concrete in the core-wall is to be about 30,000 cubic yards,
while the earth will have a total volume of nearly 14 million cubic yards,
two thirds of which was in place at the end of the working season of
1907, reaching to a héight of about 110 feet.

The material in the dam consists chiefly of disintegrated granite,
much of which has to. be loosened by blasting before it can be handled
by steam-shovel. It contains a variable percentage of clay, most of
which is sluiced out and deposited by the water next to the core-wall.

The reservoir formed by the dam will cover an area of 884 acres
and impound 60,179 acre-feet. The. outlet to the reservoir is through
a tunnel 4957 feet long, half a mile distant from the dam, lined throughout
with concrete. An intake tower at the head of the tunnel is being built
of reinforced concrete to a height of 180 feet, with an interior diameter
of 9 feet.

The water of the reservoir which naturally flows to the desert on
the north side of the range will be conveyed to the San Bernardino Valley -
by a series of long tunnels piercing the mountains, and dropping to the
valley through pressure pipes by which power is to be developed. The
water is to be used for irrigation and domestic supply.

The company has been at work on the system for more than 15
years.

Failure of Snake Ravine Dam, California, Illustrating Danger of
Improper Use of Hydraulic Method.—The lessons to be learned from the
failures of others are as valuable to the engineer as the record of success-
ful construction, and for the purpose of. illustrating how not to build
hydraulic-fill dams the two disastrous attempts undertaken for the
Turlock Irrigation District to construct a dam across Snake Ravine
may be cited as conspicuous examples of the results of neglecting correct
methods and principles. An interesting account of this work was pre-
pared by J. B. Lippincott, M. Am. Soc. C.E.,* from which the follow-
ing description has been compiled.

The dam was planned to be 64 feet high, 294 feet long on top, with
crest width of 12 feet at a height of 4 feet above the water-line, and
with side slopes between 1.5 on 1 and 2 on 1. Its purpose was to save
the construction of 1500 feet of side-hill canal and flume in the line of
the main canal of the Turlock Irrigation District. The capacity of
this canal is 1500 second-feet and it was located to discharge into the
basin above the dam, after passing through a ridge where a cut 50 feet.

 

* Engineering News, October 20, 1898.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 183.

deep, 800 feet long, was required. The material of this cut was aurif.
erous gravel, in size varying from 1 inch to 2 feet, imbedded in red clay
with some sand. In its original position it is extremely firm and imper-
vious, standing for years when mined in walls nearly vertical as high
as 50 feet. A canal used for hydraulic mining, with a capacity of 24
second-feet, was already in existence 100 feet above the grade of the irriga-
tion canal, and but one quarter of a mile distant. All these conditions were
simply ideal for the cheap construction of a first-class dam by the hy-
draulic process. It was planned to build the dam by sluicing down
the material out of the big cut, but no means were provided for convey-
ing the sluiced material to the slopes of the embankment, and there sepa-
rating the rock from the clay and sand, thus giving stability, friction,
and drainage to the exterior sides of the fill. On the contrary, the
material was turned loose down a natural ravine, and all the heavy
bowlders and gravel were dropped on the way, while merely the fine
silt and clay reached the dam. Thus the basin was filled with many
hundreds of yards of the.best material that never got down to the
embankment.

The first attempt was made in 1893, but the dam, which was con-
stantly shaky, vibrating and wet, without ability to drain itself to a
condition of stable equilibrium, slid out when it reached the height of
30 feet. The second dam was built upon the wreck of the first, and,
although greater care was given to provide drainage by an inclined box
beneath the outer slope, so that it was completed to the full height, it
was destroyed in the same manner when first tested by filling the basin,
June 14, 1898. The embankment slid en masse down the ravine at a
velocity of 6 to 10 feet per second, and after travelling a distance of
over 1000 feet was thrown bodily into the Tuolumne River, creating
a temporary dam 20 feet high. The superintendent and two dogs were
on the dam when it gave way without the slightest warning. They
were all carried entirely across the river and none of them hurt, though
the man’s shirt and pockets were filled with sand and mud on the trip.

The simplest and most elementary precautions in dam _ building
appear to have been neglected, and no attempt was made to prepare
the foundations by the removal of mining tailings in the bed of the
ravine, the excavation of a trench to bed-rock, or the construction of
any sort of core-wall or seepage barrier. A wooden culvert, 4’x4’ in
the clear, of 2-inch Oregon pine, was built through the dam at the bottom
resting on 68-inch stringers. A shaft of wood was built up at the
upper toe as an overflow for draining the reservoir during construction.
Connecting with this box was an inclined wocden shaft 2’x4’, laid
parallel with the outer slope, 10 feet from the exterior surface, to take
off the overflow from the pond on the dam. When the embankment.
184 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION “WATER-POWER, ETC.

reached a height of 40 feet, the main culvert was crushed by the weight
above it, and no longer served as a waste channel. At this stage, there-
fore, hydraulic filling was substituted by earth brought in by carts,
by which means the fill was completed. But the dam always leaked
badly, as might have been expected. With but a few feet of water in
the pond there was a stream of 1 second-foot passing under the dam,
issuing from the broken waste-box. This at first ran muddy, but after--
wards diminished and became clearer as the result of sluicing in material
from the hillside upon the upper toe of the dam. Later, when the pond
was filled, there was more leakage through the material deposited by
carts than through the stratified material that was sluiced into posi-
tion.

After the second failure the building of a dam was abandoned, and
the ravine was crossed with a flume.

The case is cited as an example of the misuse of a most favorable
opportunity for building a permanent construction with the greatest
possible economy and with the best of materials for lack of experienced
and intelligent supervision. The work was done without an engineer,
by a so-called ‘“‘practical’’ contractor, upon whom fell the entire
loss.

General Principles of Hydraulic-fill Dam Construction.—From the
various experiences in actual works detailed in the foregoing pages,
the general principles involved in successful dam building by the
hydraulic process may be gleaned, or inferred by the careful reader,
but to make these principles clear the conclusions of the author from his
personal experiences and years of observation are summarized as follows:

Materials —The material best adapted for hydraulic-fill dams is an
admixture of rounded bowlders, of all sizes that can be transported
with the water and grades available, gravel, sand and clay, the latter
to comprise 10% to 30% of the whole. The rounded rocks roll more
readily than angular stone, and create less wear and tear in the pipes
or flumes used to transport them while the clay acts as a lubricant to
assist in transporting the heavier materials.

The most difficult material with which to build such a dam is pure
clay unmixed with sand, because it is unstable until the water convey-
ing it is drained from the mass, and if the entire embankment is formed
of clay its complete drainage and maturity to a solidified mass is a slow
process. Shrinkage is much greater in clay than in all other materials,
and there is greater likelihood of the opening of cracks during the process
of maturing. The difficulties of maintaining the slopes during con-
struction are also greatly increased by the absence of coarse materials
on the slopes, as in the Lake Frances dam. However, as is truly said
by a good authority, “Wet clay under pressure will part with its water
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 185

even though the mass be entirely surrounded by that liquid,’ * and
when finally consolidated, as it will become within a reasonable time
after being deposited under water, it makes a dam which can have no
superior for water-tightness and solidity.

The preferable use of clay in a hydraulic-fill is as a core between
overlying, overlapping masses of sand, gravel, and rock, which rest
upon the clay and exert such constant pressure upon it as to assist in
squeezing out its surplus water, for which the porous rock affords
required drainage. In this condition clay, no matter what its original
character, whether it be a “fat” clay, subject to excessive shrinkage,
or a clay which readily slacks when exposed to the weather, will mature
and ripen to a condition where it will neither absorb water or permit
of percolation through it. Surface clays and soils which are thoroughly
weathered are preferable to deep-seated clays in beds of such depth
as to have undergone few of the changes produced by the action of the
clements. In the opinion of the author, fine sand, glacial flour, rock
dust, or any finely-pulverized non-plastic material is really preferable
to clay as core material for a hydraulic-fill dam, for the reason that
when settled in water it is not subject to shrinkage or further settle-
ment, and is practically impervious to water if the particles are fine
enough to pass a 100-mesh sieve. A combination or admixture of clay
and fine sand is still better and less subject to shrinkage than pure clay.

Stratification—An important feature of construction is the avoid-
ance of the deposit of the material in such a manner as to permit strata
of coarse sand and gravel from passing through the dam, giving porous
passages from side to side. This may be regulated and controlled by
an even distribution of the material along the slopes, avoiding the for-
mation of high cones, extending beyond certain safe limits toward the
core, and by keeping the pond on the dam as high as possible at all times.
It is observed that sand and gravel with a lubricant of clay will take a
natural slope of 5% to 8%, but on passing into the quiet pool will drop
and deposit at a slope of about 1 on 1, while the clay spreads through
the water practically level.

Contact with Foundation—The preparation of the foundations by
stripping all loose and porous material from at least the center third
of the base down to impervious bed-rock, hard-pan, or clay is the first
essential to secure a satisfactory contact with the foundation. In case
the base material should be of the least doubtful character or show in
test pits that there may be porous strata beneath the stripped surface,
one or more trenches, extending longitudinally parallel with the center

 

* “Clays, their Occurrence, Properties and Uses,” by Heinrich Ries, Ph.D. New
York, John Wiley & Sons, 1906.
186 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

line should be excavated to the depth required to give reasonable assur-
ance of impermeability, or that the porous strata may have no direct con-
nection with the reservoir above so as to permit of water passing beneath
the dam. This trench should then be filled with a dense quality of
concrete, and the core-wall carried a sufficient height above the stripped
surface to enable the clay core material to envelop and form a bond with
it as the plastic matter settles and consolidates. In some cases, as
in dams of moderate height, not over 50 feet, the concrete may be omitted
entirely and the trench allowed to fill with the natural puddle of the
sluiced material. Where the foundation is clay, hard-pan, or rock
overlaid to a considerable depth by permeable sand and gravel which
would be expensive to excavate, a satisfactory joining with the im-
pervious base may be made by driving a continuous line of sheet-piling
from end to end of dam through all porous matter into the base
material.

Should the hydraulic-fill be lacking in impervious material it is good
modern practice to build a reinforced concrete core-wall through the
body of the fill, founded on the sheet-piling below.

Concrete or Masonry vs. Clay as a Core-wall.—The essential difference
between the practice of English and American engineers in the building
of ordinary earth dams is that the former rely for water-tightness on a
specially prepared puddle core-wall of clay in the center of the dam,
deeply founded in a trench below the lowest surface, and carried up
to the original surface in form of a widening wedge, which narrows thence
to the top of the dam. American engineers, on the contrary, seldom
use clay in this manner, either because of its scarcity and high cost of
the quality desired, or for other constructive reason, but prefer a central
core-wall of masonry or concrete backed on either side by the most
impervious material available well rolled in layers. Investigations made
of a number of these dams of the best American types a few years since
revealed the fact that the core-walls ate seldom water-tight. Mr. E.
Sherman Gould, late M. Am. Soc. C. E., in commenting on the revelations
of the borings made in various high earth dams during the investigation
of the new Croton dam by Messrs. Croes, Smith, and Sweet, in 1901,
says:* “Tt is to be feared that in many cases the masonry center walls
of earth dams are built too light. They should be more than mere
diaphragms: they should be walls in fact as well as in name. My own
rule is to give the center wall a bottom thickness equal to one-
quarter of the greatest depth of water in the reservoir, and to draw
in by offsets 2 feet in every 10 feet of height. JI would never

 

* Engineering News, February 9, 1902.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 187

voluntarily reduce this thickness, although I might increase it, except
perhaps to draw in more rapidly near the top in the case of a very high
wall.”

This expression represents the extreme of conservatism from the
standpoint of the American engineer. The way in which masonry or
concrete core-walls are regarded by English engineers is partly expressed
by the language used by the late James Mansergh, F.R.S., when President
Institution of Civil Engineers, in an address to the society, in which he
said: “I am not sure that such a core may not be made from end to
end of an earth dam, if very special precautions are taken by well rolling
the bank to insure that wnequal settlement or surging does not take place.
I have never yet ventured to try it, but if I do not get nervous as I grow
older, I may some day.” Reginald E. Middleton, M. Inst. C. E., of London,*
writes on this subject: ‘Where masonry alone is used, should
there be any movement in the bank, the wall will be fractured,
serious leakage may take place and the dam be so much weakened
thereby that its unforeseen destruction may result, and it is exceedingly
difficult to make a thin, or even a thick, masonry wall perfectly water-
tight.”

Hydraulic-fill dams offer a safe and satisfactory middle ground of
compromise between the American earth dam with concrete core-wall
or diaphragm and the English type of earth dam with its elaborate mixed
and tamped puddle-wall of selected clay. By no other process can
such a large proportion of the entire dam be made of puddle clay at
practicable cost. ;

The apparent effect of hydraulic sluicing upon most soils, the natural
process of sorting out the finer particles, is to produce a clay of marked
uniformity. Mr. Joseph Morgan, consulting engineer, Cambria Steel
Works, Johnstown, Pa., in making a series of analyses of core material
from various hydraulic-fill dams in widely separated sections of the
country, noticed a curious similarity between them, and first called
attention to it in correspondence with the author. The analyses were
practically identical, except in the absence of sulphur, with those of
average English blue clays, which show the following ratio of constit-
uents:

 

Billa eats cea ely ae cet od eet aan aiecine 63.35
Alumina: and tron. jcc ccc ace eo ee ee ce Se eee ee 18.50
TGANTMGH: Gate Vaid acaba the Raloa ede dante on alan aue al sentls ae Showa 6.60
SUlphtt s+) occas aaa karee re werak meee . 4,82
Loss (by 1eDltON....cews Oe eee ee See es wss 7.23

100.00

 

{ Engineering Record, March 29, 1902.
188 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

It would seem from these analyses that the natural result of the
process is the automatic segregation and deposition of puddle clay of
a quality equal to the best puddle-core material used in English dam
construction, at a small fraction of the cost. This being true no other
core-wall can possibly be required. There have been no failures of
earth dams on record within the knowledge of the author due to the
lack of water-tightness of the puddle-core.

The hydraulic process, therefore, affords the means of segregating
and assembling the puddle-cores from all classes of soils, and when in-
telligently employed will make a safe dam from the most unpromising
materials.

Limiting Height of Hydraulic-fill Dams.—The highest earth dam in
the world, the San Leandro dam, near Oakland, California, is but 125
‘feet from base to crest, and this was partially constructed as to exterior
slopes by the hydraulic-sluicing process. It is without masonry core-
wall. Until within the past few years engineers have been inclined
to consider 100 feet as about the safe limit of earth dams. The author
does not subscribe to this doctrine, but believes that nature has given
too many examples of glacial lakes many hundreds of feet deep formed
by dams of moraine deposits to discourage the engineer from building
earth embankments by the improved hydraulic process of any height
desired, limited only by practical considerations of cost and time re-
quired for construction, provided suitable conditions are presented.
E. sherman Gould, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,* touched the keynote to this
question, in the following: “It would seem that whatever water gets
into an earth bank must be introduced by simple soakage, the pressure
exercising but a slight influence upon the penetration beyond a small depth.
If this view be correct, then it appears reasonable to suppose that the
greater the mass of earth the less danger of its being saturated by the
water, which, as the area increases approximately as the square of
the height, would lead to the conclusion that as far as soakage is
concerned the higher the dam the less liability is there of general
saturation.”

In its applicability to the design and construction of high hvdraulic-
fill dams the author indorses the following editorial expression of En-
ginecring Record (vol. 46, p. 121): ‘ With reasonable care in founding
an earth embankment upon such solid and impervious foundation as
rock or its equivalent for such a purpose, and with other features so
designed as to shut off absolutely the flow of water underneath and
with a practically impervious bank, which it is perfectly practicable

 

* Engineering News, February 20, 1902.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 189

to attain, guarded with pavements on both the up-stream and down-
stream sides if advisable, there seems to be no basis as yel on which a limtt-
ing height of earth dam may be placed. The design of these structures
has been born of conditions under which they have been imperative, as
the expense of solid masonry work would have been prohibitive. They
have served sound engineering purpose, and they point the way to
further economical development of high dam construction under circum-
stances where earth embankments, or even earth embankments com

bined with rock-fill and other accompanying features of design a1

justifiable by the canons of the best engineering practice.’’ In thc
author’s opinion there is no limit, except one of cost, to the height to
which it is possible and safe to build hydraulic-fill dams, provided they
be made of sufficient dimensions to fulfill the simple requirement that
frictional resistance to the passage of water shall be practically insuper-
able, or if water in moderate amount does find its way through the mass,
that it shall be robbed of all velocity and power to transport any of
the particles of the embankment with it, issuing clear as water issues from
a filter.

Drainage.—The stability of hydraulic-fill dams as well as that of,
all earth dams, depends to a large extent upon the proper drainage of
the down-stream portion of the embankment. Unless the lower third
of the foundation consists of gravel, loose rock, or other porous material,
through which water will percolate freely, artificial drains should be
provided to lead the water draining from the center third to the outer
toe. These drains should not approach nearer the center than the line
between the middle and outer thirds of the base, and they should be
so prepared as to act in the nature of a filter, grading from fine to coarse,
in a way to avoid displacement of the core material during the process
of drainage and consolidation.

A covered gathering well at the head of each drain, to concentrate
seepage, and so arranged as to force the water to rise in the bottom
against a certain slight head, boiling up, as in a spring, can be recom-
mended as an efficient and satisfactory device. The well should be
surrounded with fine gravel and sand, and when properly made will
always be found effective in preventing percolating water from washing
out channels through the dam.

Hydraulic Fills on the Canadian Pacific Railway—Further examples
of the successful employment of hydraulic mining principles to the
work of building embankments are to be found on the Pacific
coast, but none more instructive than the extensive hydraulic fills
made by the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia, where
trestles of great height are being supplanted by earth and gravel
190 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

embankments made by the agency of water alone. The methods
employed differ materially from those described in the foregoing pages,
but will doubtless find frequent application elsewhere in irrigation-dam
construction.

At trestle No. 374, near North Bend, in Fraser River Canyon, 110 miles
east of Vancouver, there was required to filla chasm an embankment 231
feet in height, containing 148,000 cubic yards. When visited by the writer
in November, 1896, the fill had reached a height of 167 feet and contained
70,000 cubic yards, all of which had been put in place by the hydraulic
process. The plant used consisted of 1450 feet of double-riveted sheet-steel
pipe, 15 inches in diameter, 1200 feet of sluice-boxes or flumes, about 3 feet
wide and the same depth, one No. 3 double-jointed *‘ Giant ’’ monitor with
5-inch nozzle, and a large derrick fitted with a Pelton wheel connected with
the winding-dram of the derrick and operated by diverting the jet of water,
used in piping the bank, npon the wheel when loads were to be hoisted by
the derrick. ‘The gravel bank where the material was obtained was 1130
feet distant from the center of the track, and from this pit the pipe was
laid to an adjacent stream, 1450 feet, in which length the fall available was
125 feet. The sluice-boxes were lajd on a grade of 11% for the first 425
feet, increasing to 25% the rest of the way. They were chiefly supported
on trestles. These boxes, constituting a continuons flume, were paved with
wood blocks on the lighter part of the grade, and with pieces of old railway
rails, laid close together lengthwise of the flame, where the grade was
heaviest.

One of the most serious difficulties here encountered—and each locality
develops its special problems—was the fact that about 50% of the materials
in the gravel-pit was such as to be classed as cemented gravel; 20% con-
sisted of bowlders, too large to pass through the flume and requiring to be
hoisted out of the way and piled up by the derrick; while but 30% was
loose gravel, of the character best adapted for the work. Notwithstanding
these disadvantages the results accomplished are quite remarkable, as the
entire cost of the work, including the plant, was but $5089, an average of
7.24 cents per cubic yard. The entire force employed consisted of eight
men, disposed as follows: 1 piper at the monitor, 1 man at the head of the
sluice-boxes and in the pit, 2 on the flume, ‘‘ driving ’’ the material along
to prevent choking, 3 on the dump, distributing the material and making
brush mattresses for the slopes, and 1 foreman, a carpenter, chiefly engaged
on general repairs of flume and overseeing the work. The time occupied
was as follows: sluicing, 95.3 days; removing bowlders from the pit, 50.4
days; repairing flume and plant, 13.5 days; total, 159.2 days of 10 hours
of the entireforce. The total number of yards moved, divided by the actual
working-time when sluicing was in progress, gave an average of 738 cubic
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 191

yards per day of 10 hours, or at the rate of 1771 cubic yards per 24 hours.
The water used was approximately 11 cubic feet per second, or 550 miner’s
inches under 4-inch pressure (440 inches under 6-inch pressure), the duty
performed being 3.22 yards per 24-hour inch under 4-inch pressure, or
4.02 cubic yards per inch under 6-inch pressure, which latter is the unit of
measure most commonly used in the hydraulic mines.

Had the gravel-bank been free from large bowlders, the work could have
been done in two-thirds of the time actually occupied, and had the pressure
been greater and the gravel all loose instead of being partially cemented,
requiring the use of explosives to loosen it, the duty of the water, on the
high grades available for the flume, should have been increased more than
threefold, as the ratio of solids carried was only about 5% of the volume of
water used. An understanding of all these conditions suggests what might
be accomplished by this method with a perfect combination of circum-
stances, viz., water under pressure of 400 to 500 feet head, loose materials
in abundance for washing, freedom from rocks of large size, and heavy
grades to the dump.

In building the embankment no provision was made for draining off the
water down through the center, but it was allowed to pour over the slopes,
which were protected from erosion by brush and tree-tops woven in alter-
nating layers along the edges of the fill. Old track-ties and poles were also
used with the brush. In addition to this protection it was necessary to
exercise care to prevent the water from concentrating in channels or from
reaching to the sides or flowing down the hill over the natural surface. By
keeping the sides of the fill as nearly level as possible the water was spread
in a thin sheet over the face-slopes and reached the bottom of the embank-
ment without washing or doing injury. The slopes are remarkably true
and uniform, and the embankment was packed very hard, particularly near
the end of the sluice, where the gravel had dropped from a considerable
height to the dump below.

The device employed for handling the bowlders in the pit by water-
power was ingenious and effective, and was similar to those in common use
in hydraulic mines, where water under pressure is turned at will upon a
tangential water-wheel with peripheral buckets. ‘This wheel, being attached
to a winding-drum, the wire hoisting-rope leading from the derrick boom
is rapidly wound up and the load handled at will. A friction-brake with
long lever gave the operator perfect control of the load and enabled him to
lower it as swiftly or as gently as desired. Sharp turns in the flume were
made by vertical drops of 2 feet at the angle, and two turns of 90° each
were thus successfully made.

Bowlders with one or two square feet of face would sometimes stop
rolling, and if not quickly started would cause a jam and overflow,
endangering the flume on the gravel hillside. Hence it was necessary to
192 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

employ two ‘‘ drivers’? to patrol the portion of the flume where the grade
was lightest, to keep all such stones in continuous motion. On the heavier
grade, however, no such attention was necessary.

In the suinmer of 1894 the railway company made a similar fill of 66, 000
cubic yards, at the crossing of a stream called Chapman Creek, the average
cost of which was 7.5 cents per cubic yard, of which 3.2 cents was for
plant. The actual work of sluicing was but 1.78 cents per cubic yard.
In this case also, it was necessary to use explosives to loosen the gravel and
prepare it for washing.

In 1897-98 the same company made a similar fill at the crossing of
Mountain Creek, in the Selkirk Mountains, requiring 400,000 cubic yards.
(See Fig. 141.) The total length was 10,086 feet over all, with extreme
depth of 154 feet. The fill was carried up on a slope of 14 tol. Between
Aug. 10 and Nov. 1, 1897, over 65,000 cnbic yards were sluiced in place, at
the following cost:

MAattresse8) sitio: cceus.alstsce eho ee tai Sicear ages $1370.79
Sluicing labor........... 0.0... eee eee 1195.96
Maintenance and repairs................ 678.90
Superintendence and tools.............. 385.05

Notal.isisceckae Meese ee $3630.70

This gives the average cost of the first 65,000 cubic yards at 5.59 cents
per yard. Including a proportion of the plant, the average was less than
8 cents per cubic yard of embankment. The work was done in about 60
working days of 10 hours each, and the average was nearly 1100 cubic yards
per day. ‘The water was delivered to the nozzle of the monitor under a
head of 160 feet, the diameter of nozzle being 5.5 inches. The volume
was therefore 15.75 second-feet, or 787 miner’s inches. The ratio of water
to gravel was as 19 to 1 and the duty of the water was nearly 4.2 cubic
yards per 24-hour inch under 6-inch pressure. The sluice-boxes had a
grade of 8%. The water-supply was brought in a flume, 4 feet wide, 2 feet
high, 2 miles long, built on a grade of 20 feet per mile. The entire plant,
including roads, camp, stables, flume, pipe-line 1200 feet long, sluice-boxes.
600 feet in length, etc., cost $10,038.40. Considerable expense was caused
by snow and Jand-slides, which damaged the plant.

The trestles were filled beginning at the banks of the stream and work-
ing back each way. On the made bank thus formed masonry piers were
constructed, and a steel bridge of five spans was built over the main
stream between them.

‘he work has been planned and executed under direction of H. J.
Cambie, Chief Engineer Pacific Division, Canadian Pacific Railway, and
his Chief Assistant Engineer, Edmund Duchesnay, of Vancouver, B. C., by
whose courtesy the data concerning the work have been supplied.

The class of work done on the Canadian Pacific Railway described in
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 193.

the foregoing pages is identical with that which is required in dam-
construction with similar materials, and the processes employed will be
recognized by engineers as distinctly applicable in a treatise on the subject
of hydraulic dam-building, the only difference being that in railway fills no
attention is paid to such a distribution of materials as will secure the water-
tightness of the bank and free drainage of percolating waters on its exterior
surface.

_ Hydraulic Fills on the Northern Pacific Railway.—The cheap and effec-
tive transportation of earth, gravel, rock, and sand and their deposit in
embankment by water at a cost far below all other feasible methods, is the
main principle involved, and this principle has been given further demon-
stration on a large scale on the Northern Pacific Railway, in the State of
Washington, during the years 1895-96-97. No less than fifteen high and
dangerous trestles on the Cascade Mountain division have been replaced by
hydraulic-made embankments of earth, gravel, and loose rock, washed from
the adjacent mountainsides. The total amount of material thus moved
aggregates 606,750 cubic yards, the average cost of which was 6.39 cents per’
cubic yard; or 5.82 cents for labor and 0.57 cents for materials. The lowest.
cost of any of the fills was 3.38 cents per cabic yard, everything included.

The average cost of 377,000 cubic yards was 4.79 cents per yard, of
which the detailed cost per cubic yard was as follows, figures which may be-
of special interest to those contemplating similar undertakings:

Sluicing and building side levees....... 3.89 cents per yard.

Hay used in side levees............... 0.09 ac

"ROOMS: dese aegis mittens wee a elcome Bens 0.08 “© « &

Lumber and nails.................... OsQ2- SE ES ee

Labor building flames..............  Q:4a Se: ee” ee

Engineering and superintendence...... OTL “ef “Se Ee
RO tall epee hiss hens a las eh odes i 47g

This work was done in the midat of a dense forest, where the ground to
be sluiced had to be cleared, and stumps and roots necessarily interfered
with the loosening of the material. All of the 37%,000 yards were carried
and deposited by water brought to the pits by gravity. In one case, how-
ever, that of bridge 191, the water was supplied by pumping and 42,250
cubic yards were moved by water thus lifted at an average cost of 13,5 cents.
per cubic yard, the detail of which was as follows:

Sluicing and building levees.......... 10.81 cents per yard.
Hay used in side levees.............. 0.21

MO OllSiscn sss cea eee die a es See tal Oa sh ewe
Lumber and nails................... O12 se Ge
Labor building flames............... OoT4. Fe ee es
Coal used in pumping............... Tet St. oS
Engineering and superintendence..... 0:20 %* SS #8
F6I

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“AVATIVY, OLMIOVY NVIGVNV/) oa “a ‘MaaU) NIVINNOPW LV ‘daLATAINKOO

 

 

 

 

 
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40 MIA UVEN ‘AVANIVY OMIOVG NVIGVNVO NO “CD ‘G ‘HAGUD NIVINOOW IV Alsauy, HOT_] AO ONITI A ortavUaxyT— ‘FL ‘DIT

 

 
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 197

The plan adopted on this work for disposal of the water after it had
accomplished its duty was practically the same as that used at the La Mesa
dam. A waste-box (or a number of them if the fill was a large one) was
taken up through the body of the embankment, and built up a little ata
time, as the filling increased in height. ‘The top of the boxes was always
kept lower than the side levees, so that the water could escape without
overflowing the sides as in the case of the Canadian Pacific fills. Hay or
straw was used for the side levees instead of brush or logs, which would

 

 

Fic. 143.—NortTHern PactFic Ratiway. Brmoer 190.

have cost considerably more. In order to prevent the rapid wearing out of
the bottom of the flumes a paving of sauare timbers was used, cut into
3-inch blocks, so that the end wonld be presented as wearing surface.

It was found that grades of 7% and preferably 8% were most advan-
tageous for the sluicing-flumes to carry material containing considerable
gravel and rock, to prevent frequent blocking of the flumes.

By courtesy of E. H. McHenry, Chief Engineer, and Charles S. Bihler,
Division Engineer, Northern Pacific Railway, the writer has been furnished
with the interesting photographs of the work (Figs. 143, 144, 145, and
146), which illustrate the process of hydraulic filling very clearly in all its
phases, and demonstrate with what precision embankments can thus be
198 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

formed. The following general description of the work from the pen of
Mr. Bihler is appended:

“The results have been very gratifying, both as to cost and character
of the fills made. We are using, or trying to obtain, about 100 inches of
water for each nozzle, as with a less quantity the rocky character of the
material moved does not give good results. In some cases we have been
able to obtain water at the bridge, without the necessity of building any
considerable length of flumes. In other cases we had to construct several
miles of flumes for the water-supply. ‘These flumes are constructed in the

 

 

Fie. 144.—Norrucrn Pacivic Ratpway. BRIDGE 189, CascADE MounTALNS,

most temporary manner, of incb-and-a-quarter lumber, 16 to 18 inches
square. Where the locality woul permit we have carried the dirt to the
bridges to be filled a distance of over half a mile. The manner of building
up the fill is very clearly shown in the photographs. We use hay for keep-
ing up a levee on the ontside, and wooden frames or baffle-boards which are
easily moved, to deflect the main current from the levees. The waste-water
is taken off through a waste-box which is taken up through the body of the
fill and built up as the filling increases in height. By adjusting the height
of the waste-gate a larger or smaller amount of fine material can be retained
in the fill, as desired. In building up the fill naturally a separation of the
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 199

materials takes place. The coarser material is deposited right under the
enc of the sluice-boxes, while the finer material is carried along toward the
waste-boxes, the finest particles of each being deposited in the vicinity of
the waste-gate in the shape of mud. For large embankments it is therefore
necessary to have several waste-gates, so that coarse material may be
deposited, from time to time, at those places, and the accumulation of too
much of the fine material at any one point may be avoided.

‘¢' The plant required for the work is rather inexpensive. According to
locality, one nozzle would require from 300 to 1000 feet of light sheet-iron

 

Fig. 145.—NorTHERN Paciric Raipway, HyDRAULIC-FILL CONSTRUCTION. VIEW IN
Prr ssowinc Hypraunic GIANT IN ACTION.

Pipe, costing about 27.5 cents per foot, and a No. 2 Giant, costing $95.
Ontside of this nothing is required except picks, shovels, hoes, and axes.

“¢ The character of the material that we have available is not very favor-
able. The pits are very rocky, and the banks overlying bed-rock which
can be loosened by the water-jet are not deep. The cost given for sluicing
and building levee includes all costs of clearing. From five to six men are
required with each nozzle, to build the levee, move sluice-boxes, and do
everything else connected with the work.”
200 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Following is a summary of the volume and cost of hydraulic filling
as reported on the Northern Pacific Railway:

Average Cost per Yard.

Bridge: 164. .ccieecer essays 18,300 cubic yards. 8.21 cents,
ng 165....... sna seannear 6,200 ** we 16.58 *
i LO Qeavecnie cia nausea 24,500 cy 14.00“
es LQ hsreisiore seekers oscende 30,800 ** as Sho.
a MTS diva wercfasoneceoe: “4,000” 7 a 1055
a Woe ewrestear wera 29) b000 « 623
" UT Spee Sees cee ts eee: ep LOO” “ 13.25‘
ef ROA) Sere ste ae amet 19,800 * 9.31 *
se AB ive. 53.80% aigusheeniece'ss; Oy OUD) 3.80‘
se 184...... dare eearsoalars 96,650 * es 4.34 **
TS Giag se cess edioans 800“ ve 30 24 *
ee TSG is acco aces Sreheryess 51,600“ S 7.02 <
as 189s cen siete LOO LOO” HE 5.19 *
st 1 Uae Re rane es eet tin 128,800 “ eS 6.11 *f
cs UO Wrote Secassuascereieas «+ 42,200 © es 13.50 ‘‘

 

 

bic. 146.—NortTHERN Pacific Rarpway, Bripek 184. HypravLic FILuine IN
PROGRESS.
HYDRAULIC-FILL DAMS. 201

The distinctive advantage recognized in favor of hydraulic filling of
trestles on railways is that it can be carried on without interruption to the
traffic and without endangering the trestle, either by falling rocks or
unequal settlement, and when it is completed no further settlement of the
embankment can occur. The latter advantage applies with special force to
dam-construction, and is one whose importance can scarcely be overesti-
mated. Where the materials available consist of large and small stones,
either angular or rounded with small gravel, sand, and silt, the ease with
which these materials may be graded and assorted so as to permit the outer
portion of the embankment to be built of the coarser rock where it will
afford ready drainage, while the finer particles may be assembled in the
center and inside where they will best resist percolation, constitutes a
further advantage, which may well be considered as an efficient substitute
for the ordinary puddle-wall of earth dams built in the usual manner.

OTHER HYDRAULIC CONSTRUCTION.

Seattle, Washington.—Except in the manner of loosening the materials
and putting them in motion, the methods of hydraulic construction of
embankment described in the foregoing pages are quite similar to those
employed in the reclamation work done by the Seattle and Lake Washing-
ton Waterway Co., at the city of Seattle, Washington.

This work, however, has a totally different object, namely, the opening
of navigable tidal channels by dredging and the reclamation of valuable tide-
lands adjacent to the business center of the city, by filling them with the
fine black sand dredged from the channels. Two powerful suction-dredges
were used, each with a capacity of removing 6000 to 7000 cubic yards of
solids per 24 hours, which was pumped from the bottom of the channel
through 18-inch pipes, a distance of 2000 to 4000 feet, and deposited to a
depth of 18 or 20 feet over the area to be reclaimed. Some 36,000,000
cubic yards are to be handled in this way, and 1500 acres filled in solidly
to a height of 2 feet above high tide. The actual cost of this class of work
does not exceed two cents per cubic yard.

The mean velocity maintained in the delivery-pipes was 13.5 feet per
second, and the discharge was 24 second-feet, so that when the work was at
a maximum the percentage of solids carried by the water was 9%, although
tests have shown as high as 20%. The bulkhead along the channels which
hold the sand in place is made of brush mattresses, while the temporary
cross-levees are effectively formed by the use of coarse hay, straw, or swamp-
grass, precisely as used on the Northern Pacific fills.

Tacoma, Washington.— Hydraulic filling was done on a very large scale
a few years since, at Tacoma, Washington, with salt water pumped from
Puget Sound. The wharves in front of the city were located near the foot
202 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of a high bluff of glacial drift, and it was desired to fill a large area of
lowland approaching the wharves, and substitute a portion of the wharves
with an embankment of solid ground. To do this work the pumped water
was piped against the bank, which was undermined, and the material
carried to the place of deposit by the water. The cost of the work is repre-
sented to have been very low, not exceeding six cents per cubic yard, and
the object songht was attained with entire success.

Holyoke Dam, Massachusetts.—The Holyoke dam, across the Connecti-
eut River, was built as a timber-crib structure 1017 feet long and 30 feet
high. In 1885 the dam was reconstructed and filled with a mass of puddle-
gravel, washed in and puddled by hydraulic streams, under direction of
Mr. Clemens Herschel, M. Am. Soc. C. E., of which he writes: * ‘‘ No
part of the work gave less anxiety and more satisfaction than this from the
day it was started.’’ Referring to similar work Mr. Herschel again writes: +
“* Pore gravel, just as it comes from the gravel-pit, will make a water-tight
stop, when used between planks, or in any other position for which puddle
is used, as far as my experience goes, better than clay or a clay mixture
ever did.”’

Mr. Herschel further describes gravel as ‘“‘a natural mixture of earth
and pebbles; of various attributes and consistencies, some of which are
good for building dams and some not. The best for that purpose is
gravel that will puddle or ‘binding gravel.’ To tell whether any given
gravel would puddle and to judge of its fitness for use in a dam, it
should be mixed with water in a pail to the consistency of moist earth,
about to be used in a dam or before rolling. If on turning the pail upside
down the gravel remained in the pail it was fit for use, but if it dropped
out it should be discarded.” {

Utah Experiments.—The experiments made by Prof. S. Fortier, of
the Utah Agricultural College Experiment Station, on the mixture of
various aggregates for use in construction of earthen dams, shows that
gravel, sand, and clay will occupy less space and become more compact
when poured into water, mixed therewith, and allowed to drain and settle,
than by any process of tamping either moist or dry.§

 

* Trans. Am. Soc. Civil Eng., vol. xv. p. 568.

{ Ibid., vol. xxvi. p. 684.

t Engineering News, Sept. 6, 1905.

§ Earthen Dams, by Samuel Fortier; Bulletin Utah Agricultural College, No. 46,
Nov. 1896.
802

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CHAPTER Ill.
MASONRY DAMS.

THE character of structure which appeals most effectively to the
majority as worthy of confidence in its ability to withstand water-pressure
and the action of the elements for ages is unquestionably the masonry dam,
founded on solid rock and built up as a monolith between the natural rock
buttresses of a gorge, with Portland-cement mortar. Such a structure
invariably commands greater respect and confidence in the public mind
than any other. It may not in certain cases actually be safer from over-
turning or better able to resist the strains and forces tending to rupture it
than well-bailt dams of wood, earth, or loose rock, but it usually has the
appearance of strength; and the moral effect of a dam of that character
upon the public, as well as upon investors in securities dependent upon the
stability of dams and the permanence of the water-supply retained by them
in reservoirs, is one which cannot be disregarded.

That masonry dams are not built in every site is due to the fact that
the foundations are not always suitable, and surrounding conditions often-
times render their cost prohibitive.

Masonry dams are distinct from buildings, arched bridges, and other
masonry structures in that the best class of masonry as ordinarily applied
and used is not best adapted to dam-construction. Cut-stone masonry or
ranged ashlar, while more expensive and of greater strength, is not so suit-
able for masonry dams as random rubble, laid regardless of beds or courses,
homogeneous concrete, or a combination of large irregular masses of stone
embedded in concrete—a rubble-concrete,—either of which is much
cheaper. The strains in adam are in various directions, whereas rangeu
ashlar, laid in horizontal courses, is best adapted to resist the forces acting
perpendicular to those courses, and not those having the same horizontal
direction. The dam should therefore be made as nearly homogeneous and
monolithic as possible, and the stones used thoroughly interlocked in all
directions, avoiding the horizontal courses of ordinary cut-stone masonry.

While masonry dams have been built antedating the Christian era, and
some very notable ones were constructed in Spain for irrigation-storage
more than three hundred years ago, it is only within the past fifty years

204
MASONRY DAMS. 205

that the correct theories of the strains to which such structures are sub-
jected, and the proper proportions to be given them to secure stability
under all conditions, have been reduced to some degree of mathematica}
certainty. The Spanish dams built in the sixteenth century were massive
blocks of masoury, almost rectangular in form, containing a large surplus
of material beyond actual requirement, but so unscientifically disposed as to
produce maxima pressures dangerously near the point of crushing.

The French engineers who were required by the French Government to
prepare plans for high masonry dams for the control of floods on torrential
rivers in southern France about fifty years ago, were the first to advance
new ideas and practical theories on the principles that should govern the
design of these structures. M. Sazilly prepared a paper on the subject in
1853, and a few years later the matter was more fully elaborated by
M. Delocre, on whose formula were drawn the plans for the great Furens
dam, 183.7 feet high. In 1881 Prof. W. J. M. Rankine, the noted English
engineer, was called npon to report on the best form of masonry dam to be
built for the city of Bombay, India, and investigated the question in a
thorough mathematical way, producing a form of profile which is recog-
nized as one of the most logically correct in its conformity to all requisite
conditions. He established as one of the governing principles that no
tensile strains should be permitted in any part of the masonry, and that
therefore the lines of resultant pressure, with reservoir either full or empty,
should fall within the inner third of the dam at all points. The acceptance
of this principle carries with it as a necessary sequence that the maxima
pressures will fall below safe limits, whereas if the dam be designed with
regard to safe limits of pressure alone the structure may be so slender as to
carry the lines of pressure far beyond the center third and thus set up
dangerous tension in the masonry.

Other prominent English engineers who have investigated the subject
are Mr. Guilford L. Molesworth and Mr. W. B. Coventry.

Mr. H. M. Wilson, Assistant Hydrographer, U. 8. Geological Survey, in
his ‘‘ Manual of Irrigation Engineering,’’ devotes a long chapter to an ad-
mirable discussion of masonry dams, while the most recent American treatise
is the elaborate work entitled ‘‘'The Design and Construction of Dams,”’
by Edward Wegmann, C.E., of which the fifth edition was issued in New
York in 1907. Mr. Wegmann has rendered invaluable service to the pro-
fession in the investigation of the difficult problems involved in the design
of masonry dams, and in simplifying the mathematical formule for com-
puting the economical safe proportions of such structures.

The general principles to be considered in designing such a dam are
briefly as follows:

(1) That it must not fail by overturning.

(2) That it must not slide on its foundation or on any horizontal joints.
206 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

(3) That it must not fail by the crushing of the masonry or the settle-

ment of its foundation.

(4) That it must be equally safe from excessive pressure upon the

masonry whether the reservoir be full or empty.

(5) That certain known safe limits of crushing of masonry of the class

to be used shall not be exceeded.

Masonry dams may resist the thrust of water-pressure either by their
weight alone or by being built in the form of an arch, which will transmit
the pressures to the abutments. The first of these two classes of structure
is called the gravity dam. ‘The second is the arch dam, and it may be
either of the gravity type in arched form, or it may depend upon its arched
form alone. In either case the weight of the dam must be borne by the
foundations, and these must be of the best quality of solid bed-rock.
Everything of a friable nature should be removed, and the excavation so
made as to leave the surface rough, to avoid the possibility of the dam
sliding on its base. The maxima pressures permissible should not exceed
15 tons per square foot, and may require to be as low as 6 tons per square
foot. For very high dams it is essential that they should diminish in thick-
ness as the top is approached, else the masonry might be crushed and fail
of its own weight. ‘This consideration suggests the simple triangle as
theoretically correct, with certain modifications. The thrust of the water
tends to overthrow the dam by revolving it around its lower toe, and hence
there is such a concentration of water-pressure and weight of masonry at
that point as to necessitate a sufficient width of base to confine the resultant
of these forces inside the outer toe-line of the wall, and avoid the crushing
of the masonry by distribution of the strains over a greater area. If the
hypothenuse of the right-angle triangle were presented to the water as the
upper face of the dam, the forces acting perpendicular to that face would
give the wall greater stability from overturning, if the structure were con-
sidered as a rigid body incapable of being crushed. On the contrary, if the
vertical side of the triangle be presented to the water, the dam, while less
liable to be overturned, is more capable of resisting fracture or crushing,
the pressures are more evenly distributed over its base, and the foundations
less likely to yield.

While the simple triangular form of dam, of such base-width that the
Nines of pres are with reservoir full or empty fall within the inner third,
amply fulfills the requisite conditions to resist the quiet pressure of water,
in practice it is necessary to give a certain definite width to the top of the
dam to enable it to resist wave-action and ice-thrust.. In dams 50 feet high
or less this top width need not exceed 5 feet; for dams 100 feet high the
width need not be more than 10 feet, and for a height of 200 feet a width
of 20 feet is considered ample. Greater widths are given where the top of
the dam is to be used as a roadway. ‘The crest of the structure should also
MASONRY DAMS. 207

be raised a certain elevation above the highest water-level to provide for
extreme floods. This superelevation will necessarily be governed by the
size of the spillway provided and the area of watershed tributary, but
ordiuarily it should be limited to about 15 feet at the extreme.

High reservoir dams erected across large streams, where conditions do
not easily permit of the construction of a spillway to carry the water around
them and it is necessary to permit the passage of floods over their crest, are
subjected to shocks due to the weight of water falling upon the toe of the
dam, which cannot be computed accurately and for which no formule have
been deduced. In cases of this kind it is customary to allow a substantial
addition to the dimensions given by the theoretical profiles deduced from
the formule for gravity dams under quiet pressure, and to provide a water-
cushion at the toe of the dam by the erection of an auxiliary wall a little
distance below. ‘The lower face of the dam should also conform as closely
as possible to the natural curves assumed by the falling water.

Curved Dams.— While there is an essential general agreement among
engineers as to the theoretical profile best adapted fur gravity dams, there is
a wide difference of opinion as to the effect of the value of the arch in
adding stability to the dam. That such structures can and do successfully
transmit pressures laterally to the abutments is proven by the Bear Valley,
the Zola, and the Sweetwater dams (Fig. 148), the three highest and most

  
    

    

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noted types of arched dams in existence. The Bear Valley and Zola dams
are so slender in profile as to be absolutely unstable were they built straight,
while the Sweetwater dam, though more nearly approaching the gravity
type, is of such proportions as to be theoretically unstable as a gravity dam,
208 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

although it has successfully withstood the shocks of an enormous flood
pouring over its crest for nearly two days.

M. Delocre has said that a curved dam will act as an arch if its thick-
ness does not exceed one-third of the radius of its upper face, while another
eminent French engineer, M. Pelletreau, considers that it will so act pro-
vided the thickness be not greater than one-half the radius. Mr. J. B.
Krantz maintains that a radius as small as 65 feet is essential to permit a
dam to act as an arch and transmit water-pressure to the sides. All
engineers appear to agree that the mathematics of curved dams are extremely
uncertain, and irreducible to a satisfactory demonstration. It is un-
doubtedly true that in a narrow gorge a considerable saving of masonry
might be made by constructing the dam as an arch, with equal stability to
one of gravity type built straight. M. Delocre is of the opinion that in no
situation is it necessary for a curved dam to be of greater thickness at any
point than the width of the valley at that height. The principle now
generally adopted as safe is to make the structure strong enough to resist
water-pressure by its weight, and curve the form as an additional safeguard.

The curving of all dams of whatever length or height regardless of
whether they may act as an arch or otherwise for the purpose of enabling
them to better resist the tendency to vertical cracks due to variations in
temperature, especially in countries subject to climatic extremes, is coming
to be recognized as of sufficient importance to lead to its general adoption.
In this connection the following quotation is taken from the remarks of
Prof. Forchheimer of the Aix la Chapelle Polytechnic School, Germany, in
discussing a paper read by Mr. George Farren, before the Institution of
Civil Engineers, in 1893, on ‘‘ Impounding Reservoirs.’’* Referring to a
dam 82 feet high, plastered and rendered over with two coats of asphalt,
built by Prof. Intze in Remscheid, Westphalia, Prof. Forchheimer says:

““A backward and forward movement, amounting to 144 inches,
occurred during the filling and emptying of the reservoir, and the move-
ment due to temperature was almost as great as this. ‘The latter was due
less to the temperature of the air than to direct solar radiation. The crest
of this dam was 460 feet long and was arched with a radius of 420 feet.
One side was exposed to the sun longer than the other, and the more exposed
part moved to and fro seven-eighths of an inch in the course of the year,
while the other part moved only one-eighth of an inch, the crest expanding
one nine-thousandth of its length, or five-eighths of an inch. In arched
dams such movements do no harm, but in straight dams these phenomena
are objectionable. As dams are usually built during the warmer seasons of
the year, the masonry has a tendency to contract in the colder weather.
In a curved dam this can take place by movement of the structure without
cracking, but not in a straight dam. . . . If the temperature is lowered

 

* Proc. Inst. Civil Eug., vol. cxv. p. 156.
MASONRY DAMS 209

10°C. (50° F.) and it is not free to contract, tension amounting to between
140 and 280 pounds per square inch is set up, which is greater than the
mortar will stand. . . . That a straight, or almost straight, wall incurs
considerable danger of fracture is shown by practical experience. The
dams of Habra, Grands-Cheurfas, and Sig, in Algiers, have broken, and in
that of Hamiz a tear occurred during the first filling. The Habra dam
broke in December, and the Grands-Chearfas and Sig dams gave way in the
month of February. The Beetaloo dam, in Australia, also developed a
crack one-eighth of an inch wide in the middle of winter without any
apparent cause. The Mouche dam, Haute Marne, a structure 1346 feet
long and about 100 feet high, exhibits clearly the dangers attending
straight dams. In the winter of 1890-91, when the temperature varied
between — 10° C. and — 20° CO. (14° to — 4° F.) and the water-surface
was 10 feet 8 inches below the normal level, seven vertical cracks appeared
in the dam, situated at uniform distances of about 160 feet apart. They
were widest at the top, and died out about 37 feet below the normal water-
level. Their aggregate breadth was 2f inches. The cracks gradually closed
as the temperature rose, and by the end of February, 1891, four of them
had completely vanished, while the others had perceptibly contracted.”’

It has been the observation of the writer that all curved dams are free
from cracks, but that straight reservoir walls are quite certain to crack.
The tendency of the water-pressure is to close any cracks that may appear
where the dam is curved, and a curved dam is able to take up the move-
ment due to temperature, without cracking, even though the pressure may
not cause the arch to come in action. ‘Che inference is that every masonry
dam should be built in the form of an arch, whatever its profile may be,
for the avoidance of temperature cracks.

Mr. H. M. Wilson says: * ‘‘ An additional advantage of the arched form
of dam is that the pressure of the water on the back of the arch is perpen-
dicular to the up-stream face, and is decomposed into two components, one
perpendicular to the span of the arch and the other parallel to it. The
first is resisted by the gravity and arch stability, and the second thrusts the
up-stream face into compression, which has a tendency to close all vertical
cracks and to consolidate the masonry transversely. An excellent manner
in which to increase the efficiency of the arch action in a curved dam is
that employed in the Sweetwater dam. This consists in reducing the
radius of curvature from the center towards the abutments. The good
effect of this is to widen the base or spring of the arch at the abutments,
thus giving a broader bearing for the arch on the hillsides. The effect of
this is seen in projections or rectangular offsets made on the down-stream
face of the dam, the center sloping evenly, while the surface is broken by

 

* Manual of Irrigation Engineering, pp. 390, 391.
210 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, LTC.

steps when it abuts against the hillside. .. . Though the cross-section
of a curved dam may unquestionably be somewhat reduced, it would be
unsafe to reduce it as much as has been done in the case of the Bear
Valley and Zola dams, though these have withstood securely the pressures
brought against them. It might with safety be reduced to the dimen-
sions of the Sweetwater dam, thus saving largely in the amount of mate-
rial employed.”

In recent years a number of independent investigations have
been made by engineers in different parts of the world in the
attempt to determine by experiments with models of dams made
of various materials the character and distribution of the stresses
on masonry dams. In 1904 Mr. L. W. Atcherley, Stud. Inst. C. E.,
assisted by Karl Pearson, F.R.S.,* prepared two model dams of a
fairly heavy wood cut to the profile which had been used in an actual
construction of a dam considered to be mathematically correct in its
lines.

In one case the model was divided into a series of horizontal strata
and in the second case into a series of vertical strata. In the first case
the pull representing the water pressure was communicated by a cord
to a stiff lath which bore on the ends of the horizontal strata through
two longitudinal strips of india-rubber tube; the attachment of the
cord being one-third up the lath and the cord adjusted to pull in a direc-
tion perpendicular to the front of the model, so that the resultant force
was applied at a point corresponding to the center of pressure of the
water. In the case of the model stratified vertically, much the same
arrangement was adopted, except that the pull of the cord was applied
directly to the first vertical stratum, which included the battered front.
The angle of friction of the wood strips on each other varied from 25°
to 30°, and a shearing strength more nearly corresponding to the masonry
was obtained by pasting tissue paper round the battered fronts and
curved flanks of the models.

The weight of a section one foot wide of the dam from which these
models were reproduced was 505,000 pounds, and the corresponding
water pressure 312,500 pounds. The weight of the horizontally stratified
model was 12.40 pounds and of the vertically stratified model was 13.85
pounds. The corresponding value for the pulls representing the water
pressure would therefore be 7.70 pounds and 8.57 pounds respectively.
Trusting merely to the friction of the wood on wood, the model made
up of horizontal layers slid on its base at 5.70 pounds pressure, and the
one vertically stratified opened up at the third section from the tail

 

* Vide w monograph “On some Disregarded Points in the Stability of Masonry
Dams,” Drapers Company Research Memoir. Londen, 1904.
MASONRY DAMS. 211

or up-stream toe, and then the whole thing sheared with a pressure of
only three pounds. When the models were strengthened for shearing
resistance by tissue paper, as described, the respective pulls cor-
responding to the water pressure before collapse were 6.5 and 4.2
pounds.

The conclusions drawn from these experiments were that a dam
collapses first by the tension on the vertical sections of the up-stream
toe; that shearing of the vertical sections over each other follows imme-
diately on this opening up by tension, and that the shear on the horizontal
sections is also a far more important matter than was generally supposed.
In the case cited from which the models were prepared there probably
exist considerable tensions in the masonry amounting to 3 or 4 tons
per square foot.

In commenting on these experiments in a commendatory way, Sir
Benj. Baker, K.C.B., Past President Inst. C. E., described experiments
he had made with models of dams made of jelly with horizontal and
vertical lines drawn upon the side to show the location of distortion
produced by applying pressure. These indicated that the elastic
deformation of the dam was transmitted into the rock on which
it was resting for a distance equal to half the height of the dam
before it became undetectable. In discussing the paper of Charles
S. R. Palmer, M. Inst. C. E., on the Coolgardie Water Supply, in
which the construction of the Helena River dam is described,* Sir
Benjamin Baker refers to experiments he had made with a number
of stiff jelly models of the Assouan dam, with a view to determining
some of the problems involved in the contemplated increase of height
of the dam. He did not agree entirely with the conclusions reached
by Messrs. Atcherley and Pearson. He concluded his discussion by
saying:

“The result of experience so far with thermometers buried in the
masonry of dams confirmed the common sense view that the different
portions of masonry built during the year at varying temperatures settled
down finally to uniform temperature in the interior of the dam, while
the face-work was affected even by diurnal changes; so that internal
strains exist in a dam as in a large unannealed casting. Whatever
theory mathematicians might evolve, engineers would not be relieved
from the obligation to use no material for dams which would not
stand, say 50 tons per square foot in compression and 10 tons per
square foot‘in tension without splintering, and in some cases concrete
dams might probably with advantage be partially reinforced with steel

bars.”

* Proc. Inst. C. E., vol. elxii, p. 125.
21? RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

More recently, in 1905, experiments have been made on stresses in
dams by means of India-rubber models, by John Sigismund Wilson and
William Gore, Assoc. M. M. Inst. C. E., who exhibited their model at
the Institution in July of that year. A series of weights hung to
the base of the model represented gravity, and other weights
suspended from cords passing over pulleys and leading to bearings
on the up-stream face represented water pressure. The models were
made to represent dams with 125 feet of water against them and
having a top width of 8 feet, at a height of 4.5 feet above the flow
line.

These experimenters confirmed Messrs. Atcherley and Pearson in
finding tensile stresses in the up-stream toe of the dam, notwith-
standing that they were designed with the lines of pressure well within
the middle third, and conclude that to eliminate tensile strains it
is desirable to either give greater super-elevation, wider top width,
or make the upstream face vertical, so as to bring the center of
gravity nearer to the wetted face, or to increase the section mater-
ially and back the dam with an embankment of earth on the reservoir
side.

Experiments with models of dams made of “‘plasticine,”’ a kind
of modelling clay, were recently made by Sir John W. Ottley, K.C.I.E.,
M. Inst. C. E., and Arthur W. Brightmore, D. Sc., M. Inst. C. E. The
model was 30 inches high, with a base of 26 inches and a length of 12
inches. It was moulded in a frame with plate-glass sides, which were
ruled vertically and horizontally with lines scratched on both the glass
and the plasticine, and made to coincide. Slght clearance was given
between the glass and the model, so that there was no lateral friction
to support the clay. Actual water pressure was applied through a thin
rubber bag made to fit the face of the dam.

The results of these experiments will shortly be published in the
Proceedings Inst. C. E., but it may be stated that they confirm in a
general way the conclusions reached by the experiments with rubber
models.

These various investigations serve to emphasize the fact that the
engineering profession is not fully satisfied with the profile types of
dams as they have been evolved by previous mathematical compu-
tation, but is still striving to reach a more conclusive and satisfactory
solution of the intricate and indeterminate problems of the stresses
on masonry dams. Meanwhile the ultra conservative ones pile up
masses of materials to greater and greater volumes, and a few of the
bolder ones build daring structures that appear to defy all theories of
stability.
MASONRY DAMS. 213

AMERICAN DAMS.

Old Mission Dam, San Diego, Cal_—The first masonry dam built in
California of which there is any record was erected in 1770 by the Jesuit
Mission Fathers. It was constructed across the San Diego River, 13 miles
above its mouth, at the lower end of El Cajon Valley, where the stream
cuts through a dike of porphyry. It was built for impounding and diverting
water for irrigation and domestic use at the San Diego mission 4 miles
below. It was 244 feet in length, 13 feet in thickness, and about 15 to 18
feet high. Fig. 149 isa recent photograph of the old dam in its present
condition, half buried in trees and driftwood. The view is taken below the
main outlet-sluice. The water was conveyed to the mission through an
open masonry conduit, lined with semicircular tile or half-pipes. The
cement used in the dam was made from limestone possessing hydraulic
properties, quarried near the dam. The dam, though still in existence, has
been disused for half a century past. It shows evidence of having been
damaged by floods and repaired at various times. The manual labor of
construction was done by Indians, of whom no less than 1600 neophytes
were at one time supported at the mission. Considering the quality of the
materials and labor available, and the torrential nature of the river, which
it has resisted, as evidenced in the photograph by the driftwood piled up
against it, the masonry is of excellent grade.

El Molino Dam.—A few years after the erection of the Old Mission dam
of San Diego the Jesuit Fathers constructed a masonry wall of similar size
about 10 miles east of Los Angeles, the purpose of which was to control
and raise the level of a natural lake and impound it for use in irrigation at
the Mission San Gabriel. The dam is located on what is now known as El
Molino rancho, the name being derived from the fact that the priests here
built a mill, whose massive walls are still intact, for grinding corn and
wheat, the power for which was derived from water gathered from springs
that issued from the hillside and fed the lake. The mill was a little above
the level of the crest of the dam, and the water from the wheels flowed into
the reservoir, where it was caught for use in the valley below. The dam
was straight in plan, about 200 feet long, and 15 feet high at the center.
The masonry is of superior character and is still in perfect state of
preservation, although it has not been in service as a dam for many
years past.

The Sweetwater Dam.—This structure is located in the Sweetwater
River, 7 miles above the mouth ofthe stream and 12 miles southeast of the
city of San Diego, California, and was built in 1887-88 by the San Diego
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MASONRY DAMS. 215

Land and Town Company to impound water for the irrigation of lands
bordering on the bay of San Diego and for the domestic supply of National
City. The Sweetwater, like all the so-called rivers of San Diego County
that empty into the Pacific Ocean, is a torrential stream, subject to violent.
floods in seasons of abundant rains, and dwindling to a diminutive brook
within a few weeks or months after the rain ceases. During the summer
and fall it ceases to flow, and on occasional years of low rainfall the run-off
even in winter is practically nothing, so that it was essential to provide
storage for at least two years’ supply for the territory depending upon it.
Prior to the beginning of work nothing was known of the probable run-oif
to be expected, further than that the watershed area of 186 square miles,
having an extreme elevation of about 6000 feet, would probably receive a.
precipitation very greatly in excess of the recorded rainfall at San Diego,
where the record has been maintained for nearly forty years, and that.
judging by this record the run-off from such a watershed should give an
average supply adequate to the needs of the community to be provided,
with a storage capacity of two years’ supply in the reservoir. Subsequent.
experience has shown that the fluctuation in run-off has ranged from prac-
tically nothing for three consecutive years to 70,000 acre-feet in one year,
or nearly four times the reservoir capacity, per annum. At the time the.
construction of the dam was began in November, 1886, an active land
““boom ’’ was in progress in southern California, and the San Diego Land
and Town Company, owning a large area of fertile lands, found them
unsalable without water. It was essential, therefore, to obtain a certain
portion of the supply quickly in order to market the lands. The dam was
thus necessarily planned without the usual preliminary studies of its.
capacity for storage, or the volume of supply which would be required or
could be made available.

As originally designed, the dam was to be a slender masonry or concrete
structure, fashioned after the Bear Valley dam by the same engineer who
built the latter, and was to be but 10 feet thick at base, 3 feet at top, and
50 feet high, backed on the water-face by an embankment Jf quicksand.
When the wall had reached a height of 15 to 20 feet at the highest part, at.
an expenditure of $35,000, and its outline and design were fully realized by
the management, the plan was disapproved and the author was
engaged to construct a more substantial work on the same site, utilizing
the masonry already in place. The new plan was drawn to have an
extreme height of 60 feet, and the new work enveloped the old. This
structure is shown nearly complete in Fig. 150, and its profile is
shown in dotted lines in the middle section on Fig. 151. It was built
in steps on the back with a view to adding to its height, as was
subsequently done. The dam had a maximum thickness of 35 feet at.
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{1 95.6 feet

 

 

 

Fig. 151.—ELzvatTION AND SECTIONS OF SWEETWATER Dam.
218 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

base, and was 5 feet thick at the top. It was fortified by an embank-
ment of clay and gravel 50 feet wide, 10 to 15 feet high, placed against
the upper side and well tamped in place. A portion of this embank-

 

 

 

Fie. 152.—F ace or Sweetwater Dam In 1899. Arrer Two Years or Droutu.

ment above the water-line is shown in Fig. 152, a view taken in the
summer of 1899 when the reservoir was practically empty.

Shortly before the completion of the 60-foot dam authority was given
for its extension to 90 feet iu height, on the recommendation of the writer,
whose surveys had revealed the fact that the reservoir capacity could be
increased nearly fivefold by such addition of 30 feet to the height. Accord-
ingly excavation was renewed at the lower side for an extension of the width
of the base, and work proceeded on the final plan without interruption
until the completion of the entire structure in April, 1888. The construc-
tion occupied sixteen months in all, including two months of waiting for
cement. ‘he profile adopted is shown in Fig. 151. As finished the dimen-
sions were the following:

bene (he Gn top: w.asa one ienins capeed naka as 380 feet.
Se Bib: DASCos sige totem eae eye aie ee 150>-*
Hine leness ats DASCte rcs. epeseuars che wace.cereea ou aneies 46“
OR Ree cia toes cn ee dL Ary Dugurttantias oe
Height on upper side exclusive of parapet......... gO.
Hieioht- on. lower Sid@.c2 noe tas he ee earl ese ea ee 98 *¢

TRE ANUS OL ALG Li s4ah eonace tee eres ele ie a hea eh ety ren *
MASONRY DAMS. 219

The up-stream face has a batter of 1 to 6 from base to within 6 feet of
top; thence vertical. The lower slope has a batter of 1 in 3 for 28 feet,
then 1 in 4 for 32 feet, and thence 1 in 6 to the coping.

Water is drawn from the reservoir through a tower of hexagonal form,
placed 50 feet above the dam, near the center (see l’ig. 153), and connected
with the dam by a foot-bridge of iron (see Fig. 154).

It has seven inlet-valves which are placed at intervals of 10 feet in
height from the top down. ‘Two cast-iron outlet-pipes, 18 and 14 inches
diameter respectively, lead from the tower to and through the dam. They
lie in a trench cut in the bed-rock, and on top of them is built a masonry
conduit from the tower to the dam, connecting with a third pipe, 36 inches
diameter, of riveted wrought iron, 4 inch thick. All are carefully
embedded in the masonry of the dam, and no leakage has ever taken place
along them. Gate-valves control their flow below the dam. The tower
valves are simple plates of cast iron fitting over elbows set in the masonry
of the tower, ard can only be moved when the lower gates are closed.

The stone used in construction was quarried from the cliffs on either
side below the dam, within a distance of 800 feet, and was all hauled in
wagons and stone-boats. Animal power was alone used for manipulating the
derricks in the quarry and on the dam, as well as for mixing concrete.
The stone was a blue and gray porphyry impregnated with iron, weighing
175 to 200 pounds per cubic foot. It quarried out with irregular cleavage,
but generally presented one or two fairly good faces. The seams in the
rock contained plastic red clay to such an extent that it was necessary to
wash and scrub by hand every stone that went into the dam with good steel
and fiber brashes. Imported English and German cement was used
throughout the work, mixed with clean, sharp river sand in a revolving
square box of wood, with a hollow shaft passing through two diagonally
opposite corners, throngh which the water was introduced. The masonry
weighed when tested 164 pounds per cubic foot.

The waste-weir is formed at the left bank as a part of the dam, and as
first built consisted of seven bays, each 4 feet in clear width, closed with
flash-boards, which could be opened to a depth of 5.7 feet below the crest
of the dam. These bays were separated by masonry piers, each 2 feet in
thickness. ‘This wasteway and a 30-inch blow-off gate from the main pipe
below had a combined capacity of 1800 second-feet, which was in excess of
the maximum flood discharge as indicated by high-water marks, although a
subsequent flood exceeded this capacity a little more than ten times.

The volame of masonry in the dam proper, including the parapet 3.5
feet high, 2 feet thick, was 19,269 cubic yards. The wasteway, inlet-tower,
and other accessories required 1238 cubic yards additional, or a total of
20,507 cubic yards of masonry, in which were used 17,562 barrels of
220 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WAYER-PCGWER, E10.

 

 

 

Fig. 158.—DETAILS oF gta bh TaqaR oF SWEETWATER DaM.
“OSgl ‘I1udy ‘GSHSINIG SV NVQ UALVMIGFEMG— FCT ‘DIT

 
“CEST ORE AUVANVEG AO goo Ty LVAUY AHL ONIUAG NV UALVMLAAMG—'CC | “OIL

 

 

 
 

“WV AUNOSV]Y (1VQ) UALVMLEAMG— OCT?

 

 

 
 

 

 

SPILLWAY oF SWEETWATER Dam, SEEN Frou BrELow.

Fig. 157.

»
MASONRY DAMS. 225

cement, an average of 1.17 cubic yards per barrel. The total cost was
$234,074.11, divided as follows:

PLO sie pda Sle om RereGakey, $6,236.76
MatenalS:. .caiepise seins wacteen ~“S#4ASL70
Wa bor. eau iepis Sa ees ae ees 140,405.65

ME OtAN ssaians ol addr ain eo elke ease $234,074.11

The reservoir capacity formed by the dam was 5,882,278,000 gallons
or 18,053 acre-feet, of which 80% is within the upper 30 feet, and 40%
in the last 10 feet. The area covered at high-water mark was 722 acres,
of which 300 acres was cleared and grubbed at a cost of $10,808.46, or
ahout $36 per acre. The average depth of the reservoir is 25 feet.

Enlargement.—On the 17th and 18th of January, 1895, the Sweetwater
dam successfully withstood a test far more severe than is usually im-
posed on reservoir walls of such comparatively slender dimensions (thanks
to the painstaking care exercised in its original construction), and beyond
any previous calculation or expectation. On those dates the reservoir
was filled to overflowing by a flood resulting from a rainfall of more
than 6 inches in 24 hours, and for forty hours the dam was submerged to
a maximum depth of 22 inches over the parapet wall, with the wasteway
and blow-off gate wide open. This was 5.5 feet higher than the water
had been expected to rise in extreme floods, as it had not been considered
possible for the crest of the parapet to be reached.

A gap in the ridge to the south of the reservoir, the crest of which
was about level with the parapet, carried off quite a large additional
volume at the extreme of the flood. The maximum rate of discharge
during the flood was carefully computed by Mr. H. N. Savage from
weir measurement, and found to be 18,150 second-feet, a rate of discharge
which was maintained for one hour.

This extraordinary freshet, which within a week produced a run-off
of nearly three times the capacity of the reservoir, was gratifying in
one respect, in that it demonstrated the ability of the dam to cope with
such emergencies, as not a stone of the masonry was disturbed or moved
from place, although so much damage was done to the pipes and sur-
roundings of the dam as to necessitate a large expenditure in repairs.
The water-supply was cut off from consumers for more than a month
before a partial restoration could be made.

Advantage was taken of the opportunity afforded by the general
repairs to make a material enlargement of the reservoir capacity by
virtually raising the permanent high-water level to the point it had
assumed during the flood, and at the same time preparing the dam for
receiving a repetition of such an experience by enlarging the wasteway
and fortifying the weak points developed by the flood.
226 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The freshet caused a tremendous erosion of the bed-rock on either
side of the dam, particularly in front of the spillway discharge, where the
strata were inclined at about the proper angle to enable the water to
strip off layer after layer with surprising rapidity. It was estimated that
no less than 10,000 cubic yards of the solid rock on that side were torn
away and washed down-stream, and some 2000 yards from the opposite
wall of the canvon. The approach of a disused tunnel below the spill-
way, which was some 25 feet long, and about 30 feet of the tunnel itself,
in solid rock, were cut off and the surrounding rock washed away. This
tunnel had been opened some years before to draw down the reservoir, in
compliance with the order of the United States Circuit Court, in the
famous litigation over the condemnation of lands in the reservoir-basin,
and terminated directly in front of the spillway channel. The bombard
ment of the stones rolled down the canyon during the flood uopn the pipe-
line resting on one side and covered with masonry, destroyed it for a con-
siderable distance down-stream, as well as the railway track leading to
the dam.

The repairs to the dam, and the general improvements designed, were
completed in the summer following at a cost of $30,000, under the capable
direction of H. N. Savage, chief engineer, the author acting as consulting
engineer during its progress. The alterations made were the following:

1. The parapet of the dam was raised 2 feet and strengthened, so as
to permit of permanently holding the water in the reservoir as high as
its crest, leaving 200 feet in the center as a weir, 2 feet deep. This weir
was arranged with cast-iron frames carrying flashboards, to be removed
in extreme floods, as shown in Fig. 157.

2. The spillway was extended in length by adding four more bays,
each 5 feet wide, and carrying all the bays up to the level of the new crest
of the dam, giving it a maximum depth of 11.2 feet and a discharging
capacity of 5500 second feet.

3. The unused tunnel, 8 by 12 feet in size, the bottom of which at the
head is 50 feet below high-water mark, was adapted for use as an additional
spillway discharge, by laying four pipes through it on a 4% grade, two of
which are 36 inches and two 30 inches in diameter, all arranged with valve
covers over elbows at their upper ends, where a shaft, reaching to the sur-
face on the line of the dam, gives means of control (see Figs. 159, 160, and
161). Further control is had by gate-valves set in the pipes directly below
the masonry bulkhead built across the tunnel at the shaft, all the pipes
passing through this bulkhead. In the summer of 1899, when the reservoir
was empty, the head of this tunnel was protected by a concrete portal with
an inclined grillage of iron rails to keep out drift, as shown in Fig. 161.

4, The eroded rock slope below the wasteway after being made uniform
was covered with a grillage of iron rails embedded in concrete, which has a
“ANIT-GdIqd NO STIVM-UL N a I¥ S i
d} TIVM-UNdg ONILOULOUG ANY AVATIIdg dO NOUdY MAN DNIMOHS ‘NYG MALY MLAIMS—' SCT “OI

 

 
 

 

Ira. 159.—ReEPAIRING AND INCREASING THE HEIGHT OF THE PARAPET OF SWEET-
water Dam.

298
MASONRY DAMS. 229

thickness of 3 feet, and is designed to prevent all future erosion of the beJ-
rock (Figs. 158 and 162).

5. A concrete wall 15 feet high, 18 inches thick, with counterforts of

  
    

 
 

a

      
  

/ ,

River Gotton\’
t

ail

: '
> A i
4 Q ‘
a a q L
S|
ne BY A
sans i
MK /
SCALE he
2 #: 4 20 40 60 Ss:
FEET

 

 

 
  

 

= een ZA a

=

PROFILE ANO SECTIONAL View

 

SCALE
20)5/05 0 10 20 40 60
| es

PLATL Fo-T
Fig. 161.—PRoFILE AND SectTionat. View axnp PLAN OF WastEway TUNNEL,

SWEEtWaTER Dam
15 feet base, was built from bed-rock 50 feet below the dam on a curve

concentric with it, to form a water-cushion or pool in case of a future over-
flow. This is shown in plan in Fig. 160.
oe

    
 

230

—DeEtaILs oF SWEETWATER Dam.

Fig. 162
MASONRY DAMS. 231

6. The main supply-pipe was replaced throngh the canyon in a solid
rock cut a portion of the way, and protected throughout the canyon by
concrete collars and covering and spur walls, all with iron rods incorporated.

At the same time a new steel pipe-line, 24 inches in diameter, which
was partly laid when the flood occurred, was completed to National City on

 

 

Fic. 163.—SwretTwaTerR Dam, sHowtne Heap oF OUTLET TUNNEL AND SPILLWAY.

the north side of the valley, as a high-level conduit. This was connected
with and took supply from one of the 30-inch-iliameter pipes built in the
tunnel, and connected with the original distribution svstem at National
City, thus giving two independent conduits.

The effect of raising the parapet wall in the manner described has been
to raise the height of the reservoir 5.5 feet and increase its capacity about
25%, or from 18,053 acre-feet to 22,566 acre-feet. The dam having shown
its ability to withstand this increased pressure, it is now proposed to make
this addition to the reservoir a permanent feature of the works.

Concrete was used in all the new work, as preferable to rubble masonry,
because of the greater ease with which all the materials could be handled
and because of the fact that the work could be performed by unskilled labor
under intelligent foremen. The concrete was mixed with a rotary Ransome
mixer, one of the best machiues for the purpose yet devised. A steam
hoisting-engine furnished all power required for rock-vrushing, actuating
the mixer, and hoisting the concrete to the top of the dam, where it was
distributed by wheelbarrows. Old rails and scrap bar-iron of all sizes were
embedded in the concrete wherever it would add desired reinforcement to
the strength, as in the 6-inch floors of concrete forming the foot-bridge
232 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

over the wasteway, spanning the 5-foot spaces between piers; in the roof of
the gate-house over the shaft in the tunnel from which the heavy gates are
suspended, and in the floor of the house; in the curved wall forming the
auxiliary water-cushion dam, which is 10 to 15 feet high, and but 18 inches
thick, and in the inclined apron of the wasteway. This construction is
quite satisfactory, and shows no cracks anywhere. The rates of expansion
and contraction of iron and concrete under changes of temperature are
practically identical, and no separation of the two elements can occur by
such changes.

There are no visible evidences of cracks in any of the masonry of the
dam, nor any indications of a tendency towards crushing at the toe of the
dam. This may be due to the fact that the stone is extremely hard and
strong, and the mortar of prime quality. It may be further owing to the
fact that arch action has resisted pressure from the top down to some
neutral point where gravity alone suffices. There have never been any
spouting leaks to indicate the transmission of an upward pressure upon the
masonry of the slightest moment. The leakage through the wall was never
of considerable amount, and has steadily diminished, so that when full the
wall is practically dry over most of its outer face.

This leakage was reduced in amount in 1890 by carefully repointing the
inside face as far down as the water was lowered in the reservoir, about 60
feet below the top, and applying successive washes of potash-soap and alum-
water alternating.

Protracted litigation followed the building of the Sweetwater dam, over
the attempted condemnation of a tract of about 300 acres of Jand at the
upper end of the reservoir-basin, submerged by the impounded water. The
land was comparatively valueless for agricultural purposes, but a jury gave
an exorbitant judgment of its value on testimony erroneously admitted as to
its special adaptability for reservoir purposes. This litigation lasted several
years and was finally compromised, but the effect of it was quite disastrous
to the progress of the country depending upon it for irrigation. During the
progress of this litigation a tunnel, heretofore referred to, was opened
around the south end of the dam, at the level of 25 feet above the lowest
outlet, by means of which the flooding of the land could be avoided. In
obedience to an order of the United States Circuit Court the reservoir,
which had been filled, was ordered emptied, and an enormous volume of
water was thus wasted at a time when it was greatly needed for irrigation.

Including the period of retarded growth during the progress of litigation
the dam has been in service for thirteen irrigation seasons, during which
time the impounded water has created values aggregating several millions
of dollars, reckoning all improvements made in the district directly
dependent upon it for water-supply. The area irrigated from it is now
4580 acres, chiefly planted to citrus fruits, of which the greater part is
MASONRY DAMS. 233

devoted to lemons. A population of 2500 to 3000 people is dependent
upon the reservoir for domestic water. ‘Che distribution for irrigation as
well as for domestic use is entirely by pressure-pipes, and the agricultural
community is as well equipped for fire-pressure and general water-supply as
the average American city. All water for irrigation, and practically all
domestic water, is measured by standard water-meters. The pipe system
has cost in the aggregate some $800,000.

Run-off of Sweetwater River.—The area of watershed above the Sweet:
water dam is 186 square miles, ranging in elevation from 220 feet above
sea-level, which is the elevation of the top of the dam, to about 5500 feet
at the summit of the monntain-range in which it heads. The mean eleva-.
tion of the basin is probably about 2200 feet. There is practically no
diversion of the stream above the reservoir, and no utilization of its water
other than that of the dam. Hence the catchment at the reservoir repre-
sents the entire run-off of the shed. A careful record of this run-off hag
been kept since the construction of the dam. Its extremely variable
character is shown by the following table:

TaBLE oF MreasurED Run-orr, SWEETWATER DRAINAGE-BASIN.
Area 186 square miles.

 

 

 

infall Run-off as Average Yearly
Season. dgeceh acer aia Mipesined at the aoe ie meee ue
: Hacks: Acre-feet. per Square Mile. Sreandstcet:

1887-88 | 3 ..... 7,048 0.0524 9.74
1888-89 13.53 25,253 0.1875 34.88
1889-90 16.52 20,532 0.1525 28 .36
1890-91 12.65 21,565 .5 0.1602 29.79
1891-92 9.88 6,198.3 0.0460 8.26
1892-93 11.62 16,260 .7 0.1210 22.51
1893-94 6.20 1,338 .4 0.0099 18.45
1894-95 16.19 73,412.1 0.5452 101.40
1895-96 7.29 1,320.9 0.0098 1.83
1896-97 10.97 6,891.6 0.0512 9.52.
1897-98 7.05 4.3 0.00003 0.006
1898-99 5.05 245.5 0.0018 0.34
1899-1900 5.54 0.0 0.0000 0.00
1900-01 7.05 7 828 0.0061 1.14
1901-02 4.86 0 0.0 0.0
1902-03 5.72 0 0.0 0.0.
1903-04 6.39 0 0.0 0.0
1904-05 15.55 13,760 0.1022 19.00
1905-06 15.52 35,000 0.2600 48 .35
1906-70 12 88 30,000 0.2228 41.44

Totals ......... 190.46 259,654

Mean for 20 yrs. 9.52 12,982.7 . _ 0.0964 17.93

 

 

 

 

 

The average annual run-off for twenty years has been 69.8 acre-feet
per square mile of watershed area, while the maximum has been 395
acre-feet per square mile.

Of the entire period of twenty years recorded the run-off has exceeded
the capacity of the reservoir in but four seasons. The remaining sixteen
seasons have been so far below tthe full-reservoir capacity in yield of stream-
234 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

flow as to justify the recommendation made by the writer on the completion
of the dam that a full reservoir should always be considered as a two-years’

SPILLWAYS.

x
ag
om)
PY
uw
Lad
rf
3
Pr
a
rt)
3
ie)

 

 

Fic. 164.—Sweetwater Dam, CaLIrorNrIA, DURING FLoop or 1895, AND AFTER SUBSEQUENT RECONSTRUCTION OF

 

supply, and that no more than one-half its capacity should be used in any
one season. The percentage of probable mean rainfall which this run-off
represents is remarkably small, in view of the mountainous and precipitous
MASONRY DAMS. 235

character of a considerable part of the. drainage-basin. The mean rainfall
of 1894-95 was estimated at 27.14 inches, of which the run-off was but
26%. The following year, with an estimated mean rainfall of 16 inches the
run-off was but six-tenths of 1%. This illustrates the great variation to
which such streams are subject. When the rainfall in the lower two-thirds
of the basin does not exceed 12 inches it is all absorbed in plant-growth and
evaporation from the soil and does not feed the stream except when it comes
in violent storms. Under such conditions the upper third of the basin
supplies all the run-off, and if that portion does not receive more than 18
to 20 inches, the stream-flow is very small and of short duration. The
record of catchment at the Cuyamaca reservoir, whose watershed is all on
the mountain-top from 4800 to 6500 feet in elevation, adjoining the upper
portion of the Sweetwater shed, clearly shows that the larger part of the
run-off of all of these coast streams must ordinarily come from the higher
mountains, and illustrates the value of elevation in any shed for purposes
of yielding run-off for reservoirs.

The precipitation and catchment record kept at the Cuyamaca dam
from 1888 to 1896 shows that the drainage-basin of 11 square miles gave an
average yield of 491 acre-feet of water per square mile, while the mean of
the Sweetwater during the same period was 100 acre-feet per square mile,
or about one-fifth that of the Cuyamaca.

Since the great flood of January, 1895, the Sweetwater system to and
including 1899 had not experienced a season of sufficient run-off to fill the
reservoir, and had endured practically four years of continuous drouth, as
the entire catchment in these four seasons was 8,034 acre-feet, or 36% of
the reservoir capacity. Asa result the reservoir was drained to the bottom
early in 1899, and it became necessary for the company to develop and put
in operation an entirely new and independent supply for the preservation
of the orchards. Two independent gasoline-engine, centrifugal-pump
pumping-plants were established in the bed of the reservoir about 14
miles above the dam, by which water was drawn from 35 small wells put
down in the shallow sand and gravel-bed; the water there stored in the
subterranean voids was thus made to yield a constant flow of about
1 second-foot. This was conducted in a flame to the dam, and there
admitted to the tower and the distributing system. ‘The pumping was
done with gasoline-engines, the lift being about 18 feet. In the valley
below the dam three substantial pumping-stations were installed, with
steam-pumps, drawing from a large number of wells, bored at intervals of
100 feet along the suction-pipe leading to the pump. In this manner the
stored water in the sandy bed of the valley was made to produce 4 to
5 second-feet additional. The season was successfully passed owing to the
energy with which the supply was developed, the orchards were kept alive
and thrifty, and no great suffering was experienced, although it seemed
236 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

inevitable at the beginning of the irrigation season of 1899 that the orchards
would perish, or at least that there would be a total loss of fruit, if not of
the trees. Pumping operations extended from May to November 23, 1899,
during which time the total volume pumped was about 458,000,000
gallons, or 1402 acre-feet. The area irrigated was approximately 3800 acres.
Deducting from this total the amount of water used for domestic service,
the mean depth actually applied to the orchards averaged 3.2 inches.
This small amount, supplemented by thorough cultivation, proved sufficient
to save the orchards aud keep them in healthy growth, which is an in-
teresting demonstration of what can be done in an emergency.

The cost of the pumping-plants and wells so quickly inaugurated as a
substitute for the reservoir was abont $27,000. ‘The cost of pumping was
about 64 cents per 1000 gallons, which was covered by an increase in rates,
to which the community cheerfally acceded as an emergency. ‘The season
of 1899-1900 having failed to give any run-off to the reservoir, all the
pumping-plants in the reservoir-basin and below the dam were reinstalled,
and an auxiliary plant, consisting of 40 wells, 2 inches diameter, 50 feet
deep, pumped by a 22-H.P. gasoline-engine and 6-inch centrifugal pump,
was added to the main plant at Linwood Grove, while at Bonita the same
number of wells were sunk, and pumped by two 6-inch centrifugal pumps,
placed in tandem and actuated by gasoline-engines. In this way they
managed to tide over the third year of drouth.

Sedimentation of Sweetwater Reservoir.—Prior to the construction of
the dam some apprehension was felt as to the probability of the speedy
filling of the reservoir with sand brought down by the stream, which had
been thought to be so large in volume as to destroy the usefulness of the
reservoir ina short time. The writer made some observations on the load
of sediment carried by the stream in flood during the construction of the
dam, which led him to conclude that the reservoir might be filled with
water a thousand times before becoming entirely filled with sediment. *

Carefal re-surveys of the reservoir made by Mr. H. N. Savage, chief
engineer, since it became empty, demonstrate that the total filling has been
about 900 acre-feet since the construction of the dam, or at the average
rate of 75 acre-feet per annum. The total volume of water that has entered
the reservoir in the first 12 years was 180,066 acre-feet. The measured
solids deposited from this water have therefore averaged a trifle more than
one-half of 1%. The deposit has been almost directly as the depth, being
greatest at the dam, where the depth of silt of almost impalpable fineness
is 24 to 3 feet. The addition made to the reservoir capacity after the flood
of 1895 was 4.6 times the accumulated sediment of twelve years, or, in other
words, sufficient to offset the filling of half a century.

 

* The Construction of the Sweetwater Dam. Trans, Am. Soc. Civil Eng., vol. xix.
p. 214.
MASONRY DAMS. 237

Evaporation.—The percentage of water lost in storage-reservoirs by
evaporation is the most serious factor which the projectors of such enter-
prises have to anticipate. It is subject to wide variation due to differences
in mean depth, exposure, temperature, winds, and relative humidity, but
it is always in operation, and subjects the reservoir to a constant loss, so
great that it must be considered in all calculations of reservoir duty, as, in
extreme cases, it may amount to 50% per annum.

Careful measurements of evaporation in a floating pan at Sweetwater
dam shows the annual loss to be about 54 inches in depth. It is about
2 inches during the month of January, and over 8 inches per month during
July and August. This causes an annual loss of about 154% of the stored
water, and as a reservoir must always be held back for dry years, so that
practically a reservoirful is at least a two-years’ supply, the loss is really
30% of the total supply, leaving but 70% of the reservoir capacity available
for use, one-half of which only can be safely counted on each year. This
reduces the available annual supply to about 8000 acre-feet.

At the Cuyamaca reservoir, on the adjacent watershed, the average
loss reported during nine years prior to 1897 was 563 inches in depth per
annum. This loss amounted to 25.5% of the total water caught and stored
during that time, which is nearly double that of the Sweetwater. This
difference is due to greater surface exposure per unit of volume stored.
The Sweetwater reservoir has an exposure of 39.8 acres per 1000 acre-feet
of capacity when full, while the Cuyamaca has an exposure of 84 acres per
1000. This is an illustration of the advantage of great average depth in
reservoirs, and an argument in favor of high dams for effective conservation
of water.

Conduits. —The main pipe leading from the dam is 36 inches in diameter
for 1600 feet, thence 30 inches diameter for 28,200 feet to Chula Vista.
It has a minimum capacity for delivery of 1260 miner’s inches (25.2
second-feet) to an elevation of 90 feet above sea-level, which is high enough
to cover the larger part of the settlement. This pipe was found to be
inadequate to the demands upon it, becanse in practice the maximum rate
of consumption is about double the mean rate, and for the further reason
that the higher levels could not be supplied and at the same time permit
the maximum discharge to the lower levels. To remedy this lack of
efficiency a second conduit, 24 inches diameter, was built in 1895 on the
north side of the vailey of the Sweetwater. It is of riveted steel, 30,142
feet in length, and cost $65,000. It has a minimum capacity of 450
miner’s inches (9 second-feet) and is used chiefly for high service. It con-
nects at the dam with one of the 30-inch pipes laid through the tunnel.
The distributing system of pipes, from 4 to 24 inches diameter, is over 65
miles in length, and has cost over half a million dollars.

Hemet Dam, California.—The most massive and imposing stracture that
238 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

has thus far been erected in western America for irrigation-storage is the
dam erected in the San Jacinto Mountains, in Riverside County, California,
at the outlet of Hemet Valley, the location of which with respect to the
irrigated lands is shown in Fig. 165. The view in Fig. 166 is rather an
imperfect representation of the appearance of the dam from below. Fig.
167 is an end view which shows the arched form of the dam.

The ‘dam is built of granite rubble, laid in Portland-cement concrete,
and was designed to be carried to the ultimate height of 160 feet above the
stream-bed. Its present height is 122.5 feet above base, or 135.5 feet above

“|

 

5 2 TR. 72.6 S.R.2E 72.6 S.A. 3E.
Fic. 165.—Mar SHowine Location oF LAKE HEMET, THE Marin Conpbvit, AND IRRI-
‘ GATED LANDS.

lowest foundations. It is 100 feet in thickness at base, and has a batter of
1 in 10 on the water-face, and 5 in 10 on back. Its present crest is 260 feet
long, while the length on base is but 40 feet. The dam was bnilt up with
fall profile to the height of 110 feet above base, at which point the thick-
ness is 30 feet. Here an offset of 18 feet was made, and the remaining wall
is 12 feet at base, and 10 feet thick at top. A spillway notch 1 foot deep,
50 feet long, was left in the center. Extreme floods may exceed the
capacity of this spillway and pass over the entire length of the wall to the
depth of several feet. ‘This actually occurred in January, 1893, when the
dam was 107 feet in height. The dam is arched up-stream with a radius
of 225.4 feet on the line of its upper face at the 150-foot contour, although
it has a gravity section, with the lines of pressure inside the center third,
as shown on section in Fig. 169.

‘The site seemed to be more suitable for a masonry structure than any
other type because the canyon is extremely narrow, the foundations excel-
lent, and materials for construction abundant. After due consideration of
all alternative possibilities the writer was directed to prepare plans suitable
for the maximum height to which a dam could be built to advantage at this
MASONRY DAMS. 239

site, and in the summer of 1890 the plant was assembled and excavation
begurt ‘The stripping to bed-rock occupied several months, with the aid
of a cableway for conveying the waste to a dump below the dam. In this
operation a large hole was developed in the rock, 13 feet in depth, within
the lines of the base of the dam. This hole was found to be filled with
gravel, firmly cemented in place so tightly that it might safely have been
built upon had its limits been known. After the hole was cleaned out a
center trench was cut in the bed-rock up the sides, as a key or anchorage,
to receive the masonry.

The cement and all tools had to be hauled up the mountain, a distance
of 23 miles from the nearest railroad station, over a road whose maximum
grade is 18%, making a total ascent of 3350 feet, and decending to the dam
from the summit nearly 600 feet. The hauling was done at a cost of $1
to $1.50 per barrel, and occupied a considerable time in delivering a suffi-
cient quantity to make a beginning, and it was the 5th of January, 1891,
before the first stone was laid.

The total amount of cement used was about 20,000 barrels, which cost
delivered about $5 per barrel.

Work was prosecuted without interruption until January 24, 1892,
when severe weather and floods compelled a suspension of construction for
four months, when the 45-foot level was reached.

On resumption of work the following spring it was pushed to the 107-
foot contour, when the workmen were again driven off by a storm and
freshet on January 9, 1893, when the reservoir was filled so rapidly that
many of the buildings and tools were submerged before they could be
removed. The work remained at this stage until the fall of 1895, when
the dam was completed to its present height and all machinery and tools
were brought down the mountain. At its present height the dam contains
31,105 cabic yards of masonry.

The concrete used to embed the blocks of stone was mixed in the pro-
portion of 1 of cement, 3 of sand, and 6 of broken stone, crushed to pass
through a 24-inch ring. Mortar was only used in laying the facing-stones
and pointing the joints on the exterior faces. Both concrete and mortar
were mixed by a cubical iron mixer, one of a number that had done service
on the San Mateo dam in northern California. The sand used was clean
and sharp, and was constantly brought to the dam by the small living stream
flowing from the mountains, the sand being rolled along its bed. It was
accumulated in a little reservoir formed by a temporary log dam, and con-
veyed to the mixing-platform by an endless double-wire-rope carrier, fitted
with triangular buckets, placed at intervals of 20 feet. By this means the
sand was hoisted 125 feet and carried horizontally 400 feet to the mixing-
platform, where it was stored in a bin. This device was very simple, inex-
pensive, and quite effective, and the sand was always washed clean. Fig.
OFZ

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242 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

dV] TNOLNON—'SOT “DIT

“HIOAUNSAY LAWAG ANV'T AHL 40

 
MASONRY DAMS. 243

170 shows a view of the plant for crushing the stone and mixing the
concrete. A portion of the sand-conveyor is also visible in the photograph,
as well as one of the engines used on the cableways, and the cars for the

Profile Masonry Dam

  
 

FSO rt.

 

 

 

 

 

Le (00 feel as

Top View of Valve

   

Section of Fipe and Valve — 5

    

Fic. 169.—HemMet Dam, RIVEnsiDE County, CALIFORNIA.

delivery of concrete to the dam. These latter ran along a tramway, laid
on a trestle built from the mixing-platform along the face of the vertical
cliff, some 300 feet, to the dam at the 80-foot level. When the dam reached
this level an elevator was built to a higher line of trestle.
244 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The stone was all quarried within 400 feet of the dam, on both sides of
the canyon, both above and below the dam. It was hoisted and conveyed
to the wall by two cableways, each about 800 feet long and 14 inches in
diameter. The cables crossed the dam nearly at right angles with the
chord of the arch, but diverging from each other, and were anchored to
convenient trees on either side of the gorge. ‘I'beir position was seldom
changed, except to lift them higher up into the tree-tops, and toerect ‘* A”?
frames on top of the masonry to support the cables, when the wall had
reached such a height as to require it. Loads of 10 tons could be hoisted

 

  

car) Y gem ee a

“

Fic. 170.—HEMEY Dam CONSTRUCTION PLANT.

 

and handled with ease, and with the aid of two derricks, one at each end of
the dam, the rock brought by the cables was placed where required. The
loads were readily transferred from the cableway to the derricks while in
the air. The trolley which traveled on the cableway, and the devices for
sustaining the hoisting-line as the load moved back and forth, were devised
on the ground and operated satisfactorily.

The derricks were actuated by water-power obtained from a 36-inch
Pelton wheel located below the dam and propelled, under a head of 75 feet,
by about 80 miner’s inches of water, brought from the stream by a flume
1.5 miles long to the edge of the cliff at the mixing-platform, and thence
in a 13-inch riveted steel pressure-pipe. The pipe passed through the line
of the dam and was embedded in the masonry. Subsequently it was cut
MASONRY DAMS. 245

off at the upper face of the dam and was made available as the lowest outlet
of the reservoir. Two other outlets were provided, consisting of 22-inch
lap-welded steel pipes, placed at the 45-foot and 75-foot levels, near the left
wall of the canyon. ‘These pipes were provided with cast-iron elbows
tarning upward and flaring to 30 inches diameter, just inside the line of
the dam. ‘They are closed by semi-spherical cast-iron covers, which are
raised and lowered by wire ropes passing over a pulley and windlass that are
provided for each, and stand on an overhanging frame bolted to the top of
the masonry. ‘These covers are ordinarily removed and replaced by cylin-
drical fish-screens that stand on the top of the elbows, and the main control
is had by gate-valves set on each pipe at the lower line of the dam. When
these valves are open the water spouts freely into the air and falls in a spray
upon the rock below. ‘This water is collected in a pool a short distance
from the dam, and passes over a weir for measurement, before beginning
its 5-mile plunge down the canyon, to the final point of diversion into the
main flume.

When construction began, the reservoir-site was well covered with pine
forest, and, as it was desirable to clear the flowage tract, the trees were cut
and sawed into lumber. Over one million feet B.M. of this lumber was
used for buildings, flumes, and staging about the dam, and half a million
more was hauled to the valley for flumes and trestles. Much of the fire-
wood cut from the tree-tops was also hauled down the mountain by the
returning cement teams. The main conduit is partly built of this mountain
pine, and, although it is knotty and inferior lumber for general purposes,
the flame made of it did good service for six or eight years before it was
recently replaced with California redwood, which is much more durable.
The conduit is 3.24 miles in length from the pick-up weir, just above the
janction of South Fork and Strawberry Fork, to the mouth of the main
canyon, where it connects with a 22-inch riveted iron pipe, 2 miles long.
From the end of this pipe an open ditch, lined with masonry 8 to 10 inches
thick, and plastered with cement mortar, conveys the water 5 miles to a
20-acre distributing-reservoir, located near the highest corner of the irri-
gated lands. ‘This reservoir has a capacity of about 90 acre-feet, and from
it the water is distributed by some 30 miles of pipe, flumes, and lined
ditches. The slope of the land is 40 feet per mile from east to west,
requiring small conduits for distribution. The main canyon flume was
built of 14-inch lumber, and is 38 inches wide, 18 inches deep, and has a
grade of about 140 feet per mile. It was calked and battened, smeared
with asphalt inside, and whitewashed on the exterior with lime. The ditch-
lining consists of granite cobbles of 10 inches maximum diameter, laid in
equal parts of lime and cement mortar. It is 2.75 feet wide on bottom,
% feet at top, 2.75 feet deep, and has a capacity of 60 second-feet or 3000
inches.
246 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The dam of the distributing-reservoir is of earth, 300 feet long, 14 feet
high, and 8 feet wide on top. The reservoir is usually filled within a foot
of the top of the dam. In construction a trench was excavated 9 feet deep
under the center line, in the center of which a tight board fence was built,
reaching to the top of the dam, to prevent the burrowing of ground-
squirrels and gophers, a function which it effectually performs. The trench
was refilled with puddled soil each side of the fence, and the puddle brought
to the top of the dam. The area irrigated by the system in 1896 was 1092
acres, and is increasing each year as the tracts are sold to settlers.

This area was in 72 separate tracts, of which the average size is 10 to
20 acres. The rates charged for water are $2 per acre annually, with an
additional charge during the nominal ‘‘ non-irrigating season’? (November
15 to April 15) of $1 per month for each tract for domestic service. In
the town of Hemet, which is supplied by the same system, there were, in
1896, 55 taps, paying a uniform domestic rate of $1.50 per month. Water-
power is used in the town to drive an electric dynamo for lighting the hotel
and some of the buildings, the waste water flowing to a small reservoir.

The apportionment of water by the water-right contracts given with
the deeds to the land is at the rate of ‘‘ one-eighth of 1 miner’s inch of
perpetual flow from April 15 to November 15 of each year for each acre.”’
This is equivalent to 46,224 cubic feet per acre per annum, or a mean depth
of 12% inches over the land. The water-rate of $2 per acre would thus be
equal to 4.3 cents per 1000 cubic feet, or 0.57 cent per 1000 gallons.

The altitude of Hemet Valley where the dam is located is approximately
4300 feet. The watershed area, as determined from the topographic map
of the United States Geological Survey, is 69.5 square miles, the extreme
elevation of which is about 9000 feet. This point is Tahquitz Peak, a spur
of Mt. San Jacinto. The total drainage-area of the San Jacinto River
above the mouth of the canyon is 141.8 square miles. The reservoir there-
fore receives the run-off from nearly one-half the entire drainage-basin of
the river. The average yield of the shed has not been accurately deter-
mined, although it has been insufficient to fill the reservoir in any one
season since 1895. The irrigation season of 1899 began with but 1000
acre-feet in the reservoir (gage 73 feet).

The present capacity of the reservoir is 10,500 acre-feet, but the addi-
tion of 274 feet to the height of the dam will increase it 24 times. The
cost of the dam and irrigation-works has never been made public. The
area of the tract depending upon the reservoir for irrigation is about 7000
acres, of which not more than half have been irrigated.

The Bear Valley Dam, California.—Probably the most widely known
irrigation system in California is that of the Bear Valley Irrigation Com-
pany of Redlands, California, chiefly by reason of the remarkably slender
proportions of the Bear Valley dam, which has been to the engineering
MASONRY DAMS. 247

fraternity the ‘‘ eighth wonder of ‘the world,’’ and has no parallel on the
globe. ‘The dam has no stability to resist water-pressure except that due
to its arched form, and it has been expected to yield at any time, although
it has successfully withstood the pressure against it for fifteen years, and is
apparently as stable as it ever was. ‘The probabilities are that nothing but
an extraordinary flood or earthquake, or a combination of unusual move-
ments, will ever accomplish its destruction. Such vast interests are now
dependent upon the water stored by the dam that its failure would be a
public calamity, greatly to be deplored. The settlements of Redlands,
Crafton, and Highlands, which are among the choicest of the orange-
growing regions of southern California, and the irrigation districts of
‘Alessandro and Perris, are the outgrowth of this water-storage, although
the Perris district receives but a small portion of its supply from this
source. Prior to the construction of the dam in 1883-84, the natural
streams entering the San Bernardino Valley had been entirely appropriated
and used in irrigation, and had apparently reached the limit of their
irrigable duty. No storage-reservoirs were then in service, and the creation
of the Bear Valley reservoir for conserving the flood-waters of the Santa.
Ana River has more than doubled the area of land irrigated previous to its
constraction in the territory covered by its water, and has increased the
valuation of property in far greater ratio ‘The useful function of the
storage-reservoir was never more fully exemplified than in this case. The
Bear Valley dam was designed and built by F. KE. Brown, C.E., a graduate
of Yale Scientific School. The construction of the dam was a bold and
difficult undertaking, as it was the pioneer enterprise of California for
irrigation-storage, and the site is in a remote locality, to which the cement,
tools, and supplies had to be hauled over a rough mountain-range from
San Bernardino, descending on the opposite side to the Mojave Desert.
and again climbing the mountain to Bear Valley, a total distance of 70:
miles. The cost of hauling cement was $10 per barrel, and its total cost
delivered was $14 to $15 per barrel. Under such conditions, and with a.
scarcity of funds for what was considered a questionable experiment, it is
not surprising that economy of masonry was practiced to such an extent
that it is quite without a parallel for boldness of design. The dam is.
curved up-stream with a radius of 335 feet, and is 64 feet high from base
to crest. The length on top is about 300 feet, and the thickness but 2.5
to 3 feet on top, and 8.5 feet ata point 48 feet below the crest, where it
rests on a base of masonry that is 13 feet wide, making an offset of about
2 feet on each side at the center; but as the base was built with a curve of
shorter radius than the upper 48 feet of the dam, the offset is not uniform,
but tapers to nothing on the waterside at the ends of the base, and is fully
4 feet wide on the back. The lowest foundation of the base is 20 feet wide,
as shown in Figs. 168 and 169. The entire dam contains about 3400 cubic.
 

 

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Se reAAMnA SUR PANO POOL. AE

 

Fic. 171.—Laxe Hemet (Cau.) Masonry Dam.
248
MASONRY DAMS. 249

yards of masonry, in which were used about 1600 barrels of cement. It is
reported to have cost $75,000, or over $22 per cubic yard, of which the
cement alone cost but $7.50 for each cubic yard of masonry laid. That the
plant and labor could have cost so much as $14.50 per cubic yard, which is
several times the ordinary cost of such work, must, if true, have been
largely attributable to the lack of adequate machinery, as well as extrava-
gant management. The masonry is a rough, uncut, granite ashlar, with a

   

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CEE SB,
— --20°-- > s
Fic: 172.—Cross-sEcTION oF BEAR VALLEY Dam,

 

ELEVATION FROM LOWER SIDE

 

Fig. 173. —PLAN AND ELEVATION OF BEAR VALLEY Dam.

hearting of rough rubble, all laid in cement mortar and gravel. At the
beginning an earth dam was erected, 24 miles above, 6 feet in height, to
retain the summer flow. As the masonry rose water was let down to the
main dam, forming a pond which floated timber rafts on which stone was
transported to the site, and from which construction was carried on. Hand-
derricks were carried on these rafts.

The work was evidently done slowly and with great care, as it has leaked
but little beyond the usual sweating, which has left its marks in an efflores-
cence or deposit of lime, brought ont of the mortar by the moisture oozing
through. This occurred during the first few years after completion and
250 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

has almost entirely ceased. When inspected by the writer in August, 1896,
the water stood within 10 feet of the top of the dam with little or no visible
leakage below.

The south end of the dam abuts against a projecting ledge of granite,
standing boldly out from the side of the canyon 100 feet or more beyond
the general line of the side slopes, illustrated in the photograph, Fig. 170.
Over the top of this ledge, as far from the dam as it could be placed, a
spillway, 20 feet wide, was excavated to a depth of 8.5 feet below the level
of the extreme top of the dam (Fig. 175).

The extreme capacity of this spillway does not exceed 1700 second-feet,
which is dangerously small.

The great Sweetwater flood of 1895 gave a maximum discharge of nearly
100 second-feet per square mile of watershed. A freshet of proportional
volume from the Bear Valley shed would give a discharge of about 5600
second-feet, or more than three times the spillway capacity. Occurring at
a time when the reservoir were full, such a flood would overtop the dam by
a depth of 2 to 3 feet. The result might be disastrous.

The spillway was for a time closed with sand-bags to hold the lake to a
higher level, but this device was substituted by movable flashboards,
arranged in four bays, separated by suitable framework.

The only outlet or means of control of the reservoir is an iron gate made
to slide on brass bearings, and closing a rectangular opening, 20 by 24
inches, leading to a culvert cut in the bed-rock. The culvert trench was
made 2 feet wide and 3 feet high, flat on bottom and arched over the top
with concrete. The dam was built over it, and the culvert simply passed
through or under the wall. The gate is operated by a screw-stem that
passes up through a 6-inch pipe, standing vertically in the water next to
the dam, and reaching up to a wooden platform at the coping-line. The
gate-stem, hand-wheel, and mouth of outlet culvert are shown in the illus-
tration. The maximum discharge capacity of the gate when wide open
with full reservoir is about 167 second-feet, which is much more than is
ever required to be drawn. ‘The capacity with reservoir practically empty
is over 80 second-feet.

The top of the dam is not finished to a true level line, as the coping-
stones have been omitted over about one-half the length, and this portion is
2 to 3 feet lower than the finished crest. It requires considerable nerve to
walk over the top of the dam, because it has no hand-rail or parapet and is
so narrow that few visitors care to attempt the feat. Water has stood for a
considerable time within a few inches of overflowing, although it has never
actually passed over the top, as the spillway has thus far been capable of
carrying the surplus flood-water. The maximum volume stored in the
reservoir, thus far, has been somewhat in excess of 40,000 acre-feet, and
 

 

 

Fic. 174.—Brar VALLEY Dam, LOOKING SOUTH, TOWARD SPILLWay
“SULV}) CUVOSHSVTY HLIM ‘WYG ATTIVA UVAIG JO AVATIAG—'e/T ‘oT

 

 

 
 

 

 

Fig. 176.—Bassz or New Rocx-ritt Dam, BELOW THE BEAR VALLEY Dam (SHOWN IN BackGRounp).
254 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

in seasons of excessive precipitation the ran-off has exceeded the reservoir
capacity.

In order to be able to impound the entire run-off from the watershed,
or the greater portion of it, the company at one time contemplated the
erection of a higher dam, to be built about 200 feet down-stream from the
present dam, and impound water to the 75-foot contour of the reservoir, or
11 feet higher than the crest of the existing structure, at which level the
capacity of the basin is 80,000 acre-feet, flooding a surface area of 3060
acres toa mean depth of 25.3 feet. It was regarded as impracticable to
add another foot to the height of the present dam, and no engineer cared
to risk the responsibility of excavating at the toe of the wall for such an
addition to it as would enable it to be raised to the desired height; hence
it was deemed best to go a safe distance below to avoid jarring or disturb-
ing the fragile wall, and there begin an entirely independent structure.
The new dam was designed as a rock-fill, and was to be 80 feet in height
above the base of the present dam, but was never finished beyond the
foundations, which were laid in a substantial manner in ‘1893 (Fig. 176).
It is a matter of regret that the second dam was not completed, as its com-
pletion was recognized as affording a rare opportunity for studying the arch
action upon the present masonry wall. At the time it was began a com-
mittee was appointed by the American Society of Civil Engineers to
examine and measure the movement in the masonry incident to the loading
and unloading of the arch. This could be quickly accomplished by empty-
ing and refilling the pond between the two dams. If taken at the right
time, the effect of a flood pouring over the crest of the thin masonry wall
could have been observed, and much useful knowledge obtained on the
subject of the strains in arched dams of which so little is now known.

The watershed tributary to the Bear Valley reservoir, as determined
from the best available maps, is approximately 56 square miles, the maxi-
mum elevation of which is about 7700 feet, or 1500 feet higher than the
valley. On the north and east the shed borders on the desert, and the pre-
cipitation shades off to a considerably less amount than is recorded at the
dam.

The record of rain and melted snow at the dam from 1883 to 1893, the
season beginning in each year on September Ist, is as follows:

Inches. Inches.
1883-84. ...... 94.60 1888-89........ 46.03
1884-85........ 28.06 1890-91........ 78.40
1885-86........ 65.51 1891-92........ 38.00
1886-87........ 24.00 LBB 2H 9S cones selaceins 44,32
1887-88........ 62.30 1894-95........ 50.00

Mean for 12 years........ 53.70
 

 

     

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256 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The dry years which have occurred since 1895 must undoubtedly reduce
this mean very considerably, althongh the record has not been made public.
In 1891 the run-off from the watershed was computed by Wm. Ham. Hall
from the records of catchment, as follows, beginning with the completion
of the dam:

 

Season. Pee Season. ao at
1883~84........ 236,000 1887-88........ 132,400
1884-85........ 21,600 1888-89........ 70,400
1885-86........ 142,400 1889-90........ 211,600
1886-87........ 8,000 1890-91........ 186,800

Mean........ 126,150

This estimate is so large as to be decidedly questionable. Mr. J. B.
Lippincott, Hydrographer U. 8. Geological Survey,* estimates, by compari-
son of observations in other parts of the State, that the probable maximum
run-off of the shed is about 100,000 acre-feet, and the mean about 28,500.
The minimum was doubtless reached in 1895-99. The irrigation season of
1899 began with but 1560 acre-feet in the reservoir, a small portion of
which was held over from the previous year. This was entirely exhausted
early in the season, and an attempt was made to maintain the supply by
pumping from shallow wells in the bed of the reservoir, although with
indifferent success. Four to six acre-feet per day were obtained for a time,
but it was largely dissipated by evaporation in passing down the canyon.

The loss to be anticipated from this reservoir by evaporation is a sub-
ject of much interest. It is at an altitude of 6200 feet, and well sheltered
from winds by surrounding mountains, favoring minimum loss. On the
other hand the water is shallow and spread out over a large area. Observa-
tions made at the gate-house of the Arrowhead Reservoir Company in Little
Bear Valley, in the same. mountain-range, but at lower elevation (5160 feet
above sea-level), indicate that the evaporation from water-surface is about
36 inches per annum in that locality, of which about 90% occurs in the.
eight months from March to November, inclusive. This rate of loss applied
to Bear Valley reservoir when full would indicate a probable loss of over
20% per annum if no water were drawn out, or about 14% per annum if a
uniform draft of 2500 acre-feet per month were made during the period
from March to November, inclusive.

The general form of the reservoir is shown in Fig..177.

La Grange Dam, California.—There is something quite unusual in a
masonry dam 125 feet high which is erected for the sole purpose of divert-
ing water from a stream for irrigation purposes, and this is the character of
structure that was built on the Tuolumne River, 14 miles above the town

 

* Nineteenth Annual Report for 1897, U. 8. Geol. Sur., Part IV., p. 585.
MASONRY DAMS. 257

of La Grange, California, in 1891-94, by the Turlock and Modesto irriga-
tion districts jointly. The Tuolumne River, as it leaves the mountains, on
its way across the San Joaquin Valley, is cut down so deeply below the
general level of the plain as to require a high dam to raise the water suffi-
ciently to get it out on the irrigable lands. The dam is located at the
mouth of a narrow box canyon and is in no sense designed or used for
storage. It is 125 feet high on the up-stream face, 129 feet on the down-
stream side, 90 feet in thickness at bottom, 24 feet at crest, and but 310
feet long on top. The wall is built as the segment of a circle of 300 feet
radius, the arch being opposed to the direction of the water-pressure,
although its profile is of purely gravity type, in which the lines of pressure
are well within the middle third. On the water-face the dam is vertical for
70 feet below the top, and thence to the foundation has a batter of 1 in 20.
The edges of the crest are rounded off on a radius of 3 feet on upper side,
and 17.5 feet on lower side, leaving 6 feet of the crest level. At 6 feet
below the crest the dam is 24.18 feet thick; at 69 feet below it is 52 feet
thick; at 89 feet it is 66.25 feet; and at 97 feet, the top of the foundation
masonry, it is 84 feet thick. ‘The extreme bottom width at the highest
point of the dam is 90 feet. The lower face has a batter of 4 to 1, from 70:
feet below the crest, where a compound curve of 63 and 23 feet radii
commences, which carries the face to its intersection with the battered face
of the foundation masonry about 3 feet above low water. From this point
the foundation batter is 1 in 7, to the bottom, about 32 feet in the
deepest place. These dimensions give practically an ogee form to the
down-stream face, which permits the water to follow the masonry without
leaving its face in its descent, provided the depth be not more than 4 to 5
feet, and gives it a horizontal direction at the bottom. The curvature of
the dam and the fact that the canyon is but 80 feet wide at the base of the
dam, or top of foundations, so concentrate the stream that some erosion
may be anticipated at the base, although nothing serious in that line has
been reported.

The dam contains 39,500 cubic yards of masonry and cost $550,019.
It is built throughout of rough, uncoursed rubble masonry, laid in Portland-
cement concrete, in practically the same manner as that described in the
construction of the Hemet dam. The work was done by contract, at $10.39
per cubic yard, including the excavation for foundations, but not including
cement, which was furnished by the districts. The cement cost $4.50 per
barrel delivered, and 31,500 barrels were used in the work.

It is believed to be the highest overflow dam in the United States, if not
in the world. The volume of water passing over it may in extreme floods
amount to 100,000 second-feet. The maximum flood that has yet gone
over the dam was about 46,000 second-feet in volume, the dept on crest
being 12 feet.
 

   

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Fie. 178.—Puan oF La Graner. Dam, CALIFORNIA,

< Prob. Fctreme PVC
AM

  

Fic. 179.—ProriLte or La Grance Dam, CALIFORNIA.
MASONRY DAMS. 259

During construction the low-water discharge was carried past the work
in a flume the first year, and subsequently through two culverts, one at low-
water level, and a second 10 feet higher. These were 4 feet wide, 6 feet
high.

The Modesto Canal takes water through an open cut from the dam, on
the right bank, and has a capacity of 750 second-feet. The Turlock Canal
reaches the reservoir above the dam by means of a tunnel 560 feet long, 12
feet wide, 11 feet high, with regulating-gate at the head.

 

 

 

~eonpe- Be ee

Fic. 180.— Upper Face or La Grance Dam.

In construction of the dam three lines of cableway were used, spanning
the canyon, for hauling the materials.

The excessive cost of the work was doubtless due to the uncertainty as
to the value of the bonds of the irrigation districts, which created a temerity
among contractors, and there were few bidders. The contractor was
obliged to buy the bonds at not less than 90% of their face value, and dispose
of them at a figure from which he could obtain a profit on his work.
Under ordinary conditions of prompt payments in cash the constrvction
should have been done for one-half the actual cost.

The dam was designed by Luther Wagoner, C.E., who resigned
 

Fic. 181.—La Grancr Dam, CaLirorniA, DURING CONSTRUCTION—FINISFING
THE CREST.

 

 

Fie. 182.—La Grange Dam, CALIFORNIA.

260
 

 

, CALIFORNIA

xaE Dam

\

—La Gi

 

 

F Loop.
261

NIA, DURING

3B Dam, CALIFoR

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44.—La GRAN

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IG.

F
262 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

shortly after work began, and construction was completed under charge of
E. H. Barton, engineer for the Turlock district, and H. 8. Crowe, repre-
senting the Modesto district.

The elevation of the crest of the dam is 299.3 feet above sea-level, and
the canal grade is 8.3 feet lower.

The Turlock irrigation district embraces 176,210 acres, and the canal
supplying it has a reported capacity of 1500 second-feet. he main canal
is 18 miles long, feeding five laterals of an aggregate length of 80 miles.

 

 

nity

Fig. 185.—Lower Face or La Grane DAM.

The Modesto district covers 81,500 acres, with a main canal 22.75 miles

long before reaching the district, having a capacity of 640 second-feet.

The entire irrigation system when fully completed will be the largest and

most comprehensive one in California. and the dam upon which its success

depends has been wisely constructed of such dimensions as to be of unquese .
tionable stability. Figs. 180 to 185 are views of the structure.

Folsom Dam, California.— There are many features of the Folsom dam,
on the American River, California, which give it special interest to engi-
neers and all others who have seen it, one of which is that it was built by
the State of California entirely with convict labor, incidentally to give
employment to the inmates of one of the State prisons, but primarily to
£96

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264 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

develop water-power for use in various industries about the prison and for
transmission to other localities. A further purpose is served by the dam in
the diversion of water from the American River out upon the plains of the
Sacramento Valley for irrigation. The plan, profile, and section of the
dam are shown in Fig. 187, anda photograph taken by a convict during
construction is given in Fig. 188.

The dam is of the same general character as the La Grange dam,
serving no purpose of storage, but designed solely for the diversion of the
stream and so constructed as to permit flood-water to pass freely over
its crest.

It is located at the top of a natural fall in the bed-rock of the stream,
its height at the up-stream toe being 69.5 feet, while at the down-stream
footing the height is 98 feet to the crest-line. The top thickness is 24
feet; base 87 feet. A movable shutter, 180 feet long, is placed in the center
of the dam for raising the normal water-level at low stages. ‘his shutter
is placed in a depression, 6 feet in depth, below the general level of the dam,
and is lowered during floods to allow the passage of extreme freshets over
the dam. At low water the shutter is raised to a nearly vertical position
by means of hydraulic jacks, as shown in Fig. 189, which are operated from
the prison power-house. The entire crest length of the dam is 650 feet,
including the curved approach to the canal head-gates.

The main dam is straight in plan. The construction of the dam was
begun in 1886 and completed in 1891. It contains 48,590 cubic yards of
masonry in the dam proper, while the retaining-wall of the canal has
27,000 cubic yards and the power-house 13,700 cubic yards of granite
masonry, all laid in Portland-cement mortar. ‘The dam is a very massive
and substantial piece of masonry, composed of rough granite ashlar in
large blocks of 10 tons or more in weight. ‘The quarry, which deter-
mined the location of the State prison, affords an unlimited quantity of excel-
lent granite which has a fine cleavage and is readily quarried into blocks of
any desired size. The excavation of the canal along the granite cliff gave all
the material needed for the dam. The stone was delivered to the dam by a
cableway of unusual construction, in that two cables were used side by side
like a suspended railway-track, and the trolley was a four-wheeled carriage
from which the loads were hoisted and suspended. There are many disad-
vantages to this form of cableway, and no special features to recommend it
as preferable to the single cable. he latter admits of dragging rocks from
either side of the line of the cable for a considerable distance, an operation
which would tend to derail the trolley of a double cableway.

The canal taken from the left side of the dam passes through the
prison grounds and thence to the town of Folsom, one and one-half miles
below, where the main power-drop of 85 feet is utilized for generation of
power, which is transmitted electrically to Sacramento, 22 miles distant.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

West Side Canal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
   

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CROSS SECTION OF WEIR

 

 

 

Fig. 187,—Puan, CRoSs-SECTION, AND ELEVATION OF WEIR AND HEADWORKS OF
Fousom Canat.
265
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MASONRY DAMS. 267

In passing the prison power-house a drop of 7.5 feet is utilized by six
87-inch Leffel turbines of the double improved type, and about 800 H.P.
are developed at the maximum. ‘The canal is 8 feet in depth throughout,
the width below the prison power-house being 30 feet on bottom, 40 feet
on top. Above the power-house the width is 10 feet greater. The grade
is 1: 2000, and the capacity of the canal about 1000 second-feet.

 

Fig. 189.—HypRAULIc JACKS FOR RAISING SHUTTER ON Foisom Dam.

The San Mateo Dam, California.—Doubtless the most enormous mass of
masonry of any sort in the West, if not in the entire United States, is the
great concrete dam erected on San Mateo Creek, 6 miles above the village
of San Mateo, California, by the Spring Valley Water-works of San Fran-
cisco, to impound water for the supply of that city. The dam ranks
among the highest and most costly of the world, and was erected in 1887
and 1888.

It was projected to reach to a height of 170 feet, at which the top width
was to be 25 feet and base width 176 feet, but construction was suspended
at the height of 146 feet, or 34 feet below the ultimate height. When
finished the top length will be 680 feet. It has a uniform batter of 4 to 1
on the up-stream face, while the lower slope, beginning with a batter of 24
on 1 near the top, curves with a radius of 258 feet to near the bottom,’
where the batter is 1 to 1. The dam is arched up-stream with a radius of
637 feet.

It is built throughout with concrete, made of broken stone, beach sand,
and Portland cement. This material was chosen because of the difficulty of
securing rock in the vicinity suitable for rubble masonry. The stone was
quarried in the immediate vicinity, and occurred in small irregular nodules,
268 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

frequently so coated with clay and serpentine as to require it to be thoroughly
washed before it was fit for use. After crushing, it was passed through
revolving cylindrical tumblers, where a constant stream of water was main-
tained to carry off the mud and tailings, which passed off through a flume
and dropped to the stream-channel, where the deposit from these washings
covered several acres to a considerable depth. The proportion of waste was
large. The sand used in the concrete was obtained from the sand-dunes of
North Beach, San Francisco, where it was loaded on cars, hauled one mile,
und dumped into barges, then towed 25 miles up the bay to a landing oppo-
site San Mateo, and thence hauled 6 miles by wagon to the dam. All the
materials were thus unusually expensive.

The concrete was mixed in a battery of 6 cubical iron mixing-machines
revolved by steam-power. It was delivered to the work by a double-track
tramway on a high trestle carried part way across the canyon at the level of
the top of the dam on the lower side, as shown in Fig. 190. The cars on this
tramway were pushed by hand and dumped into hoppers let into the floor
between the rails, leading to vertical pipes, 16 inches in diameter, which
extended down to platforms that were placed from time to time at a level
with the top of the work as as it progressed. ‘The concrete dropped down
these pipes, striking on steel plates, from which it was shoveled into wheel-
barrows and trundled to the place of use. The height of this drop was
sometimes as great as 120 feet, but no injury resulted to the concrete, or to
the men shoveling it as it fell. The concrete was mixed in the proportions
of 1 part cement to 2 parts sand, 64 parts broken stone, and 3 part water
by measure. It was moulded in cyclopean blocks of 200 to 300 cubic yards
each, with numerous offsets ingeniously dovetailing the blocks together, and
every possible precaution was taken in the joining of the successive portions
to secure an absolute bond. The surfaces of the blocks after the forms were
removed were roughened with picks, swept and washed clean, and grouted
with pure cement before concrete was placed against them. ‘The result has
been very satisfactory; the dam is almost absolutely water-tight, although
some moisture does find its way through and appears in spots on the lower
face. No settlement or expansion cracks are visible, and the work has the
appearance of being absolutely homogeneous. Figs. 192 and 193 show
the general method of forming the blocks and preparing them to receive
fresh concrete, and Fig. 194 isa general view of the dam taken at the
time of the visit of the American Society of Civil Engineers in Annual
Convention, July, 1896. Plans and sections of this dam are shown in
Fig. 191. At the 170-foot level the reservoir will have a capacity of
29,000,000,000 gallons, or 89,000 acre-feet. The present capacity is
approximately 20,000,000,000 gallons.

The entire volume of the dam is approximately 139,000 cubic yards.

When the dam is extended to its ultimate height it will be necessary to
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CROSS SECTION OF DAM

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Fic. 195.—Pxans anp Secriovs or San Mav
 

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yam AND Map ov Crystau Sprinas RESERVOIR.
[To face page 273.}
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274 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

close a gap in the ridge a short distance north with a wall about 25 feet
high. The outlet to the dam is a tunnel 390 feet long, driven through the
hill on the north side of the channel, through which a 54-inch riveted iron
pipe is laid. The tunnel is 7$ feet wide inside the lining, and of the same
height, and is lined with four courses of.brick, 21 inches thick.

The tunnel is intersected by a brick-lined shaft, 14 feet clear diameter,
placed just inside the dam in the reservoir. Inside this shaft is a stand-pipe
connecting with the main outlet-pipe. Three branch tunnels, carrying large
pipes, open out from the reservoir to this stand-pipe, each pipe being con-
trolled by gate-valves that are placed in the main shaft. This is an admir-
able form of outlet, as all the pipes from the shaft are accessible to inspection
and repair. The ends of the tunnels under water have plain cover-valves
over elbows, and are provided with fish-screens that are put into position
from floating barges. A main pipe, 44 inches in diameter, leads from the
dam to San Francisco. ‘The present crest of the dam is 281 feet above tide-
level.

When the reservoir is filled it submerges the old Crystal Springs reser-
voir and dam, the latter being an earth structure which did service for many
years until superseded by the new dam. A smaller reservoir, that formerly
supplied the town of San Mateo, was also obliterated from view, and the
water at highest level will extend up the valley of the north arm of the
creek nearly to the toe of the San Andreas dam.

The old Crystal Springs reservoir had a tributary watershed of 14 square
miles, which yielded a mean annual run-off of 319 acre-feet per square mile
during the cight years from 1878 to 1886. The mean rainfall during that
period was 34.95 inches. This run-off is equivalent to a mean of 14.4% of
the mean rainfall, the maximum having been 34% and the minimum 0.54.

The Pilarcitos and San Andreas watersheds, whose catchment is retained
by earthen dams, receive a much higher precipitation, especially the former,
which is more directly exposed to the saturated wind-currents from the
ocean. ‘The average precipitation over all the Spring Valley Water Co.’s
sheds, during the seven years from 1868 to 1875, was 43.5 inches, from
which the mean run-off was 35.5%, including loss by evaporation. These
watersheds are partially wooded, undulating pasture-lands, uncultivated,
covered with deep soil, and clothed with native grasses that spring up annu-
ally from seed and have little permanent sod. The results of the measured
catchment from these areas indicates that, in general terms, on watersheds
of this character from 20 to 35 inches of rainfall are annually taken into the
soil and absorbed in plant-growth and evaporation.

Pacoima Submerged Dam, California.—One of the most novel and inter-
esting masonry dams erected for impounding water in California, where so
many novelties and experimental works have been carried out, is a slender
MASONRY DAMS. 275

little reservoir wall built across Pacoima Creek, in the San Fernando Valley,
20 miles north of Los Angeles, for the purpose of forming an underground
reservoir, whose storage capacity consists solely of the voids in the gravel-
bed filling the valley of the stream.

The creek drains a watershed whose area is 30.5 square miles above the
point where it issues from the mountains. Here it flows over exposed bed-
rock, and the normal summer flow, which diminishes gradually from about
100 to less than 10 miner’s inches, is entirely diverted by a pipe-line and
used below for irrigation. The dam in question is located 24 miles further
down, where the channel of the stream is contracted to a width of 550 feet
by a ledge of sandstone which crosses it at about right angles. Between
the dam and the mouth of the canyon is a continuous bed of gravel, in
places half a mile wide, which, though lying on a heavy grade, constitutes
the storage-reservoir.. The dam was constructed by excavating a straight
trench (shown in Fig. 196), 6 feet wide, from side to side of the channel,
down to and into the sandstone bed-rock. In the center of the trench a
wall of rubble masonry was laid, 3 feet wide at base, 2 feet at surface, using
the cobbles excavated from the trench, and a mortar of Portland cement
and sand, The mistake was made of not filling the entire width of the
trench with concrete, thoroughly rammed between the side walls, which
would probably have insured satisfactory water-tightness. As it was, the
space each side of the wall was refilled with gravel, and the wall was not
thick enough or sufficiently well pointed to be entirely water-tight. The
general height of the wall is 40 feet, the maximum being 52 feet. Plan,
profile, and section of the dam are shown in Fig. 198. ‘Two gathering-
wells are provided in the line of the wall, each 4 feet inside diameter,
reaching from bottom to top.

Three lines of drain-pipes, 8 and 10 inches diameter and made of asphalt
concrete, laid with open joints, are placed inside the dam leading to the
wells, the function of which is to gather the water and feed it to the wells.
Outlet-pipes 14 inches diameter, one from each well, lead to either side of
the valley. ‘These are placed 13 feet below the top of dam and connect
with a main leading to the pipe distributing system supplying the irrigated
lands. When the reservoir is drained down to the level of these outlets
further draft is made by pumping, which is required for about 100 days
during late summer and fall.

The cost of the dam is given at $50,000, and the volume of masonry
was about 2000 cubic yards. It is a piece of amateur work, built without
engineering advice, but it serves a useful purpose, though not at all commen-
surate to its cost. It is, however, a type of dam that may be applicable to
other localities more naturally favorable than this.
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278 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

PROFILE SUBMERGED DAM ~
LOOKING UP STREAM

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Fic. 198.—PLan arp PRoFILe oF Pacoma Dam.
MASONRY DAMS 279

The dimensions and capacity of this novel reservoir cannot be clearly
determined, but its surface area is approximately 300 acres, its mean depth
probably 15 to 20 feet, and its capacity equivalent to the volume of voids in
the gravel, or 1300 to 1500 acre-feet.

Agua Fria Dam, Arizona.—One of the tributaries of the Gila River,
which joins it from the north, below the city of Phoenix, is the Agua Fria
River, heading in the mountains near Prescott, and draining some 1400
square miles of mountainous territory. The Agua Fria Land and Water
Company have erected a masonry diverting-weir across the stream, at a
point 14 to 2 miles above the northerly line of Gila Valley, and have pro-
jected a storage-dam 14 miles higher up the stream, at a point called the
Frog Tanks, to impound the flood-water for irrigation of the plains,
beginning some twenty miles west of Pheenix.

The dam is projected to the height of 120 feet above the bed of the
stream. The width of the canyon is here 298 feet at the level of the sand,
but at top the dam will be 1160 feet long. Sections of the two dam-sites
and profiles of the dams are shown in Fig. 201. Soundings have been
made over the greater portion of the channel width, and what is presumed
to be bed-rock has been found at depths of 9 to 15 feet, but for a space of
50 feet no bottom was found with 24-foot sounding-rods. As the greatest
depth to bed-rock at the diverting-dam below was but 40 feet, this depth has
been assumed for the maximum of the unexplored 50 feet at the upper site,
thus making the extreme height of the dam 160 feet. The reservoir to be
closed by this dam will be 5 miles in length, flooding an area of 3200
acres and impounding 108,000 acre-feet. With a dam of gravity profile,
with base of 124 feet and crest 8 feet wide, the volume of masonry required
is computed at 128,650 cubic yards.

The enterprise, when completed, is expected to furnish water for
irrigating 50,000 acres of superb valley land that is now an absolute
desert. A main canal has been projected, 25 miles in length, with a
capacity of 400 second-feet, and some four miles of the heaviest work was
completed from the dam down the left bank to the point where the
canal is intended to cross the river by a 700-foot flume. This canal is 18
feet on bottom and is to carry 8 feet depth of water, on a grade of 2.11
feet per mile. The diversion-dam, upon which about $100,000 had been
expended at the time work was suspended in the fall of 1895, wil: have a
top length of 640 feet, a maximum height of 80 feet, a top width of 10
feet, and a base of 65 feet. When finished it will contain 17.200
cubic yards of masonry, and will have cost in the neighborhood of
$150,000.

The only apparent purpose of this dam was to save the construction
of a conduit, 14 miles in Jength, in the canyon between the storage-
£80 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER ETC.

dam proper and the diverting-weir. The storage dam must be built
before the scheme is of any value, or before there is any water available
for irrigation.

The reasons which led to this error in judgment were, first, a misappre-
hension as to the depth to bed-rock at the lower site. In fact, the dam was
begun without a sufficient knowledge of what a great undertaking it was to
be, and so much money had heen expended before it was known or suspected
that the extreme depth finally reached was to be so great that it was then

 

Fie. 199.—MEASURING-BOxX USED BY Mactay Rancuo Water ComPANY.

too late to abandon the work. The second reason was the confident expecta-
tion that the volume of underflow that would be brought to the surface of
the dam would reach from ‘‘500 to 1000 miner’s inches,” which, if real-
ized, would have enabled the projectors to use the canal at once in the rec-
lamation of the desert land entered under the United States Desert Land
Act before the main reservoir could be made available. This ‘‘ underflow”
development was, however, a sore disappointment, as the flow when finally
secured amounted to less than fifteen miner’s inches, about what had been
predicted by the writer when consulted on the subject a year or more
before.

The cross-sectional area of the two channels in which the underflow was
passing beneath the surface is approximately as follows:

East Channel.........-....-.00000- 504 square feet.
West) “8 “atata ebsites stein 2685
Totalecc.s2ecseseeeaede: 31389 “6

If the voids in the coarse sand with which these channels are filled could
be assumed to be 28% of the entire area, which they are approximately, the
T8Z

“WVG-ONILUFAIGQ: VIUY VODY dO IGNNVH)D LISA JO SNOILVONNOY— YONG “OTT

 
282 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

rate of flow established by the discharge of 15 inches (0.3 second-foot)
would be precisely one mile per annum, a velocity which coincides with the
observations of several authorities on the rate of flow through sand of that
character. It may be noted in this connection that the volume of under-
flow in sandy rivers is generally vastly smaller than the popular conception
of it, and for this reason submerged dams for raising this underflow are
usually commercial failures, except where the material of the stream-bed is
a coarse gravel, with little or no fine sand intermingled.

 

  
 

 

 
    

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Fic. 201.—Cross-sections or AGUA Frta DIvERTING-DAM AND STORAGH-RESERVOIR
Dam, ARIZONA.

The masonry used in the diverting-dam is a rough rubble, faced with
coursed ashlar, mostly laid in a mortar of hydraulic lime of good quality,
burned about 20 miles from the dam. (See Figs. 200 and 202.) Fora
portion of the work a small amount of Portland cement, made in Colton,
California, was used. The rock was handled by a Lidgerwood cableway,
with a span of 700 feet. The excavation of foundations, amounting to
about 12,000 cubic yards, was accomplished by teams and scrapers, the
water being handled by centrifugal pumps.

In October, 1895, a flood came which poured over the fresh masonry
for several hours to the depth of 8 feet, and finally carried away a section
100 feet long, 12 feet deep, near the west end. The partial failure of the
wall is accounted for by the fact that in laying the masonry each course was
leveled off smoothly with mortar, in the fashion to which brick-masons are
addicted in laying up house-walls. There was thus little bond between the
courses, which is so essential in dam-work. A view of the dam, taken from

 
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284 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the canal bank, is shown in Fig. 202, reproduced by permission from a
paper entitled ‘Irrigation near Phoenix, Arizona,” by Arthur P. Davis,
C.E., Hydrographer, U. 8. Geological Survey, being No. 2 of the series of
“‘ Water-supply and Irrigation Papers,” from which some of the data for
the foregoing description are derived.

In addition to the Frog Tanks reservoir-site the company have a second
location, 8 miles higher up the river, where the gorge is but 262 feet wide
at the river-bed, in solid rock, and but 500 feet wide at a height of 200
feet. This basin is said to have a capacity of 150,000 acre-feet, with a dam
150 feet high. The watershed, which drains the east slopes of the Brad-
shaw Mountains, reaches summit elevations of 6000 to 8000 feet. A
reasonable estimate of rainfall and run-off from this shed is a precipitation
of 16 inches and an annual run-off of 15%, which would yield 142,300 acre-
feet.

Storage-reservoirs for Water-Supply Along the Line of the Santa Fé
Pacific Railway in Arizona.—The northern portion of Arizona, traversed
by the Santa Fé Pacific Railway, is an elevated plateau draining into the
Colorado Canyon on the north, the Colorado River on the west, and the
Verde, Salt, and Gila rivers on the south. This region has a maximum
elevation of over 7000 feet along the railway and receives a greater precip-
itation than the lower altitudes in the southern part of the territory, but it
is largely capped with volcanic lava and indurated ash, through which the
water from rain and melted snow rapidly sinks and disappears. Living
springs and streams are therefore infrequent, and the water-supply for rail-
way purposes is so unevenly distributed as to necessitate the impounding of
flood-waters in artificial reservoirs. This necessity is chiefly due to the
general absence, in the valleys of that region, of beds of coarse sand and
gravel, which constitute nature’s storage-basins. The railway company, to
avoid hauling water from point to point over this section of the road, has
constructed several substantial dams for storage purposes at convenient
points near the line of the railway, all of an interesting character in their
construction from an engineering standpoint, although unimportant in the
volume of water stored compared with works located in more favorable
localities. These reservoirs are the following:

 

 

 

 

Volume Stored. r
: Height Elevation
Locality. ne Character of Dam. above
; bets Sea-level.
Cubic Feet. | Acre-ft.| Feet.
Kane man pircsisciesere| seetaes ay eed ease 16 Masonry, submerged
Seligman ............ 39,651,000 | 703 68 Masonry : 5884
Asb Fork............. 4,950,000 | 113.6 46 Steel 5445
Williams. ............ 14,700,000 | 338 46 Masonry 7000
Walnut Canyon....... 20,798,000 | 488 70.4 , Masonry ' 6282

 

 
MASONRY DAMs. 285

The Kingman Submerged Dam.—About one mile west of Kingman the
railway company have a well sunk in the gravelly bed of Railroad Canyon,
from which they pump water for filling their tank at Kingman to
supply the town, as well as the locomotives of the railway. To increase
this supply and to furnish water by gravity to another tank 4 miles
below, a masonry dam was built on bed-rock to intercept the underflow of
the stream and store water in the gravel bed above the dam. The dam
consisted of a slender masonry wall, 2 feet thick at top, 6 feet thick at base,
and 16 feet high, crossing the canyon from side to side and reaching up
nearly to the surface of the stream-bed. A trench was excavated in a
straight line, the dam was built, and the gravel restored to its natural
position, so that floods pass over its top unobstructed. ‘The dam is thus
entirely concealed from view. At the northerly end of the dam it was

 

   
   

SUBMERGED QAI
ar
KINGMAN

“Seare wor Freer q
les 0% OF Viet COMmE. St "OST — mare

 

 

 

 

Fig. 203.—SUBMERGED STORAGE- AND DIVERTING-DAM, NEAR KINGMAN, ARIZONA.

necessary to tunnel some distance under the railway in gravelly formation
in order to carry the masonry to the bed-rock wall of the canyon on that
side. This tunnel was made 12 feet wide, 20 feet high, and about 30 feet
long, the top of the tunnel being 16 feet below the rails. A 6-inch cast:
iron outlet-pipe is built through the dam 12 feet below the top, at one side.
Four feet above the dam an elbow is placed, upturned vertically, and an 8-
inch wrought-iron stand-pipe 10 feet long is inserted in the elbow. This
stand-pipe is perforated with 3-inch holes, placed 4 inch apart, for straining
the water, the top being capped. The gravel reservoir is kept filled to thé
top of the dam by the natural underflow, and thus the town well is sup-
plied and the lower tank automatically filled by gravity, the discharge
being controlled by a float. No shortage of water has been experienced
since the dam was built in 1897. The dam is 173 feet long on top, and
contains 320 cubic yards of masonry. (See Fig. 203.)

The Seligman Dam.—This structure was begun June 25, 1897, and
completed Feb. 28, 1898. It is the largest and most expensive of all the
structures of its class built by the railroad company. It is located three
miles southeast of the town of Seligman, an important division terminal
286 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER POWER, EI.

5104 feet above sea-level. ‘The dimensions of the dam are as follows:
Length at base, 145 feet; length on crest, 643 feet; height, 68 feet; thick-
ness at base, 47.77 feet; thickness 3.1 ft. below the over flow or 5.1 ft. below
the crest, 5.14 feet; thickness at top, 1.75 feet. It is arched up-stream
with aradius of 800 feet from the line of the water-face. The cubica
contents are 18,161.4 cubic yards, divided as follows:

Concrete in foundation........... 0... 300 cubic yards.
Rough rubble in core... 22. vee 13,843.4 °° oe
Drésseu asivla. sie tat oe at ha Gas BOLE tt ss
COPY. o eine st hen ee oe aos 20U.38 “SE

The work was done by contract, the railway company furnishing the
cement and delivering the stone, sand, and cement on cars to the dam-site,
the contractor quarrying and loading the stone. The rubble sandstone was

 

 

Fic. 204——SrtiamMan Dam, ARIZONA.

hauled 43 miles from Rock Butte. on the S. F.. P. & P. R.R., the facing-
stone was hauled 175 miles from Holbrook, and the sand 150 miles from
the Sacramento Wash. ‘Lhe contract prices were: $9 per yard for coping,
86.50 per vard for facings, $4.62 for rubble. and $2.81 for concrete. The
total cost of the dam was in excess of $150.000.

The character of the masonry is well shown by the photograph (Fig.
204) of the lower face during erection. Fig.205 shows the water-face and
end buttresses. The water appearing in the foreground is retained by a
low earth dam that had been in use for some time prior to the construction
of the masonry dam. ‘The center of the dam is depressed two feet below
MASONRY DAMS. 287

the crest for a distance of 340 feet, and curved in the form of the segment
of a vertical parabola for the overflow, which is the true form taken by
falling water pouring over a weir. The maximum capacity of this spillway
is 3400 second-feet, and as the watershed tributary to the dam is but 18
square miles, the capacity provided is doubtless greatly in excess of what
will ever be required.

The outlets to the reservoir consist of two 8-inch cast-iron pipes, placed
6 feet apart between centers, 54 feet below the crest of dam, on the north

 

 

 

Fig. 205.—Srnieman Dam, Arizona. View or Upper Face puring Construction,

side of the ravine, and one of similar size on the south side, used as a
waste. These pipes are connected with vertical stand-pipes, inside the
reservoir, standing 10 feet high and 6 feet from the face of the dam.

 

Secrion
seorere ke era soue secant
ae cree Lop stag. Sonccae

   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 206.—Secrion anp Prorite oF SELIGMAN Dam, ARIZONA.

They are of wrought iron, capped at top and perforated with 2-inch holes,
bored 4 inch from center to center. They form the intake, and serve:to
strain the water and keep out trash from the pipes. Gate-valves are
placed in each pipe at the outside toe of the dam, and the pipes are reduced
below the valves to 6 inches in diameter, where one of them is connected
with the main pipe line leading to Seligman. The reservoir is 3000 feet
288 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

long, and covers an area of 25} acres. Its maximum capacity is 30,651,000
cubic feet, or 703 acre-feet, of which one-third is in the upper ten feet,
The average loss by evaporation from January to June inclusive was found
to be 0.03 foot per day, or an annual rate of 10.95 feet. This loss, applied
to the mean surface exposed, would amount to 15% per cent of the entire
volume in 809 days, assuming an average daily consumption of 16,000
cubic feet during that time. A full reservoir is therefore expected to
supply 120,000 gallons daily for 24 years, after deducting evaporation.
The catchment is somewhat unreliable, and the reservoir did not receive any
water for the first two years after it was built. Fig. 206 illustrates the section
of the canyon and the profile of the dam. The fine appearance which the
immense mass of masonry presents inspires regret that it should be hidden
from public view from passing trains, although it is easily accessible to
those who care to step off at Seligman and inspect it.

The Williams Dam.—The first of the series of dams for storage erected
by the railway company was constructed near the town of Williams in
1894. It has an extreme height of 46 feet, is 385 feet long on the crest,
50 feet long at the base, where its thickness is 32 feet. The thickness at
top is 4 feet. It is arched up-stream with a radius of 573 feet from the
line of the vertical water-face. The dam contains 5226 yards of masonry
and consumed 3640 barrels of cement in construction. Its cost was
$52,838. The dam has been a serviceable structure. The capacity of
the reservoir is 110,000,000 gallons. The watershed area is not definitely
known, but is small.

The Walnut Canyon Dam.— Walnut Canyon is a tributary of the Little
Colorado River, which heads in Mormon Mt. a little south and east of
Flagstaff. The watershed area above the dam is 126 square miles, which
ordinarily affords a much greater run-off than the storage capacity of the
reservoir. The geological formation of the canyon walls at the dam-site is
sandstone in heavy layers or strata in nearly level beds. The bottom of the
canyon was so filled with débris of earth and stone that it was necessary to
excavate 28 feet below the surface to reach bed-rock, on which the dam was
erected. The width at this point was but 30 feet, at the surface of stream-
bed 120 feet, and at the top of the dam 268 feet. The extreme height of
the dam is 77.6 feet. Its thickness at base is 61.5 feet. ‘The water-face 1s
vertical, while the upper face has a batter of 7} inches to the foot between
the vertical curves at top and toe. The top is rounded in parabolic form
to a thickness of 13 feet at a point 10.4 feet below the crest, to form an
easy overflow for surplus waste water, while at the base the wall is vertical
for 10 feet, above which is a vertical curve, tangential to the horizon, pass-
ing through 58° of arc, to a point 46.4 feet below the top, where the thick-
ness is 35.5 feet. ‘This design forms an exceedingly massive structure with
unusually large factor of safety. The dam is arched up-stream with a radius
MASONRY DAMS. 289

of 400 feet to the line of the water-face. The masonry consists of 5244
cubic yards of heart rubble, 1572 cubic yards of facing ashlar masonry in
irregular courses, with dressed beds, and 80 cubic yards of cut coping-

 

 

Fig. 207.—Watnut Canyon Dam, ARIZONA.

stone—a total of 6986 cubic yards. There were 6070 barrels of Portland
cement used in construction. The total cost, exclusive of excavation,

 

oe = agen ieee

jo—— Log ——- of

    

 

£4.476.00 freee Lire by Bate or 04m

 

 

 

 

Fic. 208.—Secrion anp Prorite or WatnuT Canyon Dam, ARIZONA.

was about $55,000. The stone used was quarried at the dam-site and
was of good quality.

The outlets consist of two 10-inch cast-iron pipes, placed 6 feet apart, at
an elevation of 30.4 feet below the top of the dam, 10 feet above the stream-
bed. Vertical strainer-pipes, 10 feet high, are placed over the upper ends
290 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of the outlets in the reservoir, 6 feet from the face of the dam. Outside,
the pipes are controlled by 10-inch Ludlow gates, and are reduced to 8
inches diameter below the gates. The main pipe-line from the dam follows
the canyon for 44 miles to the railroad crossing, and thence follows the
track easterly 12 miles further to a tank.

Fig. 207 isa view of the dam from below when nearly completed.
Fig. 208 showsthe profile of the dam as constructed, and a section of the
canyon at the dam-site.

The reservoir was filled for the first time on the 8th of March, 1898, and
if it had been water-tight should have supplied an estimated consumption of
60,000 gallons daily for more than two years, allowing for a daily evapora-
tion loss of 0.03 foot. The water, however, disappeared very rapidly, and
by September 20th was all gone, having lasted but 196 days instead of the
estimated 356 days. The draft for consumption on the road was not greater
than had been assumed in the original calculation, and the excessive loss
could only be accounted for by percolation through the sandstone or through
the seams separating the underlying limestone from the sandstone. It is
hoped that the reservoir will ultimately puddle itself and become tight, and
efforts are being made to assist the process by plowing and loosening clay
soil at points above. It is unfortunate that the usefulness of such a fine
structure should be curtailed by this unexpected leakage in the walls of the
reservoir, but it is possible that the loss of water may gradually lessen and
finally cease. This experience illustrates, however, one of the vicissitudes
attending the impounding of water. Under the most favorable conditions
the annual loss by evaporation on this reservoir would be nearly 35% of the
volume of storage capacity. No run-off was caught during the summer of
1899, and in the latter part of August it was still dry. The entire series of
reservoir dams have been constructed under the supervision of Mr. R. B.
Burns, Chief Engineer, Santa Fé Pacific Railway, to whom the writer is
indebted for the data concerning the works and the views which illustrate
them.

Lynx Creek Dam, Arizona.—This structure was located 12 miles east of.
Prescott, Arizona, and was designed to impound water for hydraulic mining
on Lynx Creek,some 4 miles below. It was intended for an ultimate height
of 50 feet, and was started with a base of 28 feet. When it had reached
a height of 28 feet on the up-stream side, the lower edge of the crest being
2 feet higher, it was roughly squared off with the intention of adding the
remaining portion at a later date, when a sudden flood overtopped the dam
and ruptured it, taking out about 35 feet of the masonry down to the bed-
rock. The break is shown by the view, Fig. 209, looking up-stream. It
occurred in 1891, and the dam has never been rebuilt. The dimensions of
the dam were ample to withstand any overflow to be expected from the

be
MASONRY DAMS.

9
2

wo

 

ie *

Fic. 209.—Lynx Creek Dam, Arizona, arteR Rupture BY FLoop.

FROM BELOW.

 

Fic. 210 —Lynx Creek Dam, ARIZONA.

a

VIEW

SECTION SHOWING FacING WALLS AND
ConcRETE HEARTING.
~92 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

floods draining the tributary watershed of 30 square miles of territory, from
5500 to 7500 feet in elevation, had the masonry been of reasonably good
quality. The failure, therefore, was clearly due to poor workmanship and
unsuitable materials. The dam was 150 feet long on crest, and was built
with a central angle of about 165° opposed to the direction of the current,
the up-stream face being vertical. ‘The wall consisted of a thin facing of
hand-laid masonry, not over one foot thick, the core being filled with a weak
concrete of fine gravel, stone, spawls, and sand. ‘The section of the dam as
constructed is clearly seen from the photograph (Fig. 210). Considerable
lime was used with the cement, which was of poor quality, and the concrete,
though ten years old, possesses so little cohesion that it may be crumbled
with a light touch. The cement used averaged but 1 barrel to 6 cubic
yards of masonry. The failure of the dam, under all the circumstances,
might have been anticipated. It is referred to here merely as an example
to illustrate the natural consequences that must follow any carelessness or
lack of attention to proper selection of materials and skill of construction
in masonry or concrete dams that must withstand the erosive action of
floods as well as normal water-pressure.

Concrete Dams of Portland, Oregon.—Among recent constructions of |
concrete masonry three dams designed and erected by the author for the
water-works of Portland, Oregon, in 1894, may be classed as worthy of note.
They were built for the purpose of forming distributing reservoirs, and were
located across natural ravines, or embayments in the hills, the reservoir space
being largely augmented by excavation, and the slopes covered with a lining
of concrete. One of these dams, shown in Fig. 211, closes reservoir No. 1
on the side of Mount Tabor, and is 35 feet high, 300 feet long, with a base
of 18 feet and top width of 6 feet. The reservoir capacity is 12,000,000
gallons. Behind the dam the material excavated from the reservoir was
placed, forming a heavy embankment whose top width is 100 feet. This is
such an immovable barrier that the chief function of the concrete wall is to
act as a retaining-wall for the inner slope of the earth-fill, and to form a
part of the reservoir lining. The reservoir receives the water delivered by a
steel-pipe line 24 miles long, amounting at maximum capacity to 22,400,000
gallons daily, and distributes it to three other reservoirs, one of which is but
2000 feet distant, shown in the photograph Fig. 216, and the other two are
five miles away, across the Willamette River, and designated as reservoirs 3
and 4 (Fig. 213). Reservoir No. 3, high service, has a dam 200 feet long which
is arched up-stream with a radius of 300 feet. Its height is 60 feet, base 40
feet, top width 15.5 feet, carrying on its crest a driveway of the City Park, in
which it is located. ‘This is the only dam of the three which is curved, and
the only one which does not exhibit some slight expansion-cracks. The dam
forming reservoir No. 4, low service, is 50 feet high, 350 feet long, and 40
feet wide at base. The faces of these two dams, both of which are in the
MASONRY DAMS. 293

 

 

Fic. 211—Resrrvorr No. 1, PortTLanp, Ore., WATERWORKS. CoNcRETE Dam
witH EartH BackING.

 

 

Fic. 212—Concrete Dam, 60 Fert Hicn, at Reservoir No. 3, PortTLanp, ORm.
POWER-HOUSE IN FOREGROUND.
b6c

‘NODAUC ‘ANVILYOG LV SNV( UNIOAUASAY JO MAIA YOIUMTLXY—e1Z ‘OL

 

 

 
PAR RRO eC

 

 

Fic. 214.—Concrers Dam at Reservorr No. 3, PorTuanp, OREGON, WATERWORKS,
SHOWING POWER-HOUSE BELOW.

 

 

 

 

Fic. 216.—Resrrvorr No. 2, PortLaAND, OREGON, WATERWORKS, SHOWING A@RATION
Founralns. 295
296 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

City Park, are moulded and chiseled to resemble stone, and considerable
ornamentation has been done on the parapets and about the gate-houses, as
shown in Fig. 213, to which the concrete and iron construction lends itself
to good advantage. It is needless to add that the dams of the dimensions
given are of safe gravity profile, with ample factors of safety.

Basin Creek Dam, Montana.—This dam was built in 1893-95 to impound
water for a portion of the domestic supply of the city of Butte, Montana,
and is located 13 miles south of the city, on Basin Creek. It was designed
by Chester B. Davis, M. Am. Soc. C. E., and constructed under direction
of Eugene Carroll, C.E., Chief Engineer. The construction was described
in Engineering News, December 17, 1892, Aug. 7, 1893, and Sept. 5, 1895,
in communications prepared by these engineers, from which the following
data have been taken. The dam is constructed of large stone, with spaces
thoroughly filled with concrete, made of crushed granite 3 parts, sand 3
parts, and Yankton Portland cement 1 part. It was designed for an
ultimate height of 120 feet above the lowest foundation, assumed to be at
elevation 5780 feet above sea-level, or 30 feet below stream-bed, and was
curved up-stream with a radius of 350 feet from its water-face. The thick-
ness at base was to be 83 feet, and at top 10 feet ; up-stream face vertical.
At full height it would impound about 1,000,000,000 gallons (3069 acre-
feet), covering’ an area of 130 acres to a mean depth of 23.6 feet. The dam
was not completed higher than to the 5860-foot contour, or 40 feet below
the projected crest, although its actual maximum height is 88 feet, of
which 28 feet is below the stream-bed level, and it now can impound
200,000,000 gallons. The contents of the dam are 11,500 cubic yards of
masonry. Its top length is 259 feet. Three 20-inch pipes are laid through
the dam at its center, at the creek-bed level, two of which are used for blow-
off. These pipes are controlled by plain cover-valves, resting on upturned
elbows inside the dam, and raised by a windlass from the top. Gate-valves
on the pipes below the dam give secondary control.

The materials of construction were hauled by a Lidgerwood cableway,
with a clear span of 892 feet, the main cable being 2} inches diameter, sus-
pended 60 feet higher than the 120-foot crest-line. This cableway crossed
over the quarry, and was stretched on the chord of the inner face of the
dam. The loads were swung either side of this line by using a single horse
pulling from a rope attached to the load and leading back over a sheave to
a snubbing-post. ‘The limited space made the use of derricks for this
purpose inconvenient. For a distance of 9 miles from the dam the main
conduit to the city consists of a wooden-stave pipe, 24 inches in diameter,
built by the Excelsior Wood-stave Pipe Co. of San Francisco, of which
Mr. D. C. Henny, now supervising Engr. U. 8S. Rec. Service, was manager
and engineer.

High Pressure Mining Dams.—A curiosity in the line of masonry
dams is the one built in the Curry mine, at Norway, Michigan, to cluse
MASONRY DAMS. 297

a drift 6 feet wide, 74 feet high, and thereby cut off a troublesome stream
of water. It was built of sandstone, arched against the direction of the
pressure, with a thickness of 10 feet, and laid in Hilton-cement mortar, in
the proportion of 1 to 2ofsand. The dam (Fig. 217) is nearly 800 feet below
the surface, and when the water fills behind it is subjected to a pressure
of 277 lbs. to the square inch, equal to a static head of 640 feet, or a total
pressure against the dam of over 800 tons. The dam was designed and
built by Wm. Kelly, M. Am. Inst. M. E., and the most extraordi-

 

 

 

 

 

 

Longitudinal Section.

Fig. 217.—Masonry Dam vunpbER 640-FooT HEAD, THE GREATEST RECORDED
WATER-PRESSURE ON MASONRY.

nary precedent on record of masonry under such extremely high pressure.
It was made practically water-tight by building a brick wall, 22 inches
thick, 26 inches above the face of the dam, filling the intermediate space
with concrete, and placing a quantity of horse-manure against the brick-
work, which was held in position by a plank partition or bulkhead. When
finally tested the leakage was but 7 gallons per minute. The dam cost
$484.27. (See Engineering News, Dec. 16, 1897.)
298 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

High-head Dams in Chapin Mine, Michigan.—Subsequent to the
construction of this dam, two others of similar character and purpose,
but under still higher pressure, were built in the Chapin Mine,
Michigan.

One of these, on the east branch of the twelfth level, is at a depth
of 960 feet from the surface, and resists a pressure of 355 pounds per
square inch, equal to a head of 816 feet. The dam was made in the
form of a circular arch, 6 feet in thickness, with an inner radius of 7.3
feet. It is set into deep skewbacks, cut into the walls of limestone
surrounding it, and is formed of blocks of sandstone, laid in 1:2 cement
mortar. This was backed up by concrete 5 feet in thickness on the
crowning side of the arch. A 38-inch extra heavy pipe with gate-
valve passes through the dam. The total load upon the dam is 1840
tons.

The second dam, in the west branch of the twelfth level tunnel, is
under the same head, but being slightly higher withstands a total load
of over 2500 tons. It is a simple plug of concrete, 20 feet long, about
10X10 feet in size, with an 8-inch outlet-pipe passing through it. The
concrete is braced on the outer face by two heavy vertical girders of
steel, behind five horizontal steel rails of heavy weight, all cemented
into off-sets or recesses cut into the walls of the tunnel. The drift is
10 feet wide by about the same height.

The New Croton Dam, New York. (Fig. 218.)—It is perhaps appro-
priate that the commercial metropolis of the United States should have
the highest dam in the world, embodying the most enormous mass of
masonry in existence, and costing more money than any dam ever
built. The dam occupied fourteen years in construction, having
been begun September, 20, 1892, and completed January 1, 1907, at
a total cost of $7,631,185.69, which included the construction of 20
miles of new highway and the reinforcing of 3 miles of the old Croton
aqueduct.

The excavation for the foundations involved the removal of 1,821,400
cubic yards of earth and 400,250 cubic yards of rock. The masonry
in the structure has a total volume of 855,000 cubic yards.

The dam has a maximum height of 297 feet above the lowest founda-
tions, a base width of 296 feet at the level of 131 feet below the original
river-bed, anc a length of 2200 feet on the crest, including a masonry
waste-weir 1000 feet in length. The width on the crest is 18 feet at a
height of 14 feet above the spillway level, but a roadway 19.5 feet wide
is carried over the top of the dam by corbeling out near the top to get
the necessary width, which is accomplished by a series of ornamental
arches, which greatly add to the architectural effect. The area of the
reservoir formed by the dam is about 3360 acres, and its capacity is
MASONRY DAMS. 299

about 180,000 acre-feet. The average cost per unit of storage is there-
fore about $42 per acre-foot.

The dam was designed by the late Alphonse Fteley, Past President
Am. Soc. C. E., who carried on construction for nearly eight years, until
January 1, 1900, when he resigned and was succeeded by W. R. Hill,
M. Am. Soc. C. E. After the resignation of Mr. Hill as chief engineer
of the Aqueduct Commission, J. Waldo Smith, M. Am. Soc. C. E., was
appointed and served for two years, succeeded by Walter H. Sears,

 

as

 

 

 

Fic. 218.—Nrew Croton Dam, N. Y. Spittway In ForeGRouND SPANNED
BY BRIDGE.

M. Am. Soc. C. E. The work was directly supervised for the first twelve
years by Chas. 8. Gowen, M. Am. Soe. C. E., as division engineer.

The Cross River Dam, New York (Figs. 219 and 220).—The
Aqueduct Commission of New York City have under construction and
practically completed a high masonry dam for storage of water on Cross
River, a branch of the Croton River, near Katonah, N. Y., to the extent
of a total capacity of 9,000,000,000 gallons (27,540 acre-feet) at a cost
under the contract awarded to MacArthur Bros. Company and Winston
& Co. of $1,246,211.60.
300 10 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC,

Sit thOe at

 

 

 

 

Fic. 220.—Tue Cross River Dam ror New York City Water SupPuy.
MASONRY DAMS. 301

The dam will have a maximum height of 170 feet above the founda-
tion, and a crest length of 772 feet. The width on top is 23 feet, and
at base 127.7 feet. The total volume of the masonry is computed at
155,000 cubic yards. It consists of cyclopean rubble, laid between
facing walls of concrete blocks, 2 to 3 feet wide, 3 feet in depth at bottom
courses, diminishing to 2 feet at the top. The concrete of those blocks
is mixed in the proportions of 1 of cement, 2.3 sand, and 4.7 broken stone,
moulded in steel-faced moulds to produce a smooth surface. These
blocks are set in rich mortar, consisting of 1 of cement to 2.5 of
sand and pointed with 1:1 mortar. The blocks have a maximum
weight of 6 tons. The concrete of the heart of the dam is mixed
in the proportion of 1:3.2:5.8 into which large blocks of stone are
imbedded.

The work was constructed under the charge of Walter H. Sears,
M. Am. Soc. C. E. J. Waldo Smith, M. Am. Soc. C. E., is chief en-
gineer of the Aqueduct Commission, Prof. Wm. H. Burr, consulting
engineer.

The profile of the dam is shown on Plate No. 3. At its southerly
end it is continued by an earth embankment with masonry core-wall
150 feet long, while at the northerly end is located a spillway constructed
along the hillside a distance of 240 feet.

The Croton Falls Dam, New York.—Quite similar in design and
height to the Cross River dam is the structure also being built by the
Aqueduct Commission of New York City on the west branch of Croton
River, near Croton Falls, N. Y. The dam will have the same profile
and crest width, but its length will be 1095 feet, terminating at the
north end with an abutment from which an earth dam with masonry
core-wall will be continued 100 feet further. The spillway is to be
700 feet long, constructed along the hillside nearly at right angles to
the direction of the dam.

Mr. Walter H. Sears is also chief engineer of this work. The
reservoir will have a capacity of 14,000,000,000 gallons (42,840 acre-
feet). :

Spier Falls Dam, New York.—The Hudson River Water-Power
Company in 1900 to 1905 constructed a high masonry dam across the
Hudson River, 9 miles above Glen Falls, N. Y., having a height of 154
feet, a base width of 112 feet, and a thickness of 17 feet at top, which
is 10 feet above the full reservoir level. At the original surface, which
is 64 feet above the lowest foundation, the thickness is 74.1 feet. The
up-stream side is vertical for 41 feet from the top, thence batters 5.7%
to the bottom. On the down-stream side it is vertical for 4 feet, where
a vertical curve of 81.74 feet radius continues 58.4 feet further, to where
a batter of 1 to 1.045 begins. From the original ground level to the
302 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

base the slope is 65%. The main dam, a section of which is shown in
Plate III, extends across the river channel a length of 552 feet. This
is continued by an overflow rollway weir section in masonry 817 feet
long, 10 feet lower than the crest of the main dam. The total volume
of masonry was 180,000 cubic yards. It is of the class known as cyclopean
masonry, composed of large blocks of granite imbedded in a mortar of
concrete, comprising about 30% of the mass.

 

 

ENG.NEws.

Fic. 221.—Spizr Fatits Dam, N. Y. PRoFILES OF OVERFALY AND A3UTMENT
SECTIONS.

The dam creates a reservoir 5.5 miles long, from which a power-
head of 80 feet is derived, furnishing 20,000 H.P. at the minimum low
water.

The dam was built under the supervision of Mr. Charles F. Parsons,
chief engineer.

The Ithaca Dam, New York (Figs. 222 and 223).—One of the
curiosities of recent dam construction is situated two miles from the
city of Ithaca, on Six-Mile Creek, in a narrow rock gorge, with vertical
walls but 90 feet apart. The dam was designed by Prof. Gardner S.
Williams, M. Am. Soc. C. E., of Cornell University, who was inspired
by the narrowness of the site to attempt a structure of most unusual
slenderness and peculiar form.

It was intended to be 90 feet in height, with a radius of 57.75 feet
on the down-stream face, in the shape of a section of a spherical shell,
with overhanging crest. In deference to popular distrust of the safety
of the structure, it was finally reduced to the height of 30 feet above
MASONRY DAMS. 303

base, and finished off with an up-stream batter of 45° and a top thick-
ness of 1 foot. The maximum thickness is 7.75 feet. The dam is com-
posed of concrete, mixed in the proportion of 1 part cement, 2 parts
sand, 2 parts gravel, and 2 parts broken stone, crushed to pass a 4-inch
ring. The concrete was placed between thin walls of vitrified paving-
brick, laid in a single course on each face, in cement mortar anchored
into the body of the concrete by flat steel bolts, 15 4X7 inches, turned
up 4 inch at each end and placed at every fifth brick in every fifth course.

 

Fic. 222.—Iraaca Dam, New York, ILLustraTiInc CoNcRETE CONSTRUCTION
BETWEEN Brick-FACING Forms.

Inside the brick facings is a layer of rich cement mortar, 3 inches thick,
in which are imbedded bands of steel, 3 inches wide, 3 inch thick, placed
4 feet apart, extending entirely around the structure, and tied through
the dam every 4 feet by %-inch steel rods, having a nut on each side
of the bands. Over the steel frame thus formed is a wire netting with
4-inch mesh imbedded in the mortar.

The dam cost $25,000 and required the following quantities: Hxca-
vation, 500 cubic yards; concrete, 1000 cubic yards; brick, 120,000
(240 cubic yards); steel, 5000 pounds; cement, 1800 barrels. All
concrete was put in very wet. The brick walls were laid flat, 3 to 4 feet
in advance of the concrete and obviated the use of other forms.
304 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The structure was built for the Ithaca Water Co. to provide storage
for city supply from an area of 48 square miles.

The Ashokan Dam, New York.—The City of Greater New York is
engaged in the most costly work ever undertaken by a municipality
for the increase of its water-supply to the extent of 500,000,000 gallons
daily by [the gathering of water in huge reservoirs in the Catskill
Moun-tains, to be conveyed by an aqueduct of enormous size, 82

       
   
  
 
   

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Fig. 223.—IrHaca Concrete-Brick Facep Dam. SgctTions oF Dam as PLANNED.

miles long, to the city. The works are estimated to cost upwards of
$162,000,000.

The principal reservoir, called the Ashokan reservoir, will cover an
area of 8300 acres, and have a capacity of 368,030 acre-feet. Its max-
imum depth will be 180 feet, and its mean depth 45 feet, or 25% of the
maximum. It will receive its supply from the run-off of 255 square
miles of watershed area. A masonry dam to contain 884,000 cubic
yards of masonry, called the Olive Bridge dam, is to be erected, and in
addition there are required five earth dams or dikes to complete the
inclosure of the basin, involving the handling of about 7,000,000 cubic
MASONRY DAMS. 305

yards of earth. The excavation required for these structures is enor-
mous in quantity, amounting to 1,910,000 cubic yards of earth, and
425,000 cubic yards of rock. The specifications require all of the work
to be completed in eighty-four months.

Bids were received for this work August 6, 1907. The lowest bidder
was the John Peirce Company of New York in the aggregate sum of
$10,315,350, but the contract was awarded to the next bidders, Mac-
Arthur Bros. Co. and Winston & Co., for $12,669,775, on the recom-

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Fie. 224.—AsHoxan Dam, Masonry.

mendation of the Chief Engineer, J. Waldo Smith, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,
and the Board of Consulting Engineers, Messrs. John R. Freeman, Frederic
P. Stearns, and Wm. H. Burr, M. M. Am. Soe. C. E., on the ground that
the lowest bid was below cost in the earthwork portion. This position
is not sustained by a board of nine advisory engineers, who maintain
by minute cost analysis that the lowest bid would have been profitable.

The Olive Bridge dam, with crest elevation of 610 feet, will con-
sist of a central masonry structure, 1000 feet long, straight in plan,
with an earth dam on the same line, 2100 feet long on the north side,
and a south wing of 1540 feet length. These embankments will have
concrete core-walls reaching to elevation 596, or 6 feet above the flow
line of the reservoir.
306 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The masonry structure will be built of cyclopean rubble masonry
between face walls of large concrete blocks, and will have a maximum

 

 

   
   
  

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Fic. 225.—AsHokan Dam, EaRrTH.

height of 220 feet, a base of 190.2 feet,
and a top width of 23 feet below the
coping. It wiil carry a roadway, for
which the top is corbeled out to an
extreme width of 26 feet 4 inches.

One of the special features of the
design, which shows an inclination to
follow the precedents established by
German engineers, is the elaborate pro-
vision made for drainage of the masonry
by building inspection galleries at the
water-line and near the bottom running
the entire length of the dam, and con-
nected by vertical or slightly inclined
porous concrete drain-pipes, at intervals
of about 11 feet.

By this means all possibility of up-
ward pressure upon the base of the
dam or any portion above the base
through the transmission of pressure
by communication seams or cracks or
open joints from the reservoir, will be
avoided, and any water that may find
passage through the face will be inter-
cepted and drained away. The design-
ing engineer was Mr. C. E. Gregory; Mr.
Benj. 8. Wever is assistant engineer in
charge, and Mr. Alfred D. Flinn, depart-
ment engineer.

The precedent established at the
Wachusett reservoir of stripping all sur-
lace soil from the basin was not fol-
lowed in this case, but after investigation
was declared to be an unnecessary ex-
pense.

The Titicus Dam, New York.—This structure is a part of the system of
storage for the supply of New York City, and was built in 1890 to 1895, at

a cost of $933,065.

It resembles the New Croton Dam in general design,

in that it is a combination of masonry and earth, the higher portion in the
center of the valley consisting of masonry, flanked on either side by earthen
embankments, provided with a central core-wall of masonry. The main
MASONRY DAMS. 307

masonry dam is 135 feet high above foundation, 109 feet high above original
surface, 75.2 feet thick at the level of the stream-bed, 20.7 feet thick at top,
and 534 feet long. ‘The earthen dams are 732 and 253 feet long, respectively,
the total length of dam being 1519 feet. A waste-weir, 200 feet long, built
in steps on the lower side, is carried over a portion of the main masonry
dam. The masonry consists of rough rubble, faced on either side with cut
stone, laid in regular courses. The earthen dam is 9 feet higher than the
crest of the spillway. It is 30 feet wide on top, with slopes of 24 to 1.
The core-wall is of rubble masonry, 5 feet on top and 17 feet thick at a
depth of 98 feet. It reaches to a maximum height of 124 feet above base.
The greatest depth of water is 105 feet. The dam was planned by A.
Fteley, Chief Engineer, and construction was originally in charge of Charles
S. Gowen, who was subsequently succeeded by Alfred Craven as Division
Engineer, and M. R. Ridgway, Assistant Engineer.

The Sodom Dam, New York.—This is a purely masonry structure, built
across the east branch of the Croton River in 1888-93, by the Aqueduct
Commission of New York, and, in connection with the Bog Brook dams 1
and 2, forms what is known as ‘‘ Double Reservoir I.” ‘The reservoirs were
connected by a tunnel, 1788 feet long, by which the surplus water from the
Sodom dam is made to supply the other reservoir, whose watershed was but
3.5 square miles, while that tributary to the Sodom reservoir was 73.4 square
miles. The tunnel thus equalizes the supply from the two watersheds. The
combined storage capacity of the two reservoirs is about 9,500,000,000 gal-
lons. The Sodom dam is 500 feet long on top, 98 feet high above founda-
tion, 78 feet above stream-bed, and the masonry has a bottom thickness of
53 feet, and is 12 feet wide at top. It contains 35,887 cubic yards of rubble
masonry, chiefly laid in Portland-cement mortar, mixed 2 to 1 and 3 to 1.
A continuation of the masonry dam is carried along the crest of the ridge,
nearly at right angles to the wall, in the form of an earthen embankment, 9
feet high, 600 feet long. In extension of this bank is a masonry overflow, 8
feet high, 500 feet long.

The cost of the dam was $366,490. It was planned by Chief Engineer
Fteley, and constructed by Geo. B. Burbank, Division Engineer, and Walter
McCulloh, Assistant, later Division Engineer. An interesting account of
the dam is to be found in a paper prepared for the American Society of Civil
Engineers in March, 1893, by Mr. McCulloh, from which it appears to be
one of the few masonry dams that were quite water-tight from the first filling
of the reservoir, although ‘‘ sweating ” appears at several points on the lower
face. The dam was built by the aid of a 2-inch cableway, stretched along
its axis, with a span of 667 feet between towers. The Sodom reservoir
covers an area of 574.9 acres and impounds 4,883,000,000 gallons. The
Bog Brook reservoir, with which it is connected, floods a surface area of
410.4 acres. The Bog Brook dams are of earth with masonry core. Dam
308 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC

No. 1 is 60 feet high and holds 54 feet maximum depth of water. It is 2%
feet wide on top. The core-wall is 10 feet thick at base, 6 feet at top. Dam
No. 2 is 25 feet high. The cost of the two dams was $510,430.

The Boyd's Corner Dam, New York.—In 1866 the Croton Aqueduct
Board of New York began a masonry dam near Boyd’s Corners, on the west
branch of Croton River, which was completed in 1872. The dam contains
27,000 cubic yards of masonry, of which 21,000 yards are concrete hearting
and 6000 yards are cut-stone facings. The dam has a maximum height of
78 feet, is 670 feet long on top, 200 feet long at level of stream-bed, 53.6
feet thick at base, 8.6 feet at top. The base is laid with a batter of 3 to 1
on each side to the original stream-level, 60 feet below the crest, where an
offset of 1.5 feet was made on each side, and the dam was then carried up
vertically on the water-face, and given a batter of 0.4 to 1 on the lower side.
The reservoir covers 279 acres and impounds 2,722,700,000 gallons of
water.

The Indian River Dam, New York.—This important structure was
erected in 1898 for increasing the size of Indian Lake and thus store water
to supply the Champlain Canal, to add to the water-power, and to improve
the navigation of Hudson River. It is located in Hamilton County in the
northern part of New York State, on a tributary of the Hudson, at an
elevation of 1655 feet at the high-water line. The dam is a combination
masonry and earth structure, straight in plan, the masonry portion being
47 feet in extreme height, having a base width of 33 feet, a thickness on
crest of 7 feet, and a total length of 207 feet. The earth embankment is
a continuation of the masonry, 200 feet long, 15 feet wide on top, with
inner slopes of 24 to 1, paved with 12 inches of stone riprap. The outer
slope is 2 to 1. ‘Through the center is a core-wall of masonry, 4 feet thick
at base, 2 feet at top, reaching to within 2 feet of the crest of the embank-
ment. The end of the embankment next the dam is supported on the
down-stream side by a masonry spur-wall at right angles to the dam. The
embankment rests on hard-pan, into which the core-wall is carried down
uniformly 4 feet thick to depths of 8 to 20 feet, filling the trench cut
for it.

On the opposite or west end of the dam a spillway was excavated in
granite, having an effective length of 106.5 feet and a depth of 6 feet, to
the bottom of the floor-stringers of the foot-bridge which spans it and
which rests on five masonry piers. The capacity of discharge is estimated at
5000 second-feet. The coping is made of large, selected stones firmly
doweled to the masonry. A logway, 15 feet wide, whose crest is 17 feet
below the top of the dam, is provided through the masonry. It is closed
with 45 wooden needles, 4’’ x 8’’, 20 feet long, which are handled by block
and tackle. The outlets to the reservoir consist of two 50-inch steel pipes,
controlled by Eddy flume-gates, and having a discharging capacity of 1500
second-feet with full reservoir, The. gates are inside of a tower, on the
MASONRY DAMS. 309

exterior of which are auxiliary sluice-gates of wood, raised by screws. A
6-inch by-pass pipe enters the tower from the reservoir, by which the tower
is filled and the pressure relieved from the wooden gates, so that they can
be readily raised.

The total actual cost of the work, including $13,000 for clearing, was
$83,555, the contract price being $92,000. Under the most favorable con-
ditions the cost per cubic yard for the masonry was as follows:

Cementin: tas u iis canine ed aa ke Hee eee eas $2.00
Dandy 4 sos yilicny ey bh aa wegwurne wed ete tae aes 15
Quarrying stone. . 2.2.0... ccc eee 35
Labor of laying masonry..............0.002 ee ee ee 53
Labor of pointing masonry............000-0ee eee ee AB
Labor of mixing mortar, concrete, and crushing ..... 20
General expenses, superintendence, etc.............. 27

Otel es ikscohhe Ba datnd Coty Od aces Ghee eked $3.65

The cement used was made at Glenn’s Falls, N. Y., of the ‘‘ Ironclad”
brand of artificial Portland.

The reservoir formed by the dam has a storage capacity of 4,468,000,000
cubic feet, or 102,548 acre-feet, and floods an area of 5035 acres. ‘The
original lake covered 1000 acres, and the new dam raised the mean surface
of the lake 33 to 34 feet. The tributary drainage-area above the dam is
146 square miles, the run-off from which can be safely estimated to fill the
reservoir every year.

The dam was built for the Forest Preserve Board of New York State by
the Indian River Company. It was planned by Geo. W. Rafter, M. Am.
Soc. C. E., and constructed under his supervision by Wallace Greenalch,
Jun. Am. Soc. C. E., as Assistant Engineer.

For further details of this interesting work the reader is referred to Hn-
gineering News of May 18, 1899, containing descriptive illustrated papers on
the subject by Messrs. Rafter and Greenalch.

Cornell University Dam, New York.—In 1897 an overflow masonry dam
was built across Fall Creek near Ithaca, N. Y., as a portion of the hydraulic
laboratory plant of Cornell University. It is curved in plan on a radius of
166.5 feet, and is 153 feet long on top, with a maximum height of 30 feet,
and a gravity section, vertical up-stream, and stepped on the lower face. It
is located at the head of Triphammer Falls, in a picturesque gorge, cut
deeply into the shale formation of that region, where the total fall is about
400 feet in a mile. The stream drains a watershed of 117 square miles, on
which the mean precipitation from 1880 to 1897 was 35.22 inches. The
mean flow is about 175 second-feet, ranging from a minimum of 12 to a
maximum of 4800 second-feet. In times of flood the water discharges over
the crest of the dam and over a natural spillway ledge at one end of the
dam, a total width of 267.5 feet, made up of 134.5 feet on the dam and 133
feet on the natural spillway.
310 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The dam is of gravity section, and made of concrete, composed of four
parts of hard, clean, argillaceous shale, two parts of sand, and one part of
‘“Improved cement.” ‘The ‘‘ Improved cement” is a mixture of Rosendale
and artificial Portland in the proportion of weight of 3 to 1, ground together
in the clinker state, and costing one-half the cost of pure Portland cement.

One of the interesting and unusual features of the construction of this
dam was the provision made for concentrating the contraction due to tem-
perature changes in the concrete to a central point of weakness. This was
done by leaving a 5-ft. circular opening through the dam during construc-
tion, connecting with which was an open well extending up through the
heart of the dam to its crest. At this point the section was thus reduced
to 60% of the normal, and shortly after completion the wall cracked for one-
half its height down through the well. During unusually cold weather,
when the crack was widest, the opening through the dam and the well were
filled with concrete, and the contraction-crack was thus effectually closed.

The dam and other works connected with the entire plant designatcd as
the hydraulic laboratory were designed by Prof. E. A. Fuertes, M. Am.
Soc. C. E., Director of. the College of Civil Engineering. Construction
was in charge of Mr. Elon H. Hooker, Resident Engineer. Mr. Ira A.
Shaler, M. Am. Soc. C. E., was contractor for the work. A full descrip-
tion of the laboratory is given in Hngineering News, March 2, 1899.

The Bridgeport Dam, Connecticut. The town of Bridgeport, Conn.,
having a population in 1890 of 48,890, is supplied by a number of storage-
reservoirs, one of which is formed by a masonry dam across Mill River, built
in 1886. Its general dimensions are as follows :

Maximum height.....................0..000. 42.5 feet.
Bottom thickness...............0.00 0000008. 32.0“
Top thickinesss.. 422.4%. c8s ees ees eons 8.0 <
heneth vat crestic.. yeu ote euce sess aeea rad 640 =“
Length at: base c3 oak Be OS hae ke tees 50

The structure is composed of rubble masonry built of gneiss rock laid in
a mortar of Rosendale cement and sand in the proportion of 1 to 2. The
lower face of the dam is built in steps. The outlet from the gate-chamber
is a 30-inch cast-iron pipe, controlled by a gate-valve in the chamber. The
latter structure is built against the dam, is 10 x 15 feet inside, in two com-
partments, between which a fish-screen is placed. Three 30-inch openings,
at different levels, controlled by gates, lead from the reservoir to the outer
compartment. ‘The spillway, at one end of the dam, is 80 feet long, 5 feet
deep. The reservoir covers 60 acres and has a capacity of 240,000,000 gal-
lons (737 acre-feet). The dam has leaked so much as to require an earth
backing.*

 

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Fic. 227.—Srcrion or Wicwam Dam.

Fig. 226.—Pian or Wigwam Dam, Connecticut.

311
312 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The Wigwam Dam, Connecticut.—The city of Waterbury, Conn. (pop.
30,000 in 1897), constructed a masonry dam in 1893-94 to store water in a
reservoir located on West Mountain Brook and receiving the drainage from 18
square miles of watershed. The dam was designed and built by Robt. A
Cairns, City Engineer. It was planned for an ultimate height of 90 feet, at
which its full length on top will be 600 feet, and it was completed with full
section to within 15 feet of the ultimate crest, and there stopped, as the
storage at that level was sufficient for present needs. The base thickness is
62.08 feet, and it is 12 feet thick on the crest. The cubic contents of the
completed portion are 14,887 cubic yards, of which 5754 yards are laid in
Rosendale cement, and the remainder in American Portland cement mortar.
The cost has been $150,000. The present capacity of reservoir is
335,000,000 gallons (1028 acre-feet), which will be increased to 714,000,000
gallons when the dam is completed. A temporary wasteway, 82 feet long,
2 feet deep, has been made at one end of the dam, which is of insufficient
capacity. The completed dam will have a wasteway 100 feet long over a
rocky ridge some distance away, and another 78 feet long at the dam. An
earth embankment is required to close a gap in the reservoir, as an auxiliary
to the masonry dam. ‘This will be 35 feet high when finished, but is built
only to a height of 20 feet.

The Austin Dam, Texas.—The city of Austin, Texas, the capital of the
State, with a population of about 25,000 inhabitants, has erected one of
the most notable masonry dams of the United States, across the Colorado
River, 24 miles above the city, for power-development purposes. The dam,
Fig. 228, was built in 1891-92. It was designed by Mr. Jos. P. Frizell,
M. Am. Soc. C. E. of Boston, and about two-thirds completed by him. He
was succeeded by Mr. J. T. Fanning. The dam proper is 1091 feet long
between bulkheads and 68 fect high. It is vertical on the up-stream face,
while the down-stream face is inclined at a batter of 3 in 8, terminating in
a vertical curve of 31 feet radius, while the crest is rounded on a radius
of 20 feet on lower side, forming an ogee curve that has the general shape
of the trajectory of falling water.

Mr. Frizell’s original design contemplated a flat top for the purpose of
facilitating the erection on the crest of a series of movable flashboards,
or some other form of falling dam, that could be lowered in flood-time, but
would permit of increased storage during low seasons, and the development
of a more uniform volume of power at low and high water.

The power is used for pumping water for city supply, for electric
lighting, propulsion of street cars, and general manufacturing. Its volume
is estimated at 14,636 horse-power for 60 working hours weekly.

The dam is straight in plan, and contains about 88,000 cubic yards of
masonry, of which 70,000 yards are of rongh rubble, made of the limestone
quarried near the site, and 18,000 yards are of cut-stone range-work, in
ete Coes

‘SVXEL ‘ASNOH-NGMOT GNV WY) NISAW—'ezz “DIS
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old RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

which Burnett County blue granite was used, brought a distance of 80 miles.
The entire work was done by contract, at a cost of $11 to $15 per yard for
the cut-stone masonry, and $3.60 to $4.10 per yard for the rubble, the
larger sum being for work in which Portland cement was required. The
cost of the dam and head-gate masonry was $608,000, and the entire
expenditure, including dam, power-house, reservoir and distributing sys-
tem, lighting-plant, ete., was $1,400,090, for which amount the city voted
its bonds May 5, 1890.

 

 

Fic. 229.—Austin DamM DURING FLoop oF APRIL 7, 1900, AND IMMEDIATELY
BEFORE THE BREAK.

The dam is founded on limestone rock throughout, the river here
flowing through a gorge with cliffs rising from 70 to 125 feet in height
above the river. Lidgerwood cableways were employed in placing the stone
and for hauling all materials.

The Colorado River at Austin drains an area of 40,000 square miles,
from which the discharge has a range of from 200 to 250,000 second-feet.

The reservoir formed by the dam is very long and narrow, extending
back 19 to 23 miles up the river and having an average width of but 800
feet. Its surface area is 1836 acres, and the capacity at the time the dam
was finished was 53,490 acre-feet, the mean depth being 29.1 feet, or 42.5%
MASONRY DAMS. 315

of the maximum. The dam was completed in May, 1893, and the water
first overflowed the crest of the dam on the 16th of that month.

Four years subsequently, in May, 1897, Prof. Thomas U. Taylor, of the
University of Texas at Austin, made accurate soundings of the lake to
determine the volume of silt which had accumulated in four years, and
ascertained that the deposit amounted to 968,000,000 cubic feet (22,227 _
acre-feet), or 41.54% of the original capacity. The greatest depth of fill
was at the dam, 23 feet; three miles above it was 16.5 feet deep at the
maximum; seven miles above, 20 feet; 9.3 miles above, 21.3 feet; 14.6
miles above, 15.3 feet; 15.9 miles above, 6.6 feet. To this point the filling
was composed of mud. Above this distance the deposit was mostly sand.
Considering the total volume of water which must have passed through
the reservoir during the four years, the percentage of silt deposited seems
very small, and the result is not such as to discourage the construction of
reservoirs on streams where the ratio between run-off and storage capacity
is less disproportionate. There are no definite data available of the total
discharge of the river, but assuming it to have been about 50 acre-feet
annually per square mile of watershed, which is a reasonable assumption
for streams of that class (the run-off of New York and New England
streams is from 700 to 2000 acre-feet per square mile, while that of the
Rio Grande and Gila rivers is 25 to 35 acre-feet per square mile), the total
volume of water discharged in the four years must have been approximately
8,000,000 acre-feet, or about 160 times the reservoir capacity. The rela-
tion of the silt deposited to total run-off would be in the ratio of about
one-fourth of one per cent of this volume, or 2770 cubic feet per million.
The river Po,* as determined by M. Tadini, carried as the mean of four
months 3333 cubic feet per million; the river Ganges, 980 as the mean of
12 months, and in flood 12,300; the Mississippi, 291 to 1893; the river
Indus, in flood 2100. A stream of the size and character of the Colorado
River of Texas, to be utilized for irrigation should have a reservoir of
one to two million acre-feet capacity, to be in proper proportion to the
volume of run-off and amount of silt carried, and maintain a sufficiently
long period of usefulness to be profitable. Such a reservoir would probably
not be filled with silt short of 400 to 500 years.

Failure of the Austin Dam.—On the "th of April, 1900, a severe flood
in the Colorado River and its tributaries, unprecedented since the erection
of the dam, resulted in the failure of this fine structure, with considerable
loss of life. About 500 feet of the masonry was first pushed bodily down-
stream, about 60 feet, apparently sliding on its base, and after a few hours
was entirely broken up and washed away, with the exception of a small
section, which still stands upright in the position where it was first de-

a

* See Humphrey and Abbott’s report on Mississippi Delta Survey, 1876.
 

 

 

—AuvstiIN Dam, Texas. VIEW TAKEN bDURING FLOOD, 4 FEW MINUTES
AFTER THE BREAK

 

 

F c. 231.— Austin Dam, PExas, AFTER SUBSIDENCE OF FLoop oF APRIL 7, 1900.
,
Showing section of musoury moved bodily down-stream.

316
MASONRY DAMS, 317

posited. Measured along the crest, the break left about 500 feet of the
dam at the west end and 83 feet at the east end still unaffected. About
two-thirds of the wall of the power-house below the dam next the river
was also destroyed by the flood. The entire property loss must have ex-
ceeded $500,000. At the time of the break the lake-level had reached a
height of 11.07 feet above the crest. The flood was the result of extraor-
dinary rains throughout a very extensive watershed area. In fifteen hours
the rainfall at Austin and vicinity was 5 inches, falling on ground already
well soaked by previous rains. The maximum flood prior to the catastrophe
occurred June 7, 1899, when the water rose to 9.8 feet above the crest of
the dam, without injury to the structure. The dam will probably be rebuilt
upon safer plans, and precautions taken to anchor it into bed-rock a suf-
ficient depth to prevent it from sliding on its foundations.

The appearance of the dam immediately before the break is shown in
Fig. 229. Figs. 230 and 231 graphically present the break andthebodily
movement of a section of the dam down-stream intact, better than any
detailed description. The author is indebted to Engineering News for
thsse three cuts.

Granite Springs Masonry Dam, Wyoming.—There are few dams in
Western America more correctly representing the principles of modern
science as applied to dam construction, and more generally satisfactory
in economy of design and execution than the dam erected in 1903-04
by the City of Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the storage of a domestic water-
supply at Granite Springs, on Middle Fork of Crow Creek, 12 miles from
the city. The work was designed and built by A. J. Wiley, M. Am. Soe.
C. E., to whom the author is indebted for the facts regarding the work,
and the accompanying illustrations. (Figs. 232, 233, and 234.)

The dam has an extreme height from foundation to parapet of 96
feet, and is constructed in arch form, with a radius of 300 feet. It
is but 10 feet long on the base, and 410 feet in length on top, where its
thickness is 10 feet. The base is 56 feet in width, up and down stream.
Although curved in plan it is of gravity section and the resultant lines
of pressure and weight are within the limits of the middle third, assum-
ing the masonry to have a specific gravity of 2.5, when the reservoir
is filled. The dam is built throughout of uncoursed rubble masonry
laid in Portland cement mortar, and its cubic contents are 14,422 cubic
yards, including a parapet wall 2 feet thick, 3 feet high.

The rock was found to weigh 177 pounds per cubic foot and the
mortar was estimated at 138 pounds per cubic foot. The proportions
of each entering into the composition of the wall gave the estimated
weight of the masonry at 165 pounds per cubic foot, corresponding to a
specific gravity of 2.64.

The spillway is located apart from the dam in a saddle or gap, 200
318 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

feet away, the height of the saddle being 85 feet above the creek bed.
Here a masonry spillway structure was erected with its crest 90 feet
above the bed of the stream. The discharge from the spillway returns
to the stream 500 feet below the dam. The spillway wall is 180 feet
long over all, with an overflow crest 52 feet long, 3 feet lower than the
top of the parapet. Its discharge capacity is approximately 900 second-
feet or 12 times the maximum observed discharge of the stream. The
spillway structure is also curved, on a radius of 200 feet.

The watershed area of the stream above the dam is 27.5 square miles,
from 7000 to 10,000 feet in elevation, reaching to the Continental

 

 

Fic. 232.—GRaNITE Sprincs Dam, CHEYENNE, WYOMING.

Divide. The measured run-off from this watershed, as determined
by the U. 8. Geological Survey for the year 1903, aggregated 7344 acre-
feet, or 41°, of the precipitation of 12.25 inches of that year in the City
of Cheyenne. The mean of thirty-four years’ record in that city is 13.23
inches. Two thirds of the total annual run-off occurred in the months
of April and May.

The capacity of the reservoir is 5321 acre-feet, covering a surface
of 185 acres, to a mean depth of 28.76 feet.

Construction.—The entire base of the dam, except that part of the
east end which lies more than 50 feet above the creek-bed, is a dense
hard variety of granite, classified as gabbro, and entirely free from seams
or cracks, and almost devoid of defined cleavage planes. Above elevation
MASONRY DAMS. 319

50 at the north end the gabbro is overlaid, by a different variety of
granite, with regular cleavage planes, soft at the surface but increasing
in hardness with depth. At the contact with the underlying gabbro
there was no apparent seam, although a marked difference in hardness
and texture distinguished the two varieties of rock. Excavation was
made into the softer rock as deep as 30 feet in places before a satisfactory

 

 

Fic. 233.—Granite Sprincs Dam, WYOMING, SHOWING GENERAL CHARACTER OF
Russie Masonry.

foundation was secured. The gabbro, where exposed, had been worn
to a smooth glassy surface, which was roughened by shallow blasts
previous to laying masonry upon it.

The rock used for the masonry was taken from a granite quarry
100 feet below the dam, and as taken out by blasting ranged in size
from spawls to irregular shaped blocks of 4 cubic yards, averaging
about 2 cubic yards. The largest rock placed in the wall contained
5 cubic yards and weighed nearly 12 tons, but rock over 3 cubic yards
320 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION. WATER-POWER, ETC.

in size were unprofitable to use on account of extra care required in
handling. All drilling was done by hand. The rock was taken from
the quarry by a guyed derrick with 40-foot boom, and loaded upon
platform cars, on a track laid with a grade on which loaded cars ran
by gravity to the dam, and the empties were pushed back by hand.

9 wy

foo

  
  
 

oe

AND PROFILE oF Grawits Sprincs Dam, Wyomina.

ae

° Fic. 234.—Pian

A trestle carrying the track along the curved down-stream face of
the dam was supported on one side by the steps in the masonry. Upon
the top of the dam were located two derricks with 40-foot booms similar
to the quarry derrick. Each derrick was operated by a 10-ton hoisting-
engine, located in an engine-house near the south end of the dam. The
derricks on top of the dam took the rock from the cars on the lower
MASONRY DAMS. 321

side of the wall and set them in the position desired in the masonry.
They also hoisted the mortar buckets from cars on the up-stream side
of the dam and dumped them where the mortar was needed on top.
The mortar was mixed with a Smith mechanical mixer in half yard
batches, and distributed by long-handled shovels. ‘To insure the filling
of the voids the mortar was mixed very wet, even sloppy, requiring but
little tamping.

The face stones and those laid in contact with the bed-rock were
‘laid in mortar in the proportion of 1 of cement to 3 of sand. All the
interior of the dam was laid in 1 to 4 mortar.

In setting the large rock a bed was prepared with spawls and mortar,
and then a considerable excess of mortar was placed on the bed. The
rock was then slowly lowered and settled in place by working it with
bars. The excess mortar would ooze from under the rock which would
then float upon an even layer of mortar, filling all the irregular spaces
beneath. The large rocks were set as closely as possible to each other
without being in contact, the intervening spaces being filled with mortar
and small stones, which were crowded down into the wet mortar until
submerged.

The proportions of rock and mortar were determined to be 64.8%
and 35.2% of the entire mass respectively. The total quantity of
cement used was 8843.75 barrels, an average of 0.613 barrels of cement
to the cubic yard of masonry. The average rate of progress was 60 cubic
yards of masonry per day of ten hours or 240 working days for the entire
work.

Alpha cement of American manufacture was used exclusively on
the work. It was shipped in sacks and test samples taken from every
twentieth sack. The average time of initial set was 45 minutes, vary-
ing from 30 to 60 minutes. The final set invariably occurred within
ten hours. The average fineness was 93% passing through a sieve of
10,000 meshes per square inch. Neat cement tests showed a tensile
strength of 654, 792, and 806 pounds respectively in 7 days, 28 days,
and 90 days. For 1 to 3 hand-mixed mortar the results were respect-
ively 233, 312, and 345 pounds in the same period. The 1 to 4 mixture
gave tests of 226, 306, and 361 pounds respectively.

The sand was obtained from the adjacent dry stream-beds, and
hauled in wagons an average distance of half a mile. It was passed
through screens with 3-inch openings and used without washing. The
voids in the sand were determined by depositing it slowly in a measured
depth of water in a cylindrical vessel. After compacting the sand by
light blows on the side of the vessel the depth of the sand and the depth
of the water above the sand was measured. The difference between

x
322 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

this latter and the original depth of the water was taken to represent
the voids, and divided by the depth of the sand to determine the
percentage of voids. The result of twenty-five tests gave an average of
23.4% of voids.

Cost.—The entire work was done by contract at a total cost to the
city of $109,194.50, including water-rights, land, clearing, building,
excavation, outlet-pipes, and valves, spillway, measuring weirs, engineer-
ing, superintendence and general expense. For the body of the dam
the average cost to the city was $6.04 per cubic yard exclusive of engi-
neering, etc., while the contractor’s profit was 85 cents per cubic yard,
or 14%. The cost to the contractor was as follows, per cubic yard of
masonry in the dam:

Per Cu. Yd.
Masonry.
Rock acs sevseass 9,414 cubic yards delivered, at $1.96 $18,452.60 $1.28
Mortar......... 5,008 ‘‘ fee PE 193 9,676 .08 0.67
Laying... ..... 14,422 ‘ oe He fo Mel 16,017 .90 1.11
TOtal Gace dations give Ph ase lubtadl amulets Malin, deabede due bale $3 .06
8844 barrels cement, delivered, at 3.58 31,665 .38 2.13
Total waavetusascowa ea apie saGketamntaaa: aia. Aaa $5.19

The contractor’s plant was estimated to have cost $10,700, and
to have depreciated 50% in two years of use, which depreciation is 1-
cluded in the above estimate of cost.

The outlet of the reservoir is a 24-inch cast-iron pipe laid through
the masonry on bed-rock at a height of 12 feet above the stream-bed.
The pipe is 1} inch thick, with bolted flanged joints, and provided with
a 24-inch high-pressure Rensselaer standard gate-valve at each end,
operated by hand-wheels. The up-stream valve is protected by a timber
screen, and operated by a hand-wheel with an indicating stand mounted
on the crest of the dam, and connecting with the valve by a vertical
non-rising stem supported at intervals of 14 feet by brass boxes set in
stones projecting from the face of the dam. This valve is usually kept
wide open, the regulation being done by the down-stream valve, which
is more accessible. :

The conditions under which this dam has been built appear to have
been extremely favorable for economy and safety of construction, with
first-class materials immediately available, excellent foundations, and
an entire absence of complications of an unusual or embarrassing nature
in the preparation of foundations or the conduct of the work.

The excellent character of the construction and the skill and care
with which it was executed, are shown by the absence of leakage further
than the usual unimportant sweating which is observed at times on the
MASONRY DAMS. 323

down-stream face, when the water-level rises in the reservoir. This
sweating stops when the water-level ceases to rise for about thirty days,
and on a hot day is offset by evaporation, when it practically disappears.

Lake Cheesman Dam, Colorado.—A storage reservoir for the domestic
water supply of the City of Denver, Colorado, was formed in the heart of
the Rocky Mountains, 48 miles southwest from Denver, on the south fork
of the Platte river, by the building of a masonry dam of notable height and
dimensions, called Lake Cheesman, after the President of the Denver
Union Water Co. The dam was begun immediately after the destruction
by flood of the rock-filled dam begun on this site (page 62) in May, 1900,
and completed in July, 1904.

The dam has an extreme height of 234 feet, and carries a maximum
depth of water of 224 feet, which exceeds that of any dam ever con-
structed. Its thickness at the base is 176 feet, and for the upper 30 feet
it is 18 feet thick. It is built on a semi-circular arch, with radius of 400
feet at the up-stream face. The length on the crest is 710 feet. The gorge
is exceedingly narrow, being only 30 feet wide at the base of dam, 40 feet
wide at 40 feet above base, and 130 feet wide at 100 feet height. The width
of the canyon is equal to the thickness of the masonry at the height of 70
feet above the base. The volume of masonry in the dam is 103,000 cubic
yards. The work was done under contract by the Geddes & Seerie Stone
Co., of Denver, at a total cost of about $1,000,000. The excavation of
foundations required the removal of about 26,000 cubic yards of rock, sand
and gravel. The spillway is located 200 feet north of the dam, in a natural
gap of the ridge of granite forming the abutment on that side, and is about
300 feet in length. Its capacity is greatly in excess of the maximum
recorded discharge of the stream, 1945 second-feet. Its crest is 6856 feet
above sea level, or about 1600 feet higher than the Denver City Post-
office.

The quality of the masonry is of unusual excellence, and the dam is
said to be entirely free from leakage or the appearance of seepage on the
down-stream face.

The reservoir formed by the dam covers an area of 874 acres, and has a
capacity of about 3,500,000,000 cubic feet (80,000 acre-feet) fed by the
flow from a catchment basin of 1796 square miles, including almost the
whole of South Park.

The dam was designed and built by Charles L. Harrison, M. Am. Soc.
C. E., Chief Engineer, Mr. L. E. Cooley, M. Am. Soc. C. E., acting as con-
sulting engineer.

The work is described in detail in a paper prepared by Mr. Harrison for
the American Society of Civil Engineers, and published in December,
1904, accompanied by a mathematical analysis of stresses by Silas H. Wood-
ard, Assoc. M. Am. Soe. C. E.

 
324 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

Fic. 235.—Dr Wererse Dam, CoLtorapo

 

Fic. 236.—Dr Wersr Dam, Wet Mountain VaLiey, CoLorapo.
LE ET

 

   

Scale
’ o
SS— ,

IMILE
= = = a
Contour interval 10 feet

 

 

Fia, 146.—Con'rour Mar or San Carios Reservorr-srre, Gina River, ARIZONA.

[To face page 825.
MASONRY DAMS. 325

The De Weese Dam, Colorado.—A masonry dam was built in 1905
across Grape Creek, in the Wet Mountain Valley, by Mr. Dal De Weese,
fcr the irrigation of a tract of choice fruit-growing land on the mesa south of
the Arkansas river, opposite Canyon City. The dam is curved in plan, and
has a maximum height of 44 feet, the crest being at an elevation of 7755
feet above sea level. The dam is arched in plan, of gravity section, and
used as an overflow weir for the greater portion of its length. The outlet
of the reservoir is 31 feet below the crest. It forms a reservoir of 150 acres
area, and has a storage capacity of 1700 acre-feet. Plans have been pre-
pared by the owner for increasing the height 40 feet, and other claimants
to the surplus flood waters have proposed making a still higher extension.
to store water to the level of 80 feet above the present crest, giving a total
capacity to the reservoir of about 65,000 acre-feet.

The photographs, Figs. 235 and 236, were taken by the author in
January, 1907, and show the general character of the structure.

Boonton Dam, New Jersey. (Fig. 237.)—A reservoir covering an area of
800 acres, and impounding 8,600,000,000 gallons (26,400 acre-feet) was
created for the water supply of Jersey City by the construction in 1900-1905
of a dam of masonry, with an auxiliary dyke of earth with concrete core-
wall, both of unusually large dimensions. The masonry structure, which is
2150 feet long, has a maximum height of 114 feet, is 77 feet wide at the base
and 17 feet wide ontop. The up-stream face is vertical for 55 feet from
the top down, then batters 1 in 20. The lower face batters 0.56 to 1 to
within 22 feet of the top, and thence is vertical. It contains a total of
255,000 cubic yards of masonry, and is built almost wholly of cyclopean
rubble. At each end the masonry dam is extended to the hills on
either side by earth embankments, 450 and 500 feet long, respectively.
A portion of the masonry, 300 feet long, is built as an overflow spillway,
5 feet below the crest of the dam, the elevation of which is 305.25 feet above
mean tide. The down-stream face of the wall is covered with an embank-
ment of earth, reaching to within 65 feet of the top of the dam, above which
line the down-stream face is laid in ashlar masonry in courses from 18 to 36
inches in thickness.

This dam is one of 24 of the great dams of the world, and is only ex-
ceeded in length by the Tansa and Bhatgur dams in India. It is remark-
able for the rapidity with which it was built, 85% of the masonry having
been placed in 15 working months, from May, 1892, to November, 1894.
The stone used is syenite, quarried four miles from the dam, and brought
in large rough blocks, which were dropped into place closely together into
a bed of very soft wet concrete, the spaces between the stones being filled
with spawls to secure as large a percentage of rock as possible. The con-
crete was mixed in the proportion of 1 cement, 2.75 sand and 6.25 of
crushed rock. The two faces of the dam were laid in advance of the con-
326 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

crete and kept always two to four feet higher. The average weight of
masonry was 166 pounds per cubic foot, the unusual weight being due to
the fact that the ‘‘plums”’ constitute 50% to 55% of the mass.

The core-wall of concrete in the center of the earth extensions of the
dam is 4 feet 8 inches thick, carried well into the hills on either side. These
dykes were made of earth, rolled in layers and paved. They have a
maximum height of 35 feet.

To complete the reservoir on the south side an embankment, called the
Parsippany dyke, was built with a maximum height of 30 feet, a total

_ 131025

EI 305 25

  
  
  

   

 

56'Dam
Stee! Pipe Thich

iar

 

    
  

Ps Pioaca Semgwoss Cala Rve ce Seticinat: FAMINE Sakic adameonvevecdaessetit ey

Longitudinal Section through Sivice-Way

Fic. 237.—Boonton Dam, N. J.
Elevation of Spillway, Section through Spillway and Section of Main Dam.

length of 3720 feet, a width of 12 feet on the crest, and side slopes of 2
on 1. Its purpose is to avoid flooding a highway and a broad plain in an
adjacent watershed. The dyke is founded on impervious red clay, and has
a concrete core-wall 4 feet 8 inches thick, carried down 8 to 10 feet into
the clay below the surface. The excavation for this dyke taken from the
reservoir basin increased the storage capacity about 30,000,000 gallon
(150,000 cubic yards).

The plans for the Boonton dam were prepared under the direction of
E. W. Harrison, M. Am. Soc. C. E., the chief engineer of the Jersey City
Water Supply Company, contractors for the new water works of Jersey
  
  
  
 
 
 
  
  

DIVISION OF HYDOROGRAPHY
Gila River Storagelnvestigation
pvr SAN CARLOS DAM SITE

o: GILA ‘RIVER oe
BROKEN CONTOURS INDICATE BEDROCK. CONTOUR INTERVAL JOFEET
Susvevco ev CrsusC Base, Hromccn:

j
|
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ar,
|
j
s\— MAY, 1899. |

 
  

“=
Dacre ine

10

wea 420

  
 
 

i a IDX
ZA: ZION

Fig. 148.—Contoun PLan OF SAN CARLos Ne ET aTenE weencea tee ea SITE, SHOWING LocaTION SELECTED FOR ProrposED Masonry Dam.
[To face page 327.

  
 
 
MASONRY DAMS. 327

City, acting with J. Waldo Smith, M. Am. Soc. C. E., consulting engineer.
The works were built under Wm. B. Fuller, M. Am. Soc. C. E., the resident
engineer in charge.

The dam is built on the Rockaway river, near Boonton, and the conduit
to convey the water to Jersey City is 22.81 miles in length, laid on a
hydraulic grade of 6 inches per mile.

The Wachusett Dam, Mass.—To provide for an essential increase in the
water supply of the City of Boston and surrounding towns, the Metropolitan
Water Board built the Wachusett dam on the south branch of the Nashua

 

ae about 185'~ — ~ ~ Sy
WACHUSETT DAM

Fig. 238.—PRoFILE oF WACHUSETT Dam.

river, creating a reservoir of 4195 acres, with a maximum depth of 129
feet, an average depth of 46 feet and a storage capacity of 193,300 acre-
feet, or 63,068,000,000 gallons. The watershed area intercepted by the
dam is 118.3 square miles.

The preparations for building the dam began in 1895, by borings to
ascertain the depth to bedrock. This was a very thorough exploratory
work, consisting of 806 separate borings to rock, aggregating 15,308 feet
and 38 diamond drill borings in bedrock, with a total length of 2489 feet,

 

* For full data on the construction of the dam, see annual reports of the Metro-
politan Water Board for 1900 to 1907; also a paper, by Dexter Brackett, M. Am.
Soc. C. E., presented at the 26th Annual Convention of the American Water Works
Association.
SCE

‘WY LIASAHOVM—'6es “DIT

 

 
MASONRY DAMS. 329

the holes over the site being 10 to 20 feet apart in each direction. Con-
siderable work of stripping was done by the Board prior to the letting of
contracts.

Contracts were let for construction of the masonry dam October 1, 1900,
and completed in 1906. The contractors were McArthur Bros. Company.
The total cost of the dam was $2,270,116.85. The dam isa granite masonry
structure, 944 feet long, including abutments at each end, with its crest
20 feet above high water level, and a waste-weir 452 feet long. The height
of the top of the dam above the point of deepest excavation is 228 feet, and
the maximum thickness is 185 feet. It is 22.5 feet thick at the top under
the projecting cornice, which gives it a total top width of 25.75 feet. It
does not carry a roadway over the top, as is customary with many dams of
that class. The dam is straight in plan. It contains a total volume of
266,663 cu. yds. of masonry of all classes, viz., rubble, 251,920; ashlar,
9,037; dimension stone masonry, 2742; brick, 1065; and concrete 1899
cubic yards.

About three-fourths of the heart of the dam is laid with natural cement
mortar, mixed 1:2, the remainder being laid with Portland cement. The
rubble consists of 54% large stones, 17% small rock and 29% mortar.

In constructing the reservoir the soil was stripped from 3943 acres to
an average depth of one foot, the quantity removed being 6,900,000 cubic
yards. This material was chiefly used in the building of the north dike,
which is an embankment in two sections, respectively 4300 and 6700 feet
long, required to complete the reservoir. This dike contains 5,861,814
cubic yards, of which 85% came from stripping the reservoir. The max-
imum height of this dike is 80 feet, or 65 feet to full reservoir level. The
south dike is a similar structure, 2800 ft. long, 30 ft. maximum height.

The cost of the north dike was $749,811.36, the south dike $136,871.10,
and the removal of soil from the reservoir $2,528,155.10. The total
cost of all the works, including $3,179,060.57 paid for real estate, and
the relocation of railroads, the building of bridges, damages, etc., was
$10,797,537.17. The sum of $188,035.81 was further spent on improving
the watershed by the drainage of marshes, etc.

The outlets to the reservoir consist of four 48-inch cast iron pipes, built
through the body of the dam, at elevation 284, or 111 feet below the high
water level of the reservoir. They supply water to the Wachusetts aque-
duct, and to power turbines below the dam. The water may be wasted
through them as well, their combined capacity with full reservoir being
about 2500 sec.-ft.

The work was constructed under the direction of Frederic P. Stearns,
chief engineer of the Metropolitan Water Board, and Messrs. Hiram F.
Mills, Jos. P. Davis and Alphonse Fteley as consulting engineers. The
designing engineers were Reuben Shirreffs and Alfred D. Flinn. The res-
330 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC

ident engineer was Thos. F. Richardson. All the engineering staff are
members of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Connellsville Dam, Pa.—The Mountain Water Co., of Connells-
ville, Pa., completed a masonry and concrete dam in 1906 across Indian
Creek, to form a reservoir of 230,000,000 gallons (700 acre-feet) capacity.
It is 650 feet long on top, of which 300 feet in the center is used as an over-
flow waste weir, 6 feet lower than the remainder ofthedam. It is about 39
feet maximum height, with a crest width of 6 feet and a hase of 26 feet. It is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fic. 240.—CoNNELLSVILLE Dam, Penn., across INDIAN CREEK.

vertical on the up-stream side. The structure has a face on either side of
about 3 feet thick of ashlar masonry, of sandstone, the interior being com-
posed of 1:3:5 Portland cement concrete, with about 25% of bowlders
embedded as ‘‘plums.”’ The sand used was obtained by crushing the
sandstone. Each finished layer of concrete was grouted with liquid neat
cement before the next layer was deposited.

A section of the dam is shown in Fig. 240. The Indian Creek dam is
one of a number similar structures built by the American Pipe Co. The
experience with all of them is that where cracks have appeared they extend

 

* Engineering Record, January 27, 1906.
MASONRY DAMS. 331

completely through the body of the masonry. Several cracks appeared in
tho Ii:dian Creek dam, extending from face to face, and from top to bottom,
the largest being one-sixteenth inch in width. The chief engineer of this
work was Mr. J. W: Ledoux.

The Round Hill Dam, Wilkesbarre, Pa._The water supply in Wilkes-
barre and other towns in the Wyoming Valley is controlled by the Spring
Water Supply Co., by whom a masonry dam was constructed in 1899 to
1901, on Spring Brook, six miles from Moosic, a station on the Delaware &
Hudson railroad, having a maximum height of 104 feet, a thickness at base
of 77.9 feet, and a width of 9 feet on top. The total length of the dam is
500 feet, of which 280 feet of the higher portion is masonry, beginning at a
vertical cliff on one side, while the remainder, 220 feet, is an earth embank-
ment «vith concrete core-wall. The crest of the masonry is 5 feet higher
than the spillway. The batter of the upper face is 12.5% from the bottom
up for 70 feet, thence vertical to the top. The down stream face has a
batter of 75% below the 70 ft. level, thence a compound vertical curve to
the top. The dam and wingwall contains 37,710 cu. yds. of masonry, in
which 25,085 bbls. of cement were used. It was built of sandstone in
blocks up to 3 cu. yds. in size, laid in mortar of 1:3 Portland cement and
sand. The cost of the masonry averaged $5.98 per cu. yd.

The extension of the dam in earth is an embankment with slopes of
2.5:1, on each side. In its center is a core-wall of concrete 3 ft. thick at
top (which is two feet below the crest of the dam), reinforced by counter-
forts or buttresses on each side, built on a slope of 1:6. The embank-
ment is riprapped with stone for a depth of 18 ft. below the spillway
crest.

The reservoir formed by the dam covers an area of 118.7 acres,
receiving the drainage of 36 sq. miles of watershed. It has a capacity of
1,322,000,000 gallans (4050 acre-feet). The entire cost of the dam was
$240,547.93, or $59.39 per acre-ft. of storage capacity.

Two 30-inch discharge pipes pass through the masonry portion of the
dam, with two gate valves on each line, 30 ft. apart.

The dam was designed and built by John Lance, C. E., chief engineer
of the company.

The Trap Falls Dam, Bridgeport, Conn.—In 1905 a dam of cyclopean
rubble masonry was built to form a reservoir of 236 acres area, having a
capacity of impounding 1,400,000,000 gallons (4340 acre-feet) for a portion
of the water supply of the City of Bridgeport, with a population of 85,000.
The dam is of gravity section, 8 feet wide on top, is 900 feet long, straight
in plan, and 48 feet in maximum height, founded on granite or gneiss. The
concrete in which the large rock were embedded was mixed in the propor-
tion of 1 of cement, 2.5 sand, and 5 crushed rock, and made quite wet.
About 20% of the dam is of large ‘*plums,” weighing up to 2 tons placed
332 RESERVOIRS POR IRRIGATION, WATER-POW ER, ETC.

not less than 4 inches apart. About 11,000 cubic yards of ihis class
of masonry were required.

McCalls Ferry Dam, Pa.—Power is being developed to the extent of
100,000 H. P. on the Susquehanna river, 40 miles north of Baltimore, 60

 

 

miles west of Philadelphia, by the erection of a masonry dam, 55 feet
maximum height, 2850 feet in length, with a base width of 65 feet. The
dam is of ogee form, and is to be used as an overflow for its entire length.
The dam when completed will contain 330,000 cubic yards of concrete, in.
cluding that in the power house and the construction bridge.

McCatts Ferry DamM, PENNSYLVANIA,

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One of the most interesting features of construction was the substantial
concrete bridge thrown across the river on a series of arches, to serve as a
working platform from which to build the dam. This bridge is 50 feet wide,
2300 feet long, parallel to and 16 feet downstream from the edge of the dam

 

 

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243.

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and power house. Four railway tracts of standard gauge were laid on the
bridge, on which three travelling cranes, spanning all four tracks, with a
base of 44 feet, are used for handling the steel forms of the dam and the
material. They stand so high that cars and engines can pass underneath
334 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

them, and each crane has four outriggers with a horizontal reach of 94 feet,
and a capacity of lifting 5000 lbs. at the extreme end.

The dam is composed of cyclopean rubble, with huge blocks embedded
in concrete, and is founded on hard gneiss bedrock. The total cost of the
dam and power house, and electric plant, including the reconstruction of
the Pennsylvania R. R. for a number of miles, is estimated at $10,000,000

Dr. Cary T. Hutchison is chief engineer, Wm. Barclay Parsons, M.
Am. Soc. C. E., consulting engineer, Hugh L. Cooper, hydraulic engineer,
and B. R. Value, engineer in charge.

The Pedlar River Dam, Lynchburg, Va.—A concrete dam has been
erected across the Pedlar river, Va., to form a storage reservoir of
365,000,000 gallons capacity (1,115 acre-feet) for the water supply of
Lynchburg, a city of 22,000 inhabitants.

The dam is 415 long, straight in plan, with 150 feet near the southern
end used as an overflow spillway. The maximum height of the structure is
73.5 feet, the parapets 2.5 feet above the crest being 12.5 feet higher than
the spillway level. It has a base width of 42.5 in the spillway section.
The main portion is 39.2 feet thick at the bottom, 10 feet at top.

The contract for the dam was let in May, 1904, to C. G. Williams, of
Brooklyn, for $103,708.

Several novel and interesting features have been introduced in the con-
struction of this dam, one of which is the precaution taken to avoid the
formation of a vacuum under the sheet of falling water over the
spillway, as the maximum depth of overflow is expected to reach 6 feet.
The down-stream face of the spillway is laid in steps of granite blocks, 18 to
27 inches deep (Fig 244), and large enough to extend 2 feet under the next
step above. Under each of the steps 6-inch vitrified pipes are embedded,
each extending the full length of the spillway and through the two wing
walls. These pipes are open at the ends, and each have three 4-inch
branches, with open ends extending to the faces of the steps, so as to
supply air to the back of the sheet of falling water. (Fig. 245).

The concrete of the heart of the dam was laid in large blocks, about
10 10X15 feet in dimensions, inside of wooden forms, with vertical and
horizontal offsets locking them together, after the general plan employed on
the San Mateo dam. The wing walls on each side of the spillway are re-
inforced concrete.

The heart of the dam was made of natural cement concrete, with large
stone embedded.

The dam was designed by H. L. Shaner, city engineer of Lynchburg.

The Morgan Falls Dam, Atlanta, Ga.—The Atlanta Water and Elec-
tric Power Co. in 1902-04, erected a dam on the Chattahoochee river, 16

 

* Engineering Record, Septmeber 21, 1907.
336 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

miles from Atlanta, about 900 feet long, 50 feet high, for the development
of power transmitted to the city. The dam is founded on hard gneiss
rock all the way across the river, and is straight in plan, divided into two
main portions, one of which is a rollway overflow, 700 feet long, from the
abutment on the west side. The other portion, 10 feet higher than the
overfa.] crest, is vertical on the up-stream face. The rollway portion has
a total width of 64 feet at the base, including the toe of the dam; is 43 feet
thick at the base of the main prism, above the curved toe, and 15 feet
thick at a point 8 feet below the top.

The up-stream face of the rollway section is built of rubble masonry,
laid in Portland cement mortar, while the down-stream face and crest
are of concrete, trowelled to a true, smooth surface. The interior,
between these faces, is of cyclopean masonry, of the usual type of large
blocks embedded in concrete, consisting of 1 part Portland cement, 2.5
parts sand and 5 parts crushed rock. The facing concrete was mixed
1:2:4, with a skin of richer mixture 1:2.

The dam was built on the plans of George B. Francis, M. Am. Soe.
C. E., of the firm of Westinghouse, Church, Kerr and Co., of New York,
contracting engineers for the entire plant. The plant has a capacity of
10,500 K.W. generatecl in seven units of 1500 K.W. each.

The Catawba River Dam, South Carolina.—This structure, built in
1903-04, for power development, 6.5 miles from Rock Hill, 8. C., consists
of an earth dam, 306 feet long, having a central masonry core-wall connect-
ing with a masonry dam, 585 feet long across the main channel of the river,
in two tangents with a central are between them. The maximum height
of the overflow rollway section is 55.5 feet with a base width of 33 feet, and
up-stream face vertical. The up-stream face is built up with roughly
coursed quarry-faced stone, 18 to 28 inches thick, laid in cement, while the
heart of the dam is cyclopean rubble, in which stones of all sizes up to 8
tons weight were used, bedded in 1:3 mortar. Between the largest ones
a concrete of 1 part of cement, 3 of sand and 5 of broken stone was
tamped in. The face of the overfall was a concrete mixed 1:2:4. The
structure contains about 60,000 cubic yards of masonry in all.

The earth dam is separated from the masonry by a heavy abutment
wall, acting as a retaining wall for the earth, and carried to a height of
22 feet above the crest of the masonry dam. Into this abutment a
masonry core-wall for the earth fill is bonded. This has a: thickness of
18 feet at the base, 4 feet at the top, and at the junction with the abut-
ment it is 58 feet high. At a point 70 feet from the retaining wall
the core-wall narrows to 4 feet at the base, and carries the same width
throughout the remainder of its length and height.

Against this core-wall on the up-stream side is a filling of puddle clay,
337

MASONRY DAMS,

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12 feet wide at base, 4 feet at top. Outside of this is a body of selected
clay, 8 feet at base, narrowing to nothing at the top. The remainder
of the embankment is clay.

The river is reported to have a minimum discharge of 2100 sec.-feet,
draining from 3000 square miles of watershed area, in which there is an
annual precipitation of 50 inches. The highest recorded discharge, May,
1901, was 150,000 sec.-feet.

Roosevelt Dam, Arizona.—The United States Reclamation Service
is engaged in the construction of a dam on Salt river, Arizona, for the
formation of a mammoth reservoir, having a capacity of 1,284,000 acre-

 

   

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feet, for the purpose of irrigating about 200,000 acres in the Salt River
Valley near Phoenix (Fig. 246). The dam is located below the junction of
Tonto creek and Salt river, on the site of the reservoir projected ‘many
years prior by a private corporation called the Hudson Canal and Reservoir
Co. of New York. It is situated 78 miles above Pheenix.

The dam is to have a maximum height of about 280 feet from the lowest
foundation to the parapet of the roadway on the top. The length on top
will be 644 feet, and at low water level 210 feet. It will be 170 feet thick
at bottom, and 16 feet at top. The roadway will be 20 feet above the
overflow level, which is 220 feet above the low water level of the reservoir.
It is curved up-stream on a radius of 400 feet from the center at the crest.
Spillway channels at each end of the dam will each have a width of 200 feet,
and will be excavated from the solid rock (Figs. 247 and 248).
MASONRY DAMS. 339

About 340,000 yards of cyclopean rubble masonry will be required tc
complete the structure. The geological formation of the canyon consists of
alternating strata of hard red and yellow sandstone and pink limestone,
generally quite thick and massive.

The masonry is being made with cement manufactured on the ground
jn a mill erected by the Government. The two faces of the dam are made

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Fic. 248.—Srction or Roossevett Dam, ARIZONA.

of range rubble masonry, in large blocks, with horizontal beds and vertical
joints, carefully pointed.

In addition to the cement mill, the Government built. a power canal
above the reservoir level, and developed power for construction purposes,
which is supplied to the contractor.

The outlet of the reservoir is made by driving a tunnel 500 feet long
through the solid rock at one side of the dam, in which six large gates,
weighing about 800,000 pounds and operated by electric motors, will control
the outflow. The capacity of discharge with full reservoir will be 10,000
340 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC,

sec.-feet. The gates were manufactured at the Llewellyn Iron Works,
Los Angeles.

The expenditure by the U. 8. Government prior to the letting of con-
tracts for the building of the dam thereafter and up to Sept. 30, 1905, were
as follows:

Power canal and power plant ........... $580,402.55
Sluicing tunnel.. .... 2.2.2... 0.0... 23,828.80
Cement plant.......-..............0.. 246,583.00
Waterworks, refrigerating plant, buildings
and shops................. Heresy 67,367.11
IR OAS srg soid ccs Baran e es socloade eucek Wa As 327,615.69
Telephone lines................. 0.0... 41,137.95
Lands and rights of way............... 79,825.00
Machinery, lumber, fuel, supplies, etc... .. 133,363.22
Engineering.................. 0 ..08 75,497.67
Administration............0 0... 0... 79,000.00
Wotalovses wa Sales ay $1 ,654,620.99

The contract for the dam was let to J. M. O’Rourke & Co., of Galveston,
Texas, January, 1905, for an estimated total of $1,147,600 on the basis of
300,000 cubic yards as the contents of thedam. The final cost will consider-
ably exceed this amount. The Government furnishes the contractor with
cement, sand and power, which items alone willamount to nearly $1,000,000.

The dam was designed by Mr. F. Teichman, under the supervision
of F. H. Newell, chief engineer U.S. Reclamation Service, and a board
of consulting engineers. Mr. Louis C. Hill is supervising engineer. Mr.
Newell is now director U. 8S. Geological Survey, and was succeeded by
Arthur P. Davis, as chief engineer of the U. 8. Reclamation Service.

Shoshone Dam, Wyoming (Plate 3).—The highest masonry dam yet
projected by the United States Reclamation Service for storage of water for
irrigation, is under construction on the north fork of the Shoshone river,
Wyoming, in a gorge of solid granite, presenting a rare opportunity for a
dam of unusual height because the walls are but 70 feet apart at the stream
level, and the gorge is but 200 feet wide at a height of 250 feet. The
canyon was found to be filled with detritus to a depth of 65 feet, so that a
dam of 305 feet maximum height will be required. The dam will be
arched in plan with a radius of 150 feet at center, having a top width of
10 feet, a batter on the up-stream face of 15% for 245 feet from the top,
an on the down-stream side 25% for the same vertical distance. Below
this elevation, coinciding with the stream bed, it will extend vertically on
both faces to the bedrock. The base will therefore be 108 feet in width.
MASONRY DAMS. 341

The elevation of the crest of the dam will be 5370 feet above sea level,
at a height of 10 feet above the high water line of the reservoir. The
length of the dam on top will be but 175 feet.

The volume of masonry required was computed at but 69,000 cubic
vards. The contract for the construction was let September 18, 1905, to
Prendergast & Clarkson of Chicago, for the sum of $515,730, including
outlet and spillway tunnels.

Mr. H. N. Savage, M. Am. Soc. C. E., is supervising engineer. The
reservoir will have a capacity of 456,000 acre-feet. The water will be
used for irrigation in the Bighorn Valley, Wyoming. The river heads
partly in the Yellowstone Park, and carries a minimum flow of 250 sec.-feet,
with a maximum of 10,000 sec.-feet.

The Pathfinder Dam, Wyoming (Plate 3).—For the storage of water
to irrigate lands in the fertile valley of the North Platte river in eastern
Wyoming and western Nebraska, the United States Reclamation Service
is constructing a dam in the heart of the Rocky mountains, below the
junction of the Sweetwater and North Piatte rivers. The dam is to be
210 feet high, from lowest foundation to the crest, with parapets 4 feet
higher on either side. The width on the crest is to be 16 feet, at a height
of 10 feet above the spillway level, which is 5850 feet above mean tide.
The thickness at the base is 100 feet. It is curved up-stream with a radius
of 150 feet at center of crest, with up-stream batter of 15% and down-
stream batter of 25%, uniform throughout. The length on top is approx-
imately 390 feet. The location is in a narrow gorge of red granite, with
vertical side walls, quite similar to that of the Shoshone dam.

The cubic contents of the dam are estimated at 55,000 cubic yards.
The outlet for the reservoir is through a tunnel, to be used for the diversion
of the river during construction of the dam. This tunnel is 480 feet long,
and was completed August 15, 1905, by Kilpatrick Bros. & Collins Con-
tracting Co., of Beatrice, Neb., at a cost of $33,259.75.

The contract for the dam was awarded September 1, 1905, to the
Geddes & Seerje Stone Co., of Denver, the contractors who built the lake
Cheesman dam, for the sum of $482,000.

A spillway about 600 feet in length, designed for a discharge capacity
of 43,000 sec.-feet will be constructed at the north end of the dam, and
excavated in solid rock with the exception of 150 feet.

The reservoir will extend 23 miles up the North Platte and 15 miles up
the Sweetwater river, covering an area of 21,774 acres, and having a
capacity of 1,025,330 acre-feet.

In connection with this work, the Interstate canal is being built,
starting on the river about 55 miles above the Nebraska-Wyoming line,
with a capacity of 1400 sec.-feet at the head, 1200 sec.-feet at the 95th
342 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

mile, and 500 sec.-feet at the 100th mile. The total length will be about
168 miles, and the area to be irrigated will be about 282,000 acres.

The Upper Otay Dam, California——Next to the Bear Valley dam, which
has been the marvel of the engineering world for twenty-four years, and
still in service, the slenderest dam in California or any other part of the
globe, is undoubtedly the concrete structure erected in 1900, sixteen miles
southeast from San Diego, California, in connection with the other storage
works of the Southern California Mountain Water Co. Although it has
an extreme height of 84 feet, it is but 14 feet thick at the base, 4 feet
thick at top, and 350 feet long on the crest. It is curved up-stream
with a radius of 359 feet (Fig. 249).

The dam site is in a porphyry rock gorge, on the west fork of the Otay
creek, at such an elevation that the full water line of the Lower Otay res-

 

 

  

 

 

 

   

    

Cross- Section.

Fic. 249.—Uprer Otay Dast, Ciurrornia. Puan, Section, «Np ELEvATion.

ervoir will touch the base of the upper dam. The width between solid rock
wall at the stream bed is but 20 feet. The dam was started as a masonry
structure, and was first built to a height of 34 feet (See Fig. 250).
Beginning on this foundation subsequently two tiers of steel plates,
riveted together, and bolted to the masonry, were first erected, extending
from side to side of the canyon, reaching to within 40 feet of the top. These
were enveloped in concrete on both sides. Above the top of these plates
a line of old railway cables, 14 inchin diameter, was placed in the center
of the concrete wall every two feet in height to the top the entire length
of the dam. No other reinforcement was used. The wall was built
vertical on the up-stream face, and stepped off on the down-stream side,
with seven square offsets of 1 to 1.5 feet at irregular intervals. The reser-
voir has a storage capacity of nearly 2000 acre-feet, but the watershed area
is so small that it is never expected to be filled from its own run-off, and

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will be supplied by a conduit from the Barrett dam, on Cottonwood
creek.

If the dam should break under full reservoir pressure no very serious
consequences could ensue, on account of the large size of the Lower Otay
reservoir, into which the water would be discharged. Neither of the reser-
voirs have ever been filled.

The dam must be regarded as one of the most interesting of modern
structures in that line, whose ultimate fate will always be looked upon with

curiosity by the profession.

 

 

Fic. 250.—Urprer Otay Dam. FounpatTion Masonry.

Fig. 251 is a recent photograph of the dam, for which the writer is
indebted to Mr. N. L. Hall, one of the engineering staff of the company.
Fig. 252 was taken shortly after the completion of the dam.

The Mariquina Dam, Manila, P. I.—The new water supply of the City
of Manila, Philippine Islands, is to be taken from the Mariquina river, about
sixteen miles northeast of the city, in connection with which a masonry
dam was erected in 1906, in a narrow gorge of the river, creating a reservoir
of about 2,000,000,000 gallons capacity (6100 acre-feet). The dam is
400 feet long on the crest, and has a maximum height above the stream
bed of about 75 feet. The central portion of the dam for160 feet is designed
as an overpour rollway, the crest of which is 15 feet lower than the re-
344 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC

 

Fic. 251.—Urrer Otay Dam, IN January, 1908.

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Fic. 252.—Uprrer Otay Dam.
MASONRY DAMS. 345

mainder of the dam. The dam is 17 feet wide on the crest. The section
(Fig. 253) shows the profile of the structure and its principal dimensions.
The dam is founded on solid bedrock, to which it is bonded by stepping and
grooving the rock after all unsound and fissured portions had been removed.

The body of the dam is built of rubble concrete masonry containing
about 50% of large stones, laid so irregularly as to avoid continuous joints
or courses. The stone used is a hard crystalline limestone or marble. The
concrete is a 1:24:5 mixture, the aggregate being gravel and broken stone
up to two inches diameter. The faces are built of coursed rubble, the

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stones being dressed so as to make 3 inch joints for a depth of at least 4
inches. These were raked out and pointed with 1:1 mortar. The total
volume of the dam is about 28,000 cubic yards.

The gate house controlling the flow from the reservoir to the pipe line
is built as a part of the dam at one end of the spillway section. It is 27x40
feet in size, the longest dimension being parallel with the dam. Two pipes
pass through it, one of which is 42 inches in diameter, carrying the supply
to the city and the other 36 inches in diameter, serving as a waste pipe.

The main pipe line from the reservoir is 42 inches in diameter, of riveted
steel, 104 miles long, discharging into an aqueduct built on a hydraulic
346 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

grade to its terminus in the city distributing reservoir of 112 feet above sea
level. This reservoir is excavated largely in rock, and has a capacity of
50,000,000 gallons. The flow into and out of the reservoir is controlled by
a gate house with semi-circular ends, 47’ 8” X 26’ 8”, quite similar in design
and detail of controlling tank and gates to the four reservoir gate houses in
the distributing system of Portland, Oregon.

The works were built under the direction of Maj. J. F. Case, M. Am.
Soc. C. E., chief engineer of the Department of Sewers and Waterworks
Construction, formerly assistant engineer on waterworks construction
in Portland, Oregon.

Dams In MExIco.
THE OLD AND NEW DAMS OF LA JALPA, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO.

The Old Dam.—Scattered over the Republic of Mexico are many
venerable masonry dams which date back to the Spanish régime, whose
history and description would make an entertaining chapter were complete
data obtainable. They were generally built on private estates or haciendas
to store water for irrigation.

One of these is situated on the Hacienda La Jalpa, 25 miles from the city
of Leon, in the northwestern portion of the State of Guanajuato, now the
property of Mr. Oscar J. Braniff, of Mexico City. The dam was built about
250 years ago, and was regarded at the time as such a notable structure that
the King of Spain created for its owner a special hereditary title, called the
“Conde de la presa La Jalpa’’—the Count of Jalpa dam. Unfortunately
it was not as permanent a structure as anticipated, and was destroyed
seventy years ago by a tremendous flood, which stripped the country, so
that there are no trees now in its path over seventy years of age. The dam
was immediately rebuilt, and is now in service.

The New Dam.—Alongside of the old reservoir and separated from it
by a long narrow strip of land, is another reservoir site where Mr. Braniff
is building a new and more important masonry modern dam of gravity
type after the Wegmann profile. The two watersheds are quite
independent, but the overflow from the old reservoir is taken into the new
one by an artificial channel through the ridge. The new dam is nearing
completion, and is expected to he dedicated within a vear with appropriate
ceremonies by President Diaz and his wife. It is located on the river
Turbio, a tributary of the Lerma river, and intercepts a watershed area of
116 square miles, on which the average annual rainfall is about 30 inches,
yielding a run-off about double the reservoir capacity.

It was projected over fifty years ago on asmall scale, and work begun on
the foundations in 1888, but after working a year operations were suspend-
 

  
  
 

 
  

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HOWING CANALS CONSTRUCTED AND PROPOSED.

[To face page 347.

 

 

 
MASONRY DAMS, 347

ed until 1902, when active construction was resumed and has continued
ever since.
The dimensions of the dam are as follows:

Lenethsontopetieeiseta. Me Se 1800 feet
Maximitm, heights.c1sanceduava de dweargeee 85.4 ‘
Thickness at base.......... 0 . eee eee eee 65.6‘
Thickness at crown.... .......... 0005. dene Onto
Height of crest above spillway lovel...... eds 6.6 ‘‘

The cubic contents will be about 92,000 cubic yards and cost complete
about $500,000 gold.

The new dam surrounds and envelops the old foundations of twenty years
ago, to which it is joined with a base laid in Portland cement mortar. The
body of the dam is a rough rubble, formed of large blocks of hard limestone,
up to 3 tons weight, laidin a mortar of native hydraulic lime and sand.

There are five outlets to the reservoir, on four different levels, consist-
ing of cast-iron pipes built through the masonry. Three meters above the
base are two 36-inch cast-iron pipes, having a discharge capacity of over
1000 sec.-feet under full head. At the six-meter level, a 24-inch pipe and
valve are placed for operating a flour mill by water power. Above this at
the 11.5 and 18 meter levels are two other pipes, delivering water to lands
that cannot be reached from the main outlets below.

On the up-stream face of the dam an embankment of clay has been
built against the dam on a slope of 2 on 1 toa height of 33 feet. This is
for the purpose of cutting off filtration into the lower levels of the masonry,
and corresponds to modern German practice in such structures. Before
building this dike of earth the joints in the masonry, which had been left
open for several years, were carefully pointed with Portland cement
mortar. Care has been taken to keep the masonry wetted during the
period of setting, and for this purpose the water in the reservoir has been
allowed to follow up the building of the dam to or near the top of the work.

The wasteway will be excavated in rock at one end of the dam. It will
be 250 feet long, 6.5 feet deep.

In connection with the two dams, about 18 miles of canals have been
built on the hacienda, providing for the irrigation of 25,000 acres. The
plant is doubtless the most costly and important reservoir irrigation work
in Mexico.

The author is indebted t» the courtesy of Mr. Oscar J. Braniff for the
data concerning these works.

The capacity of the new reservoir will be 35,000,000 cubic meters
(28,370 acre-feet).
 

 

Pia. 254.—Fronr or Esperanza Dam, at GUANAJUATO, Mexico.

 
MASONRY DAMS. 349

By courtesy of Modern A/exico, of St. Louis, Mc., the accompanying
views of two notable’ masonry dams at Guanajuato, Mexico, are incorpo-
rated in this work, as types of reservoir construction in our neighboring
republic. Fig. 254 shows the upper dam, from which water is supplied to
the higher portion of the city through a stand pipe that is shown in the
view of the lower dam, or the ‘“‘ Presa de la Olla,’” Fig. 255 (frontispiece).

The upper dam is evidently a massive, ornate structure that would do
credit to any country of the world, as far as exterior appearances can lead
one to judge, although the precise dimensions are unfortunately lacking.
Estimating from the proportions of the figures in the foreground, the
height of the dam must be at least 80 feet.

The view of the lower dam was taken on St. John’s Day, the 24th of
June, which is celebrated annually by a function called the ‘“ Fiesta de la
Presa,” or the feast day of the dam.

Sharply at 12 o’clock noon of that day, the people congregate to wit-
ness the opening of the gates, bringing refreshments and musical instru-
ments for a picnic, and thus commences a fortnight of gayety, gambling,
bull-fights, cock-fights, theater and dancing. The object of letting out
the water is to clear the reservoir preparatory to the advent of the rainy
season, which usually begins about that day.

The water thus released washes out the river-bed below, which is the
main drainage of the city.

Mercedes Dam, Mexico.—One of the large landed estates of Mexico, in
the State of Durango, is the Hacienda de Santa Catalina del Alamo y
Anexas, which includes five minor haciendas, or centers of administration,
embracing more than one million acres, and belongs to Sefior Pablo Mar-
tinez del Rio, of Mexico City. While a large part of the estate consists
of rugged grazing lands, there are extensive valleys of fertile soil where
cotton can be profitably grown. The Nazas river is the source of irri-
gation supply or a large and extremely fertile territory known as the
Laguna District, stretching eastward from the line of the Mexican Central
railway for 50 miles or more. A large part of the cotton crop of Mexico
is produced in this district. It has developed into such a profitable
industry as to give a high value to all the water supply available for
irrigation.

The property of Mr. del Rio adjoins the Laguna District on the west,
from which a number of small tributaries of the Nazas river drain the
mountainous portion of the hacienda in a northeasterly direction from the
region broadly knownasthe Yerbanis Sierra. One of these tributaries,
called Zorrillo creek, drains an area of 120 square miles before passing
through a narrow box canyon known as the Boquillo del Zorrillo. Below
this canyon, there are many thousands of acres of fine land, in a large
valley of a stream called La Vieja, which only require sufficient water
350 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

supply, applied artificially at the right time, to produce cotton or any
other crops in abundance. Immediately above the canyon is a small
valley of a few hundred acres, surrounded by hills and adaptable for the
formation of a capacious reservoir.

The canyon is not more than 1,800 feet in length, in the form of a letter
S, and at its upper end the width between the rocky walls is but 102
feet at the creek bed. These walls are nearly vertical for 60 to 70 feet in
height and then slope back at an angle of about 2 to 1 on one side and 3 or 4
to 1 on the other.

This site was selected for the construction of a masonry dam, which
was begun May 14, 1901, and completed May 8, 1905, forming one of the
most notable dams in Mexico and comparing favorably with many of the
best known structures in the world. It is easily accessible by good road,
eight miles from the station of Pasaje, on the Mexican International
Railway, which is about midway between Torreon and Durango.

The dam has an extreme height from the lowest foundations to the crest
of 40.5 meters (132.8 feet) of which 8.5 meters (27.88 feet) is below the
original creek bed. The thickness of the wall at the top is 3.5 meters
(11.48 feet), at the level of the creek bed 22.2 meters (72.8 feet), and at
extreme base it is 25.75 meters (84.5 feet). The profile is of the well known
Wegmann gravity type, based on a specific gravity of 2 for the masonry.
Its cubic contents are 21,416 cubic meters (about 28,000 cubic yards),
and its cost complete was approximately $200,000, Mexican currency.
The wall is straight for little more than half its length, the remainder
being curved with a radius of 60 meters, measured from the central axis at
the crest, its convex side being up-stream. Its length at base is but 13
feet; at the creek bed, it is 103 feet long; 66 feet above the creek bed it
is 256 feet long, and at the crest its total length is 535 feet, not including
the spillway, which is 98 feet in length and 63 feet deep.

A tunnel 77.6 feet long, 6 feet by 6 feet 5 inches, was cut out through the
rock at the level of the stream bed at the end of the dam, through which the
flow of the stream was diverted during construction. This diversion was
effected by means of a slender wall, built as a portion of the upper face of the
dam, which was founded on bedrock in a trench cut for the purpose. This
tunnel was temporarily closed with a wooden bulkhead, but was to be pro-
vided with a 24-inch outlet pipe and gate, surrounded by concrete.

To cut off seepage through bedrock underneath the dam, a trench,
1 meter wide, 2.5 meters deep, was excavated in the solid rock above the
footing of this wall, the rock being plastered with cement and the trench
refilled with puddled clay. The remaining excavation for the base of the
dam was then made, without molestation from water, and the foundations
of the dam were laid with cement mortar for a thickness of 2 meters. On

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352 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the sides this thickness diminished from 2.0 meters next to the bottom to
0.75 meters at the top. In the body of the dam hydraulic lime mortar
was used, made near the site from an excellent quality of limestone there
existing. The sand used was a clean, sharp quartz sand, found in the bed
of a tributary stream some distance above the dam. The Portland cement
used amounted in all to 1800 barrels. It was mixed in the proportion of 1
to 4 of sand, and hence only about 10% of the entire volume of masonry is
laid in cement, the remainder being laid with hydraulic lime mortar.

The character of masonry in the body of the dam was an uncoursed
rough rubble, but the two faces were built of cut stone, in uniform courses
of 0.6 meters (2 feet) on the lower face and 0.45 to 0.70 meters on the up-
stream face. It was estimated that 37% of the mass of masonry consists
of mortar.

The stone at the dam is of volcanic origin, classified as rheolite, which
was so brittle and of such irregular cleavage as to be considered unfit for
use in the masonry. The stone used in the work was taken from a quarry
opened 2 kilometers above the dam. It is an andesite or sandstone for-
mation of a reddish color, which appeared to fill all requirements, as
it could be quarried in large blocks and was easily dressed to dimensions
required. When tested at the National School of Engineering in Mexico, it
was found to have a compressive strength equal to 521 tons per square
foot.

The main outlet of the dam consists of a cut-stone culvert, 6 feet wide,
7.87 feet high, having vertical sides and a semi-circular arched roof. This
connects with a rectangular shaft or tower built against the dam on the
up-stream side, extending from the base to and above the top, the interior
dimensions being 5.1 feet thick. At the base of the tower on the outside is
a 6-foot circular sluice gate of cast iron, operated by a steel gate stem,
1.75 inches diameter, a ball-bearing geared hoisting device, resting on a
platform projecting from the tower at the level of the crest of the dam.

On the inside of the tower, against the face of the dam proper, is a
similar sluce gate, 5 feet in diameter, also operated from the top. The
method of operating these gates is to fill the tower with water through other
smaller openings, while both gates are closed. The outer gate, being re-
lieved of pressure, can then be raised. The inner gate, which can be kept
well oiled, as it will be easily accessible, can presumably be easily raised
under full pressure as much as desired. If it were opened wide the
discharging capacity with the reservoir but half full would be approxi-
mately 900 cubic feet per second. As it is never intended to draw out
more than 40 to 50 sec.-feet for irrigation at any time, the evident purpose
of these huge gates is to provide for a very large discharge at times, to
be used in the attempt to wash out silt accumulations from the reservoir,
MASONRY DAMS. 353

 

 

 

 

Fic. 257.—Merrcepes Dam, Mexico, puRING CONSTRUCTION.

 

 

 

Fic. 258.—Merrcepres Dam, Mexico, LOOKING ACROSS SPILLWAY CHANNEL, SHOWING
CurveD Portion aT Far Enp.
354 RESER\ OIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

although they are of doubtful value for this purpose. They will
probably never be used except when the reservoir is nearly empty.

The main service outlets consist of two flange-joint 12-inch cast
iron pipes, placed vertically inside the walls of the tower and opening out
into the reservoir with six upturned elbows, which are closed with cast
iron covers, lifted from the top by cables. These pipes pass through the
masonry of the dam underneath the culvert, and discharge into the cement-
lined canal which starts at the base of the dam and is carried through the
canyon to fields below. Gate valves at the lower end control the discharge.
The covers on the inlet elbows have hinged one-inch flap valves, which are
raised to admit water for filling the pipes, before the covers are raised, and
thus act as by-pass valves. The intake elbows are placed in pairs at depths
of 34.4 feet, 62.8 feet and 91.3 feet from the top. The four upper ones are in
the front wall of the tower and the lower two on the sides. They connect
with the vertical standpipes by means of flanged crosses, the free ends of
which are closed with cast-iron caps bolted to the flanges.

The six-inch by-pass connections, controlled by gate valves, open into
the tower at the base of each vertical standpipe, through which the tower
may be filled behind the 5-foot sluice gate.

As a precaution against percolation through the dam, the upper face
was treated with alternate washes of alum dissolved in water, and potash
soap, five coats of each on the lower third, four coats on the middle third
and three coats on the upper section. Application was made by spraying
with a hand pump.

The dam was entirely built by native labor, with but few mechanical
appliances. The materials were hauled to the site on small cars drawn by
mules on a two-foot gage tramway, hoisted by animal power up an incline
of 24% grade, and distributed over the dam by portable tracks and cars
pushed by hand. The mortar was mixed in a vat operated by mule power
and located about a mile above the dam, where water was obtained from
wells. It was delivered on the same track by which stone was brought
from the quarry. During the first year of construction the work was over-
topped by freshets several times without injury. During the second year
the run-off was very small and the work was interrupted by floods; in fact,
ashortage of water for construction was experienced for a brief period.
The dam reached a height of 10 meters during that season.

At the close of the rainy season in the fall of 1905, the water in the
reservoir had reached a height of only 13.5 meters (44 feet) above the floor
of the outlet culvert. With the water standing at this height in the res-
ervoir dampness and sweating was observed on the down-stream face of
the dam, but this completely disappeared a few days later. Leakage
through the bedrock at the sides of the dam and into the tunnel continued
MASONRY DAMS. 355

as long as water remained in the reservoir, although in finely distributed
filtrations, through minute seams and not in a manner threatening the least
danger to the dam.

By the end of August, 1906, the reservoir was filled to the height of
46 feet, but without the reappearance of moisture on the face of the dam,
although the leakage through bedrock seams was renewed in the same
amount as before. As the stream carries a large quantity of silt at times,
it is expected that the seams in the rock may ultimately be closed by the
fine particles of silt drawn into them and finally shut off all further leakage.

Water Supply.—The discharge of the stream was measured during the
time of construction of the dam, as follows: 1901, 4306 acre-feet; 1902,
26,000 acre-feet; 1903, 2830 acre-feet; 1904, 8590 acre-feet; 1905, 5463 acre-
feet; average 9438 acre-feet. This is a run-off of 24 to 217 acre-feet per
square mile per annum, averaging 78.6 acre-feet per square mile. The
rainfall at the dam has been recorded as follows: 1901, 11.65 inches; 1902,
24.84 inches; 1903, 16.38 inches; 1904, 14.80 inches; 1905, 16.36 inches.
The rainy season begins in June and ends in November, the heaviest
rains occurring in the month of September, before and after the equinox.

Owing to the precipitous and impermeable nature of the watershed
and the lack of the retarding influences of forests and gravel-filled valleys,
the run-off is torrential in character and at times reaches a rate of 7000 cubic
feet per second. The watershed is about 42 miles in extreme length and the
summit elevations more than 3000 feet higher than the dam. Owing to
the irregularity in rainfall the water supply is correspondingly fluctuating,
amounting to considerably less than the reservoir capacity during four
of the five years in which it was measured.

The reservoir floods an area of 416.4 acres and has a capacity of 12,000
acre-feet.

The spillway of the reservoir was excavated from the solid rock at the
north end of the dam to a width of 30 meters (98.4 feet). The crest is well
paved with masonry laid in cement. It is two meters in depth below the
crest of the dam. Its capacity is said to be double the amount deduced as
essential by observation of the volume and duration of maximum floods,
and considering the equalizing action of the reservoir capacity in the two
meters of depth over the sill of the spillway.

Irrigation.—The area of land which may be irrigated from the reservoir
has yet to be determined from theeobservation of catchment during a period
of years. If the reservoir could ke filled once each year, it would suffice
for the irrigation of 5000 acres. A single crop of cotton produced on this
area, with the noi mal yield of one bale per acre, valued at $50 per bale,
would more than repay the cost of the dam. The investment is therefore
to be regarded as a profitable one.
356 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Silt.—Observations on the volume of silt brought to the reservoir in-
dicated that at times it might reach as high as three per cent. Upon the
advice of the author a partial precipitation of the silt will be made by the
building of some small dams above the main reservoir, as any attempt to
sluice it out of the reservoir could only result in a loss of valuable water,
without moving more than an inappreciable quantity of the silt which
had precipitated over the floor of the reservoir.

Canal System.—The main canal is 2100 meters in length, mostly lined
with masonry. It has a section of 2.75 square meters and a grade of 5 feet
in 10,000 (2.64 feet per mile). From the end of the main canal a smaller
ditch with a section of one square meter and having the same slope or
grade as the main canal, is carried to the south a total distance of 6500
meters (4.4 miles), while toward the north extends a ditch with a section of
1.8 square meters and a fall of 1 per 1000 for a distance of 1560 meters.
This ditch has several drops of 2 to 3 meters, built in masonry. These
ditches have a combined length of 8600 meters (5.8 miles) as far as com-
pleted, and command an area of 5000 acres, on a portion of which a
satisfactory crop of cotton was produced in 1906.

The dam was designed by Carlos Patoni, C. E., of Durango, and the
construction was carried out under direction of Carlos Duran, C. E., of
Mexico City, to whom the author is indebted for the facts embodied in the
foregoing description, as well as to P. Barnetche, the intelligent foreman in
more immediate charge of the work.

Figs. 256, 257, and 258 are excellent photographs, taken during con-
struction and after completion of the dam.

Masonry Dams IN Various Parts OF THE WORLD.

The data for the following condensed descriptions of the principal
masonry dams of the world have been gleaned from many sources, including
the Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Trans-
actions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Engineering News,
Engineering Record, and other journals, but chiefly from the exhaustive
and valuable work on ‘‘The Design and Construction of Dams,” by
Edward Wegmann, M. Am. Soc. C. E.

Dams IN SPAIN.

The Del Gasco Dam, Spain.—To the engineer the history of the failure
of a structure is quite as interesting and valuable as that of a successful
construction, and the case of the old dam started on the Guadarrana River,
in 1788, is an excellent example of the fact that Spanish engineers of the
MASONRY DAMS. 357

18th century were not as scientific as their descendants of the present day.
The dam was a pretentious structure, and was to have been 305 feet in
height, 823 feet long, with a base thickness of 236 feet, and a crest width of
13 feet. It was straight in plan, consisting of two parallel walls, each 9.2
feet thick, connected by cross-walls, leaving compartments to be filled
with stones laid in a mortar of clay. When the dam reached a height of
187 feet a severe storm filled the reservoir, overtopped the dam, and so
saturated the clay that its swelling forced out a part of the front wall.
After this discouraging experience the dam was abandoned.

The Almanza Dam, Spain.—The oldest existing masonry dam was
erected in the Spanish province of Albacete prior to 1586. It is built of
rubble masonry, faced with cut stone, and is 67.8 feet high, 33.7 feet thick
at base, and of the same thickness for 23.5 feet of its height, the upper side
being vertical, and the lower face stepped. The crest is 9.84 feet thick.
The lower 48 feet is built on curved plan with radius of 86 feet. The
upper portion is irregular. The maximum pressure upon the masonry is
14.33 tons per square foot.

The Alicante Dam, Spain.—This structure, erected in a narrow gorge
on the river Monegre, in 1579 to 1594, is the highest dam in Spain, and
is used for irrigation of the plains of Alicante. The height is 134.5 feet,
the base width being 110.5 feet, and the crest 65.6 feet. The gorge
is remarkably narrow, being but 30 feet at bottom and 190 feet at the top
of the dam. The dam is curved in plan, with a radius of 351.37 feet on the
up-stream face at crest, which has a batter of 3 to 41. The dam is built
of rubble masonry, faced with cut stone. It is supposed to have been
designed by Herreras, the famous architect of the Escurial palace.

The reservoir formed by the dam is small for so large a structure,
having a length of but 5900 feet and a capacity of 975,000,000 gallons
(2982 acre-feet).

The stream carries such a large volume of silt that it is necessary to
scour out the sediment by a device called a scouring-gallery. The scouring
is done every four years. The gallery is a culvert through the center of the
dam at the bottom, 5.9 feet wide, 8.86 feet high at the upper end, and en-
larged below. The mouth is closed by a timber bulkhead, which is cut out
from below when the scouring is to be done. The sediment forms to a
great depth above the mouth of the culvert, and has to be started to move
by punching a hole through it with a heavy iron bar. The total cost of
scouring the reservoir amounts to $50. The sediment which is not swept
out by the velocity of the current is shoveled into the stream by workmen.

The Elche Dam, Spain.—This structure has a maximum height of 76.1
feet and a base of 39.4 feet, and is formed in three parts, closing converging
valleys. The principal wall is 230 feet long and built of rubble faced with
cut stone. It is curved in plan, up-stream, with a radius of 205.38 feet.
It is provided with a scourging-sluice similar to that at the Alicante dam,
but so designed as to be safer for the workmen who remove the timbers
358 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

forming the bulkhead at the mouth of the sluice. The dam is located near
the town of Elche, on the Rio Vinolapo.

The Puentes Dam, Spain.—This structure is noted because it was of
unusual height and massiveness, and yet failed by reason of its having
been founded on piles driven into a bed of alluvial soil and sand instead
of bed-rock. It was erected in 1785 to 1791, on the Guadalantin River,
at the junction of three tributary streams, and stood successfully for eleven
years, during which time the depth of water never exceeded 82 feet, but
in 1802 a flood occurred which accumulated a depth of 154 feet in the
reservoir, and produced sufficient pressure to force water through the
earth foundation. The reservoir was emptied in an hour, the pipe founda-
tion was washed out, and a breach in the masonry, 56 feet wide, 108 feet
high, was created, destroying the dam and leaving a bridge arching over
the cavity. The extreme height of the dam was 164 feet, and its crest
length was 925 feet; its thickness at base was 145.3 feet, and at top 35.72
feet. The extreme pressure on the masonry was computed by M. Aymard
at 8.12 tons per square foot. It was built of rubble masonry, with cut-stone
facings, and was polygonal in plan, with convexity up-stream. Water was
taken from it through two culverts, one near the base, and the other 100
feet from the top. These were 5.4 feet wide, 6.4 feet high, and connected
with masonry wells having small inlet-openings from the reservoir. A
scouring-sluice, 22 feet wide, 24.7 feet high, was also provided through the
dam, divided by a pier into two openings at its mouth to shorten the span
of the timbers that closed it. At the time of the break the mud deposited
in the reservoir was 44 feet deep.

The disaster caused the loss of 608 lives and the destruction of 809
houses. The property loss was estimated at $1,045,000.

The dam is reported to have been recently restored, and was doubtless
extended to bed-rock for its foundation.

Val de Infierno Dam, Spain.—This dam is 116.5 feet high, and founded
on rock. It has an enormous section, the base width being 137 feet. Even
within 15 feet of the top the thickness of the wall is over 97 feet. It was
built for irrigation in 1785 to 1791, and is located on one of the branches
of the Guadalantin River, above the Puentes dam. It is not now in service,
and the reservoir has entirely filled with sediment. The scouring of the
silt from the reservoir injured the property below, which led to the aban-
donment of the structure.

The scouring-sluice of the dam is 14.8 feet high, 9 to 12.3 fect wide.

The Nijar Dam, Spain.—This dam has a maximum height of 101.5 feet
above the bed of the stream, and consists of a massive base of masonry,
144 feet thick, 70 feet high. On this the dam proper rests, having a base
thickness of 67.6 feet. The upper face is vertical, and the down-stream
face is built in high steps. The scouring-sluice, which is an appendage
MASONRY DAMS. 359

of all Spanish dams, is 3.3 feet wide by 7.2 feet high, closed at its upper
end by a gate operated by a long rod extending to the top of the dam. The
reservoir capacity formed by the dam is 12,570 acre-feet.

The Lozoya Dam, Spain.—The object of this structure, which was built
about 1850 across the Rio Lozoya, was not to store water, but simply as a
diversion-weir to supply a canal leading to the city of Madrid. Its height
is 105 feet, top length 237.8 feet, and it consists of a wall of cut stone,
straight in plan, having a thickness of 128 feet at base, backed up partially
by a sloping bank of gravel. The canal is taken through a tunnel in the
rock on the right bank, 22.4 feet below the top. A second tunnel, used
as a scouring-sluice, is placed 7.5 feet lower than the canal, below which
the reservoir is allowed to fill with sediment. A waste-weir is cut in the
rock, on the left bank, 11 feet deep, 27.6 feet wide.

The Villar Dam, Spain—In 1870-78 the Spanish Government con-
structed a second dam on the Rio Lozoya, to supplement the supply to
Madrid by storage. The dam is 170 feet high, 547 feet long on top, 154.6
feet thick at base, 14.75 feet thick at the crest, which is 8.25 feet above
the spillway level. The dam is modern in design, and has a gravity profile
with large factor of safety. It is also curved in plan, on a radius of 440
feet. It is constructed of rubble masonry throughout, with the exception
of cut-stone copings. Its cost was about $390,000. The capacity of the
reservoir formed by it is 13,050 acre-feet. Two scouring-sluices are built
through the dam and closed by gates that are operated by hydraulic power
from a central tower.

The Hijar Dams, Spain.—Water is stored for irrigation on the Martin
River, above the city of Hijar, Spain, by means of two masonry dams built
in 1880. The general dimensions of each of these dams are about alike,
the height being 141 feet, length 236 feet on top, thickness at base 147 feet,
and at crest 16.4 feet. The water-face is vertical for 82 feet from the top,
continuing with a vertical curve to the base. The omter face is in a series
of steps below a point 29.5 feet from the top, each step peing 6.5 feet high,
4.9 feet wide. Both dams are arched up-stream with a radius of 210 feet.

One of the reservoirs has a capacity of 8913 acre-feet, and a water-
shed of 17 square miles; the other impounds 4864 acre-feet, and receives
the drainage from 92 square miles.

Dams IN FRANCE.

The Gros-Bois Dam, France.—This structure has been severely criticised
because of the fact that it would be more stable to resist water-pressure
applied from the lower side than the upper, and for the reason that it
has an excess of masonry over what would be required if it were distributed
in proper form; and yet it has but a small factor of safety, as was proven
by the fact that it slid down-stream on its base about 2 inches, and was
only relieved of strains that produced cracks and leaks by the addition
 

 

 

 

Fig. 259.—Furens Dam, St. ETIENNE, France, DoWN-sTREAM Facer.
360
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MIOAUASAY ONIMOHS ‘GFONVUY ‘ANNGILY “Le ‘UGINY,d TUIIONY ‘WV SNAMOY dO MEIA TVYENEY)— 09 DIT

 

 

 

 
 

 
362 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of nine counterforts, 13 to 37 feet thick, projecting 26 feet from the base.
The dam was originally built vertical on the down-stream face, and stepped
on the waterside. Its height above bed is 73.2 feet, extreme height 92.9
feet; top length 1804.6 feet; thickness at base 45.9 feet, at top 21.32 feet.
It is founded on argillaceous rock, rather soft. The dam was built in
1830-38, on the Brenne River, for feeding the navigable canal of Bour-
gogne.

The Chazilly Dam was constructed after the general type of the Gros-
Bois dam, and on the same profile. It is on the Sabine River, near the city
of Chazilly, and is 1758.6 feet long, 73.8 feet high, 53 feet thick at base,
13.4 feet at crest.

The Zola Dam, designed by the father of the noted novelist, is one of
the few dams depending solely upon their arched form for their stability.
It is 119.7 feet high, 48.8 feet thick at base, 19 feet thick at top, and 205
feet long on the crest, which is surmounted by a parapet + feet high. The
gorge has a width of but 23 feet at the base of the dam. The radius of
the arch is 158 feet at the crown. The water-face has three steps or offsets
from the vertical and the profile is quite erratic and irregular. It forms a
reservoir for supplying the city of Aix with water, and was built about the
year 1843. It is made of rubble masonry, founded on rock.

The Furens Dam.—Among many engineers this famous dam is recog-
nized as a model of correct form, profile, and dimensions, whose outlines
conform closely to what are accepted as certainly safe and well-balanced
proportions throughout, even though the volume of material may be
slightly excessive. It was built by the French Government in 1862 to 1866
for the purpose of controlling the floods of the Furens River and protecting
the town of St. Etienne from inundations.

The dam is 183.7 feet in extreme height on the down-stream side, 170.6
feet in height on the up-stream side, and carrying a maximum depth of 164
feet of water. Its base thickness is 165.8 feet, and it is 16.4 feet thick at
a depth of 21 feet below the top. The crest is 12.4 feet wide, and is used
as a carriage-road; the top length is 326 feet. The dam was four years in
building, construction being limited to six months each season, owing to
the altitude and to the severity of the winter weather. Tach year, while
building, the water was allowed to flow over the top of the finished masonry,
and when completed no leakage was visible further than a few damp spots
on the lower side with full reservoir.

The dam contains 52,300 cubic yards of masonry, and cost $318,000,
of which the city of St. Etienne paid $190,000 for the privilege of the
storage for its domestic supply. The rock used was mica-schist. Notwith-
standing its safe gravity profile the dam was curved up-stream, with a
radius of 828 feet for architectural effect. The volume of water stored
by this great dam, the highest in France, is comparatively insignificant,
MASONRY DAMS. 363

being but 1297 acre-feet (422,625,000 gallons). M. Graeff, Chief Engineer
of the Department of the Loire, and M. Delocre des:gned the dam, and M.
Montgolfier was engineer in charge of construction.

The Ternay Dam.—Located on the river Ternay, in the province of
Ardéche, southern France, this dam was erected in 1865 to 1868, for con-
trolling floods and supplying the neighboring town of Annonay. It is con-
structed of granite rubble masonry, and is founded on bed-rock of granite.
The proportion of mortar in the work was 0%. In plan it is curved with
a radius of 1312 feet, while the profile is a gravity type, resembling that
of the Furens dam. The extreme height is 119 feet, and bottom thickness
89.2 feet. The up-stream face is vertical for 58.5 feet, and battered below
that point. The lower face is chiefly formed in a vertical curve of 147.6
feet radius, reaching from the water-level to within 30.5 feet of the
bottom, the slope to the base being tangent to the curve. The center of
the circular curve is 7.5 feet above the crown of the dam.

The dam was designed and built by M. Bouvier, Engineer des Ponts et
Chaussées, under the general direction of J. B. Krantz, Chief Engineer.
The profile of the dam, however, is considerably lighter than the type
recommended by M. Krantz in his “Study on Reservoir Walls,” which
form resulted from his adherence to a limiting pressure of 6 kilograms
per square centimeter (85 Ibs. per square inch) upon any portion of the
masonry, whereas the maximum pressures in the Ternay dam are esti-
mated to be 9 kilos per square centimeter. M. Krantz comments, how-
ever, on the Ternay dam as follows: “ The reservoir wall of Ternay, which
was remarkably planned and built by M. Bouvier, has, in my opinion,
scarcely a defect.”

The capacity of the reservoir back of the dam is 686,766,000 gallons
(2107 acre-feet). The total cost of the dam was $204,372.

The Vingeanne Dam, France.—This structure resembles the Ternay in
height and general form, being 113.8 feet high, 18.1 feet thick at base,
11.5 feet on top. It is located near the town of Baissey, and was built in
1885.

The Ban Dam, France.—Next to the Furens dam in height the reservoir
wall constructed in 1867 to 1870, near the city of St. Chamond, was built
upon the same general principles, except that a greater maximum pressure
was permitted upon the masonry, the computed extreme being 8.18 tons
per square foot. Its extreme height is 157 feet, length 512 feet, base thick-
ness 127 feet, top width 16.4 feet. The wall is battered or curved on both
sides, there being no vertical faces. In plan it is curved convex up-stream.
It is composed of rubble masonry founded on rock. It is used for the
supply of the city of St. Chamond, and its cost was $190,000.

The Verdon Dam, France.—This structure is not of great height, being
but 59 feet, but its construction presented great difficulties, owing to the
volume of water carried by the Verdon river, and the narrow canyon in
364 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

which it was placed. The low-water flow is 350 second-feet, while in floods
the discharge reaches over 4200 second-feet. The dam had to be founded
on rock, after excavating 20 feet through gravel and bowlders; and as the
canyon is but 130 feet wide at the top of the dam and considerably less
at the water-level, there was little room to do the work and take off the
constant flow.

The dam is used for diverting water to a canal, supplying the city of
Aix and other places in the vicinity. The dam proper is curved up-stream
with a radius of 108.8 feet, resting on a rectangular base of concrete. The
masonry consists of rubble with cut-stone facings. The general dimen-
sions are:

Length on top... .. ccc cece cece cece cere ec cees 131.3 feet.
Thickriess Of base is cise aga en oeal nevi eee oes 32.5 “
Thickness of crest...... 0... e eee e eee eee eens 14.2 “
Height above river-bed............c ccc eee 40.2 “
Height above foundations.............0e sees 59.0 “

The concrete foundation has a thickness of 48 feet. This is protected
from the falling water by an embankment of large blocks of loose stone.
The maximum depth of overflow was estimated at 16.4 feet.

The Pas Du Riot Dam, France.—Subsequent to the construction of the
Furens dam, a second storage-reservoir for the further supply of the city
of St. Etienne was built in 1872 to 1878 to the height of 113.2 feet, curved
in plan, and similar in profile to its greater neighbor. The reservoir formed
by it has a capacity of 343,380,000 gallons (1054 acre-feet). The cost of the
dam was $256,000.

The Cotatay Dam, France.—In 1885 a dam was built on the Cotatay
brook near the city of St. Etienne to supply the city of Chambon-Feuge-
rolles. This also is of the Furens type, curved in plan, and has a maximum
height of 144.3 feet, with maximum depth ‘of water of 121.4 feet. It is
curved on a radius of 1148 feet, and is 508 feet in length on top. It was
built in 1900-04 on the Cotatay river by M. Reuss, Engineer of Bridges
and Roads.

The Pont Dam, France.—This structure, of granite rubble, founded on
rock, has a maximum length of 495 feet and an extreme height of 85 feet.
It is curved in plan, with a radius of 1312.4 feet. The base thickness is
62 feet, and crest 16.4 feet. The water-face batters 4.2 feet in its total
height. :

On the lower face, from the top down for 62.3 feet, is a vertical curve,
whose radius is 98.4 feet. The remaining height has a batter tangent to
this curve. Nearly 20 feet of the base of the dam is below the river-bed.
Seven counterforts or buttresses, 16 feet long, 3 feet thick, help sustain
the dam. The dam was built in 1883 on the Armancon River, 24 miles
from the city of Semur.
MASONRY DAMS. 3865

The Chartrain Dam, France.—The profile of this modern structure,
built in 1888-92, is one of the most graceful and scientific in design of all
of the French dams of recent construction. It has a maximum height above
lowest foundations of about 180 feet, and a base’width on top of founda-
tions of 135 feet, the foundations extending above and below the toes of the
wall to a total width of 156 feet.

The dam is located on the river Tache, and was built to store water
for the supply of the city of Roanne. The reservoir, however, is quite
small for so high and costly a dam, covering but 54.36 acres in area and
impounding 3647 acre-feet to a mean depth of 67 feet, or 41% of the
maximum depth.

The cost of the dam was $420,000, or $115.10: per acre-foot of storage
capacity.

The Bousey Dam, France.—The failure of this structure April 27, 1895,
with the loss of one hundred and fifty lives and the destruction of much
property, has particularly emphasized the value of several features of
masonry dams which may be regarded as essential in the design of all
such works:

1st. That they be founded on impermeable bed-rock, and the possi-
bility of upward pressure from water passing through fissures be avoided.

2d. That they shall have a profile of such dimensions as to permit of
no tension in the masonry.

3d. That the masonry shall be practically impervious to water.

4th. That it be curved in plan to avoid temperature cracks and move-
ments as the result of expansion and contraction of the masonry.

The Bousey was lacking in all of these essential features, and its failure
was not surprising in the light of all the facts that have been published
regarding it.

It was built in 1878 to 1881, near Epinal, France, across the small
stream of Aviére to form a storage-reservoir of 1,875,000,000 gallons for
supplying the summit level of the Eastern Canal, which here crosses the
Vosges Mountains in connecting the rivers Moselle and Saéne, this canal
being a connecting link in interior navigation between the Mediterranean
and the North Sea. The reservoir was fed by an aqueduct from the
Moselle River. The reservoir covered an area of 247 acres. The general
dimensions of the dam are as follows:

Length on top... 2... cece eee cece teen e eee 1700 feet.
Height above river-bed................0.0000, Ag #6
Height above foundations................0000- WD.
Width ontopin ins cente ea eens Aaa 13)

Width 36 feet below water-level................ 18 #
266 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The wall was vertical on the water-face from top to bottom.

The masonry was founded on red sandstone, which in places was
fissured and quite permeable, with springs which gave trouble in construct-
ing the foundations. The foundation was not excavated to solid, im-
permeable rock under the entire dam, but an attempt was made to remedy
this deficiency by building what was called a “ guard-wall,” 6.5 feet thick
on the upper side of the dam, extending down below the foundations
through the imperfect rock for the purpose of cutting off leakage under-
neath. This was carried up to the river-bed and lapped against the main
wall. The dam was completed in 1880, and the following year water was
admitted. When it had reached about one-third the height, 33 feet below
the top, enormous leakage, amounting it is said to 2 cubic feet per second,
appeared on the lower side of the dam, partly due to two vertical fissures
or expansion-cracks in the wall. March 14, 1884, when the water had risen
to within 10.4 feet of the top, the pressure was sufficient to bulge the
wall forward for 444 feet, forming a curve convex down-stream, the ex-
treme movement being from 1 to 3 feet according to different authorities.
Four additional fissures then appeared, and the leakage increased to about
8,000,000 gallons per day. These cracks opened in winter and closed in
summer. The water was kept behind the dam and the following year
allowed to rise to within 2 feet of the top, after which it was drawn off,
when it was discovered that for 97 feet the dam had been shoved forward,
separating from the guard-wall, and numerous cracks were found on the
inner face. Extensive repairs were then undertaken. The joint between
the main wall and the guard-wall was covered with masonry and sur-
rounded by a bank of puddle, 10 feet thick, while a heavy, inclined buttress-
wall was built at the lower toe, deep into the bed-rock, and toothed into
the masonry of the dam to prevent the tendency to slide on its base. This
abutment was nearly 20 feet in height, and its base was 84.3 feet below the
top of the dam, making the total thickness of base 71.6 feet. Notwith-
standing all this work the dam was fatally weak at a point near the river-
bed level, where the line of resistance falls considerably outside the middle
third, and the final break occurred at a point about 33 feet below the top,
where the fracture was almost horizontal longitudinally, and 594 feet of
the central part of the dam was overturned. The break was level trans-
versely for about 12 feet and then dipped toward the outer face. The
repairs finished in 1889 were presumed to have made the dam safe, and
the break did not occur for six years afterwards, during which time the
action of temperature-changes is presumed to have produced the weak-
ness resulting in the final catastrophe. An interesting account of the fail-
ure of the dam was published in Engineering News, May 16 and 23, 1895.
The lesson taught by it will be serviceable to engineers the world over.

The Mouche Dam, France.—The purpose of this structure, completed
MASONRY DAMS. 367

in 1890, is similar to that of the Bousey dam—to form a storage-reservoir
for feeding a navigable canal. It is located on the Mouche River, near the
village of St. Ciergues, and forms a reservoir of 241.8 acres, having a mean
depth of 29 feet and impounding 7010 acre-feet. The general dimensions
are as follows:

Length On top sates eas csiteanneineeeess 1346 feet.
Maximum height, lowest foundation to parapet. 114.5 “
Height, base to water-line................... 94.5 “
Width-Of Das@ssccccusaseos eeeewese eases 66.7 “
Width of t0psciscicsierrerwiew ie ietaeeans 11.6 “

The up-stream face has a batter of 1 foot in 50, while the down-stream
batter is nearly 1 to 1.

The dam is straight in plan and carries a roadway over the top, nearly
25 feet wide, supported by arches resting on abutment-piers that give the
required extra width. There are forty of these arches, each with a span
of 26.2 feet.

The masonry was found experimentally to weigh 134.2 Ibs. per cubic
foot, and the computations of the profile were made on that basis, pre-
serving the lines of pressure, reservoir full and empty, well within the
center third.

The excavations for foundation were required to be so deep to reach
bed-rock that 56% of the masonry is laid below the surface, the maximum
depth of excavation being about 40 feet. The water-face of the dam was
given three coats of hot pitch, and subsequently whitewashed.

Settons Dam, France.—This structure was built originally with the
view to improving navigation on the Yonne River, in 1855-58. It had an
extreme length of 889 feet, a maximum height of 69 feet, and was 14 feet
wide on the crest. In 1899 the dam was reinforced by the addition of a
“ouard wall” on the up-stream face for its entire height, the wall having a
thickness of 17.3 feet, with a number of vertical wells constructed in the wall
to intercept and drain off the leakage through the wall.

Avignonet Dam, France.—This dam is remarkable for the fact that
it has been built to the height of 75.5 feet as an overfall weir in the river
Drac, which in flood carries as much as 35,000 sec.-feet, without having been
founded on bedrock. It was located in a narrow gorge whose sides rise
nearly 1000 feet, and the stream being torrential in character the canyon
had been filled to a great depth with boulders and gravel, the excava-
tion in which to reach bedrock would have been exceedingly deep.
Therefore the engineers decided to build it on the detritus of the canyon,
merely sinking two cut-off trenches about 13 feet deep, 8 feet thick, and
giving the dam a base of 78.4 feet, which is greater than its height.
368 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The dam is curved in plan, on a radius of 656 feet, is 196.8 feet lon; on
the crest, and is 15.6 feet thick on top, with a roll-way form on the down-
stream slope. (See plate I.) The toe of the dam is extended down-stream
by an apron of reinforced concrete. The entire dam is built of concrete,
was completed in 1902, and is used for the development of power for the
city of Grenoble, whose population in 1896 was 64,000.

The Sioule Dam, France.—This structure, erected in 1902-04, across
the Sioule River, is utilized for water storage and power, the power-house
being located immediately below the dam. It is curved in plan, with a
radius of 984 feet, and is 393.7 feet long on the crest, has a maximum height
of 98.4 feet, is 79 feet wide at base, and 16.4 feet wide on top. At each
end of the dam an overflow weir is provided, extending parallel with
the valley, and nearly at right angles with the direction of the dam.

The Miodeix Dam, France.—The storage of water and the develop-
ment of power from the Miodeix river, for the city of Auvergne, was the
purpose of the erection of this dam in 1903. The maximum height is 80
feet, the crest width 10 feet, and the base 69 feet, The up-stream batter
is 9% and that of the down-stream face is 80%, with a vertical curve
near the top, having a radius of 26.4 feet, above which it is vertical
for 8.4 feet to the top.

The Turdine Dam, France.—A reservoir of 28,840,000 cubic feet
capacity (661 acre-feet) was formed in 1902-04 for the water-supply of the
city of Tarare (population in 1896, 14,500) by the erection of a masonry dam
of triangular profile, having a height of 82 feet, a base width of 65 feet, and
a crest width of 13 feet. The dam is curved in plan, with a total length of
394 feet on top. The up-stream batter from the base up for 15 meters is
8.33%, thence to the top 5%, while on the down-stream face the batter
from foundation up to a height of 11.12 meters is 80%, thence by a vertical
curve of 49.5 feet radius to within 5.4 feet of the top. The spillway level
is but 2.3 feet below the crest of the dam. This dam is about 20 miles
northwest from the city of Lyon, and about 35 miles north of St. Etienne,
the location of the Furens dam.

The Echapre Dam, France.—One of the high modern dams of France
was that erected in 1894-98 for the water-supply of the city of Firminy,
Department of the Loire (population in 1891, 14,500). The maximum
height above lowest foundations is 160 feet, the width at base 88.6 feet and
on top 17 feet. It carries a maximum depth of water of 121.4 feet. It is
curved in plan on a radius of 1148.2 feet, and is 541 feet long on the crest.
A pleasing architectural effect is given to the down-stream face by a series
of arches, with spans of 13 feet, which support the side of the roadway on
top of the dam, which has been corbelled out over the arches to give the
desired width of roadway and sidewalks. The arches rest on pilasters 4
[MASONRY DAMS. 369

feet wide. The arches have a total height of 33 feet. The up-stream face
of the dam is vertical for 99 feet from the top down, while the lower face
batters about 76%. The spillway of the dam at one side is 101.7 feet long.
The dam was designed and built by M. G. Reuss, Ingénieuer des Ponts ct
Chaussées. The reservoir for so high a dam is comparatively small in
capacity, containing but 33,535,000 cubic feet, or 770 acre-feet. The dam
is but a few miles west of the Furens dam.

The Ondenon Dam, France.—Quite similar in design to the Echapre
and Cotatay dams is the structure erected in 1900-04 by the same engineer,
to store water for the supply of the town of La Ricamarie. It is 123 feet
in height, carrying a maximum depth of 107 feet of water. It is also curved
in plan, with a radius of 984 feet, is 420 feet long and 15.4 feet wide on top,
with a base width of 94 feet. It also carries a roadway on top, supported
by corbeling out the normal width on 10 foot arches resting on pilasters.
The reservoir capacity is extremely small, being but 14,120,000 cubic feet
(324 acre-feet) and is indicative of the scarcity of good reservoir sites in
that region.

The Cher Dam, France.—One of the highest of the modern French dams
is now under construction to create a storage reservoir for the supply of the
City of Montlucon, in Central France (population in 1896, 31,600) and for
power development, the capacity being about 20,000 acre-feet. The
height will reach 158 feet; crest width 15.4 feet; base thickness 141 feet.
It is to be curved in plan, with a radius of 656 feet. ‘The Cher River, on
which the dam is located, is one of the tributaries of the Loire.

Dams In ITALY.

The Lagolungo Dam, Italy.—This structure was built in 1883 to a
height of 131 feet, and 20 years later, in 1903, it was decided to increase its
height by ten feet. The dam is immediately above the Gorzente dam,
near Genoa, and creates a reservoir for the supply of that city, with a
capacity of 130,000,000 cubic feet, or 2950 acre-feet. As originally
constructed it was given a thickness of 140 feet at the base, 16.4 feet at
the crest, with a parapet 8.4 feet higher than the top of thedam. The
addition to the height was made by replacing the old parapet by a new
one, 14 feet high, 16 feet wide at the base, 8.2 feet wide on top—-in
other words, the dam was simply added to on the top from the original
crest width of 16.4 feet to the new width of 8.2 feet, while the spillway,
which was 72 feet long, was built up 10 feet higher with masonry. A
second spillway, 59 feet long, was added. Both weirs have flash boards
on their crest to give additional reservoir capacity, which now amounts
to 156,700,000 cubic feet (8600 acre-feet) with possible increase of 5.5%
by the flashboards.
370 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The dam is provided with cast-iron outlet pipes at four different levels,
by means of which the water may either be turned into the aqueduct lead-
ing to the city or into the next reservoir below, formed by the Gorzente dam.

The Gorzente Dam, Italy—The city of Genoa derives a water-supply
from a reservoir formed by a masonry dam, built in 1882, on the Gorzente
River. The reservoir capacity is 748,800,000 gallons (2298 acre-feet),
covering 64 acres. The dam has a maximum height of 121.4 feet, and is
492 feet long on top, 23 feet thick at top, 99.6 feet thick at base. The
masonry is a rubble composed of serpentine rock and mortar of Casale lime
and serpentine sand.

Cagliari Dam, Italy.—This structure is located on the island of Sar-
dinia, 13 miles from the city of Cagliari, on the Corrungius River. It was
built in 1866, and is 70.5 feet high, 52.5 feet thick at base, 16.4 feet at
top, and 344.5 feet long on top. It is built of rubble masonry composed
of granite and a hydraulic lime mortar, mixed with clean, well-washed,
granitic sand.

Frenco Dams IN ALGERIA.

The Habra Dam, Algiers——The French Government has built, or en-
couraged the construction by private parties of, a number of notable stor-
age-reservoirs for irrigation in Algiers, of which the largest was that
formed on the Habra River, by a masonry dam, whose disastrous failure
has made it well known among the engineering profession, and added to
the many lessons which such failures carry with them. The dam was
begun in November, 1865, completed in May, 1873, and after eight years
of service was ruptured in December, 1881, causing the loss of 209 lives
aud the destruction of several villages.

The main dam was straight in plan and 1066 feet long on top, flanked
by an overflow wall, 410 feet long, making an angle of 35° with the direc-
tion of the dam, the top of which was 5.2 feet below the crest of the dam
proper.

The maximum height of the dam was 117 feet from foundation to the
water-line, above which a parapet extended 8 feet higher. The dam was
1+ feet thick at top, 88.4 at base, battered on both sides and of ample
dimensions to withstand the water-pressure, provided the masonry had
been properly constructed and of first-class material. When completed and
first filled the dam leaked like a gigantic filter, but the leakage practically
ceased in course of time.

The reservoir formed by the dam had a capacity.of thirty million cubic
meters, or 24,330 acre-feet. The watershed of the Habra River is very
extensive, covering 3859 square miles above the dam, from which the
MASONRY DAMS. 371

annual discharge, however, was only about 3} times the capacity of the
reservoir, owing to the slight rainfall of that region. The summer flow
was about 18 second-feet, and the normal winter flow was about 100 second-
feet, while extreme floods reached 25,000 second-feet in volume. The
flood which caused the rupture of the dam came from a rainfall of 64
inches in one short storm, during which the run-off in one night was
computed at 3,500,000,000 cubic feet, or more than three times the reser-
voir capacity. This resulted in a general overflow of the crest of the wall,
as the spillway was of insufficient capacity, and produced such excessive
pressure upon the outer face of the masonry as to exceed its normal
strength. Over 300 feet of the wall was torn out to the very foundation.

In a paper on the subject written the following year by the eminent
Italian engineer, G. Crugnola, he attributes the failure to inferiority in the
quality of the masonry. The sand was not of good quality, and in the cen-
ter of the dam a red earth, containing 22 to 24 per cent of clay, was used
instead of sand. Furthermore, the mortar was made of hydraulic lime
burned from calcareous rock found on the banks of the river, which, though
hydraulic, was not very good. The inference drawn by M. Crugnola is that
the hydraulic lime contained a quantity of quicklime, which expanded in
time, causing porosity if not actual cavities in the interior of the masonry.
The stone, as well as the mortar, was extremely porous, consisting chiefly
of calcareous Tertiary grit, which was of variable hardness, some having a
decided schistose structure.

One must conclude from all the facts that had the spillway been suf-
ficient in capacity to avoid the submersion of the dam, and had the face
of the wall been made absolutely water-tight by such precautionary meas-
ures as were employed on the Remscheid dam, the failure would not have
occurred. The curvature of a wall of the great length of the Habra would
doubtless have avoided temperature cracks, which, as has been pointed
out by Prof. Forchheimer (page 122), may have been a leading source of
weakness. The failure occurred during the coldest weather, when such
cracks appear in masonry walls.

The Hamiz Dam, Algiers—Next in importance to the Habra dam, and
somewhat higher, is the Hamiz dam, erected in 1885 on the Hamiz River.
This wall is also straight in plan, but only 532 feet in length on top, 131
feet long at base. The extreme height above foundation is 134.5 feet, and
above river-bed 91.2 feet, and at top 16.4 feet. Both faces are curved in
outline.

The dam impounds 10,500 acre-feet of water, gathered from a shed of
54 square miles.

The Gran Cheurfas Dam, Algiers.—This structure is quite similar in
dimensions to the Hamiz dam, and was built in 1882-84, on the Mekerra
River, 9 miles from St. Dionigi. Its foundation extends 32.8 feet below the
372 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

river-bed, and has a thickness of 134.5 feet at base and 78.7 feet at top.
On this foundation the dam proper rests, with an offset of 34 feet on each
side, making its thickness at bottom 72 feet, while at top the wall is 13 feet
thick. Both faces are curved in parabolic form, presenting a graceful
profile. The maximum pressures on the masonry are 6.1 tons per square
foot.

The dam failed in part when first filled, and a breach of 130 feet was
made in the wall, but it was immediately repaired. The failure occurred in
winter. The dam is straight in plan.

The reservoir capacity behind the dam is about 13,000 acre-feet.

The Tlelat Dam, Algiers——This masonry wall is 69 feet high, 325 feet
long, 40 feet thick at bottom, 13 feet thick at top, and impounds 445 acre-
feet, derived from a water-shed of 51 square miles. The dam was erected
in 1869 on the Tlelat River to supply the town of Sante Barbe, 7$ miles
below, and also for irrigation. The wall is vertical on the water-face, while
the lower side has a vertical curve, the center of radius being 11.8 feet
above the top of the dam.

The Djidionia Dam, Algiers, is 83.7 feet in extreme height, of which
28 feet is foundation below the river-bed level. The face is vertical, and
the dam is straight in plan. The foundation is broader on top than the
bottom of the dam, and will permit of an increased height in the structure
by adding to the lower side from the foundation up. This has been de-
cided upon, and 26 feet additional in height will be built. The reservoir
will then have a capacity of about 4000 acre-feet. The dam was built in
1873-75, on the Djidionia River, to supply the towns of St. Aimé and
Amadema with water. The masonry of this dam is slightly in tension on
the water-face when the reservoir is filled, amounting to about 15 lbs. per
square inch, but no injurious effect upon the masonry is apparent from
this small tensile strain.

Dams IN INDIA.

The Tansa Dam, India.*—This great dam, forming a reservoir for the
supply of Bombay, was begun in 1886, and completed in April, 1891. The
work was done by contract and cost $988,000. It is straight in plan, the
alignment consisting of two tangents, and it has a total length of 8800
feet, the maximum height being 118 feet. For a length of 1650 feet the
dam is depressed 3 feet, to serve as a waste-weir. The thickness of the
masonry at the base is 96.5 feet, and the entire section is made of sufficient

 

* See Proceedings Institution of Civil Engineers, vol. cxv. Paper by W. J. ©,
Clerke, M.I.C.E., on ‘*The Tansa Works for the Water-supply of Bombay ”; also,
‘Trrigation in India,” by Herbert M. Wilson, 12th Annual Report U. 8S. Geological
Survey. q
 

 

 

       
 

 

 

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MASONRY DAMS, 373

dimensions for an ultimate height of 135 feet, to which it may be raised
in future, when its length will be 9350 feet on top.

The dam was built with native labor, and consists of uncoursed rubble
masonry throughout, all the stones being small enough to be carried by
two men. The stone is a hard trap-rock, quarried on the spot. The
cement was burned at the site of the dam from nodules of hydraulic lime-
stone, called kunkur, which are found throughout India, and occur in clay
deposits, although in this case it had to be brought long distances by rail
and carts. Most Indian masonry is made with kunkur hydraulic lime.
The nodules require to be exposed to the sun, dried and washed before
being burned. They are usually of one or two pounds weight, although
sometimes found in blocks of 100 lbs. or more.

From 9000 to 12,000 men were employed on this dam during the work-
ing season of each year, from May to October, but during the monsoons all
work was suspended.

The volume of masonry in the work is 408,520 cubic yards. It is
reported to be entirely water-tight. The excavation was carried to a
considerable depth in places, and necessitated the removal of 251,127 cubic
yards for the foundations.

The reservoir covers an area of 5120 acres and impounds 62,670 acre-
feet above the level of the outlets, which are placed 25 feet below the crest
of the spillway, or 89 feet above the river-bed. The loss by evaporation
reduces the available supply to 15,870 acre-feet, although of course many
times this quantity could be drawn from the lake if the outlets were near
the bottom. The watershed area is 52.5 square miles, on which the precipi-
tation is from 150 to 200 inches annually, and the estimated annual run-
off is 267,000 acre-feet.

The dam was planned and built by W. J. C. Clerke, Chief Engineer.

The Poona or Lake Fife Dam, India.*—This was one of the first
masonry dams built in India by the British Government for irrigation
storage, and was begun in 1868. It is made of uncoursed rubble masonry,
founded on solid bed-rock, and is straight in plan, having a top length of
5136 feet (nearly a mile), of which 1453 feet is utilized as a wasteway.
Its maximum height above foundation is 108 feet, and above the river-level
98 feet.

The design of the dam is extremely amateurish. The up-stream batter
is 1 in 20, and the down-stream slope 1 in 2, unchanged from top to bottom,
the top width being 14 feet, and the base 61 feet. The alignment of the
dam is in several tangents with different top width for each, according to
its height, the points of junction being backed up by heavy buttresses of

 

* ‘Irrigation in India,” by H. M. Wilson, in 12th Annual Report U.S. Geological
Survey.
out RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

masonry. When completed the dam showed signs of weakness and was
strengthened by an embankment of earth, 60 feet wide on top, 30 feet
high, piled up against the lower side.

The water is drawn from the reservoir 59 feet above the river-bed,
and there is therefore available but 29 feet of the total depth of the reser-
voir. The amount available above this level is 75,500 acre-feet. The lake
is 14 miles long and covers an area of 3681 acres.

The dam is located 10 miles west of the town of Poona, on the Mutha
River. Its cost was $630,000, and it contains 360,000 cubic yards of
masonry.

The canal on the right bank is 23 feet wide, 8 feet deep, and 99.5
miles long, drawing 412 second-feet from the reservoir and distributing
it over 147,000 acres of land to be irrigated. At the town of Poona a
drop of 2.8 feet is utilized for power by an undershot wheel, to pump
water to supply the town. The left-bank canal is 14.5 miles long and
carries 38 second-feet. The sluices from the reservoir are cach 2 feet
square, closed by iron gates operated by capstan and screw from the top
of the dam. Ten of these supply the larger canal, and three discharge
into the smaller one. Eight additional circular sluices, 30 inches in
diameter, supply water to natives for mill-power and discharge into the
larger canal.

The Bhatgur Dam, India.*.There are no masonry structures in the
United States or Europe which surpass in size those of India which have
been constructed for irrigation purposes by the British Government, in
the attempt to render the great population of that country self-supporting
and check the frightful famines by which it has been periodically devas-
tated.

The Bhatgur dam, constructed on the Yelwand River, about +0 miles
south of Poona, is one of the most notable of these great structures. Its
length on top is 4067 feet, its extreme height above foundations is 127
feet, and it forms a reservoir 15 miles in length, having a capacity of
126,500 acre-feet. The extreme bottom width of the dam is 74 feet, and
the crest is 12 feet wide, forming a roadway. The alignment of the dam
curves in an irregular way across the valley, so as to follow the outcrop of
bed-rock on which it is founded. The section of the dam was designed
after a formula similar to that deduced by M. Bouvier, and all the calcula-
tions were worked out by Mr. A. Hill, M.I.C.E., who was afterwards
assistant on the construction of the Tansa dam. The curve adopted for
the lower face was a catenary, but the wall was actually built in a series
of batters.

 

* “Trrigation in India,” by H. M. Wilson, in 12th Annual Report, U.S. Geological
Survey.
MASONRY DAMS. 375

The three primary conditions of the design were:

1st. The intensity of the vertical pressure was nowhere to exceed 120
lbs. per square inch (8.64 tons per square foot);

2d. The resultant pressures were to fall within the middle third of the
section; and

3d. The average weight of the masonry was assumed at 160 Ibs. per
cubic foot. The use of concrete was only permitted where the pressure
was calculated not to exceed 60 lbs. per square inch, which gave a factor
of safety of between 6 and 7.

The dam was designed and built by J. E. Whiting, M.I.C.E.

Waste-weirs at each end of the dam have a total length of 810 feet,
and can carry 8 feet depth of water. The roadway is carried over these
weirs on a series of 10-foot arches. Additional flood-discharge is given
by twenty under-sluices, 4 x 8 feet in size (of which fifteen are located 60
feet below the crest), having a total capacity of 20,000 second-feet. These
sluices are lined with cut stone, and closed by iron gates, operated from
the top of the dam. The overflow wasteway is closed by a novel series of
automatic gates that open in flood and rise up into position as the flood
recedes, permitting the full storage of the additional 8 feet depth to be
utilized. The gates are nicely balanced by counterweights that occupy
; pockets in the masonry. As the water rises to the top of the gate it fills
these pockets, reducing the weight of the counterpoises, and the gate, being
then heavier, will descend below the crest of the weir. When the level of
the flood is reduced so that it no longer enters the pockets, the latter are
emptied by small holes in the bottom, and the counterpoises overcome the
weicht of the gates, lifting them into place again.

The reservoir is used to supply the Nira Canal, which heads 19 miles
below. This canal is 129 miles long, 23 feet wide, 7.5 feet deep, and carries
470 second-feet, supplying 300 square miles of land. The water is diverted
to it by a masonry diverting-dam, known as the Vir weir, which is of itself
an important structure, being 2340 feet lorg, 43.5 feet high, constructed
of concrete faced with rubble masonry. Its top width is 9 feet. Maximum
floods of 158,000 second-feet pass over its crest to a depth of 8 feet, coming
from a watershed of 700 square miles. A secondary dam, forming a water-
cushion, is located 2800 feet down-stream. This is 615 feet long, 24 feet
high, built of masonry founded on bed-rock, and carries a roadway over
its crest. During maximum floods the water is 32 feet deep in the cushion,
when the water is 8 feet deep over the main dam.

The works were finished in 1890-91.

The Betwa Dam, India.*—This masonry structure forms a diversion-
weir for turning the water of the Betwa River into a large irrigation-canal,

- * See “ Trrigation in India,” by H. M. Wilson, in 12th Annual Report, U.S. Geo-
logical Survey. :

 
376 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

and also serves for storage to the extent of 36,800 acre-feet, which is the
capacity of the reservoir above the canal flow, although not all available.

The total length of the dam is 3296 feet, and its maximum height is
50 feet. It has an extremely heavy profile, being 15 feet thick at top and
61.5 feet at base. At its highest part the down-stream face is vertical, and
a large block of masonry 15 feet thick reinforces the dam at its lower toe.
It consists of rubble masonry laid in native hydraulic lime, with a coping
of ashlar, 18 inches thick, laid in Portland-cement mortar.

In plan the dam is divided into three sections, of different lengths, by
two islands, and is irregular in alignment.

The canal floor is placed 21.5 feet below the crest of the dam. A
masonry subsidiary weir, 12 feet wide on top, 18 feet high, to form a water-
cushion for the overflow of the dam, was built 1400 feet below, across the
main channel, and a second subsidiary weir, 200 feet below the main weir,
was made, to check the right-bank channel at the same level. The main
dam and subsidiary weirs cost $160,000, not including the regulating and
flushing sluices, which cost $10,000. The main canal is 19 miles long, and
with its branches supplies 150,000 acres.

The Periyar Dam, India.—None of the modern structures for irrigation
storage in India have presented greater difficulties than the great dam
erected across the Periyar River, which was begun in 1888 and completed
in 1897. The project, of which the dam was the basis, includes the con-
struction of a wall to close the valley of the Periyar River to store 300,000
acre-feet of water; of the construction of a tunnel 6650 feet long, through
the mountain-range dividing the valley of the Periyar from that of the
Vigay River, for the purpose of drawing off the water of the reservoir,
with the necessary sluices and subsidiary works for controlling the water
on its way down a tributary of the Vigay; and finally the necessary works
for the diversion, regulation, and distribution of the water for the irriga-
tion of 140,000 acres in the Vigay valley, of which area the water-supply
of the Vigay was only sufficient for irrigating 20,000 acres.

The dam is 155 feet high above the river-bed, with a parapet 5 feet
higher, the foundations reaching to a depth of 173 feet below the crest.
It is 12 feet thick at top and 114.7 feet at base, and is constructed through-
out of concrete composed of 25 parts of hydraulic lime, 30 of sand, and 100
of broken stone. The water-face is plastered with equal parts of hydraulic
lime and sand. The length of the dam on top is 1231 feet. Its cubic con-
tents are about 185,000 cubic yards of masonry.

A wasteway has been excavated on each side of the dam, one of which
is 420 feet long, and the other 500 feet long. The latter is partially formed
by a masonry wall 403 feet long, filling a saddle-gap. The crests of these
wasteways are 16 feet below the top of the parapet. The rock is a hard
syenite. The maximum floods of the river reach 120,000 second-feet at
MASONRY DAMS 377

times. The drainage-area above the dam is 300 square miles, on which
the rainfall is from 69 to 200 inches, averaging 125 inches per annum.

The river is one that is subject to violent and sudden floods, in an
uninhabited tract of country, far even from a village, some 85 miles from
the nearest railway, where there were no roads or even paths, in the
midst of a range of hills covered with dense forests and jungles tenanted
by wild beasts, where malaria of a malignant type is prevalent, where the
commonest necessaries of life were unobtainable, and where the incessant
rain for half the year prevented the importation of labor and rendered
all work in the river-channel impossible for six months out of every
twelve. During the first two years of construction watchmen with drums
and blazing fires had to guard every camp at night against the curiosity
of wild elephants that constantly visited the works, uprooting milestones,
treading down embankments, breaking up fresh masonry, playing with
cement-barrels, chewing bags of cement and blacksmith’s bellows, kneeling
on iron buckets, and doing everything that mischief could suggest and
power perform.

The limestone for making the hydraulic lime was brought a distance
of 16 miles, surmounting an elevation of 1300 feet by an endless wire
rope, 3 miles long, to which the stone was brought by wagon-road. From
the lower end of the ropeway the stone was carried on a short tramway to
canal-boats plying on the river as far down as the dam, the stream having
been made navigable for this purpose.

The sand used was dredged from the river-bed.

This brief summary of the unusual conditions under which the dam
was built, gleaned from a paper written by Mr. A. T. Mackenzie,
A.M.I.C.E., gives a general idea of the extraordinary difficulties which had
to be overcome in constructing this great work, which is certainly one of
the most notable of the many monuments to English engineering in
India.

The total cost of all the works connected with the project amounted
to about $3,220,000. The estimated net revenues were $260,000 annu-
ally.

The dam was designed and constructed by Col. Pennycuick, Chief
Engineer. It is so designed (by M. Bouvier’s formule) that the greatest
pressure on front and back shall not exceed 9 tons per square foot, and
the lines of pressure are kept within the middle third. Most modern dams
of any magnitude have been built of uncoursed rubble masonry. Col.
Pennycuick justifies the use of concrete in the Periyar dam in the follow-
ing language, as quoted by Mr. Wilson: “Concrete is nothing more than
uncoursed rubble masonry reduced to its simplest form, and as regards
resistance to crushing or to percolation the value of the two materials is
identical, unless it be considered as a point in favor of concrete that it
378 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

must be solid, while rubble may, if the supervision be defective, contain
void spaces not filled with mortar. The selection depends entirely upon
their relative cost, the quantities of materials in both being practically
identical.”

In this opinion of the value of concrete he is less conservative than
the engineers of the Tansa dam, who limited the use of concrete to the
upper portion of the dam, where the limit of pressure did not exceed 60
Ibs. per square inch.

While the full reservoir capacity is 305,300 acre-feet, the level of the
outlet-tunnel is such that but 156,400 acre-feet can be utilized, although
this may be supplied several times annually.

Meer Allum Dam, India.—Sometime prior to the year 1800, an ex-
traordinary dam was built to form a reservoir for the supply of the city of

 

Plan

     

—-- --340---—

  

V/
Z LA YY,
ILL LLL LL

Section A-B Section C-B.
Fic. 261.—Meer Attum Lake Dam, Hyperasan, Inpra,

LLL

Hyderabad, in the form of a large arch, about half a mile in length, com-
posed of 21 smaller arches, of semi-circular form, resembling scallops,
with massive buttresses or piers between them. Fig. 261 shows the longest
of the arches.
MASONRY DAMS. 379

The spans between piers are of varying length, from 70 to 147 feet in
the clear. The masonry of the arches, which is vertical on both faces, is
8.5 feet in thickness, and they transmit the pressure to the piers, which are
24 feet in thickness.

The reservoir formed by the dam is known as the Meer Allum lake,
having an area of 900 acres, a maximum depth of 50 feet, and a capacity of
355,500,000 cubic feet (8168 acre-feet).

A spillway is provided at one end, but the water at times flows a few
inches deep over the entire crest of the dam.*

Dams IN AUSTRALIA.

Burraga Dam, N.S. W.—One of the slenderest concrete dams con-
structed in recent years in Australia, where several structures of extremely
light type have been erected, was that built for the supply of the Lloyd
Copper Company’s mine, on Thompson’s creek, New South Wales, forming
a reservoir of 31 acres area, with a capacity of 13,500,000 cubic feet (310
acre-feet). The greatest height of the dam is 41 feet, the width at the crest
being but 2 feet, and at the base 25.3 feet. Its length on top is 425.6
feet, of which 140 feet is used as an overflow waste-weir.

The work is described by John Hayden Cardew, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E.,
in a paper published June, 1903, in the Minutes of Proceedings of the In-
stitute of Civil Engineers, from which the following quotation is taken:

‘Although the greatest care was observed in the mixing of the concrete
to secure a water-tight wall, it was recognized that the coarseness of the
same would greatly militate against success in spite of the inner face of
richer concrete, and it was found as the dam progressed and the water
rose in the reservoir that a considerable leakage occurred, which appeared
on the down-stream face of the dam like water coming from a very fine
rose. To render the inner face with cement mortar made from such
coarse sand would not improve matters; it was therefore decided to paint
the inner face with neat cement mixed to aslurry, applied with stiff
brushes, and well rubbed into the pores in three successive coats; this
proved most effective, for when the water rose again in the reservoir the
wall was found to be perfectly water-tight.

“‘The expansion and contraction in concrete dams when the reservoir
is low is very great, and when the reservoir is full it is very unequal in
different parts of the cross-section; this is especially the case in some parts
of Australia, where hot days and cold nights are of frequent occurrence,
giving arange of temperature of about 90° F., and on that account many
of the concrete dams in this country are badly cracked. In order to

 

* Engineering Record, January 10, 1903.
380 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

obviate this tendency to some extent, and to assist in closing the cracks
as the reservoir filled, the curved form was adopted.

‘‘Tt has been observed that the curved form does not render the struc-
ture altogether immune from cracking, and the cracks occur generally
at about one-third of the length of the dam from the wings, commencing
at, the crest, first as a very fine crack and afterwards opening out
and extending down the wall a distance of one-third to one-half of its
height, and opening and closing as the reservoir empties or fills. It was
thought that the introduction of an iron tie-bar in the crest of the dam
to take the tensile stress due to contraction, would completely preserve
the work from cracking. It has been proved in other works that the
temperature in the heart of the dam, say 3 feet from the surface, is con-
stant, from which it may be argued that in order to ensure safety from
cracking it is only necessary to protect from tensile stress the upper or
thinner part of the dam where the cracks invariably originate.”

As a result of this reasoning three lines of 70-pound ‘‘T”’ rails were
laid six inches below the level of the weir overflow, jointed with fish-plates
and embedded in the concrete. The cost of the dam was £9566 ($44,500).
The inner face for a thickness of 18 inches consisted of 1 of cement, 2.5 of
sand and 3.5 of crushed stone to pass through a ring of 4 inch diameter,
and the outer face for a thickness of 6 inches was made of concrete composed
of 1 of cement, 3 of sand and 5 of crushed stone, passing a ring of 14 inch
diameter. The heart of the dam was built of blocks of stone, set in concrete,
making what is locally known as ‘‘plum concrete,’’ each stone having 6
inches of concrete all around, and no stone being laid nearer than 18 inches
to the inner face, nor6 inches to the outer face, nor 2 feet to the foundations..
The stones were not larger than 16 cubic feet nor smaller than 2.5 cubic
feet, roughly squared and placed with their longest dimensions normal to
the axis of the dam. The proportion of ‘‘plums”’ was 33% of the whole.

Barossa Dam, South Australia.—One of the most remarkable of the
recently constructed dams in Australia is that completed in February,
1903, by the South Australian Government at Barossa, for the domestic
supply of the town of Gawler and surrounding farming district, including
a small amount of irrigation, the total annual supply available being about
1,000,000,000 imperial gallons, or 3675 acre-feet. The dam is built entirely
of concrete, as an arch, curved up-stream with a radius of 200 feet on the
up-stream face (Fig. 262), the total length of the crest being 472 feet, the
chord subtending the segment of a circle being 370 feet and the versed
sine about 133 feet. The dam has a thickness at top of but 4.5 feet, and a
maximum thickness at base of 45 feet, the extreme height being 113 feet,
or 95 feet above the stream bed. The up-stream face is vertical, while the
down-stream face has a batter of 37.14% from a point 27.34 feet below the
882 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

top tothe base. It contains 17,975 cubic yards of rubble concrete, of which
2215 yards, or 12.3%, are large stones or “‘plums.”’ The average cost of the
concrete was $9.30 per cubic yard, and the total cost £169,947 ($827,000).
It was estimated that a saving of $217,000 was effected by the substitution
of an arched concrete dam for a structure of gravity type as originally
proposed.

The dam is built in a subsidiary basin of 3675 acre-feet capacity,
supplied by a tunnel 7400 feet long from the Para River. By this arrange-
ment only clear water is taken into the river after the muddy floods have
passed.

The main outlet pipe is 22 to 18 inches diameter, 7 miles long to the

 

 

   

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Fig. 263.—Barossa Dam.

town of Gawler, and is constructed of steel by the locking bar principle first
used on the famous Coolgardie pipe line.

The top of the dam for the upper 20 feet is reinforced with 18 lines of
40-pound steel rails, joined with fish-plates, and imbedded in the con-
crete. The range of temperature during construction was from 30° to
168° F. Observations taken after completion during six days upon which
equal extremes of 50° prevailed, the top of the dam was found to have
moved up-stream to the extent of Z-inch, showing an expansion of about
1.5 inch in the total length during the interval of the observation. This
backward and forward movement of the dam appears to produce no
cracking of the structure, which remains in an entirely satisfactory
condition.

Coolgardie Dam, Helena River, Australia.—The daring and costly proj-
ect for the supply of the desert mining region of Coolgardie, by pumping
5,000,000 imperial gallons daily through a pipe line 153.5 miles lorg, is
MASONRY DAMS. 383

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Fic. 264.—Barossa Dam.
384 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

better known to the engineering world than the fact that in connection
with this project, and for the purpose of impounding water for it, a dam of
large dimensions was built across the Helena river. The works were de-
scribed with great minuteness in an able paper by Chas. Stuart Russell
Palmer, M. Inst. C. E., and published in the Minutes of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, in March, 1905.

The dam is a rubble concrete structure, straight in plan, 755 feet long
on top, 100.5 feet high above the stream bed, and 197 feet in extreme height
above lowest foundations. The width on top is 10 feet, and at 100 feet below
90 feet. The spillway is made over the crest of the dam for a length of 440
feet, spanned by a footbridge resting on seven piers. A water cushion has
been provided at the base of the dam by an auxiliary weir below 100 feet
long.

The crest of the dam is 426.75 feet above sea level, 6.75 feet above the
lip of the spillway. The maximum depth of water is 97 feet.

The volume of concrete is not given, but there were used 76,418 barrels
of cement, the mixture being in the proportion of 1 of cement, 2 of sand to
5 of crushed granite rock, passing a 24-inch ring.

The construction of the dam began in January, 1900, and was completed
in June, 1902.

The reservoir covers an area of 800 acres, and has a capacity of
+,600,000,000 imperial gallons (16,900 acre-feet).

The pipe line to Coolgardie is 30 inches diameter, 351.5 miles long,
and has a capacity of 5,600,000 gallons in 24 hours. It is of the lock-bar
type. The total natural lift overcome by the eight pumps installed along
the line is 1290 feet, but the total head pumped against including friction
is 2700 feet, requiring an effective power of 3129 H. P. The power provided
was 3642 H.P. The selling price fixed for the water to cover interest,
depreciation and operating cost was 82 cents per 1000 gallons, equivalent
to $5.10 per 1000 cubic feet, or $222 per acre-foot.

Cataract Dam, Australia——The highest and most pretentious dam
construction in Australia has been in progress of erection since 1902, to
form a reservoir of 25,700,000,000 gallons (78,860 acre-feet) for the domes-
tic supply of the city of Sydney, N.S. W. The dam is straight in plan,
811 feet long on top, 194 feet maximum height (40 feet below and 154 feet
above the river-bed), 158 feet thick at the base, and 16 feet at the crest, at a
height of 7 feet above the spillway level. The dam is provided with a
spillway at one end, 730 feet in length.

It is formed of cyclopean rubble masonry of blocks of sandstone weigh-
ing 2 to 5 tons, set in cement mortar, and packed in with concrete, the
blocks forming about 65% of the mass. (See Fig. 265.) The up-stream
face consists of concrete blocks, 52.52 feet, set in place with cement
386 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Belubula Dam, Australia (Fig. 266).—A dam consisting of a series of
buttresses, or piers, with elliptical arches between them, was built on the
Belubula river, N.S. W., for the Lyndhurst Goldfield Co., by Mr. Oscar
Schulze, C. E., of Sydney, for the storage of water for power. The dam
is of unusual design and construction, the base, or foundation, up to a
height of 23 feet, consisting of concrete, above which the dam was built
of brick a further height of 36.75 feet, in the form of six buttresses, 28 feet
apart, center to center, each 40 feet long, 12 feet wide at the up-stream side
and 5 feet thick at the outer end. These buttresses form piers for five
brick arches, inclined at an angle of 30° from the vertical, and made 4 feet
thick at bottom, 1 foot 7 inches thick at top. The spandrels between the
arches were filled with concrete, which covered the crown of the arches
te a depth of 12 inches, and joined the side walls of the dam, which
are also of concrete. The total length of the dam, including the spillway
section of 65 feet, is 431 feet. The dam contains almost 6000 cubic yards
of concrete, and 500,000 bricks (1000 cubic yards) and the total cost
was less than $45,000.

The storage in the upper 16 feet of the reservoir amounts to 87,120,000
cubic feet, and gives a head of 200 feet on the turbines located one-half
mile below the dam.

The Beetaloo Dam, South Australia.—Like the Periyar dam in India
and the San Mateo dam in California, this structure is composed entirely
of concrete, of which about 60,000 cubic yards were used.

The dam was built in 1888-90, to form a reservoir of 2945 acre-feet
capacity for irrigation and domestic water-supply.

The dam is 580 feet long on top, curved in plan, with a radius of 1414
feet, and designed after Prof. Rankine’s logarithmic profile type. The
maximum height is 110 feet, the base width being the same as the height.
The thickness at top is 14 feet. The spillway is 200 feet long, 5 feet deep.
The cost was $573,300.

Water is distributed entirely by pipes under pressure, some 255 miles
of pipe from 2 to 18 inches diameter being required.

The dam was designed and built by Mr. J. C. B. Moncrieff, M.I.C.E.,
Chief Engineer.

The Geelong Dam, Australia.—This structure is also constructed wholly
of concrete, made of broken sandstone and Portland cement, in the pro-
portion of 1 of cement to 74 of aggregates,

The dam is 60 feet high, 39 feet thick at base, and 2.5 feet on crest.
It is curved in plan on a radius of 300 feet from the water-face at crest.
The coping is formed of heavy bluestone of large size, cut and set in
cement. The work was-carried up evenly in courses a few inches thick,
and thoroughly rammed. The surface of the finished concrete was wetted
and coated with cement grout before adding a fresh layer to it.

The dam forms a reservoir for the supply of the city of Victoria. Water
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388 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

is drawn from it by two 24-inch pipes passing through the masonry, one
of which is used for scouring purposes. The dam leaked slightly at the
outset, but this leakage quickly disappeared.

Dams IN CHINA.

The Tytam Dam, China—This modern English structure was built
to store water for the supply of Hong Kong. It is about 95 feet high, and
is intended to go 20 feet higher. The present crest width is 21 feet, base
about 65 feet. The water-face of the wall is almost vertical, the outer face
being stepped in 10 feet vertical courses. The water-face is laid up in
granite ashlar, the remainder being concrete, with stones of 2 to 6 cubic
feet embedded. About 40% of the entire wall is composed of stone, and
60% of concrete. The screenings of crushed granite were used as sand,
together with some river sand, which was scarce, and used without wash-
ing, as it was believed the rock dust and fine particles of soil would con-
duce to water-tightness. The strength of the mortar was less of a
consideration than the securing of a water-tight wall.

Dams IN AFRICA.

Assouan Dam, Egypt (Fig. 267).—No irrigation works of modern times
are more notable and far-reaching in their beneficial results upon the
industrial welfare of the people than the great storage dam erected by the
Egyptian Government at Assouan, on the river Nile, 700 miles above its
mouth. It creates a reservoir with a capacity of 863,000 acre-feet, its effect
extending back up the river a distance of 140 miles, estimating its surface
slope at 1:32,000. It will thus cover an area of over 40,000 acres, a large
portion of which is not over 1000 feet wide. The dam which was begun
in 1898 and completed in June, 1902, is of vast proportions, being 6400
feet in length, with a maximum height of 130 feet above the lowest founda-
tions and containing 704,000 cubic yards of masonry. The maximum
depth of water in the reservoir available for draft is about 60.8 feet at the
dam. The elevation of high-water level in the reservoir is 348 feet above
mean tide. The dam is divided into two sections, one of which extends
from the east bank for 1800 feet as a solid masonry wall without openings,
while the remaining portion of 4600 feet, containing’ 180 sluice-ways,
reaches to the west bank, and includes a navigation lock on that side.
The sluice-ways are designed to carry the entire volume of the river at
flood, without permitting the water to reach higher than within 9.8 feet
of the top of the dam. The width of crest of the eastern solid section is 17.8
feet, while the portion in which the sluice-ways are built is 23 feet wide
on top, carrying a roadway entirely across the dam. The sluice-ways
are in four levels, 140 of them on the two lower levels, each being 7 meters
high by 2 meters wide, while the upper banks of 49 sluic2s are cach 2 meters
MASONRY DAMS. 389

wide by 3.5 meters high. The total discharging area thus provided,
with all sluice-gates open, is 24,100 square feet. The maximum recorded
discharge of the river was 494,500 second-feet (1878-79).

The sluices mostly are in groups of ten, with spaces of 5 meters of solid
masonry between individual sluices, and 10 meters between two adjoining
groups, where buttresses 26 feet wide, 3.8 feet thick, are built on each
face at intervals of 240 feet. The openings or outlets being arranged at
varying heights the reservoir may be drawn from near the top, without
excessive head or friction to resist the opening of the gates. Sixty-five
of them are placed near the bottom of the dam, with sills 70.7 feet below
the floor of the roadway on top, of which forty are lined with plates of

 

 

 

 

Fic. 267.—Tue Assovuan Dam, Ecyrt. Snowine DiscHarGE THROUGH A NUMBER
OF SLUICES.

cast-iron, 14 inches thick, having flanges or ribs embedded in the musonry,
12 inches deep, by which the plates are bolted together. Seventy-five
sluices are placed at the next higher level, 55.8 feet below the crest, and
of these one-third are provided with balanced gates of the Stoney roller
type, easily operated under full pressure, if desired. Of the remaining
sluices 18 are placed with sills 42.7 feet below the top of the dam, and 22
are 29.7 feet below the roadway level. The navigation pass around the
dam consists of a canal, partly excavated in rock and partly in embank-
ment witb 4 locks, making a total descent of 68.9 feet. The canal is 654
feet long, 49.2 feet wide on the base.

The dam is founded on a ledge of granite of very irregular surface,
one narrow channel requiring a maximum height of 130 feet, but the
average height is about 82 feet. The base width Is about 85 feet. The
down-stream batter is 1:1.5, while that on the up-stream face is 1:18.
390 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The dam consists of rubble masonry laid in 1.4 cement mortar. It
was said to be entirely water-tight when completed. The total excava-
tion required was 824,000 cubic yards or double the estimate. This in-
creased the masonry by 45% over what was anticipated, so that the final
cost of the dam reached the sum of £2,450,000 ($11,907,000) or $13.80
per acre-foot of storage capacity. The plans for the dam were prepared
originally by Sir Wm. Wilcocks, M. Inst. C. E., and executed by: Frederick
W.S. Stokes, M. Inst. C. E., and his successor, C: R. May, M. Inst. C. E.
Sir Benjamin Baker, M. Inst. C. E., acted as consulting engineer for the
Egyptian Government. The contractors were Sir John Aird & Co.

The original plans first proposed would have raised the water to such
a height as would have inundated the ancient temple of Phile, situated
a mile above the dam on an island. Out of deference to public protest
against the destruction of this archezological monument, the plans were
modified so as to limit the flood level to the floor of the temple. In order
to protect the portions of the temple resting on silt a great deal of work
in underpinning was performed. Quite recently it has been decided that
the temple must be sacrificed, as the importance of raising the dam to
give increased storage has become paramount to all sentimental con-
siderations. The capacity of the reservoir will be nearly doubled by the
higher construction which has begun, and which will make it the largest
reservoir in the world. It is reported that the increase of storage will
add 1,000,000 acres to the irrigable area. Work has already begun on
raising the dam, which will require three to four years to complete.

The Assiout Dam, Egypt.—In connection with the utilization of the
water stored in the great Assouan reservoir, a diverting dam was con-
structed at the same time across the Nile, 339 miles below, to supply
water to the Ibrahimia irrigation canals. The work is fully described
in a paper prepared by George Henry Stephens, C. M. G., M. Inst. C. E.,
and published in Volume 153 of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
Engineers, for March, 1904. Mr. Stephens had charge of the work from
its commencement until its completion in 1902.

The dam is a masonry structure, 2691 feet long, built on a send
foundation and carrying a roadway on arches above the flood level. It
consists of a series of 111 arched openings, each 16.5 feet wide, formed
by masonry piers, each 6.56 feet thick, 51 feet wide, resting on a
platform or base of concrete and rubble masonry, 87 feet wide, 9.8
feet thick having a row of cast-iron sheet piles, with tongued and grooved
joints, driven 13 feet into the sand, on the upper and lower edges of
the platform, as a cut-off against seepage under the dam. The roadway
level on top is 41 feet above the floor of the structure. The maximum
head of water against the dam is 34.5 feet.
MASONRY DAMS. 391

The river bed is protected from erosion by a stone pavement, laid
parallel with the dam entirely across the channel, 67 feet wide, placed
on a bed of clay puddle, 4.6 feet deep, 46 feet wide on the up-stream side,
with a similar pavement on the lower side, covering an inverted sand and
gravel filter beneath to clarify percolating water and prevent wash.

One of the interesting special features of this work is the use of cast-
iron sheet-piles in the foundations. These were each 16 feet long, 2 feet
3.5 inches wide, 114 inch thick, and weighed about 2180 pounds. The
tongues were 24 inches deep, and the grooves enough deeper to admit
of a } inch O. D. pipe for carrying a water jet to facilitate driving, and
subsequently to carry cement grout with which the grooves were filled
and made water-tight. The work required 210,222 cubic yards rubble
masonry and concrete, 11,472 cubic yards ashlar masonry, 1,626,660
cubic yards earthwork in excavation and embankment, and 642,370
cubic yards in temporary cofferdams. The navigation lock around the
dam is 262 feet long, 52.5 feet wide, and capable of passing the largest
steamers that ply on the Nile. The cost of the dam and locks was about
$4,200,000, including the canal headworks, which cost about $660,000.

The irrigation under these extensive works is chiefly devoted to the
production of cotton and sugar cane, and it was stated that the value of
the crops produced the first year after their completion was in excess of
the entire cost of the works constructed.

Sand River Dam, South Africa (Fig. 268).—A dam of rubble concrete
was built in 1906 to store water for the supply of Port Elizabeth, Cape
of Good Hope, South Africa, having a height of 55 feet, a length of 398
feet, and a base width of 38 feet. The overflow portion, 5 feet below the
crest, is 151 feet long. The total cubic contents of the dam are about
9000 cubic yards. It is composed of concrete mixed in the proportion of
1 cement, 1.33 sand, and 5.5 stone, broken to pass a 1} inch ring, with
‘‘plums”’ of large quartzite rock and iron rods and rails embedded. The
materials were conveyed to place by means of an aerial wire tramway. The
dam is straight in plan. The cost was about $140,000. The works were
planned and constructed by Mr. W. Ingham, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E.

The reservoir formed by the dam has a capacity of about 220,000,000
gallons (660 acre-feet).

Johannesburg Dam, South Africa.*—To supply the Rand mines with
water for mining and domestic purposes, the Vierfontein Water Syndicate,
in 1898, undertook the erection of a rubble masonry and concrete storage
dam 120 feet in extreme height, located six miles south of Johannesburg.
The dam was planned as a combination arch and tangent, the arched por-

 

* Engineering Record, January 7, 1899.
C6E ‘VoIudy HLNOg ‘adOP] door) 40 adv) ‘WY AAAIY ANVE—'ggz ‘DIT

 

 
MASONRY DAMS. 393

tion being 340 feet long and the length over all 585 feet. The radius at
the crest of the arch was 275 feet, decreasing to 206 feet 75 feet below, to
meet the lines of the gravity dam on tangent. After stripping a depth
of 12 to 14 feet, a base of concrete 40 feet wide, 15 feet thick, was laid,
in which railway rails were embedded in two layers, one longitudinally
near bedrock and the other transversely about two feet below the top.
On this foundation the masonry work of uncoursed rubble was laid with
a base width of 36.5 feet, decreasing to 33 feet at a height of 20 feet, and
to 7 feet at the crest. The total volume of masonry in the dam was esti-
mated at 30,000 cubic yards. The materials were handled by a Lidger-
wood cableway, suspended across the gorge. The rock used was a hard
blue quartzite, quarried half a mile away. The water was to be pumped
from the dam to a service reservoir 13 miles distant, at an elevation of
575 feet above the dam.

The reservoir covered an area of 104 acres, and had a capacity of about
3900 acre-feet. The works were planned by Wm. Ham. Hall, M. Am. Soc.
C. E., as consulting engineer, with Mr. J. B. Rogers as resident engineer.

Construction was well advanced at the time of the breaking out of
the Boer war, which caused a suspension of operations.

Dams IN GERMANY.

The Remscheid Dam, Germany (Fig. 269).—This structure is one of
the best existing types of reservoir walls, as they are designed and built
by modern German engineers, and possesses more than ordinary interest.
It is 82 feet high, 49.2 feet thick at base, 13.1 feet thick at crown, and is
curved in plan, with a radius of 410 feet. The total contents of the dam
are 22,886 cubic yards, and its cost is given at $91,154, an average of $3.98
per cubic yard. The reservoir formed by it has a capacity of 35,310,500
cubic feet, of 811 acre-feet, while its average cost was $112.45 per acre-foot
of storage capacity.

The dam is built across the Eschbach valley, and is designed to supply
the city of Remscheid, and manufacturers in the valley below. It was
begun in May, 1889, and water turned on November, 1892. It is composed
of rubble masonry, the stone, a hard slate, being laid in trass mortar. Trass
is a rock of volcanic origin, from which hydraulic lime is made resembling
pozzuolana, used so extensively in Italy. The mortar consists of one part
lime, one and one-half parts trass, and one part sand, and was preferred
by the engineer to Portland cement, because it sets more slowly and tests
showed it to be superior in point of elasticity. The dam has shown no
settlement, no cracks, and no leaks. The courses of masonry were laid
so as to be as nearly perpendicular as possible to the varying direction of
the resultant pressures at all points. The water-face of the dam was
“ANVINUGY) ‘NVQ GIGHOSWAY AHT—'69G ‘DIT

 

 

 

 
MASONRY DAMS. 395

plastered with cement mortar, over which two coats of asphalt were placed,
the asphalt extending 20 inches over the bed-rock. Then a brick
wall, 14 to 24 bricks thick, was carried up outside, tight against the
asphalt.

The dam was designed and built by Prof. 0. Intze, and described in a
paper published in the Journal of the Society of German Engineers, from
which the facts above given are gleaned.

The Einsiedel Dam, Germany.—This dam was:completed in 1894, and
forms a reservoir for supplying the city of Chemnitz. It is composed of
rubble masonry, the total volume of which was 31,600 cubic yards. Its
maximum height above foundation is 92 feet, of which 65 feet is above
the natural surface. ‘The length over top is 590 feet, top thickness 13 feet,
base 65.5 feet. It is curved to a radius of 1310 feet. The storage capacity
of the reservoir is 95,000,000 gallons (291 acre-feet).

The Urft Dam, Germany.—The highest dam in Europe is that built
in 1901 to 1904 across the river Urft, near the city of Aachen, Germany
(population in 1895, 110,500), the seat of the great Polytechnic School, one
of whose Professors, Otto Intze, designed the structure, which is but an
hour’s journey from the famous Gileppe dam, in Brussels. The dam is
curved in plan, on a radius of 656 feet, and has a crest length of 741 feet.
Its maximum height is 190.3 feet. Its thickness at base is 165.7 feet, and
at top 18 feet, at a height of 4.9 feet above the spillway level. The base
is exactly equal to the maximum depth of water. On the up-stream face
of the dam an earth embankment is built to within 77 feet of the top,
having slope of 2 on 1, paved with rock. The body of the dam is built
of slate masonry laid in courses inclined against the lines of pressure,
after the plan of the Remscheid dam, while on the up-stream face is laid
a separate wall of traprock masonry, 3 feet thick, the stones of which
are stepped on the battered portion of the face. Previous to laying this
face wall the masonry was covered with a plaster coat of cement, one
inch thick, and a coat of asphaltum, to insure water-tightness. As an
additional precaution for the same purpose, the earth embankment
was built as described. To provide for the drainage of any water that
might penetrate the body of the masonry in spite of these extraordinary
measures, two rows of 24 inch clay pipes were placed vertically in the
heart of the dam, from top to bottom, the pipes being 8 feet apart in
each row. The pipes of each row are connected to a 6-inch header pipe
that leads to the drainage tunnels built through the dam near the center
at the lowest level. In each drainage tunnel, which extends through
the earth embankment to the reservoir, a 23-inch steel washout pipe is laid.

The main outlet of the reservoir is a tunnel, 9200 feet long, about a
mile north of the dam. Water carried through this tunnel supplies power
396 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

under a head of 360 feet, from which 10,000 H. P. is generated in 8 units
and transmitted to neighboring manufacturing towns. (See Fig. 270.)

     
        
   
  

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The Solingen Dam, Germany.—The water supply of the city of Solin-
gen (population in 1895, 40,800) is in part derived from a reservoir formed
by a stone masonry dam, arched in plan, on a radius of 492 feet, having
a crest length of 585 feet. Its length at base is 125 feet; the thickness
at top is 14.7 feet, and at the foundation level the masonry is 120 feet
thick, while the maximum height is 141 feet. The location of this dam is
but a short distance from Remscheid.
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Fic. 272.—Lennep Dam, GERMANY.

[To face page 397.]
MASONRY DAMS. 397

The Lauchensee Dam, Germany.—This structure is one of four built
by the German Government in 1892-95, for the purpose of increasing the
low water flow of the streams of the Vosges mountains, and has many in-
teresting features. It has a maximum height of 98.4 feet, is about 840
feet long on top, and is curved up-stream with a radius of 2950 feet. The
crest width is 13 feet, base 65 feet, designed as a gravity structure, with
all lines of pressure falling within the center third. It is composed of
cyclopean rubble, laid in concrete of trass mortar, mixed in the proportion
of 1 part lime, 1 part trass and 24 parts sand, produced by crushing sand-
stone, which is the foundation rock of the dam.

The dam contains 37,400 cubic yards of masonry, of which 65% is
stone and 35% mortar. The masonry cost $5.38 per cubic yard, the
total cost of the dam being $243,750, including $23,750 for an earth
embankment placed against the down-stream side of the dam four
years after the masonry was completed, when it had been demonstrated
that there were no defects in the masonry structure. The purpose of
this embankment, which reaches nearly to the top of the dam, is to
protect the masonry from the sun, it having been noted during many
years’ observation on the elastic movements of the dams of that region
that the water pressure exerted a much smaller influence than the expan-
sion due to warm weather. The embankment is paved on the surface,
and is provided with two berms.

The reservoir has a capacity of but 27,200,000 cubic feet (624 acre-feet).
The average cost was therefore about $390 per acre-foot of storage ca-
pacity provided. The chief engineer of the work was Mr. H. Fecht,
who contributed an article in the “Zeitschrift fur Bauwesen,”’ quoted by
Engineering Record, August 30, 1902.

Lennep Dam, Germany (Figs. 271, 272).—This dam was originallly built
in 1893 to a maximum height of 37.7 feet, with a width on bottom of 24.6
feet, and a crest width of 5.25 feet, forming a small reservoir of 32,000,000
gallons capacity, supplying the city of Lennep. The dam was curved
up-stream with a radius of 460 feet, and its crest length was 416 feet.
To increase the storage capacity to about double, it was decided to add
10 feet to the height of the dam, and this addition was recently completed
in a somewhat remarkable manner by building a series of buttresses or
counterfort walls on the down-stream side, 41 feet apart from center to
center, each buttress being uniformly 9.84 feet thick. At the section of
maximum height the buttresses extended down a distance of 26.24 feet
from the original toe of the dam, and at the level of the crest of the
old dam the buttress is 10.66 feet wide. An addition to the top of the dam,
10.7 feet high, was built in trapezoidal section, starting with the crest
width of the old dam and narrowing slightly to the top. A series of hori-
398 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

zontal arches were sprung between the buttresses at the crown level and
at mid height to transmit the pressure to the buttresses, and at the same
time vertical arches of concrete were made between the upper and lower
horizontal arches. The masonry of the buttresses was laid in courses
so inclined as 10 be normal to the lines of pressure, as in the Remscheid,
Urft and other German dams. The mortar used in the concrete and in
laying the masonry consisted of 1 part Portland cement, 1 part slaked
lime, 14 parts trass, and 43 parts washed sand. Lennep is a small
city of 14,000 inhabitants, in the neighborhood of Remscheid.*

Other German Dams.—The following list of masonry dams, designed
after what may be termed the Intze type, with earth embankments on
the up-stream face, is quoted by Mr. Edward Wegmann in his work,
from an article on masonry dams by H. Bellet, Civil Engineer.

Name. Location. Height in Feet.
Salbach .......--005 Ronsdorf............ 78.5
Lingese............. Marienheide......... 80.5
Eschbach. .......... Remscheid.......... 82.0
Bevery cigs aes carts Hiikeswagen........ 82.0
Fuelbecker.......... COTO Fie Bees Bn tog bd 88.7
Jubachss sede aacens es Meinerzhagen. ....... 91.3
Glorbach ........... Breckerfeld......... 105.4
Hasperbach....... ‘Tee EAS POs cc yscce Head gececads 111.0
Herbringhauser...... Liidringhausen...... 112.0
Oesters:ciay gies gare Plettenberg.......... 119.0
Henner.........-... Meschede........... 125.0
Ennepe. ............ Altenvorde.......... 135.0
Sengbach........... Solingen............ 142.0
Queis ........ eee eee Silesia... 0.0... .. cee 148.0

Dams IN AUSTRIA.

The Komotau Dam, Austria.—The highest dam in the Austrian Em-
pire was built near the city of Komotau, Northern Bohemia, near the
German frontier, on a tributary of the river Elbe, in 1901-1904, for the
water supply of that little city, whose population in 1900 was 13,050. The
dam forms a reservoir of 24,710,000 cubic feet capacity, or 568 acre-feet.
It has a maximum height of 139.4 feet, or 116.5 feet above the stream bed,
and carries a maximum depth of 111.5 feet of water. It is 508.5 feet in

 

* Engineering News, August 29, 1907, with illustrations from the “Zeitschrift fiir
Bauwesen.”
MASONRY DAMS. 399

length on top, 170.6 feet long at bottom, is 98.4 feet thick at the base, and
13 feet on the crest. It is curved in plan, on a radius of 820 feet. The
total volume of masonry is 53,600 cubic yards, consisting chiefly of cyclo-
pean rubble, made of large blocks of gneiss embedded in Portland cement
concrete. The crest of the dam is ornamented with dimension stone of
granite, cut and laid in mortar.

In this dam, as in many of the newer German dams, a facing of asphalt-
um and tar was applied in two layers, held in place against the up-stream
slope by a layer of concrete, dovetailed into the main body of the dam. A
drainage system in the body of the masonry was also provided to carry
off possible seepage, by means of 3-inch vertical pipes with open joints,
placed in small shafts, built 6.5 feet apart, 3.3 feet in from the water-face.
These connect at the bottom with larger pipes discharging any water so
collected into a drainage gallery leading to the down-stream side. In
this manner it is intended to prevent the possibility of the existence of
upward pressure inthe interior of the masonry. This treatment of
masonry dams is becoming quite universal among European engineers
and is being adopted in the United States.

The dam, though known to the outside world by the name of the city
it supplies, is locally named for the Austrian Emperor, Franz Joseph.

Dams In Betcrum.

The Gileppe Dam, Belgium.—No masonry structure of modern times
has so great a section as this, and few if any contain such an enormous
mass of masonry, the total volume of which is 325,000 cubic yards, all of
which was put in place in six years, from 1870 to 1875 inclusive. The
dam is most imposing in appearance, but it has a vast excess of masonry
beyond safe requirements, the effect of which is to place additional stress
upon the foundation masonry without increasing the stability. The prin-
cipal dimensions are as follows:

Maximum, heigh tesis.csucseba cue ws eects 154 feet.
Mens hVOm top ivnais caren apmreemantimcdie sGiewkceaon Mid. =
Breadth: Ol LOpiaeewenwaxe porew sees tease ee 49 «
Breadth at bass. .cns ous exeee ewes eed we 216.5 “

The dam is curved up-stream on a radius of 1640 feet. It was designed
by M. Bidaut, Chief Engineer, who occupied nine years in the preliminary
studies before plans were submitted to the Belgian Government, by whom
it was erected to regulate the flow of the Gileppe River and provide a pure-
water supply for the cloth manufactories at the city of Verviers.

The reservoir formed by the dam covers an area of 198 acres and im-
pounds 3,170,000,000 gallons, or 9730 acre-feet. The mean depth is 49
OOF ‘WOAIDTAG ‘SUMIAUGA ‘NVC BddAIHN—'eLlZ ‘OI

 

 

 
MASONRY DAMS. 401

feet, or just one-third the maximum depth. The capacity of the reservoir
is about one-half the average annual run-off from 15.4 square miles of
watershed.

The masonry is rough rubble throughout, of sandstone quarried on the
spot. The dam is surmounted by a cyclopean statue of a lion sitting on
a pedestal. An ample carriageway is provided across the dam.

Considering the great thickness of the wall and the care taken in its
construction, it was a great disappointment to find on filling the reservoir
that it leaked quite considerably. This leakage gradually diminished and is
of no importance as affecting the stability of the dam.

The entire cost of the dam was $874,000, or $89.83 per acre-foot of
etorage capacity.

Dams IN GREAT BRITAIN.

The Vyrnwy Dam, Wales.—Since July 14, 1892, the city of Liverpool,
England, has been chiefly supplied by water from a large storage-reservoir
in the mountains of Wales, 77 miles distant, formed by a monumental dam
of masonry erected across the Vyrnwy valley, in 1882 to 1889. The dam
has a top length of 1172 feet, is straight in plan, and has a maximum height
of 161 feet from foundation to parapet. It is used as an overflow-weir over
its entire length, and its profile was designed to offer additional] resistance
over that presented by water-pressure alone. An elevated roadway is
carried across the dam on piers and arches, above the level of flood-water,
which adds greatly to the architectural effect and ornamentation of the
imposing mass of masonry. The great wall is composed of cut stone. The
base width of the dam is 117.75 feet. The back-water level below the
dam is 45 feet above its base.

The total volume of masonry in the dam is 260,000 cubic yards, which
was laid with such extraordinary care that its average cost was nearly $10
per cubic yard, in a country where materials and labor are of the cheapest.

The base of the dam is founded on a hard slate rock, and one end of
the masonry is built into the solid wall of bed-rock on the side of the
valley. At the other end, however, the rock was so deeply overlaid with
a deposit of bowlder clay that the masonry was connected with this material
by a puddle-wall of clay recessed into the masonry.

The general dimensions of the dam are as follows:

Total length on top.......-e cece eee eee ener eet eee eee eens 1172 feet.
Maximum height on top of roadway parapet......--.-+.+++-- 161 “
Height, river-bed to parapet..........- esse eee recente e eee 101 “
Height, river-bed to overflow-level......-.-.+++eeeee terse 84 “
Greatest width of base..... 2... cece eee eee eee e eens 120 “

Batter of water-face.... 2c. cece ee eet eee eaee 1to7.27 “
402 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The cost of the dam is given as follows:

Borings and preliminary work....... 00.0. e eee eee eee eee eee $34,600
Excavating 220,820 cu. yds. and backfilling 79,501 cu. yds...... 287,600
Puddle-wall, including excavation. ...... 66... c eee ee eee eee 16,800
Masonry and brickwork... 06.6.0 cece eee eee eee eee eee 2,532,000
Regulating and gauging plant............ 2. eee eee eee eee 46,000
Basin and other work below dam... .... cece cece eee 40,000

Total for dam proper....... sieaetnere tia eeemcareeeaoee $2,957,000

In addition to this the removal of a village in the basin, the building
of roads around the lake, culverts, fencing, planting, dressing slopes, and
erection of superintendent’s house cost $377,000, or a total of $3,334,000.

The reservoir formed by the dam covers a surface area of 1121 acres,
and impounds 12,131,000,000 Imperial gallons, or 44,690 acre-feet. This
gives a mean depth of 39.87 feet, or 47.5% of the maximum. The water-
shed area is 29 square miles, upon which the minimum recorded rainfall
is 49.63 inches, and the maximum 118.51 inches.

The average cost of the dam per acre-foot of storage capacity formed
by it was $74.61.

The dam was planned and constructed by Geo. F. Deacon, Chief
Engineer, Liverpool Water-works. Messrs. Thos. Hawkesley and J. F.
Bateman were consulting engineers.

Tests made by Kirkaldy of large blocks of the concrete and masonry
taken from the dam showed a compressive strength of 300 tons per square
foot, while the maximum strains to be borne by it are but 9 tons per square
foot, an excess of strength which has been considerably criticised.

The Blackbrook Dam, England.—A dam of considerable importance
was built in 1900 to 1905 across the valley of the Blackburn, to form a
reservoir of 80,960,000 cubic feet capacity (1860 acre-feet) as storage
for the domestic supply of the city of Loughborough (population in 1891,
18,200). The dam is 108 feet in maximum height, 525 feet long on the
crest, 65 feet thick at base, and 14 feet at top, carrying a maximum depth
of 65 feet of water. The foundations extend down 30 feet below the orig-
inal stream level, and a cut-off trench goes down 25 feet still deeper.
The dam has a spillway over the crest for a length of 150 feet, which is
spanned with six arches of 25 feet each, carrying a 9-foot roadway over
the top of the dam. A water-cushion or tail pond is provided at the down-
stream toe of the structure to prevent scouring during heavy floods. Water
is drawn from the reservoir through valves placed at various levels in
a valve tower above the dam.

The work was carried out under direction of Messrs. George and F. W.
Hodson, M. M. Inst. C. E.
MASONRY DAMS. 403

The Swansea Dam, Wales.—The waterworks of Swansea, Wales (pop-
ulation in 1891, 90,400), were supplemented in 1905 by a storage reservoir
formed by a dam of cyclopean rubble masonry, faced with brick, having
a maximum height of 144 feet, and a crest length of 1250 feet. The
structure was carried down into the rock a depth of 37 feet below the
river bed, and is 7 feet higher than the overflow level, leaving an available
depth of 100 feet of water in the reservoir.

The up-stream face is vertical from the top down for 70 feet, then
batters 1:20 to the bottom. The thickness at the river bed level, 107 feet
below the crest, is 75 feet. For the heart of the dam the large stones were
bedded in 1:2:5 concrete, but in the lower part of the base and the upper
six feet of the water face a richer mixture was used, consisting of 1 of
cement, 2 of sand and 3.4 of fine crushed rock.

The brick facing on both up-stream and down-stream sides of the
dam is uniformly 18 inches thick, tied into the body of the masonry, and
laid in 1.3 cement mortar. The brick used were blue Staffordshire brick,
hard burned, with hard pressed brick for the exterior facing courses.

The dam was designed and constructed by Mr. R. H. Wyrill, M. Inst.
C. E., Borough and waterworks engineer for the city of Swansea.

The use of brick for the facing of a masonry dam is confined to three
principal structures in the world, as far as recorded in technical literature:
the Renscheid dam, with one face so covered, and the Ithaca dam, with both
faces of brick, being the other two examples, aside from the Swansea dam.

The Burrator Dam, England.—The city of Plymouth (population in
1891, 84,200),a port in the south of England, began the construction of
the Burrator reservoir, on the river Meavy, 10.5 miles from the city, in
1893, by the erection of a masonry structure called the Burrator dam,
and an earth embankment called the Sheepstor dam, both notable struc-
tures. The works were described by Edward Sandeman, M. Inst. C. E.,
in a paper contributed to the Institution of Civil Engineers, and published
in October, 1901, from which the following description has been compiled.
Mr. Sandeman was hydraulic engineer tor the city, and constructed the
works under the advice of James Mansergh, F.R.S., President Inst. C. E.,
acting throughout as consulting engineer.

The Burrator dam has a total height of 145.5 feet from base of founda-
tion to the coping of the parapet wall, is straight in plan, 361 feet in length,
with a thickness of 62.8 feet at the level of the river bed, 77 feet below
the overflow level, and is battered on the up-stream face 7.5%, and on
the lower face 61%. It carries a roadway 18 feet wide on top, supported
over a central spillway of 125 feet total length by five segmental arches of
28 feet span. The maximum depth of excavation to granite bedrock was
40 feet.
FOP ‘GNVIONG SWVC] GUANWIMIH[—'F2Z ‘DI

 

 
MASONRY DAMS. 405

Blocks of granite, roughly dressed on the bed and weighing from a
few hundred pounds to 7 tons, were embedded in rich concrete, while the
facings were composed of large stones having an average thickness of 30
inches, with beds and joints carefully dressed, but left rough on the exter-
ior, and laid in cement mortar, the joints being pointed and calked with
neat cement mortar.

The cost of the masonry dam was $495,700, while the cost of the earth
dam was $106,600, a total of $602,300. The reservoir has a capacity of
105,120,000 cubic feet. or 2410 acre-feet. The average cost, therefore
was $250 per acre-foot of reservoir capacity.

The earth dam is a remarkable structure on account of the extraordi-
nary depth of excavation required to reach bedrock with the concrete
core-wall, whose lowest level is 91 feet below the surface. This was built
up to within 22 feet of the water-line throughout, 5 to 6 feet thick, on top
of which clay puddle 8.5 feet thick at bottom, 6 feet at top, was extended
nearly to the crest of the embankment. The maximum depth of water
against this embankment is but 17 feet. Its length is 470 feet, crest width
12 feet, slopes 3 on 1 and 2 on 1.

Thirlmere Dam, England (Fig. 272).—A part of the water supply of
Manchester is furnished from a reservoir at Thirlmere lake, formed by
a masonry dam, built in 1886-1893. The dam has a maximum height of
62 feet, and is 18.5 feet wide on top, forming a roadway with masonry
parapets on each side. The width of the dam at the base is 51.8 feet.
The up-stream face has a batter of 12.5%, while on the down-stream side
is a vertical curve with a radius of 100 feet.

The dam has a gravity section, and is built on a.reverse curve, in order
to follow the alinement of highest bedrock across the valley. The crest
of the roadway of the dam is 6.2 feet higher than the high water level
of the reservoir.

The dam was built by Mr. George H. Hill, engineer in charge.

Craig Goch Dam, Wales.—The city of Birmingham, England, has
been engaged for many years past in extensive works of water storage
to obtain an additional supply from the mountains of Wales, to be brought
to the city by an aqueduct 74 miles long, 8 feet high inside, by 7.5 feet
wide, with a capacity of 129 cubic feet per second. A total storage capacity
of 66,000 acre-feet is being created by the erection of five high masonry
dams, one of which, the Craig Goch dam, is illustrated by two photographs,
Figs. 275 and 276, taken from Engineering Record, January 30, 1904.
Other dams on the same stream are the Caban Goch and Pen-y-Gareg dams,
which are straight in plan. The Careg-Dhu dam and one other masonry
structure are located on the Clarewen river.

The total cost of the dams and aqueduct are estimated at over
 

 

 

 

—SHOWING OVERPOUR ON THE CRAIG GocH Dam, WALES. 406
 

 

 

 

 

Fic. 276.—Craiag Gocw Dam anv Reservoir, RADNORSHIRE, WALES, FOR BIRMINGHAM
WATER-SUPPLY. 407
408 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

$29,000,000. ATl dams are built of cyclopean rubble laid in a matrix of
high class Portland cement. The dams were designed and built under the
direction of James Mansergh, F.R.S., M. Inst. C. E.

Derwent Valley Dams, England.—Five large masonry dams for the
storage of water to supply the cities of Leicester, Derby, Sheffield, and
Nottingham have been under construction since 1904, under one combined
project controlled by an organization called the Derwent Valley Water
Board. These dams are of the following general dimensions:

Nama ee ace ver

7 Valley Level.
Howden dam............ 1080 118
Derwent dam............ 1070 115
Haglee dam.............. 980 136
Ashop (ani wi cndccaiees 840 103
Bamford dam............ 2500 95

In excavating for the Howden dam it has been necessary to sink to
a depth of 67 feet below the river bed to reach bedrock, and a trench 20
feet deeper has to be cut into the rock to reach water-tight strata. In
making the excavations a cableway for carrying away the spoil has been
used.

The dam is to be 160 feet thick at the base, 9 feet at crest, and be built
of cyclopean rubbJe masonry. It will have a long spillway over the crest.

It is estimated that the works will cost entire about $35,000,000, and
serve about 2,000,000 people. The work will occupy twenty years in con-
struction before the entire system is completed, although they will be
in partial service at a much earlier date. The main aqueduct will be 55
miles long.

Dams In SoutH AMERICA.

The Rio das Lages Dam, Brazil.—The Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light
and Power Co., in 1905-07, built a rubble masonry dam 135 feet in height,
on the Rio das Lages, 50 miles from the city of Rio de Janeiro, to form a
regulating reservoir for the development of power. The dam is of gravity
type, with all lines of pressure well within the middle third, the main portion
of which is curved on an arc of short radius, best fitting the bedrock,
with tangential extensions into the banks at either end. Five hundred
feet below the dam the river plunges over a vertical fall of 200 feet over a
hard ledge of granite, in a gorge filled with rank tropical foliage, forming
ascene of great beauty and grandeur.

The dam creates an enormous reservoir, 16 miles long, with many
tortuous windings and arms, giving a total capacity of 7,780,000,000 cubic
feet, or 178,000 acre-feet.
MASONRY DAMS. 409

The writer examined und reported upon the site before the plans were
definitely decided upon, at which time the quantity of masonry required
was estimated at about 63,000 cubic yards.

From the dam to the power house a total fall of 1030 feet is utilized
for the development of over 50,000 H. P.in the primary installation,
transmitted to Rio de Janeiro at 80,000 volts.

The works have been designed and built by Mr. Chas. H. Kearney,
chief engineer, under direction of F. 8. Pearson, M. Am. Soc. C. E., as
consulting engineer, and vice-president of the company.

Parnahyba Dam, Brazil.—In 1900 the Sao Paulo Tramway, Light and
Power Co. built a masonry dam across the Tieté river, 22 miles below the
city of Sao Paulo, near the village of Parnahyba, for the development of
power. The dam is 850 feet long on the crest, straight in plan, 37 feet in
height, with a base width of 30 feet. A rollway section for overflow is
located in the central portion of the dam, 325 feet in length, the end sections
being 5 feet higher. The dam rests throughout on solid granite, and.is
formed of rough rubble masonry, with cut-stonc facings on the down-stream
portion of the rollway and crest.

The water from the dam is conveyed to a small penstock reservoir,
200 feet from the power-house, through two #-inch steel feeder pipes, 12 feet
diameter, 2223 feet long, resting on steel saddles, placed 10 feet apart, on
masonry piers. The secondary dam is constructed of concrete, resting
on rock, is about 45 feet high, 255 feet long, 24 feet thick at the base,
with a batter of 35% on the down-stream side. The crest width is about
8 feet at a height of about 10 feet above the water line.

The constructing engineer was Mr. Hugh L. Cooper, with F. §. Pearson,
Dr. Sc., M. Am. Soc. C. E., acting as consulting engineer.

RESERVOIRS IN PERU.

The only storage reservoir dams of importance in Peru are situated on
the headwaters of the Santa Eulalia river, the main tributary of the Rimac
river, and are probably the highest in altitude of any dams in the world,
as well as possessing many other unique conditons.

In the years 1874-75 the Peruvian Government undertook the work of
developing a water supply for irrigation in the Rimac valley by the build.
ing of masonry dams and outlet cuts in a group of lakes known as the
“Lagunas Huarochiri,” situated at elevations of 14,000 to 16,000 feet above
sea level in the Andes mountains at the head of the Rimac river. There
are some 65 or 70 of these lakes, nine of which were ccnverted into storage
reservoirs, having an aggregate capacity of 37,212 acre-feet, although the
maximum quantity ever stored since they were put in service has been
410 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

but 28,100 acre-feet. The lakes are about SO miles away from the land
irrigated; the loss by evaporation and seepage in transit by the natural
stream channels in this distance is estimated at 50%, and the net results
accomplished by the water of these reservoirs is stated to be the reclamation
of only 1940 acres, at an average cost of $506.70 per acre! The works
are nevertheless of an interesting and instructive character, and the writer
is indebted to Mr. W. T. Turner, chief of the Hydrographic Commission,
Department of Lima, for the accompanying photographs, illustrating
their construction and the data concerning them, from which the following
description has been compiled.

Lake Carpa Dam.—Lake Carpa is situated near the head of the Huasca
river, a small tributary of the Santa Eulalia, having a limited drainage

 

 

 

Fic. 277.—Carpa Dam, Peru, sHowinG TypicaL OvTLET Cut, FILLED WITH STEEL
BULKHEAD, GLACIER IN BacKGROUND.

area and principally fed by the melting of a glacier. A cut through gravel
and solid rock, about two meters wide, was first made to a depth of 11.7
meters (38.4 feet) to drain the lake, and a masonry dam was built about
the top of the cut to a total height of 4.30 meters (14.1 feet) making a total
MASONRY DAMS. 411

depth of reservoir of 16 meters (53.5 feet). The dam is vertical on the up-
stream face, has a crest width of 1.5 meters, and is vertical on the lower
face for a depth of two meters below the top, thence slopes 0.5:1 to the
bottom. The length of the dam on the crest is 58 meters (190 feet) and it
is curved with a radius of 60 meters. It contains a total of 907 cubic meters
(1190 cubic yards) of masonry, the contract cost of which was $65.00 per
cubic meter. Excavation in rock, 2978 cubic meters at $20.00 per cubic
meter, and in gravel 1857 cubic meters at $12.00 per cubic meter, brought
up the total cost of the work, exclusive of gates, to $140,800. The storage
capacity when filled is 16,921 acre-feet, but as the lake has never filled
above the foot of the masonry in this dam, the maximum storage has been
but 10,190 acre-feet.

Fig. 277 shows the dam from the down-stream side and the outlet
cut from near the bottom to the top of the masonry, which is divided by
the cut in two halves, the space being filled with a bulkhead composed
of I-beams and steel plates. Water is released at the bottom of the cut
through gates in the bulkhead that are raised by screw-stems reaching
to the top.

Lake Quisha Dam.— About a mile above lake Carpa reservoir and 300
feet higher in elevation, is lake Quisha which has been converted into a
storage reservoir by a dam quite similar in construction to the works at
lake Carpa. The cut to drain the lake is 10.6 meters deep and the dam
6 meters high, a total of 16.6 meters (54.5 feet). The dam has the same
section as the Carpa dam with a crest length of 48 meters and a volume
of 887 cubic meters of masonry. It is also curved up-stream, with a radius
of 66 meters. The water-shed tributary to the lake is but 3 square miles,
and the annual run-off is so much less than the reservoir capacity that the
water has never reached within 5 meters of the top of thedam. The capaci-
ty of the lake is 8035 acre-feet, while the maximum amount stored has
been 5654 acre-feet. As this dam is on the same water-shed as the Carpa
dam, and the total annual run-off of the tributaries of both is less than
the capacity of Carpa lake reservoir, it is evident that the Quisha dam
was not required, and its cost—over $125,000—was a useless expenditure.
The elevation of the lake is 15,400 feet above sea level. Fig. 278 shows
the entire dam and a portion of the lake. Incidentally it conveys an
idea of the scenic grandeur with which the lake is surrounded.

The Sacsa Dam.—Sacsa lake is 1000 feet lower in elevation than
Quisha lake, and is located near the head of the Sacsa river, but, unlike
the two reservoirs just described, has a water supply greatly in excess of
its capacity, which is but 4172 acre-feet. The outlet cut was made to
a depth of 5 meters, and gates were erected with the evident purpose of
building a dam 7.5 meters in height above the bottom of the cut. This
dam, however, was never completed, although it would have added 50%
 

 

 

 

Fic. 279.—Sacsa Dam, Peru, DEsiaNEp To RE INCREASED IN Heigut 8 Fret,
SHOWING GATES. 412
MASONRY DAMS. 413

to the storage capacity of the lake. The excavation of the cut required
the removal of nearly 18,000 cubic meters of clay, gravel and rock, the
cost of which, with the 173 cubic meters of masonry around the gates,
and including the latter, was over $250,000. The photograph (Fig. 279)

 

ry

 

* Fig. 280.—Huasca Dam, Peru, ItLustratinc Type oF Iron BULKHEADS USED IN
OutLet Cuts or aLL Nine Lakes USED as Reservoirs.
clearly shows the typical plan of outlet gates used on all the reservoirs.
The other six reservoirs, Huasca, Bucro, Mischa, Huachua, Manca, and
Pichua, are natural lakes, converted to use by merely making outlet cuts
and erecting controlling gates. Fig. 280 is typical of all of these, and shows
the iron work of the bulkhead in the cut, in which the gates are placed
at Huasca lake reservoir—the largest of the six, having a capacity of 4228
acre-feet. The total expenditure on these works by the Government
was $983,000. The enormous unit prices paid for the works is suggestive
of official graft on an extensive scale.
The coastal plain of Peru, extending from 30 to 50 miles inland, is
extremely arid, and rain falls at rare intervals of many years. The valleys
414 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWELR, ETC.

of the streams intersecting this plain and draining from the precipitious
Andes mountains, are generally small and have an inadequate water supply
during eight months of the year. The rainy season in the Western Cordil-
Jera, one of three parallel ranges which make up the Andes chain of moun-
tains, occurs during the summer months from December to March, when
the precipitation is very heavy, and the run-off is so great that if one-fourth

 

 

Fic. 281.—AutisHa Dam Sirr, Santa Eurauia River, Peru—a Most
REMARKABLE GORGE.

of it could be stored, the entire arable area of the Peruvian coast could
be abundantly irrigated. The rivers, however, are very short and pre-
cipitous, and possess few flat basins suitable for the storage of flood waters.
The soil of the valleys is extremely fertile, and the incentive for the de-
velopment of irrigation is large, as it is said that Peru produces a greater
quantity of sugar per acre than any other cane growing country in the
world. Other crops yield with equal luxuriance. In the course of the
MASONRY DAMS. 415

investigation which is being conducted by the Hydrographic Commission
under Mr. Turner, a remarkable dam site has been surveyed which is
without parallel. It is located on the Santa Eulalia river, 20 miles above
Chosica. For 400 feet in height above the stream bed, this wonderful
canyon is nowhere more than 35 feet in width and presents a most tempt-
ing opportunity for daring hydraulic engineering in the erection of a dam

 

 

 

Fic. 282 —Ressrvoir Site aBove Proposep AutTiIsnA Dam, Peru.

of unprecedented height. Fig. 281 is a view of this phenomenal canyon,
and Fig. 282 is a photograph of the reservoir basin above the dam.
The opportunity for water power development is also remarkable on these
rivers, which fall so very precipitously toward the west. One branch
of the Rimac river falls 73 feet in a distance of 35 miles, with a minimum
flow of 250 sec.-feet, capable of developing 200,000 H. P. This is a fair
illustration of nearly all the rivers of Peru flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
CHAPTER IV.

EARTHEN DAMS.

THE earliest constructions for water-storage of which there is historical
record have been earthen dams erected to impound the water for irrigation.
India and Ceylon afford examples of the industry of their inhabitants in
the creation of storage-reservoirs in the earliest ages of civilization, which
for number and size are almost inconceivable. Excepting the exaggerated
dimensions of Lake Moeris in central Egypt, and the mysterious basin of
“ A] Aram,” the bursting of whose embankment devastated the Arabian .
city of Mareb, no similar constructions formed by any race, whether ancient
or modern, exceed in colossal magnitude the stupendous tanks of Ceylon.
The reservoir of Koh-rud at Ispahan, Persia, the artificial lake of Ajmeer,
or the tank of Hyder in Mysore, cannot be compared in extent or grandeur
with the great Ceylonese tanks of Kalaweva or Padavil-colon. The first
Ceylon tank of which there is historical record was built by King Pandu-
waasa in the year 504 3.c. The tank of Kalaweva was constructed a.p. 459,
and was not less than 40 miles in circumference. The dam or embank-
ment of earth which formed it was more than 12 miles in length, and the
spillway of stone is described by the historian Tennent as “one of the
most stupendous monuments of misapplied human labor on the island.”
The same author describes the tank of Padavil as follows:

“The tank itself is the basin of a broad and shallow valley, formed
by two lines of low hills, which gradually sink into the plain as they
approach the sea. The extreme breadth of the enclosed space may be 12
or 14 miles, narrowing to 11 at the spot where the retaining bund has
been constructed across the valley. . . . The dam is a prodigious work, 11
miles in length, 30 feet broad at the top, and about 200 feet at the base,
upwards of 70 feet high, and faced throughout its whole extent by layers
of squared stone. . . . The existing sluice is remarkable for the ingenuity
and excellence of its workmanship. It is built of hewn stones varying from
6 to 12 feet in length, and still exhibiting a sharp edge and every mark
of the chisel. These rise into a ponderous wall immediately above the vents
which regulated the escape of the water; and each layer of the work is
kept in its place by the frequent insertion, endwise, of long plinths of

416
EARTHEN DAMS. 417

stone, whose extremities project beyond the surface, with a flange to key
the several courses and prevent them from being forced out of their places.
The ends of the retaining-stones are carved with elephants’ heads and
other devices, like the extremities of Gothic corbels; and numbers of
similarly sculptured blocks are lying about in every direction... . On
top of the great embankment itself, and close by the breach, there stands a
tall sculptured stone with two engraved compartments, the possible record
of its history, but the characters were in some language no longer under-
stood by the people. The command of labor must have been extraordinary
at the time when such a construction was successfully carried out, and the
population enormous to whose use it was adapted. The number of cubic
yards in the bund is upwards of 17,000,000, and at the ordinary value of
labor in this country [England] it must have cost £1,300,000, without
including the stone facing on the inner side of the bank. The same sum
of money that would be absorbed in making the embankment of Padavil
would be sufficient to form an English railway 120 miles long, and its
completion would occupy 10,000 men for more than five years. Be it
remembered, too, that in addition to 30 of these immense reservoirs in
Ceylon, there are from 500 to 700 smaller tanks in ruins, but many still
in serviceable order, and all susceptible of effectual restoration. . . . None
of the great reservoirs of Ceylon have attracted so much attention as the
stupendous work of the Giants’ Tank (Kattucarré). The retaining-bund
of the reservoir, which is 300 feet broad at the base, can be traced for more
than 15 miles, and, as the country is level, the area which its waters were
intended to cover would have been nearly equal to that of Lake Geneva,
Switzerland (223 square miles). At the present day the bed of the tank
is the site of ten populous villages, and of eight which are now deserted.”

It was but recently discovered that the reason why the great reservoir
was never utilized after having been built at such enormous expense, was
an error in the original levels by which the canal from the Malwatte River,
that was intended to feed the reservoir, ran up-hill.

Capt. R. Baird Smith, in his work on “Irrigation in the Madras
Provinces,” says:

“The extent to which tank irrigation has been developed in the Madras
Presidency is extraordinary. An imperfect record of the number of tanks
in fourteen districts shows them to amount to no less than 43,000 in repair
and 10,000 out of repair, or 53,000 in all. It would be a moderate esti-
mate to fix the length of embankment for each at half a mile, and the
number of masonry works in sluices, waste-weirs, etc., would probably not
be overrated at an average of six. These data, only assumed to give some
definite idea of the system, would give close upon 30,000 miles of embank-
ments (sufficient to put a girdle round the globe not less than 6 feet thick)
and 300,000 separate masonry works. The whole of this gigantic ma-
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EARTHEN DAMS. 419

chinery is of purely native origin, not one new tank having been made
by the English. The revenue from existing works is roughly estimated
at £1,500,000 sterling per annum, and the capital sunk at £15,000,000.”

The same author described the Ponairy tank of Trichinopoly, now out
of repair, as having an embankment 30 miles in length, and an area of
60 or 80 square miles. The Veeranum tank is very ancient, though still
in service and yielding a revenue of $57,500 per annum. It has an em-
hankment 12 miles long, and covers 35 square miles of area.

The Chumbrumbaukum tank has an embankment 19,200 feet in length,
and forms a reservoir of 5730 acres, with a capacity of 63,780 acre-feet.
The dam is 16 to 28 feet high. The water from the reservoir yielded an
annual revenue to the government of $25,000 in 1853.

The Cauverypauk tank, in use from four hundred to five hundred years,
has an embankment 32 miles long, revetted with a stone wall 6 feet thick
at bottom, 3 feet at top, and 22 feet high, rising to within 5 or 6 feet of the
top of the bank, which is uniformly 9 feet high above high-water mark.
The embankment is nowhere less than 12 feet wide on top, with a front
slope of 24 to 1, and a rear slope of 1$ to 1. The whole outer surface is
carefully turfed and planted with grass. Water is distributed from nine
masonry sluices.

Mr. H. M. Wilson, in his work on “ Irrigation in India,” describes the
abandoned tank of Mudduk Masur as having been built over four hundred
years ago, when its capacity must have been 870,000 acre-feet of water.
The restraining-dams were three in number; the main central dam, which
is 91 to 108 feet high, and having a base of 945 to 1100 feet, is still intact,
and the whole reservoir is capable of easy restoration. The lack of a spill-
way caused the destruction of the tank by the overtopping of one of the
minor embankments. Mr. Wilson states that in the Mysore district of
southern India there are 37,000 tanks, aside from the 53,000 enumerated
in the Madras Presidency by Capt. R. Baird Smith. Jn the Mairwara
District 2065 tanks have been built under English rule since the date of
Capt. Smith’s work, before quoted—1854.

Of the modern earthen dams built by English engineers in the employ
of the Indian Government, two of the most interesting were recently con-
structed in the Bombay Presidency, the Ekruk tank near Sholapur, and
the Ashti tank, on the Ashti river.

The Ekruk Tank (Fig. 283) impounds 76,500 acre-feet, and has a dam
whose maximum height is 75.6 feet. The total length is 6940 feet, which
included 2730 feet of masonry, of which 1400 feet is at the northern end
and 1330 feet at the southern end. The cost of the dam was $666,000.
The loss of water by evaporation during eight months is 7 feet in depth
and amounts to 12,500 acre-feet, or 16% of the entire capacity.

The Ashti Tank (Fig. 284) is formed by an earth dam 12,709 feet long,
O2F

   

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BARTHEN DAMS. 421

58 feet in maximum height, having slopes of 3:1 inside and 2:1 outside.
The crest of the dam is 12 feet above high-water mark, and has a width
of 6 feet. The interior slope is paved with stone. The storage capacity
of the reservoir is 35,700 acre-feet, of which 9200 acre-feet, or 26%, is
lost by evaporation. The reservoir has a surface area of 2870 acres. The
following description of the construction of the dam is condensed from
Mr. H. M. Wilson’s “ Irrigation in India”:

The site of the dam was cleared of vegetation and top soil, so that
the entire structure rests upon a sound and firm foundation. There is no
puddle-wall proper, but a puddle-trench, 10 feet wide, was excavated down
to a compact, impervious bed, the entire length of the dam, and was filled
to one foot above the natural ground surface. This filling was composed
of two parts sand and three parts black soil. The central third of the
dam is built up of selected material of black soil, extending, as shown in
the accompanying section, in a triangular section, 60 feet wide at the base,
to the crest of the dam. Outside of this central section are two triangular
sections of brown soil, faced with 1 to 15 feet of puddle of sand and black

soil. On the inside a stone paving 6 inches thick is laid over the slope to
" resist wave-action. Across the river-bed a trench 5 feet wide was excavated
along the entire length of the dam and extending 100 feet into the banks.
On each side this trench was filled with concrete and connected with the
puddle-trench. The puddle-trench was curved around the concrete wall
and continued across the river at a distance of 20 feet from the concrete
wall on the up-stream side. This work having been finished in dry weather,
the sand of the river-bed was sluiced out of the way by confining the
stream and directing it into narrow channels by loose rock spur-walls and
piers.

The cross-section of the Ashti dam is considered amply strong, yet a
more liberal section is believed to be advisable, especially in the matter
of top width.

The wasteway of the Ashti reservoir consists of a channel 800 feet
wide, cut through the ridge rock, the crest of which is level for 600 feet
in length; thence the stream falls with a slope of 1% into a side channel.
Its discharging capacity is 48,000 second-feet, causing the water to rise
% feet above its sill, or to within 5 feet of the top of the dam.

In 1883 a serious slip occurred in the Ashti dam, causing a total settle-
ment of 16 feet at the crest of the embankment, and causing the ground
at the top of the dam to bulge upwards. The cause of this slip was
attributed to the fact that for a considerable portion of the length of the
dam it is founded on a clay soil containing nodules of impure lime and
alkali, which render it semi-fluid when soaked with water. The slip
occurred during or after excessive rains. It was corrected by digging
drainage-trenches at the rear toe, which were filled with bowlders and
422 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

broken stone, and by the addition of heavy berms or counterforts of earth,
for 700 or 800 feet of its length, to weight the toe.

Similar slips oceurred in the Ekruk dam, due to similar causes. These
occurrences point to the value of thorough drainage to the outer toe of all
earthen dams, and the desirability of the adoption of that form of combina-
tion of rock-flll and earth used so successfully in the Pecos dams, wherever
rock can be obtained for the outer portion of such embankments.

Vallejo Dam, California.—Wherever earthen dams are constructed
partially upon exposed bed-rock foundations, it is essential to provide free
drainage to the water which seeks to follow along the bed-rock. An inter-
esting application of this principle was made in the construction of a dam
erected a few years since for the water-supply of Vallejo, California.
The dam was built for storage purposes and formed a reservoir of 160 acres,
3 miles from the city. The bed-rock was exposed in the channel, and
formed a low fall about the center line of the dam. Just above this fall
a concrete wall was built upon the bed-rock some 6 feet high, with a
drainage-pipe extending out to the lower toe of the embankment. A
quantity of broken stone was placed above this wall, which formed a
collecting-basin for any seepage that might pass through the embankment
or that might creep along bed-rock, and the dam was then built over the
wall in the ordinary way. This provision effectually prevents the satura-
tion of the outer slope and keeps the dam well drained. The dam was
planned and built by Hubert Vischer, C.E., with Mr. C. E. Grunsky
acting as Consulting Engineer.

Earthen dams are usually constructed in one of the following ways:

(1) A homogeneous embankment of earth, in which all of the material
is alike throughout;

(2) An embankment in which there is a central core of puddle con-
sisting cither of specially selected natural materials found on the site,
or of a concrete of clay, sand, and gravel, mixed together in a pug-mill
and rammed or rolled into position;

(3) An embankment in which the central core is a wall of masonry or
concrete;

(+) An embankment having puddle or selected material placed upon its
water-face;

(5) An embankment of earth resting against an embankment of loose
rock; ,

(6) An embankment of earth, sand, and gravel, sluiced into position by
flowing water—a form of construction described in the chapter on Hy-
draulic-fill Dams. Earthen dams have also been built with a facing of
plank, made water-tight by preparations of asphaltum or tar. The choice
of these various available plans is dependent upon local conditions at the
site of the dam to be built, the materials available, and the predilection or
education of the engineer planning the structure.
EARTHEN DAMS. 423

European engineers, judging from their works, lean toward the central
puddle-core, and the greater number of the earth dams of the British
Empire are constructed on this plan. American engineers appear to prefer
the masonry core-wall, or the puddle facing on the inner slope of the
embankment to the central puddle-core, as a means of cutting off per-
colation through the dam and thus securing water-tightness.

The natural slope of dry earth placed in embankment is about 1, to 1,
but in practice it is customary to increase this to 2 to 1 on the exterior,
and to 3 to 1 on the interior slopes. The necessary height of the em-
bankment above the high-water mark depends to some extent upon the
length and size of the reservoir, and the “reach ” of the waves generated
by winds, as well as upon the width of the spillway and the height to which
water must rise in the reservoir during maximum floods to find full dis-
charge through the spillway. Ample spillway capacity is of primary im-
portance to the security of any earthen dam, unless it be one whose reser-
voir is filled by a canal or other controllable conduit from an adjacent
stream. A lack of sufficient spillway is the cause of the greater number
of the failures of earthen dams that have occurred, of which the most
memorable case was that of the Johnstown dam, whose rupture caused the
loss of two thousand lives and the destruction of many millions of dollars’
worth of property. Had the spillway been of ample dimensions, this dam
would have resisted any pressure that could have been brought to hear
upon it and the disaster would, in all probability, never have occurred.

A common source of failure is in the doubtful practice of building the
outlet-pipes through the body of the dam. These should either be laid in
a tunnel at one side, or in a deep trench cut into the hed-rock or the
solid impervious base of the dam, and the pipes surrounded by concrete,
filling the entire trench.

In building earth dams of any type it is essential that the earth should
be moist in order to pack solidly, and if not naturally moist it must be
sprinkled slightly until it acquires the proper consistency. An excess of
moisture is detrimental. It should be placed in thin layers, and thor-
oughly rolled or tamped, and the surface of each layer should be rough-
ened by harrowing or plowing before the next layer is applied. Droves of
cattle, sheep, or goats are often used with success as tamping-machines for
earth embankments. They are led or driven across the fresh made ground,
and the innumerable blows of their sharp hoofs pack the soil very thor-
oughly.

The Cuyamaca Dam.—One of the first earthen dams built in California
for irrigation storage was the Cuyamaca reservoir-dam, erected in 1886
by the San Diego Flume Company. It is located in a summit valley
between two of the Cuyamaca peaks, some 50 miles east of San Diego, at
an elevation of 4800 feet. The dam is 635 feet long on top, 41.5 feet high,
424 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, E17.

vith inner slope of 2:1, and outer slope of 1.5:1. The crest of the dam
js 6.5 feet above the floor of the spillways, one of which is 90 feet and
the other 41 feet in width.

Before work was begun on the dam the site was covered with loose
rock, and it was supposed that bed-rock was near the surface. Hence the
priginal plan was to build a masonry dam. Excavations were started for
that purpose, and considerable cement was brought to the ground to
construct the foundations of masonry. It was soon found, however, that
the loose rock was merely a surface layer on top of a bed of clay, and
the plan was changed to a dam of earth throughout.

The discharge-sluice of the dam was built through the center of
the structure, and consisted of a masonry culvert 34 feet wide, 44 feet
high, 120 feet long, resting on a bed of concrete 18 inches thick, laid
in a trench of that depth cut in the clay. This culvert has a fall of
34 feet in length. At its upper end is a circular brick tower, 5 feet in
diameter inside, with an opening at the bottom 3 feet wide, 43 feet
high, that is closed by a ponderous wooden gate, so large and heavy as to be
almost immovable. A second gate, 16 feet higher, of similar size and
eonstruction, is provided to close another opening into the tower. These

 

 

 

 

Fig. 285.—View or CuyaMAca DAM AND OUTLET-TOWER.

gates slide vertically in wooden grooves. An iron gate inside the tower
closes the head of the culvert.

The bond between the earthwork and the culvert was imperfect, and
considerable leakage ensued after the reservoir first filled, but this was
afterwards remedied.

Fig. 285 is a view of the dam from the side of the reservoir, showing
ihe tower.

The dam is reported to have cost $51,000 as originally constructed to
vhe height of 35 fect. In 1894 an addition of 6.5 feet was made to the
height of the dam, at a cost of $3400, This addition increased the capacity
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426 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

of the reservoir to 11,410 acre-feet, covering an area of 959 acres to a mean
depth of nearly 12 feet. The watershed tributary to the reservoir is about
11 square miles. The following table, prepared by Mr. F. 8S. Hyde, C.E.,
from the records of the company in 1896, gives the volume of catchment
and use during the first nine years after the completion of the dam:

TABLE OF RAINFALL, RUN-OFF, EVAPORATION AND AVERAGE DRAFT FROM THE
Cuyamaca RESERVOIR, SAN DrEGO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

 

 

 

Evaporation. pune
raft from
Rain and ee Run-off ©|—————_——___——__|_ Rerervoir
Calendar| “Melted | Run-off in Ito precipita per for
Year. Snow. Acre-feet. tion Square Mile. Average | Irrigation
Inches. Per cent, |Second-feet.| Total. per Day. |. and
Inches. |City Supply.
Ft. In, Acre-feet,
1888 24.05 3,076 21.75 0.385 3 9.50 0.316
1889 52.83 5,568 17.91 0.697 4 5.00 0.250 2,853
1890 62.91 6,214 16.79 0.768 3 9.25 0.208 2,881
1891 64.96 7,735 20.24 0.969 3 8.75 0.2038 3,084
1892 42.56 5,163 20.62 0.647 3 6.75 0.241 4,821
1893 41.51 4,098 16.78 0.512 5 38.25 0.303 5,965
1894 24.90 2,035 13.89 0.255 7 1.00 0.341 2,939
1895 58.52 11,464 33.31 1.436 5 3.75 0.317 6,237
1896 26.44 1,158 3) 0.145 5 7.50 0.284 5,777
Means .. 44.29 5,397 19.83 0.676 B19) |iseeein een 4,331

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subsequent years of drouth have resulted in emptying the reservoir
entirely. The rainy seasons of 1897-98, 1898-99, and 1899-1900 have
furnished practically no water for storage.

Referring to the above table of rainfall and run-off, it should be ex-
plained that as the rain-gauge on which the precipitation was recorded
is located at the dam between two high, wooded peaks, which act as
condensers of the moisture-laden clouds, the record shows a greater amount
than the average of the watershed, which a few miles east of the dam
borders on the desert, where the rainfall is known to be much less. This
is borne out by comparing the measured run-off with the ‘* Newell Curve”
of run-off, which would indicate that if the recorded precipitation were
a mean of the entire area, the yield should be two to three times as great
as it actually was. This Cuyamaca rainfall record is misleading asx a
criterion of mountain precipitation in this region. The water actually
flowing in different seasons from a known area, as shown by the table, is
more reliable as a guide for estimates of the yield to be expected from
adjacent sheds than any single rainfall record, or any possible collection
of rainfall statistics without such empirical knowledge of actual yield in
stream-flow produced by any given rainfall.

During the period covered by the table the mean annual draft from the
EARTHEN DAMS. 427

reservoir was 4331 acre-feet, while the mean annual run-off was 5397 acre-
feet. The difference between these figures, or 1066 acre-feet, represents
the mean annual evaporation, or 19.75 per cent of total catchment.

After flowing down Bowlder Creek and the San Diego River 12} miles,
dropping 4000 feet vertically in that distance, the water released at the
dam is picked up and diverted to the flume by means of a masonry weir
extending across the San Diego River. This diverting-dam is 340 feet long
on top, 35 feet high, 22 feet thick at base, 5 feet at the crest. To cut off
leakage under the dam a subwall was built on the up-stream side in the
main channel, lapping onto the base of the dam and extending down 15
feet deeper. This wall is 5 feet thick at bottom. The original wall had
been founded on disintegrated granite. The subwall was built in a trench
that cut deeper into the soft granite, but was not entirely effectual in
stopping the leakage. (Figs. 286 and 287.)

a tegulator

ELEVATION

    
   
 

 

 

 

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Fig. 287.—PLan AND ELEVATION oF DIvERTING-DAM OF San DizGo FLUME Co.,
CALIFORNIA.

The main flume is 34.85 miles in length, 6 feet wide in the clear, with
single sideboards 16 inches high, though the frame-posts are 4 feet high
and will admit of additional sideboards to give a total depth of 4 feet. If
completed as originally designed, the flume would have a capacity of 5000
miner’s inches under 4-inch pressure. Its present maximum capacity is
not over 900 inches. The flume is supported at places on high trestles,
one of which is shown in Fig. 288, and there are a number of long and
costly tunnels on the route. The grade of the flume is 4.75 feet per mile.
It commands all the irrigable lands of El Cajon Valley, Spring Valley, and
the San Diego mesa, and supplies water to about 5700 acres, mostly culti-
vated in orchards of citrus fruits. The city of San Diego has also received
‘VINNOAITVY ‘ANAT ODAC] NVQ NO NOLLOQULSNO)) AILSANL-HDIPT 40 ATANVG—Sss ‘PLT

 

 

 
EARTHEN DAMS. 429

its domestic supply from this source during the greater portion of the time
since its completion, through a 15-inch steel-pipe line laid over the mesa,
from the end of the flume to the city, about 10 miles.

In the summer of 1897-98 the reservoir was quickly exhausted, and it
became necessary to install an independent system of supply for the
orchards and the city of San Diego. For the orchard supply this was
accomplished by sinking a series of bored wells in the gravel bed of the
San Diego River, above El Cajon Valley, where the flume leaves the
immediate valley of the river. Pumping-stations were erected, and the
wells, which were placed at intervals of 50 feet along a horizontal suction-
pipe 1000 to 1300 feet in length, were drawn upon in series simultaneously,
the water being forced up to the flume with a lift of 300 feet. About 3
second-feet (150 inches) were thus obtained, and though the supply was
meager it was sufficient to maintain the life of the trees and keep them
in bearing with good cultivation. The city was supplied in a similar
manner by wells sunk in the river-bed in Mission Valley, from 2 to 4 miles
above the main pumping-plant. The water was lifted to the surface at sev-
eral points and conveyed to the pump-station by small flumes. Over
3,000,000 gallons daily were thus obtained. These plants have had to be
maintained and increased in capacity. The inhabitants of southern
California have reason to congratulate themselves that Nature has
provided underground storage-reservoirs capable of being drawn upon
so liberally that they are able to endure such an unprecedented period
of drouth as they are now experiencing. To obtain the supply, however,
by wells and pumps is generally far more costly than water stored in
surface reservoirs. ,

The Merced Reservoir Dam, California——The highest and longest
earthen dam closing a reservoir chiefly devoted to irrigation in California
is that which forms the so-called “ Yosemite Reservoir,’ 6 miles north-
east of the town of Merced. This dam was constructed in 1883-84 by the
Crocker-Hoffman Land Company as a part of its general system of irriga-
tion, by which some 150,000 acres are commanded for irrigation. It has
a maximum height of 50 feet, and is built entirely of earth composed of a
sandy clay with inner slopes of 3:1 and outer slopes of 2:1. From the
top down for 15 feet the interior is paved with loose rock, 12 inches thick,
for wave-protection. The entire length of the dam is 2200 feet, of which
1400 feet is less than 10 feet high. It was built up as a homogeneous bank
of earth, without a puddle-wall, or without adding to the natural moisture
of the soil. The earth was simply put in place with scraper-teams, the
material being deposited with care in thin layers.. The top width is 20 feet,
base 290 feet. The dam rests on a very firm foundation of cemented
gravel, into which a wide, deep puddle-trench was cut and carefully re-
430 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETO.

 

 

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Fic. 289.—Map sHowine Location or MERCED REsERvorr, CALIFORNIA.
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432 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

filled. Much of the material used in the dam had to be loosened by
blasting.

The reservoir-outlet consists of a masonry conduit, made of brick laid
in cement mortar, placed in a trench cut in the cemented gravel. This
conduit carries the main, cast-iron, delivery-pipe, 24 inches in diameter,
and a blow-off sluice-pipe. The conduit is + feet in diameter in the clear,
the brickwork being 12 inches in thickness.

The reservoir, dam, and outlet-tower are shown in Fig. 290.

The reservoir covers 600 acres and has a capacity when full of 15,000
acre-feet, of which about 20% is annually lost by evaporation. It is fed
by a canal 27 miles in length, leading from a diversion-weir placed in the
Merced River a short distance above the town of Snelling. For the first 8
miles the canal has a maximum capacity of 1500 second-feet, which is the
largest canal in California. The total cost of the canal system, with its
laterals, and the reservoir was about $1,500,000.

The watershed area of the Merced River above the head of the canal is
1076 square miles, in which is included the famous Yosemite Valley. The
mean annual flow of this stream as determined by the California State
Engineering Department for the six years from 1878 to 1884 was about
1600 second-feet, the maximum being 6510 second-feet in the month of
June, and the minimum 65 second-feet in the months of November and
December. During the three months of May, June, and July, when the
greatest amount of irrigation is required, the mean discharge of the river
in the period named was about. 4000 second-feet.

Buena Vista Lake Reservoir, California—The large storage-tank
formed of Buena Vista Lake, in the southern end of the San Joaquin
Valley, is the largest irrigation-reservoir in the State, covering an area of
25,000 acres to a mean depth of nearly 7 feet. The volume of water which
it is capable of impounding above the level of the outlet-canal is 170,000
acre-feet, and in its general characteristics it more nearly resembles the
great tanks of India than any reservoir in this country.

The reservoir is formed by a straight dike, or dam, 5.5 miles in length,
following a township line from the foot-hills at the base of the mountains,
due north. The maximum height of the dam is 15 feet, tapering out to
nothing at either end. Its top width is 12 feet, and the slopes are 4:1
inside, 3:1 outside, the crest being 4 feet higher than the high-water level
of the reservoir when full. The erosion of this hank due to wave-action
rendered it necessary to riprap the face with stone over a long section
from the south end northward, where there were no tules growing to serve
as a breakwater to lessen the effect of wave-action, as was the case at the
north end. To procure the material for this riprap a narrow-gauge rail-
road was built for some ten miles from a quarry at the base of the moun-
tains. The cost of this work was more expensive than the construction
EARTHEN DAMS. 433

of the embankment and brought the entire cost of the dam and outlets up
to about $150,000. The dam divides the reservoir from what was formerly
known as Kern wake, before its bed was drained and cultivated.

The reservoir now receives all the surplus water of Kern River and the
waste at the tail end of all of the Kern Island canals below Bakersfield.
The water thus stored is only available for use on a belt of arable land
that was formerly a swamp, extending from Buena Vista Lake to Tulare
Lake. This Jand before reclamation was periodically overflowed when
the water of the river was not so extensively absorbed in irrigation in
the delta and upon the adjacent plains as it has been in recent years.
Since its reclamation it requires to be irrigated, and the reservoired water
is devoted to that purpose.

The reservoir was first filled in 1890, and has been in service ever since.
Its creation was the result of the compromise of the most extensive and
costly litigation over water-rights that has ever arisen in California. The
title of the action was that of Lux vs. Haggin. It will go down in history
as the case in which the Supreme Court of California, by a majority of
one, first established the English common-law doctrine of riparian rights
as applicable to the streams of the State. It is believed that this doctrine,
though greatly modified by subsequent decisions, has been a serious draw-
back to irrigation development in California.

The surface of the reservoir is so large as compared with the volume
stored that the annual loss by evaporation is estimated at 120,000 acre-feet,
or 70% of the total capacity. This is an enormous waste of water, which
might be saved to a considerable extent by the construction of storage-
reservoirs in the mountains, where the ratio between surface area and
volume would be very much less, and the rate of evaporation smaller. The
reservoir is generally filled from about May 1st to July 20th, during the
melting of the snows, after which time to September Ist the inflow is
about sufficient, ordinarily, to offset evaporation. Thus during the five
hottest months, when nearly,70% of the total evaporation of the year takes
place, the loss is supplied by the river, and by the return waters of irriga-
tion. Therefore, in those seasons when the run-off is sufficient to supply
the demand of the canals and yield a surplus great enough to fill the
reservoir by September 1st, in addition to evaporation, the net amount
available for use from the reservoir would approximate 125,000 to 135,000
acre-feet. Measurements of the river taken daily from 1879 to 1884, and
from 1894 to 1897,—ten years in all,—show a minimum yearly discharge
of 364,000 acre-feet, a maximum of 1,760,000 acre-feet, and a mean of
"89,000 acre-feet of water discharging into the valley at the mouth of the
canyon.

The Pilarcitos and San Andrés Dams, California—The water-supply
of San Francisco is largely derived from the storage of storm-waters on
434 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the peninsula south of the city. The San Mateo dam, of concrete, described
in a previous chapter, supplanted one of the original earthen dams, that
known as the Upper Crystal Springs; but there are two other notable
structures still in service, called the Pilarcitos and the San Andrés dams.

The Pilarcitos dam is 640 feet long on top, 95 feet in height above the
original surface of the ground, and has a top width of 24 feet. The slopes
are 2:1 each side. A puddle-wall, 24 feet thick, extends down 40 feet
below the surface, into a trench cut in bed-rock. The reservoir formed by
the dam has a capacity of 1,180,000,000 gallons (3622 acre-feet), and
gathers the run-off from a watershed of 2510 acres. The elevation of the
lake is 696 feet above sea-level.

The San Andrés dam has a top length of 850 feet, a maximum height
of 93 feet above the original surface, and a top width of 24 feet. The
inside slope is 3.5:1, while the outer slope is 3:1. The central puddle-
wall reaches to bed-rock through 46 feet of earth and gravel. The dam
was originally built to a height of 77 feet, but in 1875 it was raised 16 feet
by the addition of the new material upon the outer slope. The base of the
new section was 135 feet. As the inner slope was projected to the new
crest of the dam it became necessary to make a horizontal offset in the
puddle-wall in order to keep it within the center of the new section.

The San Andrés reservoir has a capacity of 6,500,000,000 gallons
(19,950 acre-feet), and intercepts the drainage from 2695 acres of water-
shed immediately tributary. It is also fed by a flume, 17.42 miles in length,
leading from Lock’s Creek. This flume gathers the water from 1800
acres of the Lock’s Creek shed, all above 505 feet elevation. Other feeders
to the reservoir gather the water from Pilarcitos Creek below the Pilarcitos
dam, and from a branch of San Mateo Creek.

Tabeaud Dam, California.—For the purpose of creating a penstock
reservoir at the head of the pressure pipes of the Electra Power-house,
the Standard Electric Co., in 1900-01, built a high earthen dam across a
small tributary of the South Fork of Jackson creek, 8 miles from the
town of Jackson, Amador Co., Cal. The reservoir receives the drainage
from a catchment area of but two square miles. It is fed by a long flume
from the Mokelumne river. The reservoir area is 36.75 acres, with a
capacity above the outlet tunnel of 1070 acre-feet. The crest of the dam
is 1258 feet above sea level, the flow line of the reservoir is 8 feet lower,
while the level of the outlet tunnel is 70 feet below the flow line.

The dam ranks among the highest earth dams of the world, and has
the following dimensions: Height at center above bedrock 120 feet;
height above lower toe 123 feet, height above up-stream toe 100 feet;
length on crest 636 feet, length at bottom 50 to 100 feet; width at base
620 feet; width on top 20 feet.

The side-slopes of earth are 2.5 on 1, on both sides, with a rock-fill on
EARTHEN DAMS. 435

the up-stream slope, from the base up two-thirds of the height, laid on a
slope of 3 on 1, and overlying a heavy layer of clay puddle.

The dam has a total volume of 370,350 cubic yards, all of which ex-
cept 40,000 cubic yards, was put in by contract at 40 cents per cubic yard.
It was all of choice material, consisting of a red gravelly soil, containing
about 70% clay, obtained from nearby borrow-pits within the reservoir
basin and near the ends of the dam. It was hauled in carts and four-horse
dumping wagons, loaded by scrapers through traps, or loading platforms,
and spread in layers of 6 to 8 inches, thoroughly sprinkled, and harrowed
and rolled by 5 and 8 ton rollers. The center of the dam was maintained
lower than the two sides by about 10% of the height at all levels.

The dam was so carefully built and so thoioughly supervised that one
year after its completion a maximum settlement of but 24 inches was found
to have occurred, with 90 feet of water in the reservoir. It has shown
no sign of leakage.

The dam was planned and built by Mr. Burr Bassell, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,
since deceased, author of a useful little book entitled “Earth Dams.”

On September 1, 1901, when the dam was nearing completion, the
author was employed to make a report upon its construction and stability.
His findings were entirely favorable. During the course of this investi-
gation it was found that the weight of earth material taken from test pits
on the dam was 133 pounds per cubic foot, showing that it had been con-
densed and compacted 40% from its weight in a loose condition. The
dam has no core-wall or puddle core, but is a homogeneous earth structure
of such high-class material and such superior workmanship that, although
nearly the highest of all earth dams, it is tight and stable without these
features that are usually regarded by the profession as indispensable.

Chollas Heights Dam, California——An earthen dam built by the
Southern California Mountain Water Co. in 1901, four miles east of San
Diego City reservoir, at an elevation of 428 feet on the crest, is worthy of
note as the first dam of that material to be built with a core-wall of steel
plates, riveted together to form a water-tight diaphragm in the center.
The dam is 526 feet long, 56 feet high, and 20 feet wide on the crest, with
slopes of 3 on 1 and 2 on 1, up-stream and down-stream respectively.
It is an embankment of earth taken from the reservoir bottom, consisting
of sand, clay and gravel. It was deposited in layers and rolled, after the
natural soil under the up-stream half had been stripped to a depth of one
foot.

The steel diaphragm is embedded at the bottom and ends in a concrete
wall, built in a trench 30 inches wide, extending across the valley. This
wall has a maximum height in the center of the valley of about 17 feet, and
is stepped up the slopes to correspond with the courses of steel plates. It
was made up of 1:2:4 concrete and is carried up to within 13 feet of the
436 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

crest of the dam, or 8 feet below the flow line of the reservoir. The steel
diaphragm reaches to the same height, and consists of four courses of
plates, each 6 feet high, 20 feet long, } inch thick. These are riveted
and calked and coated with hot asphaltum. A layer of burlap dipped
in hot asphaltum was then applied to both sides of the plate, and the whole
surface treated to a second coat of the bitumen.

Water is drawn from the reservoir through a 24-inch cast-iron pipe,
laid in a trench excavated in the natural earth beneath one end of the dam

 

 

 

 

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420 oe

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\ es S ’

410_| ; i Riveted Steel Core 4 thick VA yerteeat
it pax é
NE of Plates 6% 25" ¥. oN gre “20!

400 a pre Ut ft. J

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390 H lool f 1 |

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380 . > PR

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oer ouliet pe Taid'in Wench on Concrete Pers. age

Tower Base, !I'Diam .
3 tourses Crossed Fails in Concrete.

Section of Dam along Line of Outlet Pipe

Fic. 291.—Cuoitias Hetcuts Dam, CaLirorNtia.

about 38 feet below the top. The pipe is supported on concrete piers every
six feet, several being extended as cut-off collars. At the head of the
pipe is a circular tower of concrete, with gates at three levels for admitting
water to the pipe.

The reservoir is used as a receiver at the end of a pipe line of wood stave
construction, 20 miles long, leading the water from the Lower Otay
reservoir. Mr. E. F. Tabor, now in charge of the construction of the
Shoshone dam for the U.S. Reclamation Service, was engineer on the
building of this dam, under the direction of H. N. Savage, M. Am. Soc.
C. E., acting as consulting engineer.
EARTHEN DAMS. 437

Cache la Poudre Reservoir Dam, Colorado.—The Union Colony of
Greeley, in northern Colorado, is supplied with water for irrigation by the
Cache la Poudre Canal, an important adjunct of which is a storage-reser-
voir of 5654 acre-feet capacity, formed by an earthen dam, 38 feet in
height. For a long time after the construction of the canal it was thought
unnecessary to supplement its river-supply by a reservoir. Later experi-
ence showed that the low-water period came on in many vears before the
potato-crop was made, and a reservoir-site was sought to store water to
carry the farmers over this critical period. The site selected was one
which could be filled by a supply-canal, 8 miles long, discharging into the
main canal 2 miles below its head.

The dam was made by scraper-teams, of the soil at the site, and is
homogeneous in character, without puddle. It was originally made with
a uniform inner slope of more than 3 to 1, but the action of waves has
made it quite irregular. The embankment settled 4 to 5 feet the first year
after the water was turned in, and becomes quite soft throughout whenever
the reservoir is filled, but this is yearly becoming less. The rock for rip-
rapping the face of the dam was brought by rail to the nearest point, and
hauled by wagon two miles, costing $1.10 per ton laid down. The dam cost
$81,623 for construction, in addition to $28,643 paid for real estate and
rights of way—a total of $110,266. The year after it was completed and
filled, the reservoir proved its value by saving the crop of potatoes valued
at $331,366, of which one-half is credited to the reservoir.

The feeder-canal has a capacity of 150 second-feet, while the outlet-
canal will carry 200 second-feet.

The outlet-conduit is founded on tough clay, and has a floor of wide
flagstones laid on concrete. The conduit is 5 feet wide, and 5 feet high
in center, the side walls being 24 feet high, and a semicircular arch form-
ing the roof. Two collar-walls extend into the embankment to cut off
leakage. The gates are the invention of Gordon Land, a well-known
hydraulic engineer of Denver, and are known as “ railroad gates.” They
are two in number and travel on a double track, set at an inclination of
20° from the vertical, the gates being provided with wheels. They go
down to their seats by gravity, and are raised by wire ropes passing over
a windlass at the top of the embankment.

Colorado State Dams.—In 1892 the State of Colorado by legislative
enactment inaugurated a system of storage-reservoirs for irrigation, under
which five dams were erected in different parts of the State by money
appropriated for the purpose by the State legislature. This is a policy
which has not been attempted by any other of the States of the Union,
so far as the writer is aware, and in this case it does not appear to have
been successful or to meet with popular favor. The dams are under the
438 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC

control of the State Engineer, and water from them is sold to the irriga-
tors.

The selection of the sites and the expenditure of the money appear to
have been controlled by politics rather than by good engineering. The
experiment cost the State $102,544.88 in all, and the total storage provided
was but 2574 acre-feet in the aggregate. An account of these works,
gleaned from the State Engineer’s reports, is of interest, and is con-
densed as follows:

The Monument Creek Dam.—This earthen dam is located on Monument
Creek, some 15 miles north of Colorado Springs, at an elevation of 7000
feet above sea-level. Its dimensions are the following:

Maximum height ...2.c.sescaswees eeeeee ts 40 feet
Width Onl LOPncace cosa ec iielee anste odes alas la 20 “
Length On topiiersnapiaaks atasseteng tesco 855“
Tniner slope:ncdscieseinaee ose een eatio ewes 3:1
Outer 6lO Nei. aise ia elie tes case eA 2:1

‘The water-line is 7 feet below the crest of the dam. The inner face of
the dam is covered with a clay puddle-wall laid on the slope, with a hori-
zontal thickness of 50 feet at the base and 10 feet at top. This puddle is
carried down to bed-rock in a trench 14 feet deep, at the inner toe of the
dam, the minimum width of the trench being 5 feet. Over the puddle-wall
is laid « riprap wall of stone, placed with care by hand. The outer half
of the dam is composed of coarse gravel, rock, and earth. These general
principles must be regarded as unexceptionable in earth-dam construc-
tion.

The reservoir-outlet is formed by two 16-inch cast-iron pipes, laid in a
trench excavated underneath the dam, with concrete collars, 12 inches
wide and the same thickness, at each of the joints. Between these collars
the trench was filled with puddled clay. Just above the inner line of the
crest cz the dam a gate-tower is carried up through the embankment from
the level of the outlet-pipes. At the bottom of this tower two 16-inch
stop-valves are placed in the outlet-pipes, their stems reaching to the top
of the dam inside the tower. The tower is circular in form, 44 feet inside
diameter for the lower 8 feet, and 3 feet diameter for the remaining
height. It is built of sandstone, 18 inches thick, laid in cement. The
entire tower is encased in puddled clay.

The spillways provided each side the dam have a total width of 200
feet, although 50 feet width was regarded as probably ample to carry the
maximum floods from the 22 square miles of drainage-area.

The dam was planned and built under the supervision of J. P. Maxwell,
State Engineer. The work was done by contract for $25,000, exclusive
EARTHEN DAMS. 439:

of engineering, but when finally completed in 1894 its entire cost had
reached $33,121.53. The award of the contract was made subject to the
proviso that El Paso County, in which it is located, should furnish, without
cost to the State, a clear title to the land required, which was done.

It was estimated that the reservoir could be filled three or four times.
every year, but it is found to fill once and sometimes twice in a year.

The reservoir covers 62 acres to a mean depth of 13.8 feet, or 42% of
the maximum depth. It impounds 885 acre-feet.

The Apishapa State Dam is located in the Metote Canyon in Las Animas.
County, and was completed in 1892. The dam is of earth, and forms a
reservoir of 459 acre-feet capacity. Its cost was $14,771.80. It is filled by
a ditch, 2 miles long, leading from Trujillo Creek, which has 30 square
miles of watershed, the water from which is fully appropriated and used
by prior locators.

The Hardscrabble State Dam is an earthen structure, completed by the:
State in 1894, at a cost of $9997.31. It impounds but 102 acre-feet of
water, and is filled by a ditch from Hardscrabble Creek, in Custer County.

The Boss Lake State Dam is located in Chaffee County, on the head-
waters of the South Arkansas River. It was finished in 1894, at a cost
of $14,654.24, and forms a reservoir with a capacity of 205 acre-feet. It
is made of earth, and was reported to be unsafe in construction and was.
never filled. The tributary watershed is 4 square miles.

The Saguache State Dam is located near the town of Saguache, and is
an earthen dam which cost $30,000. The reservoir capacity behind it is
954 acre-feet. It is filled by a ditch from the Saguache River, but as the
normal flow of the stream is fully appropriated, only the winter and spring
floods are available.

Canistear Dam, New Jersey.—The main earth dam of the Canistear:
reservoir of the East Jersey Water Co. was built in 1896, to form a res--
ervoir of 323 acres, with a capacity of 2,407,000,000 gallons (7390 acre-
feet) at a cost of $341,000, including a masonry overflow weir and two-
auxiliary dikes. It is worthy of note for the rapidity with which it was
completed, less than five months’ time having been required to construct it.
The main dam contains 98,000 cubic yards and the two auxiliaries 3850:
cubic yazds. All three have concrete core-walls, amounting to 9050 cubic
yards, while the overflow weir has 4500 cubic yards of masonry. It was
a rush job, in which work was done by night as well as by day. The main
dam was about 57 feet high, 672 feet long on top. The wasteway was
made 275 feet long to provide for floods from a watershed of 10.5 square
miles.

The dam was planned and built by Clemens Herschel, M. Am. Soc.
C. E., of New York, one of the distinguished American engineers who
440 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

are apparently firmly committed to the concrete or masonry core-wall as
an essential element in the building of earth dams.

The Glenwild Dam, Amsterdam, New York.—The city of Amsterdam,
New York, in 1902, built an earth dam 63.5 feet high, 450 feet long, 13 feet
wide on top, with up-stream slope of 2 on 1, down-stream slope 2.5 on 1,
to form a reservoir of 180 acres area, and having a capacity of 1,200,000,000
gallons (3675 acre-feet). The dam is curved up-stream with a radius of
708.6 feet, and has a core-wall of cement masonry in the center, reaching
to a height of 1 foot above the flow line of the reservoir. The core-wall
is 14.5 feet thick at the ground line, and extends 7 feet below the surfacer
with a uniform thickness of 6 feet. Above the wide part of the base at
the stripped surface it has a batter on one side of 3 inches to the foot. The
wall is composed of broken bowlders, none of which exceed } cubic
foot in size, laid by hand, and grouted with 1:3 cement mortar, in 16-inch
courses.

The outlets consist of two 18-inch and one 12-inch cast-iron pipes laid
side by side and bedded in rubble masonry, through the body of the dam.
Where they passed through the core-wall, an arch was sprung over them,
and the space between pipes and arch subsequently filled with cement
grout poured in through three 14-inch pipes reaching to the top in the in-
terior of the wall, after all settlement had ceased.

The dam was designed by Mr. Stephen E. Babcock, of Utica, as con-
sultingengineer. Its cost by contract was $47,360.

The Laramie River Dam, Wyoming.—The Wyoming Development
Co., in 1900-01, constructed a dam across the Laramie river to form a
storage reservoir covering an area of 6588 acres and having a storage capa-
city of 120,000 acre-feet, for the irrigation of 60,000 acres in the neighbor-
hood of Wheatland, 90 miles north of Cheyenne, at an altitude of 4700
feet above sea level. The dam is 8000 feet in length, 34.5 feet maximum
height, and contains 344,000 cubic yards. The up-stream slope is 3 on 1,
outer slope 2 on 1, crest-width 15 feet at a height of 5 feet above the flow
line of the reservoir. The dam is built as a homogeneous earth structure,
the material being placed by horse-scrapers and carts. It has no core-
wall, but for a distance of 1200 feet in the center, crossing the river chan-
nel, a row of wooden triple-lap sheet piles was driven to a depth of 10 to 12
feet below the surface.

The embankment is rip-rapped with large bowlders on the water-face,
extended by an apron of the same material, 30 feet wide above the upper
toe of the dam, requiring a total of 16,000 cubic yards of rock.

The dam was built by George Frederick Vollmer, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E.*

Cedar Grove Dams, Newark, N.J.—The city of Newark, New Jersey,
in 1901-04, created a storage reservoir near Cedar Grove, seven miles from

 

* Vide Minutes of Proceedings, Institution of Civil Engineers, vol. 162, Nov., 1905.
EARTHEN DAMS. 441

the city, having a capacity of 700,000,000 gallons (2150 acre-feet) by
building an earth dam 2700 feet long, across the main outlet of the basin,
with dikes at each end of the reservoir, 650 feet and 825 feet in length
respectively. All three dams have concrete core-walls, which extend up
2.5 feet higher than the full reservoir level, are 4 feet thick at top, and
have a uniform batter of 4 inch to the foot on both sides, down to the orig-
inal ground surface, below which the thickness is uniform to the bottom
of the trenches in which they are built. The walls are plastered with }
inch of 1:1 cement mortar on the water side, applied in the forms as the
concrete was placed. The maximum height of the core-wall in the main
dam is 102 feet, and the total volume of concrete in all the core-walls was
36,000 cubic yards. It was mixed in the proportion of 1 part of Rosendale
cement, 2 of sand and 5 of crushed rock. The posts of the forms on each
side of the wall were made to support alight railway the entire length of
the dam, on which cars operated by a cable and winding engine were run,
conveying concrete from the mixing plant at one end. This trestle was
carried up in three bents or levels of 20 feet each on the main dam.

The maximum heights of the north and south dikes above the original
surface are 26 and 25 feet respectively, the core-walls being 40 and 42
feet high. They are 12 feet wide on top, 6 feet above reservoir level, and
have 2 on 1 slopes each side. The main, or west dam, is 18 feet wide
on top, 5 feet above the water line, and has an 8-foot berm in each slope
20 feet below the top.

The core-wall trenches were refilled on the water side of the walls
to the original ground surface, with clay puddle, and on the other side
with selected material shoveled into water or well rammed.

The earth, a red clayey loam, was excavated by steam shovels and
hauled to the dam in trains of 34 yard cars by numbers of small saddle-
tank locomotives. It was spread in 5-inch layers by scrapers, and
compacted by steam rollers and traction engines.

This dam is to be noted as having one of the highest concrete core-walls
in America, and the whole construction is typical of modern earth-dam
work. The total amount of material borrowed, representing the approxi-
mate volume of the dams, was 400,000 cubic yards.

The total cost of the dams complete was $660,000. This includes
cost of stripping of the reservoir to a depth of six inches, but does not
include pipes or outlet tunnel. The outlet of the reservoir is through a
tunnel, 300 feet long, on the opposite side of the reservoir from the main
dam.

The works were designed and constructed by M. R. Sherrerd, M. Am.
Soc. C. E.

Belle Fourche Dam, South Dakota.—The largest earth dam under
construction by the United States Reclamation Service is to form a res-
442

 

 

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RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

MEAOER

 

 

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Fig. 292.—SrctTion oF BELLE Fourcut Eartu Dam, Sout Daxora.

ervoir of 215,000 acre-feet
capacity, for the irrigation
of about 90,000 acres of arid
land, largely public, situated
south east of the Black
Hills, South Dakota, by the
diversion of the waters of
the Belle Fourche and Red-
water rivers, into a large
basin east of the town of
Belle Fourche, on Owl creek.
The reservoir will be filled
by a large feeder canal 64
miles long, 40 feet wide on
the bottom, carrying 10 feet
depth of water.

Thedam is to be 115 feet
high, 6500 feet Jong and
will contain 1,600,000 cubic
yards. Its crest width will
be 20 feet, at a height of 15
feet above the flow line or
crest of spillway. The latter
is 300 feet long, semi-circular
in form.

A section of the dam is
shown in Fig. 292.

The inside slope is 3
on 1 from the base up to
near the water line, with an
8-foot berm near the bot-
tom, 10 feet below low-
water line at the foot of
the pavement. Above the
water the slope is 1 on 1.
The facing of the dam is
of concrete, made in large
slabs, laid on 12 inches of
screened gravel, overlying
12 inches of unscreened
gravel. The slabs will be
laid in the form of headers
and stretchers, breaking
EARTHEN DAMS. 443

joints, the largest being 5 feet 3 inches<7 feet 7 inches in size and 8
inches thick. The lower slope is 2 on 1, with two 8-feet berms. The
dam contains no core-wall but consists of a heavy adobe clay, placed in
6 inch layers, sprinkled and rolled. The bulk of the earth was contracted
for at a cost of 28 cents per cubic yard.

The contract was let to Orman & Crook, of Pueblo, Colorado, for a
total of $879,164.25 or $4.09 per acre-foot of reservoir capacity. This
does not include preliminary expenses, engineering, supervision, etc.,
amounting to perhaps 20% more.

The total volume of concrete in the work was estimated at 31,930 cubic
yards, ranging in price from $6.50 to $7.00 per yard. It is understood
that the financial embarrassments of the contractors were chiefly due to
the losses on this work.

North Dike, Wachusett Dam, Mass.— One of the most difficult earth
dam constructions and one of the largest reservoir embankments in the
world, is the North Dike of the Wachusett reservoir, referred to ia the
account of the Wachusett dam. The dike is two miles long, 65 feet high
at the deepest place to the water line, or 80 feet high to the top, witha
maximum width on the base of 1930 feet. It covers an area of 135 acres,
and contains 5,300,750 cubic yards. The down-stream slope o: the G.ke
varies from 3% to 6%, averaging less than one-tenth the usual slope given
to reservoir banks.

To cut off percolation through porous substrata under the dike, a
cut-off trench was excavated for a distance of 9505 feet, to a maximum
depth of 60 feet, with a bottom width of 30 feet. For 3130 feet the ex-
cavation reached to bedrock. Over a distance of 5239 feet wooden sheet-
piles 4 to 6 inches thick were driven in the bottom of the trench, to great
depths, with the aid of the water jet, reaching at bottom to extremely
fine sand. The cost of this work was about $125,000. Over 540,000 cubic
yards were removed in the excavation of this trench, which was carefully
replaced by selected soil from the reservoir stripping, placed in layers,
sprinkled and rolled. The shrinkage of soil from the borrow pit to the
finished dike after rolling was found to be 37.5%.

On April 11, 1907, a section of this dike in the highest place slid off
into the reservoir over a length of 675 feet at a time when the water was
40 feet: below the top of the dike. About 65,000 cubic yards moved bodily
from 250 to 300 feet laterally. The dike was heavily riprapped with stone
on the water-face, with 5 feet of coarse gravel and small stones, and over-
lying this was a layer of rock 10 feet thick, taken from the excavation
and dumped on the slope. The embankment broke away to the crest,
but caused no serious injury, and it is thought the safety of the dike was
in no way affected. The slope was 1 on 2 on the water-face, and the
embankment has a wide berm 30 feet below the top. The cause of the
444 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

slide is not definitely known, but it seems evident that the angle of the
slope was greater than the natural angle of repose of the materials used
when saturated with water.

Druid Lake Dam, Baltimore, Md.—One of the highest earth dams
in America was built in 1864 to 1870, with a maximum height of 119 feet,
a crest width of 60 feet, at an elevation of 5 feet above the flow line, and
with inner slope of 4 on 1, outer slope 2 on 1. The dam has a puddle clay
core-wall in the center, having a base width of 36 feet, and a crown width
of 17 feet, a little above the water line. In the construction of the dam,
narrow embankments were first built up on each side of the core-wall
to a height of 25 feet, the material being placed in layers well rolled.
Then embankments of dumped material were built to the same height at
the slopes, leaving basins between them and the center. These basins
being filled with water the earth to fill the basins was dumped from the
fill-banks over the edges into the water until the two basins were filled to
the uniform height of the banks either side. Then the process was repeated
by building up the core-wall, with supporting banks of rolled material,
followed by dump-fills and the formation of pools of water or basins on
either side into which the earth was subsequently dumped to fill them.
This was a crude form of hydraulic fill, but it was an early recognition of
the principle that earth settled under water is more cheaply compacted than
would be possible of attainment by other means, while the proven stability
of the dam after 37 years of service attests the efficiency of the process.

Cold Springs Dam, Oregon.—The Umatilla project of the United States
Reclamation Service in Oregon is designed to irrigate about 20,000 acres
from the Umatilla river. In connection with it the Cold Springs dam is
being built in a small valley to form a storage reservoir of 50,000 acre-feet
capacity. It is to be 3200 feet long, about 82 feet maximum height
above the original surface, and will contain 620,000 cubic yards. Its
width on the crest, 7 feet above the water line, will be 20 feet. The down-
stream slope 2 on 1, up-stream slope 3 on 1. The diagram, Fig. 293, is
a section of the dam showing the proposed arrangement of materials.
The material immediately available for the construction of the dam con-
sists of basalt rock, an extensive deposit of gravel on the northerly hillside
below the cam, and fine surface soil, covering the entire country about.
These were the most abundant, but in addition there is also available a
deposit of pure volcanic ash, at infrequent intervals and scanty in quantity,
an induiated clay at one end of the dam and sand and gravel underlying
the surface soil, somewhat indurated and stratified. Prior to determining
the choice of materials to be selected a series of interesting experiments
were conducted under the direction of D.C. Henny, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,
supervising engineer, assisted by E.G. Hopson* the purpose of which

* Engineering News, March 7, 1907.

 
EARTHEN DAMS

445

was to ascertain the permeability of the materials and the rates of

percolation of water through them.

These rates were determined

by placing the materials in tanks similar to those used by the Mas-

sachusetts State Board of Health and
by the Massachusetts Metropolitan
Water Board in experimenting on the
permeability of soils to be used in
constructing the North Dike of
Wachusett reservoir. The tanks were
of galvanized iron, 18 inches in diam-
eter, 5 feet deep. Two perforated
pipes passed through the tanks hori-
zontally, 3 feet apart, connected on
the outside with glass gage tubes. The
material to be tested was carefully
rammed ina wet condition into the tanks
between and around the perforated
pipes. To prevent seepage of water
following along the sides the interiors
of the tanks were painted and sanded.
Water was then put in on top of the
material and maintained at a constant
level. At regular intervals the outflow
from the tubes was measured by weight.
As the result of these it was found
that the rate of percolation through
surface soil was about 18,000 gallons
per acre per day; through fine subsoil,
350,000; through gravel, 155,000,000;
through volcanic ash, 400,000, and
through coarse subsoil 650,000 gallons
per acre per day. A mixture of 50%
of fine subsoil with an equal amount of
gravel showed a rate of but 20,000 gal-
lons per acre per day. The experi-
ments resulted in a material change
in arrangement of materials in the
dam from what .had been the

original design, and the selection and disposition have been

   
    
 

Tile Drain

Connecting Trenches, 100’ Intervals *

SE

a?

nm

   

siape 4:

  

2m
/
Ne

és:
25%6r:
Sf
if
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\y'80% Gravel

fy! 20% Earth

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7

    

 
   
    

33% Larth

eg
10 ~ 67% Grave!

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~ £0 hiprap

‘ l2Gravel.
i 50% Gravel

| 90% Earth

lei, vlna

   

Section or Cotp Sprines Dam, Umatitta Prosecr, OREGON.

os

a

N

Soeees s

BR
= o
S Ish 3
y P23
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made as

shown in the diagram. ‘This is such an intelligent and rational design of
earth dam construction that the author considers it worthy of special
commendation and study. The placing of coarse gravel on the down-
stream side where it gives stability and drainage is directly in line with
446 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the principles employed in hydraulic-fill dam construction. The position
shown for the drain-pipes, considerably below the center, is more nearly
correct than to carry them as far as the center. The.absence of a core-
wall will also be noted.

As the result of the experiments the engineers computed the possible
loss by percolation through the dam when completed under this design
with full reservoir, at about 20,000 gallons per day, or less than one-
thirtieth of a cubic foot per second.

Slips in Earth Dams.—This experience with the Wachusett dike
appears to be a very common one in the building of reservoirs in India,
where many such slides have occurred, although almost invariably on the
down-stream slope of the reservoir. These are doubtless largely due to
the peculiarly unctious, black soils of that country, which lack in the ele-
ments to produce friction and stability, as well as drainage. In building
the Waghad dam, which was to have been 95 feet high, an extensive
slip occurred when it was completed to a height of 87 feet. The outside
slope in this case was 2 on 1. The slope assumed by the slide from the
bottom up for nearly half the height was about 3 on1. It was repaired
by first digging three drains at right angles to the axis of the dam. Then
a few feet of soil was built up in the work of restoration, when a further
motion was observed. This was only stopped after a large trench had been
dug about 250 feet long, with base width of 30 feet and side slopes of 1 on 1,
to a maximum depth of 40 feet down to rock. This was refilled with dry
stone, and a wide berm added. The repair was effective, doubtless due
to the drainage provided by the stone filling of the trench.

Mr. William L. Strange, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E., in a paper on ‘‘Reservoirs
in Western India” * says:

“Low dams can be constructed with much steeper slopes than high
ones. The water-faces of dams require a flatter slope than the rear ones.
From these considerations it may be deduced that in an originally homo-
geneous dam with plane slopes, the resistance to slipping decreases with
the height from the top, and that the proper section is one having the
slopes continually flattened toward the base.” On these principles he
proposes an empirical section with the following slopes: Inner slope,
base to 25 feet, 7 on 1; 25 to 40 feet, 6 on 1; 40 to 55 feet, 5 on 1;.55 to 70
feet, 4 on 1; 70 to 85 feet, 3 on 1; 85 to 100 feet, 24 on 1. The down-
stream slope of his ideal section starts with 5 on 1 to 25 feet, then 44, 34,
3, 24 and 2 on 1, respectively, for each change of 45 feet of height. The
crest width of this section he shows as 10 feet at a height of 7 feet above
the flow line, with a retaining wall nearly vertical on the water side for
the 7 feet of superelevation.

 

* Minutes of Proceedings Institution of Civil Engineers, vol. 132.
EARTHEN DAMS. 447

For high earth dams in narrow gorges, where rock or ‘‘some non-viscous
material is obtainable, he suggests a ‘‘compound dam,”’in which the two
toe embankments for about one-third of the height are built up of rock,
or presumably gravel if rock is not to be had, having the usual slopes of
3 on 1 on the water face and 2 on 1 outside, the inner batter of these toe
walls to be steep; the space between these toe walls to be filled with earth,
and the embankment to be continued above the top of the toe walls after
the ordinary method of earth construction.

This “compound dam’’ is virtually based upon the same principles
which have been set forth in the chapter on Hydraulic-fill Dams, as the
leading advantage of the hydraulic-fill process of dam construction, which
employs natural forces to segregate the coarse, ‘‘non-viscous material”
from the soil, and deposit it in the form of massive toe walls on the slopes,
confining the fine, unctuous, impervious materials in the center where
they cannot escape or cause slips.

Soluble Salts as a Cause of Earth Slips.—As noted elsewhere in the
foregoing pages, the slips which occurred in the Ashti and Ekruk dams
were attributed to the fact that the black soil from which the dams were
made, and which prevails over a large portion of India, contains impure
lime and alkali in small nodules, which dissolve readily. In California,
Colorado, and the Western States generally, these soils are of frequent occur-
rence, and cause great trouble in canal banks because of the seepage through
the banks, which do not become firm and impervious until the soluble salts
have been ieached out of the soil in the course of years.

This class of soil when placed in a dam is subject to saturation not only
from the rains but from percolation of water through the embankment
from the reservoir. When so saturated the salts form a lubricant on which
the embankment is apt to slide. Where the materials can be sluiced into
the dam and deposited by the hydraulic process the water in transit must
separate the insoluble materials, take up the salts in solution to a large
degree, and finally carry them away as it drains off after leaving the
earth. This is one of the advantages of the hydraulic process, which have
not been dwelt upon in the chapter on Hydraulic-fill Dams, for the reason
that this class of soil is the most undesirable, unfavorable and difficult to
handle by this process, and therefore to be avoided. But where it has
to be used for lack of better, it can certainly be made more stable by wash-
ing out its soluble contents by hydraulic sluicing, thus permitting of stable
construction from otherwise unstable materials.

Various Modern Indian Dams.—In the paper referred to above, Mr.
Strange gives a list of twelve earth dams built by English engineers in
the Bombay Presidency, India, for irrigation storage, with the following
data of dimen.ions and capacity:
448 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POW ER, ETC.

 

 

: on = Reservoir
serv Orr rf
Name of Dam. Bae | Mage | Fou ates | fee | Gea.
i

INSU e.3 Asern cessing encecne 12,700 58 6 2600 35,700
TOK eule dateeeaunrg 6,940 75.7 6 4550 76,500

TAS iid. a Soke dora id gale wave 718 56.4 10 75
Maint? ccs esd oe dae ee aad 3,370 57.3 5 180 4,500
Medleri ................ 2,250 41 6 169 1,430
Mhaswad ............. 7,950 79.8 8 4020 71,000
MOAISED icc op sdie coe alae 3,000 65 10 505 7,850
Nehini-s ¢ajectece a howenc 4,820 74 8 675 12,090
PATS Ul nese Storborryderdenvens 2,770 62.3 6 to8 152 2,870
Wachad 2< se: hex deka 4,162 95 6 778 14,300
Malavediur.s sass ccees ee 4,445 114 10 3550 118,000
Parla cee. dae ease tide 3,120 94 10 815 19,600

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talla Dam, Edinburgh, Scotland.—In 1897-1904, the city of Edin-
burgh, Scotland, built a storage reservoir dam on the Talla, a branch of
the river Tweed, from which a conduit 32 miles long conveys water to the
city. As an example of the latest type of earth dam as built in Great
Britain, this dam is particularly interesting. It is 78 feet high above the
original surface, and 1030 feet long on top. The crest width is 20 feet
at a height of 7 feet above the flow line of the reservoir. The puddle trench
was 50 feet or more in depth, excavated into slaty rock a maximum depth
of 30 feet. The width at bottom was about 12 feet, with nearly vertical
sides for 15 feet, above which it widened to 30 feet in the next 20 feet of
height. From this point up the puddle core was given a batter of 1 in
8 on each side to the top, wnere it is 20 feet wide. On either side of the
core-wall the middle third of the dam, or a little less, was made of “ clayey
or adhesive material in layers 9 inches thick.’’ Outside of this zone, the
construction was of “stony or open material in layers 18 inches thick.”
The inner slope was 4 on 1, the outer 3 on 1. The total volume of the dam
is about 500,000 cubic yards.

From the description of the materials given* the dam is as perfect
an imitation of the modern hydraulic-fill dam as could be made with
the old and more expensive methods necessarily employed for handling
the materials, although it may be doubted if the construction is any
more satisfactory or has any higher factor of safety than if it had been
built by the hydraulic process. The leading idea of the design is prac-
tically identical, viz:: a body of clay forming the heart of the dam to the
extent of nearly one-third, with porous, rocky materials on the two slopes
giving drainage. The so-called ““compound dam” suggested by Mr.
Strange is on the same general design, or aims at the same result.

 

* Paper by Wm. A. P. Tait, M. Inst. C E., in vol. 167, Proceedings Institution
of Civil Engineers.
EARTHEN DAMS, 449:

Illustrations of Typical Earth Dams.—Plates 4,5,and 6 have beentaken
from the valuable work of Wm. Ham Hall, Am. Soc. C. E., published in
1888, entitled ‘Irrigation in California,” to illustrate a few standard types
of high earth dams with clay puddle core-wall. Plate 4 shows longitudinal
and cross-sections of the Pilarcitos and San Andrés dams, and a longitud-
inal section of the Old or Upper Crystal Springs dam, all pertaining to the
waterworks of San Francisco.

On Plate 5 are similar sections of the Llannefydd dam, Wales, in which
the maximum depth of excavation for the core-wall was 122 feet; of the
Dodder river dam, Ireland, where the excavation was comparatively
small; of the Yarrow dam, Liverpool, England, 90 feet high, with a puddle
core reaching down to 175 feet below the crest; and of the Vehar dam,
Bombay, India, having a height of 84 feet.

On Plate 6 are sections of the Stubden, Leeming and Loch Island Reavy
dams in Ireland, the Rotten Park dam, the Ulley dam, and the Vale House
dam in England, and two dams in France, built without puddle cores.
The Vale House dam is a part of the waterworks of Manchester, and has
a puddle extending to a depth of 50 feet below the surface, with a base
of concrete on the bottom of the puddle, filling the core-trench on bedrock
—a common practice with English engineers.

Cere-walls for Earth Dams.—The recent invention of steel sheet-piling
which can be made practically water-tight, as a substitute for wooden
sheet-piles, which are never entirely satisfactory, has greatly simplified
the matter of securing a foundation for core-walls of earth dams. The
construction of a satisfactory cut-off in quick-sand, gravel, soft rock or
alternating strata of porous material, can now be made in many locations
by the driving of steel piles without the necessity for excavating, bracing,
pumping, etc., all of which is slow and difficult. Unless large bowlders
are encountered, steel piles can be driven to as great a depth as is generally
necessary to go down fora foundation. Time is often of vital consideration,
and the use of piles of this class will frequently be the means of rapidly
completing a job which would otherwise be delayed indefinitely waiting
for the completion of the final excavation of foundations.

This use of steel piles as a cut-off and fo: foundation of the concrete
core-wall may be cited in the building of the Big Rapids dam, Mich., in
1907, by William G. Fargo, hydraulic engineer, of Jackson, Mich., where
sheet-piles were driven as deep as 56 feet through sand and gravel into
hardpan. On top of this row of piles a thin reinforced concrete core-wall
was built up through the dam, to the top, so located that the line of the
wall coincided with the water line of the reservoir. In this way the con-
tinuation of the core-wall was made to act as a retaining wall, and the
finishing of the riprap on the face of the dam.

The notable feature of this construction and that of the Lyons dam,.
450 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

built by the same engineer, is not alone the use of steel piling, but the
extreme thinness of the core-wall, which is but 10 inches thick throughout.
The wall is therefore merely a curtain, or diaphragm, of no stability un-
supported, but having a certain amount of flexibility. It will therefore
accommodate itself to unevenness ofsettlement in theembankmenton either
side with less danger of serious rupture than a rigid wall would undergo.

This use of a flexible, reinforced concrete core-wall or diaphragm for
earth dams was first suggested by Mr. H. M. Wilson, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,*
who wrote that in his opinion “such a diaphragm would be imper-
vious, tough and flexible if not too thick,” and suggested a thickness of
4 to 6 inches throughout, ‘firmly anchored in cement masonry at the
foundation and up the abutment.”

The only example of the use of cast-iron sheet piles as a foundation
for a dam on record is that of the Assiout dam, Egypt, described in Chapter
III on Masonry Dams.

The steel-plate diaphragm of the Chollas Heights dam of San Diego,
Cal., heretofore described, is another notable instance of the use of a flexible
diaphragm as a core-wall.

These are in striking contrast to the heavy masonry and concrete core-
walls built in earth dams in the Eastern States, to which British engineers
so seriously object. Mr. Reginald E. Middleton, M. Inst. C. E., says on
this subject: f

“Where masonry alone is used, should there be any movement in the
bank, the wall will be fractured, serious leakage may take place and the
dam may be so much weakened thereby that its unforeseen destruction
may result, and it is exceedingly difficult to make a thin or even a thick
masonry wall perfectly water-tight.”

British engineers adhere to clay puddle core-walls, and are not to be
convinced that it can be considered good practice to attempt to support
arigid material such as masonry with a plastic material such as earthwork.
The introduction of a thin, strong diaphgram, having a certain amount
of flexibility and capable of yielding to pressure without injury, would
seem to solve the objections raised toward the standard American type
of core-wall as hitherto established, although as yet not sufficiently tested
to establish their reliability.

The recognition of the desirability of building core-walls with flexibility
combined with water-tightness, led to a suggestion by the editor of Engi-
neering News} that the core-walls of earth dams be built of brick, 16
inches thick, laid in hot asphaltum, in such a way as to hold a center
diaphragm of pure bitumen between walls of brick. In this situation,

 

* Engineering News, July 16, 1903.
{ Engineering Record, vol. 54, page 304.
t Engineering News, February 20, 1902.
EARTHEN DAMS. 451

in the heart of the dam, the asphaltum would be forever protected from
oxidation or volatilization, and its water-tight properties preserved indefi-
nitely. At the same time it could yield to uneven settlement without
injury. The suggestion does not appear to have been adopted as yet, as
far as the author is aware.

The editor of that journal * also suggests the use of stone macadam as
a substitute for more expensive concrete in core-walls for earth dams.
By this plan the macadam would consist of crushed rock, with an extra
quantity of fine rock dust, to be spread in layers, thoroughly wetted and
rolled or tamped in position, the finer dust to be obtained by recrushing
and rebolting and passing through rolls a portion of the medium product
of the rock crusher, in order to fill the voids in the rock. The editor calls
attention to the high cementation value possessed by the dust of lime-
stone, felsite, and even quartzite when saturated and pressed together
under heavy rollers.

This suggestion would appear to be quite as applicable to the build-
ing of a core or facing for a rock-fill dam, in localities where cement is
costly and difficult to obtain.

Special attention of engineers throughout the world was called to the
discoveries made by a board of engineers called in 1901 to report upon
the safety of the proposed earth extension of the New Croton dam. This
board consisted of three prominent members of the American Society
of Civil Engineers, Messrs. J. J. R. Croes, Edwin F. Smith, and Elnathan
Sweet. Under their direction borings were made in a number of high
earthen dams with masonry and concrete core-walls, at right angles to
the axis, and at such intervals as to determine that in almost every case
there was a continuous water-plane extending from the water surface of
the reservoir to the core-wall, and on the down-stream side to the lower
toe, having an inclination of 17% to 20% and indicating that the dams
were saturated below this plane. The inference was plain that the core-
walls were not water-tight and not effective in preventing water from
passing through the dam. Their stability therefore depends in little or
no degree upon the core-wall, but rather upon the compactness of the earth
and the fineness of the particles composing the embankment, through the
medium of which the movement of water on the plane of saturation is so
exceedingly slow as to have no power to remove any particles from the dam.

The result of the investigation by the board was to recommend that
the proposed earth section of the dam, which required a masonry core-
wall of over 180 feet maximum height, be substituted by a solid masonry
dam. These findings were generally approved by the engineering pro-
fession and the change was made.

 

 

* Engineering News, June 25, 1903.
452 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

If a concrete core-wall is not water-tight its only function in a dam
must be as a stop against the ravages of burrowing animals. For this
purpose it is customary with English engineers to spread a layer of broken
stone over the outer slope, and then put six inches of soil above it. This
simple treatment is found quite effective.

As noted in Chapter I on Rock-fill Dams, a core-wall of reinforced con-
crete but six inches thick at the top, 12 inches at bottom, 24 feet high,
was built into the Avalon dam, New Mexico, in the reconstruction of the
dam by B. M. Hall, engineer for the United States Reclamation Service.
Tn an article written on this subject * Mr. Hall says:

“It is a well recognized fact that a durable core-wall or diaphragm of
some kind should be placed in every earth dam to prevent burrowing
animals from making tunnels through the dam that will enlarge rapidly
as soon as a stream of water begins running through, and to prevent defi-
nite water channels through the dam from any other cause. So far
as the writer is informed, no advocate of core-walls has ever claimed
that even the heaviest walls in use are intended to add anything to the
strength of the earth dam, or that the section of an earth dam could be
safely reduced on account of having a masonry or concrete core-wall
in it. This being the case, it is evident that a diaphragm made of im-
perishable materials, and having a certain amount of flexibility, will
fulfill all the requirements of the ordinary core-wall, and will have the
additional advantage of being able to accommodate itself to slight in-
equalities of settlement in the dam.”

He states that he has designed an earth dam for the proposed Carite
reservoir in the island of Porto Rico, in which it is planned to use a vertical
diaphragm of concrete 6 inches thick, reinforced with 43-inch steel rods
spaced one foot apart both vertically and horizontally. The dam will
be 92 feet high and the diaphragm will extend from the bedrock to the
crest of the dam, 12 feet above the high water level of the reservoir. The
earth will be puddled against the wall on each side as it is built up.

 

* Engineering News, February 6, 1908, ‘‘Reinforced Concrete Diaphragm for
Earth Dams,” by B. M. Hall, M. Am. Soe. C. E.
CHAPTER V.
STEEL DAMS.

The Ash Fork Steel Dam.—This structure is the first one of its class
that has ever been erected, and has so many novel features of an experi-
mental character that it is specially interesting and instructive to the engi-
neering profession. It was designed by F. H. Bainbridge, C.E., of Chicago,
and was erected in 1897 on Johnson Canyon, at a point 4.3 miles east of Ash
Fork, the j inction of the Santa Fé Pacifie with the Santa Fé, Prescott and
Pheenix ra.lroad. The dam is one mile south of the track of the former
road. The steel portion of the dam is 184 feet long, 46 feet maximum
height for 60 feet in center. This steel structure connects with masonry
walls at each end, which complete the dam across the gorge to a total length
of 300 feet on top. The steel structure consists of a series of twenty-four
triangular bents or frames, standing vertically on the lower side, with a
batter of lto 1 onthe upper. These frames are composed of heavy I beams,
with diagonal struts and braces, resting on concrete foundations, and placed
8 feet apart, center to center, all well anchored into the bed-rock on the
concrete base, and braced laterally in pairs. The dimensions of the bents
vary with their height. The end bents are 12 to 21 feet in height, nine in
number; four of the bents are 33 feet high, and the remainder from 33 feet
to 41 feet 10 inches high. The batter-posts, to which the face-plates are
riveted, are of 20-inch I beams, the longest being 66.5 feet. The face of
the dam is composed of curved plates of steel, ? inch thick, 8’ 103” wide,
and 8 feet long, the concave side being placed towards the water. They
thus present the appearance of a series of troughs or channels between the
supports. The bent plates do not extend into the concrete at the base, but
the bottom course consists of flat plates, and the course next to the bottom
is dished in the form of a segment of a sphere, making the transition
between the curved and straight form. The edges of the plates are beveled
for calking, and riveted together with soft iron rivets. The joint between
the steel and masonry structures at the ends is formed by embedding flat

plates into the concrete, the face of which has the same slope as the face of
453
454 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the steelwork. The abutments project 8 inches beyond the line of the face-
plates. The masonry-work consists of 342.6 cubic yards of rubble and
1087 cubic yards of concrete, and there was used in the work a total of
1751 barrels of Portland cement. ‘The work was begun October 7, 189°,
and completed March 5, 1898, under the supervision of R. B. Burns,
Chief Engineer, Santa Fé Pacific Railway, Mr. W. D. Nicholson, Assistant
Engineer, being directly in charge.

‘he dam is designed to carry flood-water over the top of the stee]
structure. The steel plates are carried over the top of the frame, forming a
rounded apron to carry the overfal! beyond the line of posts. ‘This apron,
connecting with the curved inner plates, forms a series of trough-like

 

 

Fie. 294—Asm Fork, ARrIzoNA, STEEL DAM, VIEW OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION
FROM LOWER SIDE.

channels between posts, 1.3 feet deep at center. The abutment wall at the
east end of the dam is 2 feet higher than the bottom of the spillway chan-
nels, and that at the west end is nearly 8 feet higher. The rock at the
dam-site is volcanic in origin, very hard on the surface where exposed, but
containing occasional pockets of ashes or cinders, and badly broken by seams.
The rock excavated for foundations was used for concrete and rubble
masonry. The concrete was mixed in the proportion of 1 of Portland
cement to 3 of sand and 5 of broken stone. The outlets consist of two
6-inch cast-iron pipes placed 6 feet apart, with perforated stand-pipes, 10
feet high, inside the reservoir, similar to those at the Seligman dam. The
pipes are embedded in the concrete 28 feet below the top of the dam, and
reduced to 4’’ diameter at a point 16 feet below the gates that are vlaced at
the toe of the masonry. The fall in the pipe-line, 4.3 miles long, is 200
feet from base of dam to the top of the water-tank at Ash Fork.
EARTHEN DAMS. 455

The reservoir has a capacity of 37,023,000 gallons, or 4,950,000 cubic
feet, and receives the drainage from 26 square miles of watershed. The
average consumption is estimated at 90,000 gallons per day, or three-fourths
that of Seligman. The loss by evaporation is expected to be 40% to 50% of
the total supply, but, inasmuch as it will receive water from summer rains
as well as from melting snows, it is anticipated that the supply will be main-
tained equal to the ordinary demand. .

Considerable difficulty was experienced after the reservoir was just
filled in making a water-tight connection between the steel structure and
the concrete on bottom and sides, although no leakage occurred through
the joints in the steel portion of the dam. This was apparently due to
the expansion and contraction of the steel exposed to the sun. Even after
adding several feet of concrete to either side of the base of the steel struc-
ture the leakage was still annoying. Finally in 1900 a heavy coating of
asphalt mastic was applied, and the dam has made water-tight.

The total weight of steel in the structure is 478,704 lbs., which was
framed and erected by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company at a cost of
$55.78 per ton of 2000 Ibs. ‘The detailed cost of the entire dam is given
as follows:

 

MATERIAL.
Lumber, ete., in buildings...................., $659.94
Explosives and tools used in excavating.......... 937.20
Corrugated iron and nails in facing............. 181.02
Rubble stone................. eases seeds 155.25
Paint and oil for painting dam..... ........... 213.49
Cement, 1926 barrels......0 20.2.0... cee eee eee 5,774.92
Steel in dam, erected... ..... oa: Bees 13,351.05
Fencing for veservolters2gseca0 sees esaeaee 409.26

Total material. .......... Meekie beewerecbelOeele

LABOR.

De RRES ETA a tion aca neemicund ap eacaia memo e wah $15.00
Building? Cai ps os i cate nae was deh eee 272.75
Hauling material.... «2.2.0 62.2. ee eee ... 8,378.10
Excavating and laying masonry ................ 15,440.36
Engineering and superintendence............... 3,102.83
Plans and tests of metal ...... ........... bad 233.68
freight on metal............-.--- eee eee ... 1,651.30

Total Jabot nr 2s eee eee 24,093.97
Total cost of dam complete................... $415,776.10

The pipe-line to Ash Fork cost................ 15,978.70
456 RESERVOIR FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Figs. 294 and 295 give an excellent general idea of the construction.
Fig. 296 shows a portion of the reservoir, and represents clearly the igneous
rock formation of the canyon in which it is located.

 

 

 

 

 

Fic. 296.—Asu Fork Reservoir.

The Redridge Dam, Michigan.—Four years after the erection of
the first steel dam in Arizona, a second was constructed across the Salmon
Trout river at Redridge, Mich., for the development of power in the copper
regions for mining purposes, by the Atlantic Mining Co. and the Baltic
Mining Co., and furnishes water to stamp mills. It is located only a
few hundred feet from Lake Superior, and its crest is but 84 feet above
the normal lake level. The dam is of much larger dimensions than the
Ash Fork dam, although designed on the same general plan, with the im-
STEEL DAMS. 457

portant difference that it has a concrete base throughout, to which the
steel structure is anchored. The proportions are such that at any section
of the dam the resultant of all pressures with full reservoir falls within the
middle third of the concrete base. This base is built in a trench in bed-
rock, two to four feet deep.

The dam is 1006 feet long, the steel portion being 464 feet long between
the abutments, in the center of the structure, which is continued at the
ends by earth embankments with masonry core-walls. The maximum
height is 74 feet. There are 8000 cubic yards of concrete in the main

 

 

Fic. 297.—Reprince Stee, Dam.

dam, and 2000 cubic yards in the abutments and core-walls. The con-
crete base is 64 feet thick, and has somewhat of an ogee form, with a depth
of 14 feet at the lower toe, and 38 feet maximum height. The up-stream
side is inclined to conform to the batter of the steel frame and plates.

The steel portion of the dam consists of a series of steel bents of A-frames
8 feet apart, to which is riveted a facing of steel plates, curved with the
concave side up-stream. The face is inclined at an angle of 55° 58’, while
the apex angle between the face and the inclined columns or struts is 56° 10’,
The plates are % inch thick, 16 feet high, and having on each side a flat
strip of 5% inch wide, which is riveted to the flange of the I-beams. These
beams, forming the face members are 15 to 24 inches in depth. Below
458 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the bottom course of curved plates is a course of flat plates, the space be-
tween being closed by a segmental inclined diaphragm. The joining with
the concrete base is made with the flat plates.

The dam forms a reservoir of 150 acres, having a capacity of 600,000,000
gallons (1830 acre-feet).

The dam was designed by J. F. Jackson, M. Am. Soc. C. E., engineer
of the contracting firm that built the dam, the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron

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Fic. 298.—Reprince Stee, Dam.

Co., builders of the Ashfork dam. F. Foster Crowell, M. Am. Soc. C. E.,
acted as consulting engineer.

An interesting feature of the construction was the method employed
to fortify the bedrock in front of the dam and cut off percolation under-
neath it.

A line of drill holes, 2 inches diameter, 10 feet deep, and spaced 7 inches
apart, was put down into the rock on a line 20 feet above the toe of the
dam. Cement grout was forced into these holes under an air pressure
of 90 pounds per square inch. The rock floor between the line of holes
 

 

Fic. 299.—Haus
 

 

<E Dam, Monrana. [To face page 459.]
STEEL DAMS, 459

and the dam was then cleared off, covered with a concrete pavement,
and that in turn by a bank of puddle clay.

The work is fully described in Engineering News, August 15,1901. The
dam was begun in June, 1900, and put into service October 28, 1901.

 

Fic. 300.—Hauser Lake Dam, Montana.

 

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Hauser Lake Dam, Helena, Mont.—The third and highest steel dam
yet erected was completed in March, 1907, by the Wisconsin Bridge and
Tron Co., for the Helena Power and Transmission Co. The dam is located
across the Missouri River, about 15 miles from Helena, and 16 miles below
the Canyon Ferry timber crib dam belonging to the same company. It
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EARTHEN DAMS. 461

 

 

ENG. NEWS,

 

Fic. 303.—Hauser Lake Dam, MONTANA, NEARING COMPLETION.
462 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

is 630 feet long and has a maximum height of 81 feet. The dam has an
inclination of 1.5 on 1. It was designed by Mr. J. F. Jackson, Assoc. M.
Am. Soe. C. F., and built of steel in a similar manner to the Ash Fork and
tedridge steel dams. A portion of the dam was founded on solid rock.

Vie. 304.—Virw or THE WrECKED Hauser Lake Dam, IN Apniz, 1908.

 

 

The remaining portion for 300 feet, where gravel was found to an unknown
depth, was founded on steel sheet-piles of the Friestedt pattern, 35 feet
long, driven at the up-stream toe of the dam. The steel plates covering
the dam were connected with the top of the sheet piles, and an upper layer
of concrete covers the toe plate and the tops of the sheet piling The dam
HARTHEN DAMS. 463

is required to pass floods that may reach 60,000 sec.-feet, and for this
purpose a spillway, 500 feet long, 13 feet deep, is placed in the center,
with a timber apron, founded on stone filled cribs on the down-stream
side to receive the over-pour. Wooden flash boards are arranged to be

305.—Hauser Lake Dam AS IT APPEARED APRIL 15, 1

Fia.

 

 

placed in this spillway section after the high-water season is past. The
low-water flow, amounting to 3000 sec.-feet, was carried during con-
struction by six lines of 8-foot steel pipes, about 100 feet long, embedded
in concrete. The steel work was mostly erected between July and No-
vember, 1906.
464 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The reservoir above the dam, called Hauser Lake, is 16 miles long,
extending to the foot of the Canyon Ferry dam. Mr. Wm. De la Barre,
M. Am. Soc. C. E., acted as consulting engineer.

Failure of the Hauser Lake Dam, Montana.—The now steel dam
built on the Missouri river, about 18 miles from Helena, Mont., de-
scribed on page 499, and but recently completed, was partially destroyed
on April 14, 1908, subsequent to the preparation of the description,
and a section about 300 feet wide in the center of the dam was washed
out. The failure, as described in Engineering News, April 30, 1908,
with photographs of the ruined structure, was caused. by water under-
mining the rubble masonry fill and the steel sheet-piling at the up-stream
toe of the dam. This piling had been used over a portion of the channel
where bed-rock could not be reached and where the gravel of the river-
bed is of great depth. The maximum depth reached by the piling
driven in this gravel was 35 feet. The concrete placed over the top of
the piling, which formed the junction between the expansion joint of the
steel work and the sheet piling, is said to have been placed in a depth
of 10 feet or more of water, so that its quality may have been very
poor. The total damage caused by the break is estimated at $250,000
to $300,000, requiring six months time to make the necessary repairs.
Figs. 302 and 303 illustrate the dam as completed, and just prior to
completion. The wreck of the dam is clearly shown by Figs. 304 and
305. These interesting cuts have been kindly loaned by Engineering
News.

A contract for the reconstruction of the dam has been let to the
Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation, by whom borings have been
made to bedrock, which was located at a depth of 55 feet below normal
water level. The plan to be adopted for the restoration of the dam has
not been announced.
CHAPTER VI.
REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS.

The design of the structural steel dams described in the preceding chapter
is that of a triangle with the up-stream face so flatly inclined that the
water-pressure is made to give increased stabilitv by its weight, and this
basic principle has been the leading feature in the development of dams
of reinforced concrete, which were first introduced in the Eastern States
about the year 1902 by the Ambursen Hydraulic Construction Company
of Boston, who hold patents on the plans and methods employed.

No less than 39 dams, from 10 to 80 feet high, and from 60 to 1200 feet

‘long, have been erected in this short interval, many of which have been

described in detail in the engineering periodicals and have attracted
marked attention throughout the engineering world. No failures have
yet been recorded. The list of structures erected includes the following:
Sheldon Springs and Woodstock, Vt.; Wilton and Goffston, N. H.; New-
ton, Russell, Gloucester and Pittsfield, Mass.; Ellsworth, Me.; Hunting-
don and Ricketts, Penn.; Ilchester, Md.; Danville, Ky.; Fenelon Falls,
Ontario; Woonsocket, R. I.; Theresa, Schuylerville, Ramapo, Grays,
Colliers, and Horseshoe, N. Y., Dellwood, Illinois; Douglas, Wyoming and
many others.

The designs for these dams are highly specialized and exhibit an in-
telligent conception of the problems involved. They also illustrate in
a striking way the manifold uses and flexible adaptability of the new build-
ing material which is so rapidly entering into all forms of construction
at the present day.

The basic design is that of the original type of timber crib dam of tri-
angular form and long low hack slope, the old so-called “horse dam,”
from which it differs mainly in the substitution of imperishable and water-
tight concrete for the wood used by our forefathers.

The valuable principle adhered to throughout is that the vertical com-
ponent of the static pressure shall be made to pin the dam more firmly down
to its foundation, whereas with the usual type of gravity masonry or con-
crete dam, where the up-stream face is generally vertical, or but slightly
inclined, the pressure is exerted horizontally to overturn the dam, which
must therefore be made sufficiently massive to resist this force by its
weight alone.

465
466 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

A properly designed gravity dam exerts a pressure on its foundation
ranging theoretically from zero at the up-stream edge to a maximum at
its down-stream toe, which maximum is kept at or just within the safe
limit of crushing for masonry, usually on a safety factor of 2 or 2.5. The
diagram of foundation pressure is therefore a triangle.

In the reinforced concrete dam, the slope of the “deck” or water-face
may be so related to the weight and base width of the dam that the pres-
sure on the foundation is controlled at the will of the designer, and it is
said that the factor of safety in all its relations is never made less than 5.

 

 

CENTRE OF GRAVITY

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MIDDLE THIRD

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Fic. 306.

Usually the proportions are such that the diagram of pressure is nearly
a rectangle. In other words, the pressure is uniformly distributed over
the whole foundation, with any excess pressure thrown slightly towards
the up-stream angle instead of being concentrated at the down-stream toe.
This arises from the fact that the resultant of the water pressure and weight
of the dam can be held at or a little above the center of the base instead
of passing down to the lower edge of the middle third.

In diagram, Fig. 306, the movements of this resultant and the pressures
on the base may be traced. As the water rises back of the dam, the result-
ant advances slightly up-stream from the center, until it reaches to about
three-fourths full height, when it returns again nearly to the center with
REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS. 467

the dam under its calculated flood load. The angle of the resultant also
is always kept within the limit of the angle of friction, thus preventing
any tendency of the dam to move on its base.

Fig. 307 shows in perspective and section the form adapted to low heads
and hard foundations. It consists of a series of piers or buttresses, spaced
12 to 18 feet apart on centers, and covered with a deck of concrete, rein-
forced between the different bays as a beam, in which the tension members
of steel are placed near to the under side, leaving from ten inches to several
feet of concrete between the steel bars and the water. The thickness of
the concrete sheet necessarily increased from top to bottem with the in-
crease of head. But little reinforcement is used in the piers, except at

 

 

 

 

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Fia. 307.

the edges and around the openings which are usually made through them,
either for convenient passages or for the saving of material.

The concrete in the deck is mixed as rich as 1:2:4, usually with fine
aggregates, and is poured into the forms in sloppy condition, which en-
sures a thorough coating of the steel with cement. Experience seems
to show that water-tightness can best be insured by mixing the concrete
very wet, which is becoming generally recognized and adopted on all
modern concrete work.

One apparent advantage of this design is that the dam when founded
on rock has no continuous base, and therefore cannot be threatened by
upward lifting pressure of water that may find its way through seams
in the rock.

Several of the dams have been built on gravel or other porous foundat'on
with a continous base of concrete over the gravel, protected by a curtain
wall, or sheet-piling above and an apron below. The floor is pro-
468 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, LTC.

 

Fig. 308.

 

Fic. 309.
REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS. 469

tected from the uplift of water pressure underneath by leaving numer-
ous “‘weep-holes.”” These holes are shown in the perspective drawing
of that type of construction, Fig. 308.

The design of these dams leaves them hollow, which has the advantage

 

  
  

 

 

 

 

 
           
   
  

   

        
 
 

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can be utilized for handling flashboards, waste gates, log sluices, or movable
crests from beneath safely and conveniently, and a passageway can he
maintained through the interior of the structure from one side of the
RLSERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

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REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS. 471

river to the other, as a substitute for afoot-bridge over the stream. Such
a passage is illustrated in Fig. 309.

In some of the later designs the interior passageway has even been
increased to accommodate a highway, and in other cases it bas been used
as a runway for a traveling crane for picking up the machinery of a power
house located in the interior of the structure.

The part of the dam first constructed in the bed of a flowing stream
is the piers, and these can be built independently inside of caissons, so
that the use of expensive cofferdams for the diversion of the entire stream
may often be avoided. This is done by completing the structure above the
water line, allowing the stream to flow uninterrupted between the piers.
Subsequently the closure of the separate bays is made with concrete as
simply as the process of putting in stop logs in a large canal headgate.

The Ellsworth Dam, Maine.—As an example of the latest form of
this new type of construction, the dam built across the Union river at
Ellsworth, Me., during 1907, completed in January, 1908, may be cited.
This dam was t uilt for the Bar Harbor and Union River Power Co., to form
a reservoir of 71,000 acre-feet capacity, but chiefly to give head to a power-
house located against the dam, where the first installation was for 4250
wheel H. P.

It is founded on granite, and the transverse profiles are very irregular,
as shown in Fig. 305, which is a section through the rollway. The maxi-
mum height of the dam is 71.5 feet, in the bulkhead portion, back of the
power-house. The rollway is 65 feet high. The total length of the dam
is about 500 feet. The general plan, elevation and section of the struc-
ture are shown in Fig. 306. The space underneath the bulkhead and
immediately in the rear of the power-house is utilized as a trans-
former-house, store-house, machine-shop, etc., while the power-house is
approached from the town on the opposite side of the river by a tunnel
beneath the low part of the crest and a passage at different levels
entirely through the body of the dam. The structure is shown in Figs.
312 and 316.

The high tension wires for the power house pass through portholes
shown in the picture just underneath the top of the dam to the right of
the power-house.

Considering the height and length of the dam, the fact that it contains
but 8000 cubic yards of concrete is striking. The work was begun the
last of February, 1907, on the excavations of foundations and building
of cofferdam. As there were 3000 cubic yards of hard rock to excavate
the first concrete was not laid before June 9th, and the last put in place
Nov. 14th. Evidently the design permits of remarkable rapidity of
construction, and small amounts of material. The cost is not available
for any of these structures, although they are said to compare favorably
jai ‘ESQOH-UHMOG ANY WV] HINOMSTTY FAT —ZIE ‘SLT

 

 

 
REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS. 473

with the cost of dams of any other material and of other types, as must
result from the smaller quantities required.

 

 

On dams of the height of the Ellsworth dam, the piers are expanded
on their up-stream edges to form haunches or corbels reinforced with

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fie. 314.

\

steel, to act as seats for the deck-slabs. This construction is illustrated
on the margin of Fig. 310.

A detail of the waste gate adapted for movement by hydraulic power
is shown in Fig. 313.

Fig. 314 shows a section of a log sluiceway, and its closing mechanism.
474 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

Fic. 316.—ExLiswortH Dast, MaINneE.
REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS. 475

Flashboards to increase the storage in low water are set and released
by the device indicated in Fig. 315.

As will be observed the standards which clamp the boards in position
may be withdrawn entirely into the interior, leaving the crest of the roll-
way entirely unobstructed for passage of floods.

The Patapsco Dam, Maryland.—This structure is 30 feet high, 200
feet long, built across the Patapsco river near Ilchester, Maryland. The
entire width of the river was required for the overflow weir, so that it

 

 

Fig. 317.—Patarsco Dam, ILcHESTER, MARYLAND.

became necessary to utilize the room in the hollow interior for the power-
house, in which three units of 500 H.P. were snugly installed. The
dam is of the half-apron type, affording ample daylight on the down-
stream side. The cubic contents of this dam are but 2200 cubic yards.
A general view is shown on Fig. 317.

Fig. 318 is a cross-section of the dam with its enclosed power-house,
and Fig. 319 shows an interior view of the power house after completion.

This dam is of the lowest height admissible for a submerged power-
house. Two dams of this submerged power-house type are being built,
70 feet high, affording ample room for installations of 5000 H. P. each,
accommodating traveling cranes, transformer-rooms, switch-boards, ete.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fic. 319.—Inrerior or Patarsco SusMERGED PowEr-HOUSE.
REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS. 477

 

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Fig. 321.—Juniata Dam, aND PoWER-HOUSE PARTIALLY COMPLETED.
RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lic. 323.—View oF coMPLETED JUNIATA Dam
REINFORCED CONCRETE DAMS. 479

The Juniata Dam, Huntingdon, Pa.—This interesting dam is built on
a foundation of porous gravel, underlaid by hardpan at a depth of about
18 feet. A trench was first sunk to the hardpan at each edge of the dam,
and: a reinforced concrete cut-off wall molded therein, intercepting the
underflow. (See Fig. 322.)

The completed floor forming the base for the superstructure of the
rollway is illustrated by the photograph, Fig. 320, on page 480.

The reinforcement of this floor is proportioned to distribute the pressure
to an average of 1.3 tons per square foot.

Fig. 321 gives a clear view of the work at an advanced stage, with the
river flowing through openings beyond the cofferdam, and Fig. 323 shows
the completed dam and power-house. The dam in the rollway section is
28 feet high and 460 feet long. It contains 6400 cubic yards of concrete,
including abutments and bulkheads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

COARSE SCREEMS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

      
 

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Tig. 324.—Srcrion or PittsFretp DaM, SHOWING GATE-HOUSE CONTAINED.

The Pittsfield Dam, Mass.—This structure, 42 feet high, 465 feet long,
containing 3950 cubic yards of concrete, was begun Sept. 1, 1907, and
completed March 1, 1908, a total of six months. It is founded on gravel,
480 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

underlaid at a depth of 12 feet with dense yellow clay. Cut-off walls at
each edge extend down 3 feet into the clay at bottom and sides. The
gate-house is incorporated with the dam, utilizing the space between two
piers for that purpose. Fig. 324 is a cross-section through the gate-house.

The longitudinal section, Fig. 325, shows the footings adapted to
the hillside, and soft foundation. The completed dam is shown in Fig. 326.

The work was carried on continuously throughout freezing weather,
when the thermoneter reached a minimum of !2 degrees below zero, by
heating the materials, and by using “salamanders” in the bays beneath
the deck, for which the hollow dam construction was favorable. There
is said to be no discernable difference in the quality of the concrete laid
in the winter raonths and that which was placed in moderate weather.

A dam of this type has been designed for construction during 1908,
which is to be 115 feet high, 1,300 feet long, and contains about 85,000 cubic

 

 

  

 

ITI.
L SECTION OF PITTSFIELD DAM, SHOWING PIERS AND STEPPED
Footines on SLOPES.

yards including the power-house. Floods approximating 40,000 second-
feet are to be cared for without variation of the working level of the
water by a series of waste gates between the several bays, operated by
hydraulic lifts, and by a movable crest on the rollway.

A section through the bulkhead and power-house is shown in Fig. 328,
representing all essential details clearly. Fig. 327 is a longitudinal section
of the dam.

Another dam planned for construction in 1908, is shown in section
in Fig. 329.

This dam is to have an ultimate height of 120 feet, will be 520 feet
long and contain 54,000 cubic yards of concrete, as shown by dotted
lines in the section. The first construction will be limited to 80 feet, with
a temporary wooden apron supported on steel beams on the down-stream
side.

La Prele Dam.—This dam for irrigation purposes is now under con-
struction near Douglas, Wyoming. It is 135 feet high and 250 feet long,
and will contain about 15,000 cubic yards of concrete.

The limit of height to which dams of reinforced concrete may be safely
built is as yet to be determined. Preliminary designs for a structure 315
feet high were computed by request of engineers in Government service,
and it is stated that no insuperable difficulties were encountered, the
unit stresses being kept the same as on smaller dams, and the ratio of
material and costs holding about as in other cases.
“CHLATANOD sv NYG QTEISLIIg AnL—9ce ‘DIY

 

 

 

 
482 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

 

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Fic. 329.—Ssecrion or High DaM, PLANNED FoR INCREASE OF HEIGHT IN FUTURE.
tS4 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POW ER, ETC.

coarse gravel, sand and glacial flour. This lake is to be converted into a
reservoir for irrigation storage by the building of a hydraulic-fill dam across
the outlet channel.

Twin Lakes Reservoir, Colorado.—Almost identical in geographical
formation and glacial origin to that of Lake Como, Montana, are the Twin
Lakes on the fork of the Arkansas river which heads in Mt. Massive, near
Leadville. This was one of the reservoir-sites segregated and surveyed
by the United States Government in 1892, as shown by the map (Fig. 330).

 

Fic. 331—Twin Laxes, Cotorapo, Masonry Dam over OUTLET, WITH EARTH
BackInG, GATE-HOUSE, AND OUTLET CULVERTS.

These lakes cover an area, at normal stage of water, of about 1900 acres,
and have a depth of more than 80 feet. They are at an altitude of 9194
feet, and receive the drainage from 387 square miles of watershed, including
within this area some of the highest mountains of Colorado. The annual
run-off from this area is from 40,000 to 100,000 acre-feet.

The plan proposed by the government engineers for utilizing these two
lakes and converting them into one large reservoir was to erect an earth
dam, with a maximum height of 73 feet. across the valley below the lakes,
and thus increase their surface area to 3475 acres. This would give a
reservoir capacity above the normal lake surface of 103,500 acre-feet.
To fill the reservoir it was designed to supplement the run-off of the streams
PLATE NO. 1—PROFILES OF FOREIGN DAMS.

9 in Spain.—Alicante.
Almanza.
Elche.
Hijar.
Lozoya
Nijar.
Puentes.
Val de Infierno.
Villar.

22 in FRaNcE.—
Avignonet.
Ban.
Bouzey.
Bosmolea.
Chartrain.
Chazilly.
Cher.
Echapré.
Furens.
Glomel.
Gros Bois.
Lampy.
Miodeix.
Mouche.
Pont.
Settons.
Sioule.
Ternay.
Turdine.
Vioreu.
Verdon.
Zola
PLATE NO. 2.—PROFILES OF FOREIGN DAMS.

5 in AuGerta.—Gran Cheurfas.
Djidionia.
Habra.
Hamiz.
Tlelat.

3 in Iraty.—Lagolungo.
Cagliari.
Gorzente.

3 in EncLtanp and WaLes.—Burrator.
Thirlmere
Vyrnwy.

1 in Cuina.—Tytam, Hongkong.
1 in Austria.—Komotau.

2 in Eaypr.—Assouan.
Assiout.

5 in INnpra.—Betwa.
Bhatgur.
Periyar.
Poona.
Tansa.

6 in AusTRALIA.—Barossa.
Beetaloo.
Burraga.
Cataract.
Coolgardie.
Geelong.

1 in New ZeaLanp.—Idaburn

2 in Mexico.—La Jalpa.
Mercedes.

5 in Gprmany.—Einseidel.
Eschbach.
Lauchensee.
Remscheid.
Urft.

1 in BeLaium.—Gileppe
   
   
    

Radius= 410 —>

rege

Radius = Infinity Rodws> 656 —
i =

<8

Radius= (310 —*!

 
   
 
 
 
 
  
  
      
 
   
  
   
  

 

QO--- --=- -=---

 
 
 
 

EINSIEDEL DAM

(Germany - 1890 -94)

 
  

TYTAM DAM

(H ong Kong - Chinas 1887)

   

i All|
EURFAS

(Algiers ~ 1882-8 )

  
 
     
  
  
  

  
   

eere us '  AGOLUNGO DAM
Radius = Infinity mcf (Genoa. Irely - 1683 )
' Sil!

% 361

        

URFT DAM

(Germany - (901/04)

   

KOMOTAU DA

(Austria - 1900-"03)

 
 
    

Radius «410 a

  

 

    
 
  

      
  

 
   

l 2 adius = Infinity

i ee aappalia
CAGLIARI DAM Sarna. fAustvalis}
pose PSE THIRLMERE. DAM

(England-1e¢6“93)

we --+ B2---5-->

  
    
      

th
HAM IZ DAM

( Algrers~ 1885)

R MSCH El D DAM

Radius = Infinity
nfi ity Germany -1889"9!)

  

    
    
 

 fze25: Radius = lnfinrty

{Ge m5.co se

BURRATOR DAM

(England - 1893-96 )

COOLGARDIE D,

Radius = Infinit
oa
ae (Australia -1898 -1903)

 
 
  
    
 
    
 
     
    

( wll J P|
VYERWo"D DAM
(England - 1882-90)

aa.
Cast Iron Piles

ASSIOUT DAM
(Egypt - 1898 -1903)

GORZENTE DAM

(Genoa, Italy 18.80 -83)

 

AA
ANN
DJ ee IA DAM

Radius 1640 —>
( Algiers - 1873-75 ) 2.

abe! '
ee Infinity

2788- -- = —=

LB: 4 oy
~ ASS UAN DAM
(Egypt - 1898-1902)

WW0--.------

W--------

 

y < WG
PCE At DAM LA JALPA DAM
(Algiers-1869) Mexico -i902-09 ofa OC. ..... .. ee 8 8=8=|(ols—--- -- Se = ii-------

ASN Le Ogg HAS eS

TANSA DAM

(India - 1886 -'92 ) /

cod,

B ETWA DAM

(India 1888)

 

ot

m

 

R
(Algiers - 1865 - 73)

 

AUCHENSEE DAM

(Sermany - (889 - 1895)

re = Infinity

“PERIYAR DAM

(Indio - 1889-96)

PLATE It.

Radius = 2350 —4

PROFILES OF
PRINCIPAL MASONRY DAMS

OF THE WORLD

SHEET 2 — DAMS IN GERMANY, ENGLAND,
ITALY, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, ALGIERS, INDIA,
EGYPT, CHINA, AUSTRALIA , NEW ZEALAND
ano MEXICO.

SCALE OF FEET
—
o 10 20° 30 40 60 80

 
 
 
 
 

2 of Concrete
Dry Peck Fill

>

 

“t
IDABURN DAM
( New Zealand )

 
   
     

  

Radius 1414"

  
     
 

Se ee hy
-0

    

* oP m0 \ , /
BEETALOO DAM i
(Australia -.886 89)

MERCEDES aM

(Mexico- 1902 ‘os)
Radius =200! ——>

    
  
 
  
    
 
   
     

Radius + gone
I

 

i,
GEELONG DAM

- 1835 [ Australia )

BAROSSA

(Australia ~ 1899-1903)

OUP E' NPM)
CATARACT DAM

( Australia -1902-‘08)

   

Se eee

(India »iases )

 

“BOONA "DAM

(India- 1a68)

   
 

, i eS yf\ Lf-

  
   
 
  
      

, Radsuselnfins
oO mG ao 4

 

 
PLATE NO. 3.

29 Prorites or AMERICAN Masonry Dams.
Ashokan, N. Y.
Boonton, N. J.

Boyds Corners, N. Y.
Bear Valley, Cal.
Colorado, Texas.
Cheesman Lake, Colo.
Cross River, N. Y.
Croton Falls, N. Y.
Granite Springs, Wyo.
Hemet, Cal.

Indian River, N. Y-
Ithaca, N. Y.

La Grange, Cal.
Manila, P. I.
McCall’s Terry, Penn.
New Croton, N. Y.
Pathfinder, Wyo.
Roosevelt, Ariz.
Sodom, N. Y.

Spier’s Falls, N. Y.
San Mateo, Cal.
Sudbury, Mass.
Shoshone, Wyo.
Sweetwater, Cal.
Titicus, N. Y.

Upper Otay, Cal.
Wrchusett, Mass.
Wigwam, Conn.
PLATE III.

 

po i‘ ~

A

Radius= 213.2 —

   

Rodius=Infimty

        
   
  
  
 
 
 
  

Radius = Infinity —}

: Radius = Infinity
Radius = Infirrty :

  

Radius = 300° —»

Pesect Heighp

BRIDGEPORT DAM

Connecticut )
Radius > Infinity

SWEETWATER DAM
California

rae TAT GUe| GAN

(New York)
1890-95

 

   

GRANITE SPRINGS DAM

ivye rag es

Radius = Infinrty —+

 
    
    

Radius = 632 — i. c oss SANE
Bese oanty 1905 -? Radius =335>
Rodius = 225.4 —>

CROTON FALLS

Ne York
(nee tere)

 
  
 
 
   
    

    
  
     
  
  
  
    

   
  

BOYDS CORNE Re DAM

(New ¥ ork
\eoe-'73

BEAR VALLEY DAM

(California)
1884

 

i
SODOM DAM

(New York)
gaa - 1892

2z'pipe

MSCALLS FERRY. DAM
(Pennsylvania) ZZ pipe

ZF c
fagiateel pipe 6 thick
« 19.07

    

>ia7's

BOONTON DAM

New Jersey)
1899- 1904

eee Radiv3=\50—> 3"

Radius= 360 -> 2S

MATEO DAM

ee ae (california)
Radius = Infinity > Fanaa
1

  

HEMET DAM

(California )

 
  

 
  

Radius= ann

     
    
     

 

Radius =600' —»

Radius= Infinity —>
2508

 

Sea eee UPPER OTAY DAM
INDIAN RIVER DAM (massechy aoe

New York
ige°8

r 1
Radius = 300 ——>
\

  

1992 mS

Wi GWAM DAM
(Connecticut )

1893-1902

   

  
   

 

 

  
 
    
 
  
     
  
    

OW i OB

ROOSEVELT DAM
( Avizona

\905-?

  
 
   
  
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
  
 
   
 
 
  
   
  
 

Radius = 400
PROFILES OF
PRINCIPAL MASONRY DAMS
OF THE WORLD “
SHEET 3 - AMERICAN DAMS

SCALE OF FEET

0 10 20 30 40 60 60

z ‘ \
Radius = 410° ——4

MANILA DAM

Priutpine islands
Wa Diets )

Radius= Infinity

Radius= Infinity —>
264 zd
Inspection
Gallery

*
See:

C4 i 7 ee
PATHFINDER DAM
(wyoming
06 — ?

205
M “SPIERS FALLS DAM 2 NEEM eZ ake
WACHUSETT DAM Sia aeecnL Pe ; ele ASHOKAN DAM NEW CROTON DAM
ali uate 1900-05 (New York New York)

1892-1907

 

 

 

Massachusetts - i o5-?
\ ( Bsn eeuectts) i891" 93 1908 -?

 
PLATE NO. 4.—SECTIONS OF CALIFORNIA EARTH DAMS.

Pilarcitos Dam.
San Andrés Dam.
Old Crystal Springs Dam.
PLATE LV.

PR aa = tal See

 

Pilareitos, Elevation.
OLD CRYSTAL SPRINGS DAM.
Spring Valley Water-works.

San Francisco, U. S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Crystal Springs, Elevation.

STOP hese eT Ie te :

   
   

 

 

yin
wt

tu,
I

PILARCITOS DAM.

|
|
Spine Valley Waleewirks Pilarcitos, Section.
| 3 | Ba

 

   
    

 

 
 

San Francisco, €. 5.

 

 

 

San Andres, Elevation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      
 

SAN ANDRES DAM.
Spring Valley Water-works.

San Friincisco, U.S.

 

 

San Andres, Section.
PLATE NO. 5.—SECTIONS OF TYPICAL FOREIGN
EARTH DAMS.

Llannefydd Dam, Wales.
Dodder Dam, Ireland.
Yarrow Dam, England.
Vehar Dam, India.
PLATE V.

 

LLANNEFYDD DAM. DODDER DAM.
River Clwyd. River Dodder.
Rhyl District Waterworks, Wales, Dodder, Elevation. Drainage and Water-power. Ireland

fehyl, Section. |.

 

 

fig. 2. Rhyl, Elevation.

670

 

 

 

 

 

YARROW DAM
Liverpool Water-works, England. Yarrow, Elevation

VEHAR DAM.
River Goper.

 

 

 

 

 

Bombay Water-works, India.

Vehar, Section.

Scales in feet.
Scale for Fig. 5.
Z

 

Scale for Fig’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. 8
fe}

 

 
PLATE NO. 6—SECTIONS OF TYPICAL FOREIGN
EARTH DAMS

Stubden Dam, Ireland.

Leeming Dam, Ireland.

Loch Island Reavy Dam, Ireland.
Rotten Park Dam, England.
Ulley Dam, England.

Vale House Dam, England.

De Torcy Dam, France.
Montaubry Dam, France.
PLATE VI

 

STUBDEN DAM. ROTTEN PARK DAM.
Bradford Water-works, Ireland, Birmingham-Staffordshire Canal,

England. Rotten Park, Section.

 

 

  

 
   
   
   
     

 
  
   

[|
ULLEY DAM.
LEEMING DAM Uley Brook.
Oxenhope Valley. Treland. Rotherham Water-works, Enylana

Water-power.

  
  
 

 

 

 

 
 
  

     
 

 
     
      
  

   

 

LOCH ISLAND REAVY DAM. DE TORCY DAM eye eee "VALE HOUSE DAN
z Banbridge Water-works, Ireland. Canal du Centre, France. Etherow River
; 2 : De Torey, Seetion. gait ase Rit > Manchester Water-works, England.
Loch Island Reavy, 7 = ss
Section.2 2 =
Ze .
Loch Island Reavy, Plan of Culvert.
eae ea =
Scale in foet.

SO

 

 

 
NATURAL RESERVOIRS. 485

directly tributary by diverting water from the main Arkansas river, by
a canal leaving the river a short distance below Leadville.

Some years after this survey was made a private corporation, called the
Twin Lakes Reservoir Company, was organized by Buffalo capitalists to
carry out the work on a modified plan. This company acquired sufficient
land around the margins of the lakes to control them, and began work
in the summer of 1898. The plan adopted by them comtemplated works
that would enable them to draw off the lakes to 16 feet below their normal
level, and in addition build a low dam that would store 9 feet in depth
above that level,—thus commanding a total depth of 25 feet and a total
volume of 48,000 acre-feet. Of this volume, two-thirds, or 32,000 acre-
feet, is below the normal lake-level. In pursuance of this plan they ex-
cavated a canal at one side of the outlet-stream, 2000 feet long, from
the edge of the lower lake to the point of its intersection with Lake Crvek.
This canal is 40 feet wide on bottom, and has a maximum depth of 37 feet.
The excavation was in sand, bowlders, and silt, or “ glacial flour,” and was
chiefly made with a steam-shovel. At the point where the excavation was
deepest, some 200 feet from the lake margin, they prepared to erect head-
gates of iron, on a heavy base of concrete, with abutment-walls of cut
stone laid in cement mortar. The structure was to have been 32 feet in
height. The gates were twelve in number, each 2 feet 83 inches wide,
5 feet high, made of 4-inch boiler-plate, and carrying iron flashboards,
loosely resting one above another, on top of the gate, and reaching up to
above high-water mark. The gates were to slide vertically between 12-inch
I beams. These beams were to be embedded in the concrete floor. The
foundations for this floor were made by driving piles, upon which the
abutment-walls and center pier rest. (Fig. 332.)

The concrete base of the gate structure was planned and built 72 feet
long, with a width of 69 feet to the outer lines of the abutment-walls. It
was made 5 feet in thickness, with double grillage of T rails, encased in
the concrete. Three lines of apron or curtain walls extended down 5 feet
below the bottom of the concrete, across the line of the canal.

In the spring of 1899 this structure was partially completed, the floor
was finished, and one of the abutment-walls was built 12 feet high, when
work was stopped by threats of injunction made by officials of the Denver
and Rio Grande and the Colorado Midland railways, whose tracks through
the canyon of the river below would have been endangered by any failure
of the proposed reservoir. At this juncture Mr. O. O. McReynolds was
appointed Chief Engineer, and the writer was employed as Consulting
Engineer to prepare plans to make the work secure and allay apprehen-
sions of its safety. The modifications which were made in the plan are
shown in Fig. 332, and the work has since been completed in compliance
486 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

LONGITUDINAL SECTION AND ELEVATION THROUGH GATES,OAM AND CULVERTS

aeamenimare SYATACE Grace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

>
as ¥,

 

 

 

 

Dar Avena Mase
S Guiveer

$f itt 19

Toa en Re

Foor 2 rent ae Tee

 

 

 

 

 

  
  
 
 
 
    

 

: 2 ea Ce ar
caer eteesce
Us 4
- Sayer ee ep en te a
:

eae iase ieee eg
Find Coreneo arm = Lae ore
COnAu6ArLOD /f0N

 

VIEW LOOKING DOWN THE CANAL.

 

 

L —— Lt TOF or Dare 980709

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fic

Fie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

4
wee nee eee eG OS Rica md Se eh a 9 a)
* «
q rane J Bean GAIL MOE
- 88
tave

 

< . Puas Dower 167

  
     

‘Scava or Feer
WAL BECTION, DAM TAN WING WALL

HALF ELEVATION LODKING UP THE CANAL
BrLow masonry DAM

Aputmenr Canteen Pen
i 28k
PLAN OF ONE HALF OF GATE OPENING SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF GATES

tL Fee eee

Bence or Faeyr

 

 

 

Fig. 332.—Detarts oF OUTLETS FOR Twin Lakes, CoLo. DESIGNED FOR THE

Twin Lakes Reservoir Co. sy J. D. ScHUYLER, Cons. ENGR., AND BUILT EY
O. O. McReyNnotps, CHIEF ENGINEER.
NATURAL. RESERVOIRS. 487

with the new design. The changes were made in such manner as to adapt
them to the part already completed and to utilize materials already on the
ground. These were the following: A series of four culverts were built
on top of the completed floor, extending from the line of gates to the
lower edge of the concrete platform, a distance of 47 feet. These culverts
are each 7 feet 11 inches wide and 7 feet high, with a semicircular arch
over them. They are built of concrete, the thickness of the arch being
® feet. On top of these culverts a masonry dam is built across the canal,
reaching to a height of 30 feet above the floor of the structure. This
wall is of sandstone ashlar, laid in large blocks with Portland-cement
mortar. Its base width is 15 feet, top 4 feet; down-stream batter 5: 12.
Extending well into the banks on each side, in line with the dam, is a con-
crete wall, 2 feet thick, designed to cut off seepage through the earth
filling on the sides that would tend to pass around the dam. Against the
masonry dam on the lower side is an embankment of earth over the top of
the culverts, forming a driveway over the canal, 22 feet wide on top.
The outer slope terminates against a low wall forming a facade for the
culvert-portals. The slope is paved with stone. For 50 feet above
and 75 feet below the concrete platform the canal is paved with con-
crete on the bottom, and the sides protected from erosion by substantial
walls of concrete above the dry rubble below the headworks. The gates
built for the original design were used, but the hoisting-device was im-
proved, and a substantial gate-house built over the gates.

Spillway.—A space is left between the gates and the masonry which
will admit of a maximum discharge of 600 second-feet over the top of the
flashboards, without raising the gates. Whenever any water thus passes
over the top of the flashboards it can escape freely through the culverts
and down the canal. This provision for sudden floods in the possible
absence of attendants to open the gates is considered an ample spillway
allowance. The culverts have a combined capacity of over 2000 second-
feet.

Fishway.—To provide for a free passage of migratory fish over the
dam, in compliance with the State law, it is proposed to erect a fish-ladder
of approved design, supplying it with water piped from a neighboring
stream. The lakes abound in trout.

The entire cost of the improvements, including the purchase of valuable
villa sites on the lake margins, will be about $200,000. ‘The works were
finished during the current year (1900). %

“ Glacial Flour.”’—An interesting feature of these improvements is the
peculiar character of the material through which the canal has been
excavated and upon which the head-works have been built. The lakes are
located between two great lateral moraines, hundreds of feet in height,
while the barrier across the valley, forming the natural dam inclosing
488 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the lower lake, is a terminal moraine deposit, consisting largely of rock
dust, or almost pure silica ground to an impalpable powder, known to
geologists as * glacial flour.” This material is so fine in texture as to
resist percolation through any considerable mass of it, and hence it be-
comes practically impervious as an embankment of ordinary dimensions.
It is neither quicksand nor clay, and has none of the characteristics of
these elements.

The natural channel through which the lakes overflowed into the
Arkansas river was closed by an embankment of this glacial flour,
well riprapped with stone on both sides.

Larimer and Weld Reservoir.—One of the natural basins, located 14
miles north of Fort Collins, Colorado, has been made to hold an important
auxiliary supply to the Larimer and Weld canal, feeding into the latter
2 miles below the head of the canal. When filled to the rim it holds a
maximum depth of 25 feet, and has a storage capacity of 7700 acre-feet
at that level. This capacity was increased in 1895 to 11,550 acre-feet by
constructing a low levee or bank about 2000 feet long at the lowest part
of the rim of the basin. This added 5 feet to the depth of water in the
lake.

The cost of the improvements was $21,796, but land and water rights,
attorneys and court fees, and miscellaneous expenses swelled the entire
cost to $64,782. On the same canal system are two other natural basins,
utilized as reservoirs, the larger of which, called the Windsor reservoir, is
25 miles below the head of the canal. It carries a maximum depth of 28
feet of water, and cost $52,000, of which $25,000 was for the land and
attorneys’ fees. To increase the depth to 40 feet, an embankment is to be
built which is estimated to cost $23,000 additional. The reservoir will
then have a capacity of 23,000 acre-feet.

The Larimer County Canal utilizes six of these basins on the plains,
as storage-reservoirs, which have a combined capacity of 10,560 acre-
feet.

All of these basins above described derive their water-supply from the
Cache la Poudre River.

Marston Lake.— Another one of these natural basins, situated at
an elevation to command the city of Denver, has been utilized by the
Denver Union Water Company as a storage-reservoir of 5,000,000,000
gallons capacity. It is fed by a canal from Bear Creek, and is provided
with two outlet-tunnels which connect with the main conduits leading to
the city of Denver, 10 miles distant.

Loveland Reservoir-site—One of the largest of the natural-basin
reservoirs that has been projected for use in Colorado is located 3 miles
northeast of Loveland, Colorado, at Boyd Lakes. These are two basins
adjacent, each containing small lakes, on the high ground between the
NATURAL RESERVOIRS. 489

Cache la Poudre and Big Thompson rivers. The basin will require no
dam, and when filled will have a maximum depth of 44 feet, and a surface
area of 1920 acres, the capacity of which will be £5,740 acre-feet.

The method proposed for its conversion into a reservoir is to make an
open cut, 10 feet wide at the bottom, on a grade of 1.5 feet per mile. At
the deepest point in the cut a masonry wall is proposed to be built across
the cut, with six 3-foot, cast-iron pipes passing through the wall. The
reservoir would be fed by two canals from the rivers on each side of it.
The entire cost of the improvement is estimated by Capt. H. M. Chitten-
den * at $262,106.34, or $5.73 per acre-foot of storage capacity.

The Laramie Natural Reservoir-site, Wyoming.—Capt. Chittenden’s
able report + on reservoir-sites in Wyoming and Colorado describes a
natural basin that could be made available for storing the surplus water
of the Laramie and Little Laramie rivers, which is one of colossal magni-
tude. Its maximum depth is 170 feet, covering an area of 13,651 acres,
and having a capacity of 937,038 acre-feet. This is greatly in excess of
the supply available from the two streams mentioned, which is estimated
at 70,000 acre-feet annually, although this could be increased by gathering
the supply from more distant sources.

When filled to the 100-foot level, the annual loss by evaporation would
be 24,000 acre-feet, leaving a supply of 46,000 acre-feet for irrigation.
The estimated cost of the canals, reservoir-outlets, rights of way, etc.,
for utilizing the basin on the basis of storing only the waters of the two
Laramie rivers, was $416,254, or $9.05 per acre-foot of average supply.

Lake De Smet Reservoir-site, Wyoming.—Among the reservoir-sites
examined and reported upon by Capt. Chittenden, in the report quoted
above, was a natural depression without outlet, called Lake De Smet.
This basin is 3 miles long, 1 mile wide, and covers an area of 1965 acres.
The improvement of this basin which he recommended was to construct
a feeder-canal, 84 miles long, with a capacity of 727 second-feet, and con-
struct two outlets, one at each end of the basin, discharging into Box
Elder Creek on one side and into Piney Creek.on the other, each to have -
a capacity of 425 second-feet. This would convert the basin into a reser-
voir by the addition of 30 feet in depth, bringing the level of the lake up
to. the rim of the basin, increasing its surface area to 2400 acres, and
affording an available storage of 67,627 acre-feet of water. The entire cost
of the improvement was estimated at $113,360, or $1.67 per acre-foot of
storage capacity.

* Report of Capt. Hiram M. Chittenden, Corps of Engineers, U. 8. A., upon examina-
tion of Reservoir-sites in Wyoming and Colorado, under the provisions of Act of Con-
gress of June 8, 1896. House Document No, 141, 55th Congress, 2d Session.

+ ddid.
490 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Such natural basins as those described in the foregoing pages, which
can be filled by controllable canals, present advantages as storage-reser-
voirs which are certainly ideal. The great thickness of the natural ridges
which surround them renders them absolutely safe against bursting, pro-
vided their outlets are properly designed and well constructed; they are
generally quite free from loss by percolation, and the volume of silt de-
posited in them is in direct ratio to their capacity, as no more silt-laden
water need be put into them than is drawn out of them for use, in addition
to evaporation, whereas a reservoir located in the channel of a river may
often have to receive the silt from a volume of water many times the
reservoir capacity. The only disadvantage they possess is that the surface
area exposed may he greater per unit of volume stored than in deep reser-
voirs formed by high dams, and consequently the ratio of loss by evapora-
tion may be somewhat greater.

This disadvantage is, however, amply offset by the many superior
features they possess when compared with the average stream-bed reser-
voir.

Natural Reservoirs of the Arkansas Valley, Colo. The most extensive
enterprise for the storage of flood waters for irrigation in natural-basin
reservoirs yet undertaken in the West was recently completed by The Great
Plains Water Company in the Arkansas Valley in Eastern Colorado, and
the reservoirs were partially filled and used for the first time during the
irrication season of 1900. The reservoirs are five in number, lying in a
group closely adjacent to each other, and have the following capacities:

 

 

 

 

 

| Volume below

' Total Outlet Level Volume

i Area, ; Availabl
* Name of Reservoir. rea: Capacity. Tina nee} a Ter Uses
Acres. Acre-feet. Acre-feet. Acre-feet.
Nee: Sopahise. ss<isunsexesewwosas 3,600 34,372 10.908 23.464
Nee: Grond avs scecsenaviceiesas 38,490. 97,069 39,860 57,209
Nee Noshe........0.-.005 A Bessaee 4.3 3.770 82,121 21,485 60,636
Nee Skah..... SiGiisvajusedaneladeieSiineyersiers 1,930 82,985 9,939 23,046
BAIR cscs cacusrachaveronniseasielsicievinetes 1,331 IB279: | pence tune 18,279
Ota S: bd ssciancenia erewaroneencee 14,121 264.826 82,192 182,635

 

* The names of the reservoirs are from the Osage Indian language, and have the
following interpretations: Nee Sopah, Black-water; Nee Gronda, Big-water; Nee
Noshe, Standing-water ; Nee Skah, White-water.

The reservoirs are located 12 to 18 miles north of the town of Lamar,
and are fed by acanal from the Arkansas river, which heads near La J unta,
Colo., and has a maximum capacity of 2096 second-feet. The company,
whose name has been changed to that of The Arkansas Valley Sugar
Beet and Irrigated Land Company, has built various other canals, as
shown by the following table:
NATURAL RESERVOIRS. 491

Name of Canal. ee in cy in
Bort hyon,.cc3c2aceere-eraeanse eos: 113.00 2096
Kicking Bird..............00000005 36.50 1000
Dabanitacwxes 60 scsce ile cudnt e deere aes 12.50 300
Comanche ............. cece eee eens 16.78 400
PA WALCO) ix 05 vdnise-naeas- aude wale Mee tan ees 6.34- 200
AIM Giasrwsmeeaecak aah aaiianieeee 110.00 870
Buta ess esersohcicceeilaidaay adaray sogepadecet eee dees 16.10 192

The company has invested about $2,250,000 in its irrigation works and
lands, the area of its holdings being about 100,000 acres. The manager of
ae company is Mr. W. H. Wiley, of New York, now residing at Holly,

olo.

The three reservoirs described in the foregoing table are so connected
that they can be drawn upon by one outlet. This has been formed by a
deep cut through the rim of the basin, in which the gates are placed in
substantial headworks of cut-stone masonry. The outlet to Nee Skah is
of a similar plan. The King reservoir as yet has no outlet provided for it.

Oregon Basin Reservoir, Wyoming.—One of the most capacious natural
basin reservoirs in the West is that created by the Big Horn Basin De-
velopment Company near the town of Wiley, Wyo., for the irrigation of
lands lying between the Shoshone and Grey Bull rivers. The reservoir
is to be fed by a canal taking water from the south fork of the Shoshone
river, about 15 miles above the Shoshone dam.

The reservoir has an area of 5106 acres, at an elevation of 5213 feet
above the level of the sea. It is nearly circular, is 4 miles long, nearly 12
miles in circumference, and 100 feet in depth. Its capacity is 400,000
acre-feet.

The outlet is through a tunnel 4000 feet long between approaches,
the water being controlled by gates at the bottom of a shaft 60 feet deep,
located 250 feet below the head of the tunnel. A dike is required at the
outlet gap over the tunnel 150 feet long, with 15 feet maximum depth of
water against it. Mr. G. W. Zorn is chief engineer of the company,
to whom the author is indebted for the information.

The Douglas Lake Reservoir, Colorado.—An earth dam across a
natural depression on Dry Creek, five miles northwest of Fort Collins,
Col., was built in 1902, an illustration of which is shown in Fig. 333.

The great cracks in the dam are the conspicuous feature of the picture,
and are evidence of the lack of proper care and supervision in important
works of this character. The dam contains about 150,000 cubic yards
of earth, and forms a reservoir of 10,600 acre-feet capacity, sufficient to
create great havoc in the country below it if it were suddenly released. The
reservoir is filled by a ditch from the North Poudre river.
4G2 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The Fossil Creek Reservoir, Colorado.—A part of the same system of
reservoirs for irrigation storage is one built the same year, requiring an earth
dam, 60 feet Imgh, half a mile long, and containing 300,000 cubic yards.
It forms a reservoir covering 750 acres, with a capacity of 12,600 acre-feet.
Its estimated cost was $170,000. The feeder ditch from Cache la Poudre
river is $.5 miles long, with a capacity of 400 second-feet.

 

 

 

 

Fig. 333.—DoueLtas Lake Dam, CoLorapo, SHOWING DANGEROUS SETTLEMENT
Cracks, DUE TO IMpropER METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION.

Natural Gravel-bed Storage-reservoirs.—It may be said that all the soil
of the earth is a storage-reservoir, which receives a large proportion of the
precipitation from the clouds and gives it off slowly to feed the natural
springs by which the normal flow of the streams is maintained. These
natural reservoirs are increased in capacity and useful function by a
maintenance of the forests, which shade the ground, lessen the force of
the winds, increase the humidity of the air, diminish evaporation, and knit
the soil together with a network of roots and so enable it to resist erosion.

In many parts of the country the storm-waters from the mountains
flow over great beds of coarse gravel, extending from the foot-hills out into
the valleys, for many miles. These gravel beds constitute natural storage-
reservoirs of enormous capacity, and if, at some lower point, a contraction
occurs in the stream-channel, or some natural barrier intercepts the flow,
the water is again forced to appear on the surface and feeds the stream by
NATURAL RESERVOIRS. 493

a constant outpouring from the gravel reservoir, long after the feeders of
the reservoir have gone dry.

In southern California there are a number of such natural reservoirs,
one of the most notable of which is in the San Fernando Valley, north of
Los Angeles, and supplies, by its natural overflow, the Los Angeles River.
The San Fernando Valley has an area of 182 square miles, about one-
fourth of which is a deep bed of coarse gravel, constituting a natural
storage-reservoir. The valley is surrounded by mountains, of which about.
300 square miles in the area drains into the valley. At its outlet the valley
narrows down to a width of about 2 miles, and at this first contraction
the Los Angeles River begins to appear, growing by rapid accretions in the
space of a mile or more, at the rate of 10 to 25 miner’s inches per 100 feet
of channel. All the streams flowing into the valley are intermittent, and
for months at a time have practically no surface-flow. The overflow of the
gravel reservoir, however, is practically constant through all seasons, wet
and dry, maintaining a discharge of from 70 to 90 second-feet. Even after
three seasons of drouth the river at the present writing shows a diminution
of but about 15% from the normal.

The Upper San Gabriel Valley, some 15 miles east of Los Angeles,
constitutes another natural reservoir, of somewhat greater discharge than
that of the Los Angeles River. The passage of the stream through the
coast range of hills is but one mile in width, and contracts the basin
sufficiently to cause the reservoir to overflow at the surface, producing
a never-failing water-supply for irrigation in the valley below. Near the
outlet of the upper valley a number of artesian wells have been bored
which pierce strata of impervious clay and add considerably to the natural
output of the reservoir.

The San Bernardino Valley is another interesting example of nature’s
storage-reservoirs, whose overflow at the narrows below yields a large and
unfailing supply to the adjacent irrigated districts. This valley also pro-
duces a large artesian flow to augment the supply which naturally seeks
outlet to the surface, as the overflow of the gravel reservoir.

Only second in importance to these natural reservoirs which retain
water and let it out to the surface at a uniform rate, where it may he
diverted by gravity to the lands, are the great artesian basins fed hy under-
ground streams, which require to be tapped by the boring of wells, and
the more numerous and widespread subterranean basins from which water
in wells may be pumped in practically immeasurable quantities.
494 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Lost Canyon Natural Dam, Colorado.—The region of Lost Park and
Lost Canyon, on Goose Creek, Colorado, a tributary of South Platte River,
is one of rugged grandeur, characterized by scenery of the wildest imagin-
able description, abounding in high cliffs and rock-masses of fantastic
shapes and colors and of Titanic dimensions. Nature has here made an
effort at rock-fill dam-construction on a grand scale by filling in the
canyon to a maximum depth of 250 feet with an aggregation of enormous
bowlders thrown from the neighboring cliffs. This remarkable rock-fill is

 

 

 

 

 

b ee [ yy
8700" iL OSE pO inn Seen oo
ye: 4
WITT OY” Pris es eee cece
1

 

Fie. 334.—Sketcu or LonatrupinaL Section or Lost Canyon Naturat Dam

2100 feet in length, and is fairly well represented in a general way by the
longitudinal and cross sections shown in Figs. 334 and 335. The maximum
height above the upper toe is, as stated, 250 feet; but as the bed of the
canyon falls 150 feet in the length of the dam, the height of the crest is
400 feet above the lower toe, where the stream emerges from underneath
the bowlders. The extreme width on top is 400 feet, although the bulk,
of the fill is less than 100 feet in width, and at the bottom the canyon width
between well-polished walls is but 20 to 25 feet, at such places as it is pos-
sible to go underneath and inspect it.

Some of the bowlders that form the embankment are as large as an
ordinary two-story dwelling-house, and the stream finds its way through
them with little apparent obstruction, although the presence of a pile of
driftwood at the mouth of a cave on the upper face, 150 feet above the
bottom, is an indication that occasionally the volume is too great to find
exit in the lower passages and is forced to rise to this higher outlet. It is
possible to descend in this cave, by means of ladders and ropes, into the
interior of the dam almost to the water-level. The crest of the solid mass
of the dam proper is at the 200-foot level, although a chain of huge
bowlders, 25 to 50 feet high, lying near together, extends across the canyon
NATURAL RESERVOIRS. 495

from side to side. The entire surface of the natural embankment is dotted
over with large fir-trees, growing in the soil that has lodged in the crevices.
As the stream emerges from the foot of the dam it has the appearance of
a spring flowing out from beneath an old glacial moraine.

Surveys of the site have developed the fact that a reservoir with a
capacity of 24,000 acre-feet can be made available for storage and use by
making nature’s dam water-tight. This may readily be done by filling

 

(------ 400’ ~~ —— — — — +

. Tor. LINE OF 250° DAM ox LYS Y
mY VY XE SY,

LEARY
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Fig. 335 —SkKETcH oF Cross-section AT UPPER END oF Lost Canyon NATURAL Dam.

the crevices and cavities on the upper face with concrete and providing a
proper outlet for the water by means of a tunnel.

The latter has been projected on the 75-foot level, and will require to
be 1200 feet long to reach a neighboring canyon. The cost of this work
has been estimated at $104,000, or $4.35 per acre-foot of storage capacity
in the reservoir. An addition of 20 feet to the top of the dam would
increase this capacity to 27,700 acre-feet, and the cost to $144,000, the
work to be done in Portland-cement masonry. The reservoir has been in
496 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

contemplation for some years as a storage for irrigation and domestic
supply in and around Denver, from which city it is some sixty miles
distant.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Throughout the text of this work the author has endeavored to make
due acknowledgment for information furnished and courtesies extended,
in connection with each of the subjects treated. If any omissions have
been made, their subsequent discovery will cause him sincere regret and
mortification. To cover any such omissions in the first edition he begs
to make a broad and general expression of gratitude for all aid extended
in making the work more complete.

Special acknowledgments are due the Director of the U. 8. Geological
Survey, for the use of many of the cuts and illustrations which embellish
the foregoing pages, and are indispensable to the proper understanding
of the text.
CHAPTER VIII.

MISCELLANEOUS.

AFTER completing the proof-reading of the revised edition presented
in the foregoing chapters, a number of photographs were received which
had been intended to be incorporated in the body of the work had they
been available. As these illustrations, mostly of new or little known
types, are particularly valuable and instructive, adding much to the
illumination of the subject, they have been assembled in a concluding
chapter of miscellany.

The author takes pleasure in acknowledging his indebtedness for
these photographs and notes descriptive of them, as follows:

To Mr. Samuel Storrow, M. Am. Soc. C. E., for thirteen recent photo-
graphs of the Bowman Lake, the English, the Weaver Lake, and the
Eureka Lake rock-fill dams in the mining regions of Northern California,
referred to in the text; also a view of the Faucherie timber frame, tri-
angular dam—a very old structure still in service—and a late picture
of the Lake Frances hydraulic-fill dam, as it appears after completion.
Many of these dams are remotely situated in the Sierra Nevada moun-
tains and not readily visited or photographed. The views supplied by
Mr. Storrow have been taken in the course of his professional work,
and his notes upon the construction of these curious old dams of the
mining-day type of temporary structure, have been kindly placed at the
author’s disposal. The obligation is still further increased hy the four-
teen pictures of four Mexican masonry dams, most of which aie quite
new to the world at large, but one of them having been illustrated in
the first edition. These fourteen pictures were taken by Mr. Storrow
on a tour of Mexico with a party of mining engineers in November,
1901.

The author is under obligations to Messrs. Wiley & Lewis, contractors,
for the interesting pictures of the hydraulic-sluicing operations which
are transforming the topography of the city of Seattle, Washington, by

deep excavations and high embankments.
497
        
 

86F
‘AUINDOD

DNIGNOOUNNY AO YFLOVUVHO ONIMOHS ‘VINUOMITVD ‘NVC
TWd-Mo0Y ANVT NVINMOG AHL 4o

AMAIA IVYENIDH— 9¢e ‘OL

 

 
MISCELLANEOUS. 499

To the kindness of Mr. P.S. A. Bickel, civil engineer, of Twin Falls,
Idaho, the author is indebted for the panoramic picture of the three
dams at Milner, Idaho, and to Mr. James W. Martin for the photograph
taken just after the completion of the Granite Reef dam, Arizona.

Mr. C. E. Curtis, M. Am, Soc. C. E., has contributed the photographs

 

 

Fig. 337.—Nerar VIEW oF Crest or Bowman LAKE Dam, SHOWING ANGLE IN Dam.

and drawing illustrating the cinder-fill dam built on Hinckston Run by
the Cambria Steel Works of Johnstown, Penn.

The pictures of the Santo Amaro dam, Brazil, are kindly supplied
by Mr. Thomas Berry, chief engineer, while the latest view of the Necaxa
dam is contributed by Mr. R. F. Hayward, M. Am. Soc. C. E., general
manager of the Mexican Light and Power Company. The plan and sec-
tions of the high hydraulic-fill dam projected in Japan are from the
office of J. M. Howells, M. Am. Soc. C. E., chief engineer.
500 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The Bowman Rock-fill Dam.—Renewed interest is being taken in
the old rock-fill dams of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in Northern
California, built originally to store water for hydraulic mining, because
they are becoming valuable for the double uses of generating power and
affording domestic and irrigation supply to the valley below. The Bow-
man dam, described on page 65, and outlined by cross-sections, Fig. 44,
is more clearly illustrated in its situation and construction by Figs. 336,
337, 538, 339, and 340.

The dam was first built as a timber structure, prior to 1869, as shown
by the cross-section, Fig. 44. In that year work began by which it
was raised to a total height of 63 feet, and when finished it contained

 

 

Pig. 358.—Down-stream Face or Bowman Lake Dam, CALIFORNIA, ILLUSTRATING
THE QUALITY OF THE prY Masonry.

17,000 cubie yards of stone filling, 33,000 lineal feet of heavy timber,
and 63,000 feet, B.M., of three-inch plank. It was actually designed
to carry food water over its crest to a depth of 3 feet for a length of
800 fect in emergeney. The main spill-way, however, is an entirely
separate structure, as described later. DBefore this work was finally
completed it was destroyed by fire, October 12, 1871, and acain damaged,
or practically destroyed, by flood at the end of the sime year. In 1872
it was rebuilt to a height of 65 feet, after the same plan as before, with
flash-boards on the crest, raising its height to a total cf 72 feet. The
final increase in height was made, and the dam completed as it now
stands, December 10, IS76. Its height has always been called 100 feet
in round numbers, but its actual measure is 96 feet at the highest point.
MISCELLANLOUS. 501

The present dam contains a great deal of the old timber structure at
the bottom unburned in the fire. The upper part of the timber facing
differs from the old design in that the inclined posts on which the plank
skin is spiked are not parts of timber bents, but are merely embedded
into the face of the rock-fill and anchored back into the rock, so that

Fig. 339.—Front View or Bowman Lake Dam, FROM BELOW Merasunina WEIR.

 

the first layer of plank is placed horizontally and not vertically as before.
At the base the 3-inch plank are in three layers; at the top is but one
layer. The plank facing of the lower half of the dam, laid in 1876, is
still serviceable after thirty-two years of wear. The upper half of the
planking has been replaced once. Since the dam was built, in 1876,
there has been a sag in its center amounting to about 12 inches, due to
the decay of the timber in the cribs and the settlement of the rock.
502 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

The engineer of the company now owning this dam proposes to increase
its height to 150 feet by the addition of a structure of reinforced con-
crete.

Spillway.—While the main dam was intended to act as an emer-
gency overflow, or spillway, the principal spillway is a separate structure
(Fig. 340), 52 feet high, built of round logs fastened together by 1-inch
drift bolts, forming a crib, filled with small stone. This structure is also
covered with a skin of 3-inch plank on the water side, and has a slight
angle pointing up stream. The crest is 12 feet lower than the crest of
the main dam. It is arranged with A-frame bents so that flash-boards
may be added to raise the water 8 feet. There are thirty-one openings

 

Fic. 340.—Timper Crip Spinpway or Bowman Lake Dam. Tus StRucTURE IS
52 Fret Hiau.

between bents, each 4 feet wide. During the flood season the flash-
boards are removed, but when all danger of floods is supposed to be
past these wasteways are closed with 2-inch loose planks. This struc-
ture, built in 1876, has had little or no repair since that date, and has
sagged very perceptibly. The ends of the main timbers are torn from
the walls of the canyon, and the header logs have rotted to a soft pulp
at their extremities, where exposed to the weather. The water passing
through or over this spillway leaps clear of the log face on the down-
stream side, otherwise it would not have lasted as long as it has.

The Faucherie Dam.—The Faucherie Dam is a good example of a
timber-frame dam, with all rock-filling omitted. Its original height was
35 feet, but after its destruction in the early winter of 1875, it was
MISCELLANEOUS. 503

rebuilt with a reduced maximum height of 21 feet (see Figs. 341 and 342),
The frame supporting the inclined face is triangular in form, leaning

 

 

Fie. 341.—Tue Faucueriz Dam, Catirrornia. A GENERAL VIEW oF DAM AND
RESERVOIR.

 

 

 

Fic. 342.—Tur Timper Work oF THE FAUCHERIE DAM AS SEEN FROM BELOW.

down stream at an angle of 55°. The struts supporting the frame have
angles varying from 45° to 60° from the horizontal, the latter being the
inclination of the longer outer posts.
504 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

On the up-stream side the facing planks make vertical joints and
are supported by and spiked to square timbers lying horizontally and
bolted to the frame. There is no diagonal or horizontal bracing. The
posts and struts rest upon wood sills that are bolted to the bed-rock.
Thus the entire structure depends upon the strength of the timber for
its stability, and not in any manner upon its weight. The top length
of the dam is 550 feet, forming a reservoir of 90 acres with a capacity
of 1344 acre-feet. It is the simplest possible type of dam, a mere fence
leaning down stream, supported by a series of props. The face of the
fence is composed of several thicknesses of boards which break joints
to render the structure more water-tight.

The Eureka Lake Dam.—The two dams just described are located
on Canyon creek, a tributary of the South Fork of Yuba river, Bow-
man dam being the lowest, at an elevation of about 5400 feet, and
Faucherie dam at an altitude of 6100 feet. Higher up on the same
stream, at an elevation of about 6500 feet, is French lake, or Eureka
lake, formed by a rock-fill dam built in 1859.

The dam has an extreme height of 68 feet, is 250 feet long on top,
and forms a reservoir of 337 acres, the capacity of which is 15,150 acre-
feet.

The offset shown in the photographs (Figs. 343 and 344) was the result
of an enforced economy during construction when money became scarce.
The dam is built entirely of rock (without timber cribs), rather loosely
placed, and with the larger stones in the down-stream face laid up in
the form of a dry wall. The up-stream face is made water-tight with
two layers of a 3-inch pine planking, laid with broken joints, spiked to
inclined posts sunk flush with the stone work, which is also laid up with
care as a dry wall, to receive the pressure of the water transmitted through
the planks. On the crest is a timber structure about'6 feet high, made
by extending the inclined posts and timber facing above the stonework.

The spillway consists of two sluices or wooden flumes, having a com-
bined width of 20 feet and a depth of 30 inches. These are built into
the end of the dam on the right bank.

The water is drawn out through an arched sluiceway under the center
of the dam, the gates of which are only accessible in winter through the
box-like structure, or manway, shown in the photographs, which pro-
tects the ladder resting on the face of the dam from the deep snow.
The gates are situated near the water face of the dam, at the end of the
arched sluiceway.

The Weaver Lake Dam.—A new dam:has recently been constructed
at Weaver lake, within a mile of Bowman dam, which is typical of the
class of rock-fill wood-faced dams. The method of construction is well
shown by the photograph, Fig. 345.
 

 

Fic. 343.—Ture Eureka Laxe Rock-Fritt Dam, CaLirorNii, SHOWING CovERED MAN-
WAY TO REACH GaTES FROM CREST IN WINTER.

 

 

Fic. 344.—SHowING THE Crest oF THE Eureka Lake Rock-FILu Dam, AND A PoRTION

OF THE LAKE.
505
308 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, LTC.

Inclined posts, placed at an angle cf 45°, are first set up and held
in position by struts that are subsequently removed. These posts are
Jong enough to reach from bed-rock to the crest of the dam. The rock-
fill is carefully laid by hand between the posts, forming a face flush with
the exterior face of the posts. They are spaced 4 feet apart, center to
center. At intervals of 6 feet, from bottom to top, an iron rod, } of an
inch in diameter, passes through each of the posts to an anchorage back
in the rock-fill. This anchorage is made by winding the rods around
the largest stones that are selected for that purpose. These posts are of
varying size, but the smallest are 9 inches across at top.

The plank face is made with but one laver of well-seasoned 3” x8”
pine plank, laid horizontally, and driven tightly together. The bottom

 

Fig. 345.—Tue Weaver Lake Dam, CALIFORNIA, SHOWING RECENT CONSTRUCTION.

edge of each plank is eut with a caulking bevel of one-half inch in the
thickness of 3 inches, but no caulking is done by hand, reliance being
placed upon the sediment and floating organic matter in the water to
make the joints tight. The planks are held by two 6-inch spikes at each
post.

lspecial care has been taken to keep all earth cut of the structure.
The down-stream face is laid up carefully as a dry wall.

The dam is 22 feet high at present, but is finished off with a crest
width of 18 feet, with the intention of making a subsequent addition to
the top. The up-stream slope is 45°, but the down-stream slope is
unusually steep, being 77°, or but 13° off the vertical. The reservoir
formed by (he cam is 81.7 aeres in area, and it can be drawn off to a
MISCELLANEOUS. 507

maximum depth of 62.5 feet by a tunnel, at which level the lake is 26.7
acres in area. The capacity is therefore about 3400 acre-feet.

The geological formation at the dam-site is very unusual and inter-
esting. There had been a stream whose bed was filled to a considerable
depth with auriferous gravel. A subsequent lava flow crossed the stream
forming a natural dam and creating a lake the outlet to which wore down
a channel into the lava, but not cutting entirely through it to the gravel.
It is in this basaltic formation that the dam is built. The reservoir
outlet is through a tunnel, some 500 feet long, excavated chiefly through
the gravel beneath the lava flow. This tunnel tapped the lake at a
depth cf 62.5 feet below the spillway level cf the present dam. At its
extreme end, before entering the lal:c, the tunnel reached the granite
bed-rock.

The new dam was built to roplace an all-timber dam of the same
height, the main posts of which inclined at an angle of 29° from the
horizontal, and were each supported by five struts, equally spaced against
the posts, at angles of 44°, 47°, 52°, 57°, and 60°. The posts have bolted
to them six horizontal stringers, each 12’ X16’, spaced about 4 feet
apart, over which a single layer of 3-inch plank is spiked in a vertical
direction.

The English Dam.—On pp. 63-64 the high rock-fill structure known
as the English Dam is described, with an account of the bursting and
destruction of the main dam, the central one of three which formed the
reservoir. Figs. 346, 347, and 348 illustrate the style of .construction
and present condition of the principal one of the two remaining
dams.

These dams were first built for mining purposes in 1856, enlarged in
1876 to their present height, and destroyed by flood in 1883. The
reservoir has since been out of service, as the missing dam has not since
been rebuilt, although the other two are capable of being restored to
usefulness at moderate expense. The middle dam, which failed, was a
rock-fill with up-stream slope of 60° and down-stream slope of 40°. In
making the addition in 1876 the new work consisted of a dry rock wall
on the down-stream side, surfaced on the exterior with large blocks of
split granite well laid in a wall of substantial construction. Unfortu-
nately the funds gave out before completion of this work as planned,
and the rock work was stopped 16 feet below the proposed crest. The
top was then formed by the extension of the plank facing, the inclined
posts of the face being supported by struts resting on top of the uncom-
pleted dry-stone embankment. As there was a splice in these inclined
posts at the point where the rock-fill stopped a line of weakness was thus
made at the toe of the rafter dam. When the dam failed the water was
within a foot or two of the top, and the real cause of the failure is now
 

 

Fic. 346.—Up-stream Face or ONE oF THE Two RemaAIninG Rock-FILL STRUCTURES
WHICH, WITH THE THIRD Structure DEsTROYED IN 1883, ORIGINALLY FORMED
THE EnGuisH Lake Dam.

 

 

 

Fic. 347.—GeENeR AL VIEW oF THE TIMBER SKIN oN Up-sTREAM Sipe oF THE ENGLISH
Lake Dam. Now In Ruin.
508
MISOLLLANLOUVUS. 509

attributed to the lack of strength in the top structure of wood, rather
than in the rock-fill, or to the use of dynamite. It is not to be wondered
at that a fence of that slender character should collapse under water
pressure.

The existing dams both have a crest extension of wood, 6 feet high, of
similar construction. (See Figs. 346 and 347.) This is also well illustrated
by Fig. 348, showing the dry wall laid up on the down-stream face.

 

Fic. 348.—Tue Down-stream FactnG oF THE ENGiisH Lake DAM, CONSISTING OF A
HanpD-LAIp DRY WALL IS WELL ILLUSTRATED BY THIS PHOTOGRAPH.

The Lake Frances Dam.—All of the photographs accompanying the
description of the Lake Frances hydraulic-fill dam on pp. 115 to 125
were taken during construction and before its final completion. Fig. 349,
however, is a recent view taken in 1907, showing the finished dam in
service. In the foreground is seen a secondary spillway and controlling-
gates, added since the dam was completed. This is a wooden flume,
16 feet wide, 6 feet deep below the water-line, the apparent object of
which was to allow them to begin wasting water before the lake filled
to its full depth at the main spillway level.

Hydraulic Sluicing in Seattle, Wash.—The precipitous character of
the topography of Seattle is unfavorable to the creation of practicable
grades for streets without heroic reconstruction and modification. As
the geological formation of the peninsula is entirely alluvial in character,
consisting of clay or moraine gravel, left by glacial action, it is feasible
to accomplish extensive excavations and embankments by hydraulic
sluicing at a more moderate cost than by any other method. As the
 

 

 

Fic. 349.—Tur Laxe Frances Hypravwic-FILL DAM AS COMPLETED AND IN SERVICE,
SHOWING NEW SPILLWAY AND GATES IN ISOoREGROUND.

 

Fic. 350.—Tue Hopxirk Woop Pips, FOR CARRYING GRITTY MATERIAL, THE WEAR
BEING UPON THE END GRAIN OF THE Woop.
MISCELLANEOUS. 511

appliances that have been used on this work, which has been in progress
several years, and the methods that have been evolved have a direct bearing
upon the construction of hydraulic-fill dams by the same agency, they
are of very positive interest, and the illustrations in Figs. 350, 351, 352,
353, and 354 are most acceptable additions to this book.

‘

 

Fig. 351.—Tuer Horxirk Pirg, arrer Six AND ONE HALF MontTHS WEAR ON 20%
GRADE, IN SEATTLE.

Cuts more than 150 feet deep, and embankments 40 to 50 feet high,
have been made and are still being planned.

The general plans for the regrading of the city are comprehensive
and of broad scope. They are quite fully set forth in the Engineering
Record for May 9 and 16, 1908. Contracts for the removal of 5,000,000
cubic yards have already been completed, while contracts for the removal
of 11,000,000 cubic yards additional have been awarded and are to be
completed before the spring of 1910. A further quantity of 11,000,000
cubic yards will be removed by contracts shortly to be let. Practically
all of this work has been or is to be done by hydraulic sluicing.
or
—
lo

RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC,

The Lewis Construction Company of Seattle, Washington, has had
a work that was unique in that it was applied to the grading of a hill
close to the heart of the City of Seattle and to the filling in of the tide
lands, of which there is a great area at the foot of the city. The methods
used in this work were very much the same as in other hydraulic exea-
vations previously mentioned.

Their pit was 120 feet above the level of the tide lands, which at
high tide were covered with 10 or 12 feet of water, and was situated at
a distance of 3000 to 5500 feet from the fill. While the surface of the

 

 

Fig. 352.—Tur REeGRADING OF JACKSON STREET, SEATTLE, LOOKING NortH on May-
NARD STREET. THE Houses ARE REMOVED JUST BEFORE THBY ARE UNDERMINED.

hill consisted mostly of sand and gravel, some few feet from the top a
difficult bank of hard blue clay was encountered. In spite of this com-
plication from 500 to 2000 cubic vards of earth were sluiced out each
twenty-four hours, using from 2,000,000 to 8,000,000 gallons of water.
The water was carried from a reservoir situated more than half a mile
from the work. The grade was such, however, that it gave 60 to 80
pounds pressure. The spoil was carried by the Hopkirk Patent Pipe.
This is a stave wooden pipe with a reinforced bottom which ean be
renewed when worn out. The reinforced bottom is made of fir with the
end grain of the wood faced so as to withstand the wear of the spoil.
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514 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Eighteen, twenty, and twenty-two-inch pipe were used. It has been
estimated that the life of this pipe is many times that of cast iron or
any other pipe. The patent is owned by the Hopkirk Patent Pipe Com-
pany of Seattle, Washington. The Lewis Construction Company are
heavy shareholders in the company. No. 2 giants with tips varying
from 3 inches to 4 inches were used. The average ratio of solids to
water used on the entire job was about 5¢(. The total number of cubic
yards of this work was 868,454.

This work was accomplished so successfully and so inexpensively as
compared with any other method that similar regrade projects have
been undertaken by the City of Seattle. The first of these, the Jackson
Regrade Project, involved the moving of 3,400,000 cubic yards of earth.
It was let to Lewis & Wiley, Inc., successors to the Lewis Construction
Company, at a contract price of 25 cents per yard. This contract in-
volved the cutting down in one section and the filling in another of a
district. comprising sixty-eight city blocks.

The second project, known as the Denny Hill Regrade, involves the
cutting of 5,600,000 yards from Denny Hill and wasting it in deep water
in the harbor. This contract was let at a price of 27 cents per cubic
yard to the Rainier Development Company, in which Messrs. Lewis &
Wiley have the controlling interest.

The third project is known as the Dearborn Street Regrade and
contemplates the moving of about 3,000,000 yards, but the contract has
not yet been let.

In carrying out the later contracts the Lewis Construction Company
have changed their water-supply from fresh to salt water, and are pumping
salt. water from the bay for sluicing purposes to the extent of 12,000,000
gallons in twenty-four hours, or 18.6 cubic feet per second. The pumps
consist of two pairs of 10-inch, five-stage Worthington turbine-pumps,
delivering the water against a head of 375 feet. Each pair of pumps is
driven by a 650 horse-power electric motor.

On the Denny Hill work asecond pumping-station was installed for deliv-
ering salt water to the hydraulic giants to the extent of 8500 gallons per
minute (18.8 second-feet), delivered against a maximum head of 400 feet.

The Milner Dam, Idaho.—The photograph shown in Fig. 355 gives a
more comprehensive picture of the three combination dams described
on page 60 than any of the other illustrations accompanying the article
(see Figs. 47 to 53), and will therefore add to the interest in these im-
portant and successful dams.

The Walnut Grove Dam, Arizona.—The ill-fated rock-fill dam on the
Hassayampa river in Arizona, described on page 53, et seq., has never
been depicted by photographic illustration in any of the published
accounts of it that have yet appeared. The author accidentally found
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518 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the accompanying picture in Phoenix and is glad to add it to the collec-
tion.

The dark spot under the center of the dam is evidently a deep hole
excavated in the sandy bed of the canvon by water that has passed
through the wooden outlet culvert, whose unsupported end overhangs
the vertical bank of the pit. The picture shows no spillway—a fatal
defect—which was only partially remedied when the flood came which
overtopped the dam and caused its rupture.

The reservoir-site is such an excellent one, and the watershed area
above it so extensive that the restoration of the dam will surely become
necessary and profitable as a factor in the development of Arizona in
the course of time. ;

The Granite Reef Dam, Arizona.—Quite as important to the irrigators
of Salt River Valley, Arizona, as the Roosevelt Storage dam under con-
struction in the mountains, is the smaller structure recently completed
by the U. 8. Reclamation Service for the diversion of the waters of Salt
river into the canals on either side of the river by which all stored water
will be controlled and turned into the channels of service. The Granite
Reef dam was built by force account by authority given July 26, 1906,
and was begun in October of the same year. It was finally completed
and put into service in May, 1908. It is a concrete structure of ogee
form, 1000 feet long, 20 feet high, resting for the most part on reinforced
concrete piers, spaced 20 feet apart, center to center, parallel with the
stream, with thin concrete curtain walls, also reinforced, at the up-
stream and down-stream toes of the dam. These walls, as well as the
piers, rest on bed-rock. They form cells about 32’ 20’ in size, solidly
filled with sand beneath the dam. Bedrock was found throughout the
entire length of the dam except about 320 feet south of the center of the
channel, where the dam rests on gravel, with sheet piling carried down a
considerable depth, sufficient to be considered by the engineers quite safe
from the danger of undermining. Over the distance where bedrock was
not reached an apron of concrete 75 feet wide, 18 inches thick, resting on
dry rock filling, 43 feet thick, was built, with a curtain wall 12 feet deep
at outer edge.

The picture, kindly supphed by James Wm. Martin, C. E., engineer in
charge of construction, under Lewis C. Hill, Supervising Engineer, Fig.
357, shows clearly the arrangement of the intake gates and canal head-
works on either side of the river. Sluiceways have been provided through
the dam at each end for the purpose of washing out accumulated sand
and maintaining a channel in front of the canal headgates.

The Hinckston Run Dam, Pennsylvania.—This dam, located three
miles east of Johnstown, Penn., on Hinckston Run, was built in 1904
as a part of the water-supply of the Cambria Steel Company.
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522 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

It is essentially an earth embankment with concrete core-wall extend-
ing from bed-rock up to about one-third the height, or 45 feet below the
water-line. The unique feature of the dam is the heavy reinforcement
given to it by a backing of cinders, the waste product of the blast-
furnaces of the Cambria Steel Works. This cinder-fill is to eventually
give the dam a minimum crest width of 500 feet. It is now 300 feet
wide at the minimum, and 1000 feet at the widest place. The illustra-
tion, Fig. 360, gives a clear idea of the plan of construction. The dimen-
sions are as follows:

Dep length ecieiawasiees Wadeg asad Sees 900 feet
Top width of earth portion........ 2.0.0.0... 20) **
Up-stream slope.............-.000005 2.25:1 and 1.75:1
Height above stream-bed .......... ......... 80 feet
Maximum height of core-wall.......... 0 ..... 58 OSS
Maximum height from bottom of core-wall to

crest of dam v2cssaxisinge ese ears eae Pee
Top of core-wall below crest.................. 53.7

The cut-off wall of concrete is carried down deeply into the bed-rock,
in a trench, in the bottom of which 2-inch drill holes were bored 10 to
16 feet deep and filled with cement grout under 60 pounds pressure, to
close all porous layers or cavities of the rock. At the ground-line the
wall is 20 feet thick; at the top it is 6 feet thick, and at the elevation
of 1348 it is finished off level across the valley, and is not carried further
up the slopes. It is enveloped in. puddle clay which is carried up as a
core-wall through the earth embankment, carrying the concrete in its
center part way. Outside of the puddle wall the up-stream portion of
the embankment is all made of selected earth, while the down-stream
side is chiefly formed of cinder.

This cinder material was transported from the furnaces to the dam,
a distance of three miles, in dump-cars, by rail. The road is standard
gauge, owned and operated by the steel company. The cars are of
50-tons capacity, of the hopper-bottom type. The cinder was dumped
freely without effort to compact it, and when dumped from the cars it
takes the natural slope of gravel, about 1.5 on 1. The earth and cinder
embankments were built up from the base simultaneously.

The cinder weighs about 70 pounds per cubic foot, and is chiefly
composed of lime, silica, and alumina. It is grayish white in color, hard,
somewhat brittle, and air-slakes when containing an excess of lime.
On its delivery to the cars it naturally breaks into pieces a little smaller
than the usual run of crusher stone, and with a larger percentage of fines.

On the up-stream slope below the berm where cinder is used in place
of rip-rap, it was placed with narrow-gauge dump-cars and locomotives.
It was spread on the slope by four men with a team and plank-scraper.
523

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MISCELLANEOUS.

  
524 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

A cinder-fill of 500 feet width was considered as an essential part of the
dam, but all excess of width beyond 500 feet was made merely as a
convenient waste dump.

The cost of the dam, including highways, watchman’s house, bridges,
etc., was about $500,000. The reservoir has a capacity of 3130 acre-
feet, and is supplied by the drainage from an area of 10.75 square miles,
The annual rainfall is about 40 inches.

Outlets.—The outlets consist of two 40-inch cast-iron pipes, laid side
by side on a concrete base, resting on bed-rock. These pipes extend
entirely through the dam from the intake tower in the reservoir to the
outlet gate-house, 900 feet down stream.

The intake tower is of novel design and is made of riveted steel
plates. It is 23 feet in diameter at the base, 19 feet at the top, and is
lined with concrete. It is provided with square outlets from the reser-
voir, at three different levels, each being closed by sluice-valves. The
gate-house below the dam contains two 40-inch valves, one for each
pipe, with by-pass connection from each to the 24-inch cast-iron service
pipe leading to the steel works.

Spillway.—The spillway is excavated in rock, 8 feet deep, 90 feet
wide, and extends for 100 feet down stream from the dam.

The Necaxa Dam.—Fig. 361 is a photograph taken July 1, 1908, of
the hydraulic-fill dam at Necaxa, Mexico, and is inserted in this chapter
of Miscellany because it is the latest and best picture yet obtained of
the work. It conveys a better idea than all others of the magnitude
of the work. The pond in the picture is a miniature lake on top of the
dam, the width of which at the height here shown is not less than 500
feet. The dam at that time was about 100 feet high.

The Esperanza Dam, Mexico.—The Esperanza dam is a modern
structu:e designed and built by a Mexican engineer named Ponciano
Aguilar, for impounding a domestic water-supply for the city of Guana-
juato. The dam is built of rubble masonry, straight in plan, and of the
following dimensions:

Length on crest... 2.2.0... 580 feet
Thickness at crest... .. Faces, Bick 19.7 ‘
Thickness at base..... 0 1... 2... 75.7 *'
Maximum height....... ....... 187.5 ‘‘
Cubi¢ Contents a+ a. aves eeka ees 55,000 cu. yds.

An excellent general view of the dam and its reservoir of 462 acres
is given by the accompanying cut, Fig. 362, which shows the three
buttresses, each 9.87 feet square, which extend from bottom to top.
These were designed as an ornamental feature, primarily, but serve to
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26 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

Fig. 362.—Gernerau Virw or THE Esperanza DAM AND RESERVOIR, NEAR
GUANAJUATO, MEXIco.

 

 

Fic. 363.—Tue Esperanza Dam, MEXICO, LOOKING ALONG THE EXTERIOR FACE.
MISCELLANEOUS. 527

add somewhat to the stability of the structure. They certainly are
effective from an architectural point of view. Fig. 363 conveys a still
better idea of the details of the ornamentation given to the dam by the
trimmings of these buttresses, and the decorative cornice in cut stone.
The cementing material exclusively used in building the dam was
lime burned in the vicinity and having some hydraulic properties. The

 

 

Fic. 364.—Discaarce Enp or Spittway, Esperanza Dam, GuanasguaTo, Mexico.

dam shows considerable leakage, estimated at 0.4 cubic feet per second,
which has precipitated white hydrate of lime on the exterior face.

The dam is supposed to have cost but 160,000 pesos ($80,000 U. S.
gold), which appears a ridiculously inadequate figure when it is known
that its cubic contents are 55,000 cubic yards. The reservoir has a
capacity cf 16,200 acre-feet, covering 462 acres.

Spillway.—The spillway is located at the south end, or left bank,
and is stated to have a capacity of 1765 second-feet. Its discharge end
is shown by Fig. 364. It passes through the dam by a channel which is
28 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

cn

 

 

 

Fie. 365.—Tue Spmiway CHANNEL or THE Esperanza Dam, aT its Urprr Enp,
SHOWING OBSTRUCTIONS TO FREE DiscHARGE BY Pines SUPPORTING Roapway.

 

 

Fic. 366.— Tue Six Out.etr Pipes anp GaTB-VALVES OF THE ESPERANZA Dam,
BEFORE CONNECTION WITH WaTER MaINs oF City.
MISCELLANEOUS. 529

somewhat obstructed by the masonry piers supporting the roadway on
the top of the dam, as seen in Fig. 365.

‘The watershed above the dam has an area of 95 square miles. The
normal annual rainfall is 23.5 inches, falling during the rainy season of
three months. In computing the capacity of the spillway a maximum
rainfall of 2.35 inches per hour for one and one-half hours was
assumed.

The outlet-gates of the reservoir are six in number, located under the
buttresses. They each have a clear diameter of 284 inches, and are
controlled by gate-valves operated by hand windlasses, as shown by
Fig. 366. They are in sets of three, each set being attached to one of
two wrought-iron pipes, 4 feet 6 inches in diameter, which pass through
the masonry of the dam.

The gates are wholly unprotected, except by a light wooden plat-
form which serves merely as a means of access to the operating mechan-
ism. Any injury to the gates would have disastrous consequences, as
they cannot be repaired or adjusted except by wholly emptying the
reservoir.

The small pipe shown in the angle between the buttress and the dam
is a cast-iron pipe 154 inches outside diameter, which passes through a
tunnel in the dam to a standpipe in the reservoir. This standpipe has
seven openings from the reservoir, at varying levels, each controlled by
a separate valve which is operated by mechanism mounted on a tower
reached by a bridge from the center of the dam. This appears to be
the main supply-pipe to the city, and its exposed condition is a matter
of remark.

The Olla Reservoirs.——The two dams of masonry forming what are
known as the Olla Reservoirs, in the neighborhood of Guanajuato, are
but half a mile apart on the same stream, in a canyon with precipitous
sides, and limited catchment area. The reservoirs are used chiefly for
sewer flushing in the city and irrigation below. The banks of the reser-
voir are parked and ornamented, and serve as the pleasure ground of the
people of the city. (See frontispiece.)

Fig. 367 is a distant view of the Upper Olla dam, while Fig. 368
shows the Lower dam, both of which combine many architectural effects
with their utility as storage dams. The crest of each serves as a prome-
nade as well as a flood-discharge spillway. A small volume of water
wasting passes under the footway without flooding the crest, while a
larger discharge passes over the footway. In either event the waste
waters pass into a pit close to the down-stream toe of the dam, and out
through a tunnel under the park to a lower point of discharge into the
stream-bed.

The arched and aqueduct-like appearance of the face of the dam is
530 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

 

Fic. 368 —Tue Lower Orta Dam, Guanasuato, Mexico. (See also frontispiece.)
MISCELLANEOUS. 531

due to the fact that the up-stream face is a wooden barrier of flash-
boards, removable in times of extreme flood.

The width of the lower dam at the crest is 19 feet, and its length
about 300 feet. An angle of 45° down stream exists in the alignment
of the lower dam.

 

 

 

Fie. 369.—Spintway CHANNEL OF THE Lower Otia Dam, Guanasuato, Mexico.

The San José Dam, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.—In 1901, at the time
the photographs shown in Figs. 371, 372, 373, 374, and 375 were taken,
a private company was engaged in building a high masonry dam for the
storage of water to supply the city of San Luis Potosi and to irrigate
land in its vicinity. The city is a stockholder in this corporation. The
dam as subsequently completed has an extreme length on the crest of
592 feet, and a maximum height of 151 feet from the lowest foundation
to the crest, or 110 feet from the stream-bed to the top. Its thickness
at the base is 128 feet, and at the crest about 15 feet.

The profile is that of the Crugnola type, with a vertical curve near
532 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

the base on the up-stream side, and near the top on the down-stream
face. In plan the dam is slightly curved up stream with a radius of
2000 metres (6560 feet). It is built of unecoursed rubble masonry, with
no stone larger than two men can conveniently carry and mostly of one-
man-stone. The bonding of this rubble with long vertical headers is
clearly shown in Fig. 375. The two faces are laid in well-cut stone.

 

Fic. 370.—A Detam or THe Down-streamM Face or THE Lower OLLa Dan, GuaNa-
Juato. These openings are closed by a form of movable flash-hoard.

Practically all of the great masonry work of Mexico has been laid in
lime mortar in the absence of cement, the manufacture of which is still
an infant industry in that country, almost unknown. This dam is not
an exception to this rule: the lime was burned on the ground and put
into the work immediately without curing. It has slight hydraulicity in
common with most Mexican lime.

The volume of the dam is not given, but its cost was estimated at
$400,000 Mexican silver. Spillways have been provided at each end of
MISCELLANEOUS. 533

the dam, and consist of channels formed in part by excavation into the
rock of the mountain side and in part by building up masonry walls
parallel to the course of the valley. These channels carry the water far
enough down stream to avoid interference with the toe of the dam.
These spillways are tapered in width from the dam down stream. The
one on the left bank is 95 feet wide at the dam and tapers to 52 feet in a
distance of 120 feet from the face of the dam. The spillway on the right

 

 

Fic. 371.—Grnerat End VIEW oF THE PRESA DE San José aT SAN Luts Potosi, WHILE
UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

bank has a maximum width of 86 feet, tapering to 36 feet in a length
of 65 feet. The supporting side wall of the larger spillway is shown in
Fig. 373.

The depth of these channels is about 2 metres. The area of water-
shed drained above the reservoir is 67.5 square miles. The capacity of
the reservoir is 7,526,000 cubic metres, or 6100 acre-feet. Its surface
area at the spillway level is 185 acres, and its mean depth 32.8 feet.

The dam is provided with two gate towers, or buttresses, on the down-
stream face, which are of a peculiarly elaborate and ornate character,
534 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

adding to the architectural effect. The lower part of one of these is
shown in Fig. 372. They are massive and of generous dimensions. One
of them was designed to be surmounted by a statue of a lion on a pedestal.

The dam was designed and started in 1896, and was completed since
1902, as it is reported to have been in service for several years. The
engineer of this notable structure was Seflor Sebastian Reyes.

 

 

Fic. 372.—ONE oF THE TWo GaTE-HOUSES OF THE SAN José Dam, San Luis Potosi,
Mexico.

The reservoir has been filled several times, but as the distributing-
pipe system in the city of San Luis Potosi is still under construction, the
water is not yet utilized for domestic supply except in very small quan-
tities, but is used for irrigation. In a report submitted to the Govern-
ment by the engineer it was estimated that the supply from this source
would not only furnish the city with domestic water but would also
irrigate 2642 hectares (6525 acres) of valley land.

Sefior Luis 8. Cuevas, an engineer of San Luis Potosi, has kindly
supplied the data as to the present condition of the dam, from which it
MISCELLANEOUS. 535

is learned that the masonry has proven to be absolutely water-tight,
and the dam withstands the strains of water pressure without evidence
of weakness.

 

Fig. 373.—LookInG ALONG THE Face oF THE San Josk Dam, at San Luis Porosl,
SHOWING Face oF WALL SupporTING SIpE oF PRINCIPAL SPILLWAY.

The Santo Amaro Dam, Brazil—At the end of May, 1908, there
remained but 18,600 cubic yards of this great dam to complete it, out
of a total of 737,539 cubic yards. The photograph, Fig. 376, was taken
March 3d, from practically the same point of view as Fig. 105, page 146,
and shows the dam well along toward completion. The progress made
in the construction of this dam as summarized in the semi-monthly reports,
constitutes a most interesting record of that class of work, which is here
presented in tabulated form, as the most complete and continuous record
of the work accomplished by a given quantity of water in hydraulic
sluicing that has even been published:
Fic.

RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

 

 

 

375.—ILLUSTRATING

THE BONDING oF THE MASONRY OF THE SAN José DAM
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538 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Proeress TaBie, Santa Amaro Dam.

 

 

 

 

5 Dail Mainiat | in Dam,
8 Actual ay. Moni Material Ratio in Dat aD ray
nronts| 4] Afi | grsrake | Monitor | Mayriat | itu | tem | Hour
s Time. Time. ” . . "| to Water. iota. “Actual
ork,
Hrs. Min Hrs, Min. Cu. Yds. Cu. Yds. Cu. Yds. | Cu. Yds.
June 15 00 10,265
July | 6) 23 50 6 28 32,051 7,586 17.9%| 1264 195
Aug. | 15) 61 21 4 05 71,183 8,756 12.3 584 143
es 16} 193 42] 12 06 158,309 32,996 20.8 2062 170
Sep. 15) 142 O1 9 28 123,343 18,625 15.1 1241 131
‘ 15} 327 39] 21 50 343,221 | 77,392 22.5 5159 236
Oct. | 15, 355 50] 23 44 390,670 80,923 20.7 5395 227
ae 16| 370 05] 23 08 419,717 75,169 17.9 4698 203
Nov. | 15} 118 25 7 54 127,173 24,246 19.0 1616 205
ee 15} 261 21 17° 25 308,411 55,230 17.9 3682 211
Dec. | 15} 305 12 20 21 356,398 58,468 16.4 3898 191
fe 16) 289 45 18 03 333,973 21,010 6.3 1313 72
Jan. | 15) 125 54 8 24 159,796 12,500 7.8 833 99
me 16} 303 27 18 58 380,631 45,408 11.9 2838 149
Feb. | 14; 275 54 19 42 327,214 34,078 10.4 2434 125
oe 15) 315 32 21 02 331,925 30,907 9.3 2060 98
Mar. | 15} 243 43 16 15 241,727 35,889 14.8 2392 147
oe 16) 261 49 16 22 256,646 21,756 8.5 1359 83
Apr. | 15} 235 25 15 42 132,709 26,700 20.1 1780 113
as 15; 126 28 8 26 66,808 14,000 20.9 933 111
May | 15! 176 08 ll 44 98,477 16,000 16.2 1067 91
ee 15{ 197 10 13 08 117,053 20,391 17.4 1359
310) 4725 41 15 25 4,787,700 | 718,030 14.9 2316 152

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The average volume of water used in all this period of time, cover-
ing a little more than ten months, was 7.6 cubic feet per second. The
maximum was 10.0 second-feet, and the minimum 3.8 second-feet.

After the end of March, 1908, when practically all the material was
delivered to the extreme eastern end of the dam, or east of the center,
it was necessary to handle it a second time with a ‘‘booster” pump, of
smaller capacity than the main pump. The volume was thenceforward
reduced to about 4 second-feet, but the percentage of solids carried was
maintained or increased.

The material was excavated to the spillway level out of the high
hill at the west end of the dam. A spillway was there made with a
minimum width of 250 feet, and a maximum discharge capacity of 10,000
second-feet. The floor of the spillway reached down into a fairly hard
quality of granite. At one stage of the work a hydraulic elevator was
used to lift the sluiced material to the height of the west end of the main
flume, after it had been excavated by the monitor and flowed by gravity
across the spillway area. An isolated section of the hill was left between
the spillway channel and the dam, and up the steep face of this island
MISCELLANEOUS. 539

the elevator pipe was placed with a jet of water added from the main
pump, which raised the stream carrying earth in suspension and deposited
it into the flume, some 25 feet higher.

The remarkable picture shown in Fig. 377 is the best possible demon-
stration of the effect of hydraulic sluicing in the segregation of pure clay
from a mass of coarser materials, and its deposit in a condition of stable
solidity within a short time. It is a picture of the clay core of the Santo
Amaro dam accidentally exposed to view by a break in one of the lateral
levees, the effect of which was to empty the pond on the dam and wash

 

 

 

Fic. 377.—ILLvusTRaTING THE CoMPACcT CHARACTER OF THE CLay CoRE OF THE SANTO
Amaro DAM, ACC\DENTALLY EXPOSED TO VIEW BY A BREAK FROM THE PoND
on Tor oF THE Dam.

away the levee and its supporting base of coarser material for a distance
of about 50 feet. The break, which occurred in the up-stream slope,
caused the loss of 400 cubic yards of material, but the demonstration of
the stability of the clay core, none of which had been deposited three
months, and some of it but a few days, was worth far more than the
loss. The clay as exposed was left standing almost vertically, and it
had successfully withstood the wash of water pouring over it from the
emptying of a pond several hundred feet long, 50 to 60 feet wide, and
2 to 4 feet deep, with comparatively shght erosion. The break was
caused by the saturation of the levee, built of material brought in by
cars, which, not being sluiced and assorted, the finer particles from the
540 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

coarser, there was no gradation from fine to coarse, and consequently a
comparative lack of drainage. The break occurred on the line of con-
tact between the sluiced clay and the material deposited by cars. This
method of building the levee was employed only east of the center of
the dam.

The conditions of solidity and maturity in the clay core shown in
this case is a most reassuring endorsement of the superiority of the
hydraulic sluicing method of dam construction.

A similar demonstration was made in very much the same manner
of the stable and satisfactory condition of the clay core of the Necaxa
dam a few months ago. The pond on top of the dam was accidentally
emptied by a cutting down of the overflow channel, causing a Joss of a
quantity of soft, immature material, but showing a bank of firm clay
formed a few feet beneath the surface. It is somewhat difficult to
conceive of percolation through such a mass of clay as is usually segre-
gated and assembled in the center of hydraulic-fill dams after it has
matured. It must be even superior in impermeability to such a puddle
core as was built in the north and south dikes of the Wachusett dam,
which consisted of 6-inch layers of fine loam soil, well sprinkled and
rolled. Recent experiments to determine the permeability of this type
of earth or loam core in an earth dam have been made by means of a
series of pipes driven into the embankments of the Wachusett dikes.
The results as reported by the Engineering Record, July 18, 1908, indi-
cate that while the plane of saturation on the reservoir side of the loam
core was level with the water in the reservoir, it dropped immediately
below this core to a level slightly above the base of the dam. Weekly
measurements proved that the amount of water draining out of the dike
was not in excess of what might be expected, as the natural drainage
from precipitation on the area of the dike itself. No masonry or concrete
core-wall ever built in an earth dam can show better results than
these, and few can compare with them in the absence of percolation
from the reservoir. The dike type of dam is undoubtedly a reliable
type, when properly made with suitable materials, especially where the
core can be sluiced out of the available material and deposited under
water.

A High Japanese Dam.—Fig. 378 is a contour plan of a dam of unusual
height projected as a hydraulic-fill structure, to impound water for
power purposes on the Oigawa river, in Japan. The dam has been
planned by J. M. Howells, chief engineer of the Anglo-Japanese Hydro-
Electric Company, and is to be 300 feet in height above the river-bed
at its up-stream toe, or 325 feet in maximum height. It will occupy a
narrow gorge, whose width at the low-water line of the river is 200 feet,
and at the crest of the dam but 700 feet.
MISCELLAN EQUS, 541

The volume of water to be cared for during construction in by-pass
tunnels may reach 80,000 to 100,000 cubic feet per second in time of
extreme flood. Three tunnels, each 30’ X24’, are planned for this pur-
pose.

A section of the dam as proposed by the board of consulting engineers,
of which the author was a member, who were called upon to review the

as,

Pe,

 

 

 

 

Fic. 378,—Contour Puan or Hyprautic-Fitt Dam ProJEcTED FoR PowER STORAGE
at Ikawa ON THE O1cawa RIveER, JAPAN.

general plans of the project for power development, is shown in Fig. 379.
From this section it will be seen that two concrete cut-off walls are
proposed to be carried down to bed-rock through the gravel deposit of
the channel, both above the center line. The upper wall is to be at the
down-stream toe of the temporary coffer-dam of loose rock, faced with
plank, which will form the up-stream toe of the large dam.

On top of the concrete wall a diaphragm of sheet steel plates is to be
built to the height of 100 feet, reaching to the face of the dam on the
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RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

542

 
      

 

 

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MISCELLANEOUS. 548

reservoir side. This diaphragm is to be continued in the form of a water-
tight asphalt pavement up the slope to the crest of the dam. The core
of the dam will consist of clay, while the outer thirds will be formed of
rock, slaty gravel, and sand, to be sluiced from an extensive deposit of
loose material of most favorable character, lying in a high plateau or
valley, some 200 feet higher than the top of the dam. The contracted
situation of the dam compelled the adoption of side slopes of 1.5 on 1
on each side. The crest, however, will be 50 feet higher than the lip
of the spillways. Fig. 380 is a longitudinal section through the dam-
site.

The dam will contain 2,450,000 cubic yards, all of which, except the
spoil from the tunnels, will be sluiced into position. The site is a remark-
ably favorable one for hydraulic-fill construction, because of the heavy
gradients which can be given to the sluices, the superior quality of all
the materials, and the abundance of water. The annual rainfall
recorded at the dam-site for eight years averages 11.7 feet, with a maxi-
mum of nearly 16 feet.

Dixville, N. H., Earth Dam.—A dam of novel type is under con-
struction to be completed in the current year of 1908, at Dixville, New
Hampshire. It is built of earth with reinforced concrete core-wall rest-
ing on steel sheet piling. The dimensions given in Engineering Record,
April 25, 1908, are as follows:

Maximum height ..............00000 ee 76 feet
DOP WIG sy osicc ide saearteeaenentee we 25."
Length on crest... 1.0... . cee eee ee eee 500 ‘‘
Up-stream slope... 62... cece eee eee 2on1
Down-stream slope...... 6... cece eee 14 on 1

The structure when completed will contain 80,000 cubic yards, and
about 3500 cubic yards of reinforced concrete. The sheet piling was
-driven to depths of 10 to 32 feet in the bottom of a 6-foot trench. The
tops of the piles were incorporated into the bottom of the concrete core-
wall, which was made 3 feet thick at base, 10 inches thick at top. It
is located 3 feet down stream from the top of the up-stream slope. The
concrete cost about $4.50 per cubic yard in place.

On the up-stream side of the core-wall is a puddled earth core,
20 feet thick at the base’ battering to 8 feet at the top, composed of a
mixture of clay and gravel, puddled and rolled. All earth on the upper
slope was put in in layers 6 inches thick, thoroughly rolled and com-
pacted. This work showed a cost of 25 cents per cubic yard by force
account. The dam was built on the plans of Arthur W. Dudley, C.E.,
of Manchester, N. H., approved by Prof. Robert Fletcher, of Dartmouth
College, consulting engineer.
544

   

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RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

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MISCELLANEOUS. 545

Arrowhead Reservoir Company’s Dam, Little Bear Valley, Cali-
fornia.—On page 180 a brief description is given of the combination
dam with concrete core-wall and earth which has long been under con-
struction in the San ‘Bernardino mountains. An illustrated account of
the general project appears in Engineering Record, April 4, 1908. In
the following month of August the local press recorded the signing of a
contract to add 12 inches of concrete to the up-stream face of the
core-wall to stop the leakage taking place and remedy defects in the
wall.

Leakage through Concrete Core-walls.—An earth dam built at Lynn,
Mass., in 1903, with a concrete core-wall, has been found to leak from
about 239,000 to about 448,000 gallons per day, depending on the water-
level of the basin. As described in Engineering Record of March 7, 1908,
the dam is 2200 feet long, 45 feet high, 52 feet wide at the crest, and
has a core-wall of concrete 4 feet 8 inches thick at the top, 9 feet 6 inches
thick at the bottom. The core-wall contains 22,000 cubic yards of con-
crete. It extends to a depth of 25 feet below the base of the dam. The
front face of the wall was plastered with a 1:1 mortar. The core-wall
was built between two rows of 6-inch sheet piling, driven by steam-
hammer in the bottom of the trench to a depth of 26 feet, or about 18
feet below the bottom of the concrete wall, where the piles brought up
against hard material. The earth in the dam ‘was deposited in layers
and puddled or rolled where necessary.”” The slopes of the dam are
12 on 1 each side.

The fact that a dam with a core-wall of the thickness described and
plastered as it was, should leak is significant of the untrustworthiness
of concrete or masonry core-walls in general.

The John Day’s Dam, California——This is a concrete and earth
structure completed on the South Fork of Eel river, in Mendocino
county, California, in the summer of 1907. The concrete portion of the
dam is an overfall spillway section 350 feet long, with an extreme height
of 73 feet. The remaining 280 feet is an earth embankment having a
thin concrete core-wall, resting partly on rock and partly on a sandy
earth foundation. The earth embankment is 10 feet wide on top, and
has slopes of 3 on 1 up stream and 24 on 1 down stream. Where the core-
wall is on the rock it is 4 feet thick at top, battering 1:12 on each side.
Where it is on earth foundation it is reduced to 8 inches thickness,
reinforced with a diaphragm of expanded metal, and resting on a base
of concrete 3 feet wide, 2 feet thick.

The concrete portion of the dam is designed to withstand floods of
100,000 second-feet, or more, passing over its crest, giving a depth of
overflow of 20 feet and upwards. The down-stream face of the dam
has been built in vertical and horizontal steps, most of which are 5 feet
546 RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

in height and the same in width. Eel river has a watershed of 324
square miles area above the dam.

The dam was designed by Edwin Duryea, Jr., M. Am. Soc. C. E.,
of San Francisco.

Roland Park Hydraulic-fill Dam, Baltimore, Md.—An interesting
application of the hydraulic-sluicing method to the grading of a hill

 

 

Fic. 381.—Roland Park Hydraulic-fill Dam, Baltimore, Md.

a

“SENG, NEWS.

 

 

and the building of a small dam is described in Engineering News, June
11, 1908. The grading of the hill required the removal of 50,000 cubic
yards of earth. This was placed in a dam 400 feet long, 24 feet high,
all of which was constructed by the hydraulic process, the earth being
MISCELLANEOUS. 547

deposited along the face of the dam by means of flumes, and held in
place by the use of 1X12” boards, 16 feet iong. These boards, set on
edge, were held in position by stakes driven into the earth composing
the fill. Each tier of boards was set so that they lapped, vertically, over
the next lower tier by 2 inches, thus forming a backing for the earth
and water to fill against. The earth thus held was built up on a slope
of 2 on 1. The engineer who designed the plant and built the dam
was Mr. John H. Walzl. This method of holding the slopes is known as
the ‘‘shear-board method,” and is successfully and extensively used in
controlling the fills made of sluiced clay and sand in the regrading of
Seattle, Wash., described and illustrated on pages 509 to 514 inclusive.
Bulkheads are thus formed on average slopes as steep as 1.5 on 1.
APPENDIX

CONTAINING TABULATED DATA OF THE COST OF RESER-
VOIR CONSTRUCTION PER ACRE-FOOT IN THE

UNITED STATES AND IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

Cost oF Reservoir ConstRUCTION PER ACRE-FOOT.

AMERICAN RESERVOIRS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity
Name. Character of Dam. | peg, a oie Cost. ee
Acre-feet.

Sweetwater dam, California... .. Masonry 22,566 | $264,500 $11.72
Bear Valley dam, Ne ace. aa i 40,000 68,000 1.70
Hemet dam, aaa i 10,500 | 150,000 14.29
Escondido dam, BG eee Rockfill 3,500 100,059 31.44
Lower Otay dam, OOo egg. Rock-fill, steel core | 42,190 }.........J.........
La Mesa dam, HED ate res Hydraulic-fill 1,300 17,000 13.10
Cuyamaca dam, a re Earth 11,410 54,400 4.76
Buena Vista lake, BS ace the oF 170,000 | 150,000 0.88
Yosemite lake, OnE oa ek ay me T5;000 Ices coc os lases sw ies
English dam, BG pagans Rock-fill crib 14,900; 155,000 10.40
Bowman dam, ee ie ba 21,070 | 151,521 7.19
San Leandrodam, ‘‘  ..... Earth 13,270 | 900,000 68 .00
Eureka Lake dam, ‘‘..... Rock-fill 15,170 35,000 2.32
Faucherie dam, GML fh eed es af 1,350 8,000 5.92
Lake Avalon, Pecos rive>, N. M...) Rock-fill and earth 6,300 | 176,000 27 94
Lake McMillan, ‘‘ es a WS oe HE os 89,000 | 180,000 2.02
Tyler, Vexaseu: .sxuwsyes Guuncies Hydraulic-fill 1,770 1,140 0.64
Cache la Poudre, Colorado. .....| Earth 5,654 | 110,266 19.50
Larimer and Weld, ‘‘ ....... a 11,550 89,782 7.77
Windsor, ROD aati 20h ee 23,000 75,000 3.26
Monument, BS) on some ands es 885 33,121 38.69
Apishapa, Bee a bi Sear heath & 459 14,772 32.18
Hardscrabble, OE inate ae 102 9,997 97.78
Boss lake, Be See menage ue 205 14,654 71.39
Saguache, aa eee a, 954 30,000 31.45
Seligman, Arizona. ............. Masonry 703 | 150,000 169 .50
Ach Fork, © ectencsaamcnnoes Steel 110} 45,776 | 416.30
Williams, Spi Siecatn ten ed bactiet l Masonry 338 52,838 156.35
Walnut Canyon, Arizona........ a 480 55,000 114.60
New Croton, New York......... Masonry and earth |} 98,200 |4,150,573 42.27
Titicus, BA ate ie a me a 22,000 | 933,065 42.42
Sodom, Le een Tee on me ey 14,980 | 366,990 24.50
Bog brook RE Udi stout Earth 12,720 | 510,430 40.12
Indian river, Dw ssereniteh opasae ts Masonry and earth | 102,548 83,555 0.81
Wigwam; Cont s ices 2 eee kiass Masonry 1,028 | 150,000 145.90
Yorba dam, California.......... Hydraulic-fill 1,171 38,000 32.50
New Croton dam, New York... | Masonry 180,000 |7,631,000 42.00
Wachusett dam, Massachusetts . . ne 193,300 |2,270,116 11.74
Round Hill dam, Pennsylvania ..| Masonry and earth 4,050] 240,548 59.39
Pedlar River dam, Virginia...... Concrete 1,115 | 103,708 93 .00
Canistear dam, New Jersey...... Earth 7,390 | 341,000 46.15
Glenwild dam, New York. ...... ue 3,675 47,360 12.90
Laramie river dam, Wyoming. ..| ‘‘ 120,000} 117,200 0.98
Cedar Groove Res.dam, N.J.....| ‘‘ 2,150 | 660,000 | 307.00
Belle Fourche dam, South Dakota’ ‘‘ 215,000 | 879,164 4.09

 
£50

Cost oF Reservoir CONSTRUCTION PER ACRE-FOOT.

RESERVOIRS FOR IRRIGATION, WATER-POWER, ETC.

Foreign RESERVOIRS.

 

 

N Character of D | eae |e rot
ame. aracter 0. am. . Ost. cre-1001
Pec of Capacity.
Cousin,  France.............- Masonry 1,297 | $247,600} $190.00
Furens, ee Ce Cae ie 1,297 | 318,000) 245.00
Ternay, OOD eatecde bap ah tran “ 2,433 | 204,372) 84.00
Ban, SES oc eccvevane hencleseanicce ist 1,499 190,000] 127.00
Pas dw Riot! © ecco sy weuse cect ee 1,054 256,000} 243.00
Chartrainy (°° apse eda cvs designe ae 3,647 | 420,000} 115.10
Lake Oredon, ‘6 .............. Earth 5,894 142,000 24.00
Mouche, GOT Teather tet hone Masonry 7,011 | 1,003,657} 143.00
Liez, OP, eabvare eet Gest g aie Earth 13,051 598,418 46 .00
Wassy, Ge ssa atl cuatutae anaes a 1,740 | 138,942} 80.00
Patas, Indian as eeaamin ees fe 325 15,925] 49.00
Ekruk, ghee wars re reabeuevedatchd Earth and masonry; 76,175 666,000 8.74
Ashti, OE” aide Sitsstiens i dent autear, Earth 32,660 | 270,000 8.26
Lake Fife; “" 4. sa cezsaeusa es Masonry 75,500 630,000 8.34
Bhatgur, 68 ase skce camese vets ao 126;500 8 eae ce peers Me oh ene 8
Tansa, Eira TaloncusecmechSvubantioans “ 52,670 | 988,000} 18.76
Betwa, We latte h cake beteave a Sas 36,800 160,000 4.35
Chumbrumbaukum, India....... Earth 63,780 312,000 4.89
Villar Spats s 3.205 «parse aarscls Masonry 13,050 390,000} 28.88
Gilleppe, Belgium.............. oy 9,730 | 874,000) 89.83
Remscheid, Germany........... “f 811 91,154} 112.45
Vyrnwy, Wales ................ ve £4,690 | 3,334,000 74.61
Beetaloo, Australia ............. Concrete 2,945 573,300) 194.70
Burrator dam, England.......... Masonry and earth 2,410 | 602,300} 250.00
Assoun dam, Egypt. ........... Masonry 863,000 }11,907,000 13.80
Belubula dam, Australia ........ Brick and concrete 2,000 45,000} 22.50
Burraga dam, ES Webs ah aoe ti Masonry 310 46,500} 150.00
Sand river dam, South Africa. ...| Concrete 660 140,000} 212.10
Lauchensee dam, Germany...... Masonry 624 243, 750} 390.00
Talla reservoir dam, Edinburgh. . .| Earth 10,280 | 1 220, 000} 118.66

 

 

 

 

 
APPENDIX. 551

TABLES OF RESERVOIR CAPACITIES AND AREAS,
Esconpipo Reservoir, CALIFORNIA.
[Area of tributary watershed, 8 square miles; elevation of base of dam above sea-level, 1300 feet.]

 

 

Height 5
' Capacity of
Bee Ease Surface Area, Tenor ele. Remarks.
Feet, Acres, Acre-feet.
QO carsaieiillsucsen dees | 46 |
BO || sereverstncceveney 288
D0 eee ste vse site 970 Capacity of reservoir as com-
65 EERE 2,400 pleted in 1895, 3,500 acre-feet.
80 174 4,576 r Outlet of reservoir is 16 feet
$0 saaseraaecand 6,455 | above base.
LOO: feisiece: ole sutsece 8,693
110 285 11355 | J

 

 

 

LOWER OTAY RESERVOIR, CALIFORNIA.
[Area of tributary watershed, 100 square miles; elevation of base of dam above sea-level, 345 feet.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Height
above fase Surface Area. Capea ee Remarks.
of Dam. ‘
Feet. Acres. Acre-feet.
30 40 321 |
40 96 1,002
50 160 2,284
ie 2. ace Outlet tunnel 48 feet above base
80 308 9756 of dam. For cross-section of
90 452 13°530 dam site see Fig. 177, p. 373.
100 567 18,623
130 1,000 42,190
150 1,414 66,455 |

 

 

MoRENA RESERVOTR, SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
[Area of tributary watershed, 135 square miles; elevation of base of dam above sea-level, 3100 feet.{

 

Height

Cee Capacity of
ae sence Surface Area. Reservoir. Rainarke:
Feet. Acres, Acre-feet.

 

130 850 24.107
140 1,137 34,358
150 1,370 46,733

50 46 460 2)
60 73 1,079
70 111 2,029 |
80 152 3,316 | Ontlet tunnel is at 30-foot con-
90 225 5,188 tour. Rock-fill dam, with
100 304 7,831 asphalt concrete facing. For
110 438 11.466 cross-section of dam-site see
120 624 16,804 Fig. 177, p. 373.

J

 

 

 

 

 

 
d02 APPENDIX.

La MrEsA RESERVOIR, SAN DrEGo County, CALIFORNIA.

{Area of tributary watershed, 5 square miles; elevation of base of dam above sea-level, 433.5 feet.]

 

 

Height Capacit
ae eg Surface Area. fo Remarks.

-Feet. Acres. Acre-feet.
30 12 110 )
35 18 190
40 24 290
45 30 430
50 41 610
55 53 850

9

e a ren Hydraulic-fill dam, completed
70 83 1,850 r 1895, to 66-foot contour. Out-
25 96 2990 let at base of dam.
80 113 2,820
85 129 8,420
90 152 4,120
95 181 4,950
100 205 5,920
140 444 18,880 J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LakE HEMET RESERVOIR, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

[Area of watershed, 65 to 100 square miles; elevation of base of dam, 4200 feet.]

 

 

Height it
Bere pe Surface Area. cepa Remarks.
Feet. Acres. Acre-feet,
40.0 2.0 33
45.0 2.3 73 Lowest outlet at 45 feet.
50.0 3.0 113
60 0 29.0 832
70.0 62.0 773
80.0 103.0 1,603
90.0 133.0 2,787
100.0 187.0 4,391
110.0 252.0 6,598
120.0 328.0 9,512
122.5 365.0 10,500 Top of dam as completed 1895.
130.0 486.0 13,590
140.0 601.0 19,077
150.0 738.0 25,836

 

 

 

 

 

 
APPENDIX.

553

LirrLe Bear VALLEY RESERVOIR (ARROWHEAD ReEsiRvOIR CoMPANY), SAN
BERNARDINO County, CALIFORNIA,

[Area of tributary watershed, 6.6 square-miles; elevation of base of dam, 4946.3 feet.]

i

 

 

ee ; :

Tunnel | Surface Area. See Remarks.

Outlet.

Feet. Acres. Acre-feet.

10 29.7 198 .
20 55.8 619 \
30 77.0 1,280
40 109.6 2,207
50 191.8 3,680 :
60 236.9 5,830
70 286.0 8,414 Bottom of outlet tunnel is 15.5
80 336.3 11,518 feet above bed of creek at
90 395.8 15,170 base of dam; lowest founda-
100 452.0 19,401 tions about 15 feet lower,
110 535.0 24,326
120 626.0 30,094
135 716.0 40, 144
147 800.0 49,238
160 884.0 60,179
175 932.0 78,800

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SWEETWATER Dam, SAN DiEGO County, CALIFORNIA.

[Area of tributary watershed, 186 square miles; elevation of lowest outlet above sea-level, 140 feet.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Height -
baye Losi: Surface Area. Tenet Remarks.
est Outlet. a .
Feet. Acres. Acre-feet.
0.0 820. teexweasecace 1
10.0 17.1 94
20.0 75.2 540
8 ee a a lt outlet is 24 feet above
50.0 398.0 7,066 lowest foundations of dam.
60.0 539.0 11,737
70.0 722.0 18,053
7.5 895.0 22,500 J

 

 
554

APPENDIX,

PausBa RESERVOIR-SITE, SAN DiEG@o County, CALIFORNIA.

[Area of tributary watershed, 372 square miles; elevation of base of dam, 1350 feet.]

 

 

 

Height Capacity of
oe Surface Area. Rscreeie. Remarks.

Feet. Acres, Acre-feet.
10 107 54
20 62.3 441
30 110.5 1,262

40 190.7 2,760
50 ane pas eae depth to bed rock
60 ; : 4} about 25 feet in center of
70 447 0 12,200 channel
80 584.2 17,355 | .
90 689.4 24,723

100 805.9 32,200 |

130 1,214.0 62,496

140 1,441.0 75,7700 | J

 

 

 

 

 

Cuyamaca REsERVOIR, SAN DiEGo County, CALIFORNIA.

[Area of tributary watershed, 11.03 square miles; elevation of dam, about 4850 feet.}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Height | _ Gannciier
ee Surface Area. eaceen - Hiemiapee
‘Feet. Acres. Acre-feet.

10 6 12
12 44 60
14 106 200
16 178 490
18 255 900
= i eaan Top of dam, 41.5 feet above base.
94 519 3/240 \ Floor of wasteway at 35-foot
26 605 4.360 contour above base.
28 684 5,650
30 768 7,100
32 842 8,710
34 919 10,470
35 959 11,410

 

 
 

APPENDIX.

BaRrRETT RESERVOIR-SITE, SAN DrEGo County, CALIFORNIA.

[Area of tributary watershed, 250 square miles; elevation of base of dam, 1600 feet.]

 

 

Height
bi B: _| Capacity of
al es oa Surface Area. Reservoir. Rewaike
Feet. Acres. Acre feet.
60 70 586
0 97 1,412
80 147 2611
aa en oa Used as a diverting-dam, to the
110 985 8 975 height of 60 feet, for diverting
120 363 12,193 Morena reservoir water to the
130 469 16 345 Lower Otay reservoir. For
140 576 31530 cross-section of dam-site, see
150 662 27,835 Fig. 177, p. 378.
160 784 35,160
170 871 43,440
175 936 47,970

 

 

 

 

 

Uprer Otay RESERVOIR-SIYE, SAN DieGo County, CALIFORNIA.

[Area of tributary watershed, 8 square miles; elevation of base of dam, 480 feet.]

 

Height above

Surface Area.

Capacity of

 

Base of Dam. Reservoir.
Feet. Acres. Acre-feet.

60 89 643

80 178 8,236

100 293 7,871

an 452 15,342

 

555
APPENDIX..

Bear VALLEY RESERVOIR, SAN BERNARDINO County, CALIFORNIA.

{Area of tributary watershed, 56 square miles; elevation of base of dam, about 6200 feet.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Height ee C ity of Height : c ity of
ae Surface Area. Heeneeie. aitipas BaS Surface Area. Reserenii
Feet. Acres. Acre-feet. Feet. Acres, Acre-feet.

15 10 a 58 1,859 26,463
20 35 159 55 1,960 80,010
25 141 411 a7 2,069 34,040
30 295 1,558 60 2,251 40,476
35 428 3,847 65 2,482 52,428
40 1,060 7,166 \ a 2,812 65,065
45 1,425 18,3857 80 8,300 95,500
50 1,691 21,139

 

RooseEvELT Dam Reservoir-SiTB, Sitt River, ARIZONA.

[Area of watershed, 6260 square miles; elevation of base of dam, 1925 feet.]

 

Height

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Height z ; above Dam 2
ane Low. | Area Blooded) Reon || at tow | Area Flooded. GRenr
water Mark. water Mark.

Feet. Acres. Acre-feet. Feet. Acres. Acre-feet.
25 330 4,400 120 5,860 241,800
30 420 6,100 125 6,210 272,800
35 570 9,000 130 6,570 803,900
40 730 11,900 185 6,950 338,600
45 890 16,200 140 7,350 373,400
50 1,030 20,000 145 7,980 413,000
oD 1,280 26,900 150 8,530 453,000
60 1,510 33,300 155 9,110 498,000
65 1,740 42,000 160 9,680 544,000
70 1,880 50,700 165 10,170 594,000
5 2,300 62,100 170 10,680 645,000
80 2,610 73,500 175 11,240 701,000
90 3,430 108,600 180 11,750 757,000
95 3,820 122,700 185 12,300 820,000

100 4,210 141,800 190 18,000 880,000
105 4,610 164,700 195 18,600 950,000
110. 4,990 187,700 200 14,200 1,020,000
115 5,480 214,700 2200 anaes . 1,284,000

 

 

 
IN DEX.

Acknowledgments, 496

Advantages of leaky dams maintained, 58

African dams, 388 .

Agua Fria masonry dam, Arizona, 279

Aguilar, Ponciano, 524 |

Aird, Sir John & Co., 390

Aix, France, supplied by Zola dam, 362

Aix-la-Chapelle Polytechnic school, 208

Alamosa river (Terrace dam), Colo., 139

Alessandro, Cal., 247

Alfred dam, Maine, 81

Alicante dam, Spain, 357

Alkali in earth dams, cause of land-slips,
421

Almanza dam, Spain, 357

Ambursen Hydraulic Construction Co.,
465 s

American Institute of Mining Engineers,
58

American Pipe Co., 330

American type of masonry core-walls
criticised by British engineers, 450

Amsterdam, N. Y., supplied by Glenwild
dam, 440

Anaheim Union Water Co., Cal., 172

Ancient earth dams in Ceylon, 416

Anglo-Japanese Hydro-Electric Co., 540

Animas Canal, Reservoir, and Water
Power Investment Co., Colo., 84

Annonay, France, supplied by Ternay
dam, 363

Apishapa river, Colo., 176

Apportionment of irrigation supply,
Hemet system, 246

Arkansas Valley natural basin reservoirs,

 

490

Arkansas Valley Sugar Beet and Irrigated
Land Co., 490

' Armancon river, France, 364

Arrowhead Reservoir Co., Cal., 180, 256
Ash Fork steel dam, Ariz., 453
Ashokan dam, N. Y., 304
Ashop dam, Derwent Valley, England, 408
Asphalt burlap over sheet-steel core of
dam, 16, 436
Asphalt coating on face of dam, 395
Asphalt concrete, in core-wall of dam, 60
Assouan dam, Egypt, 388
jelly models of, 211
Atcherley, L. W., 210, 212
Atlanta Water and Electric Power Co., 334
Atlantic Mining Co., Mich., 456
Austin dam, Austin, Texas, 312
Autisha dam-site, Peru, 414
Australian dams, 379
Austrian dams, 398 /
Avalon (Lake) dam, near Carlsbad, N. M.,
43
Avignonet dam, Grenoble, France, 367

Babcock, E. 8., 15

Babcock, Stephen E,, 440

Bainbridge, F. H., 453

Baissey, France, 363

Baker, Sir Benjamin, 211, 390

Balanced valve for reservoir outlet, 62

Baltic Mining Co., Mich., 456

Bamford dam, Derwent Valley, England,
408

Bar Harbor and Union River Power Co.,
471

Barnetche, P,, 356

557
598

Barrett dam, Cal., 28

Barton, E. H., 262

Basin Creek dam, Montana, 296

Basin Creek masonry dam, Butte, Mont
tana, 294

Bassell, Burr, 435

Bay Counties Power Co., 115

Bear Valley dam, Cal., masonry, 207, 210,
215, 246

Irrigation Co., 246

Beetaloo dam, Australia, 386

Belgian dams, 399

Belle Fourche Jam, S. Dakota, 441

Bellet, H., 298

Belubula dam, Australia, 386

Berry, Thomas, 499

Betwa dam, India, 375

Bever dam, Germany, 398

Bhatgur dam, India, 374

Bickel, P 8. A., 499

Bidaut, M., 399

Bighorn Valley, Wyo., 341

Big Rapids dam, Mich., 449

Bihler, Chas. S., 197, 198

Birmingham, England, supplied by Craig
Goch dam, 405

Blake, Prof. W. P., 54, 58

Blasts, heavy, for rock-fill dams, 24, 33

Blauvelt, Louis D., 50

Bog Brook dams, N. Y., 307

Boller, Alfred P., 42

Bostaph, W. M., 60

Bousey dam, France, 365

Bouvier, M., 363, 374

Bowie, Aug. J., Jr., 60

Bowman dam, Cal. (timber-crib, rock-fill),
65, 500

Boyd’s Corner dam, N. Y., 308

Braniff, Oscar J., 346

Brazilian dams, 408

Brenne river, France (Gros Bois dam),
362

Brick facing of masonry dam, 403

Bridgeport, Conn., supplied by Trap Falls
dam, 331

dam, Conn., 310

Brightmore, Arthur W., 212

Brodie, Major Alex. O., 58

Brown, F. E., 245, 247

Buena Vista Lake dam, Cal., 432

Burbank, Geo. B., 307

Burns, R. B., 288, 454

 

INDEX.

Burraga dam, N.S. W., 379

Burrator dam, England, 403

Burr, Prof. Wm. H., 301, 305

Buttressed, arched dam (Meer Allum), 378

Caban Goch dam, Wales, 405
Cableway for dam construction, Agua
Fria, Ariz., 280
Hemet, Cal., 244
Lower Otay, Cal., 22
Milner, Idaho, 69
Cableway, Lidgerwood, used on rock-fill
dams, 33
Cache la Poudre dam, Colo., 437
Cagliari dam, Sardinia, Italy, 370
Cambie, H. J., 192
Cambria Steel Works, 499, 522
Canadian Pacific Railway hydraulic-fills,
189
Careg-Dhu dam, Wales, 405
Carew, John Hayden, 379
Carey Act, U. 8. Government laws for
aiding in reclaiming land by irriga-
tion, 70
Carite reservoir, Porto Rico, 452
Carlsbad, N. M., 43
Carroll, Eugene, 294
Case, Maj. J. F., 346
Cast-iron sheet piles, first use of, 390,
391
Castlewood dam, Colorado, 36
Catawba River dam, South Carolina, 336
Cement grout pumped into bedrock under

dam, 458
manufactured by U. 8. Govt. in Ari-
zona, 339
Ceylon dams of antiquity, 416
Chabot, A., 89

Chapin Mine high-pressure dam, 298

Chartrain dam, France, 365

Chatsworth Park dam, 34

Chattahoochie river, Ga., 334

Cheesman Lake rock-fill dam, Colo., 62

Chemnitz, Germany, 395

Cheyenne, Wyo., supplied from Granite
Springs dam, 317

Chinese dams, 388

Chittenden, Col. H. M., 489

Chollas Heights dam, Cal., 435

Chula Vista, Cal., 235

Cinder-fill dam, Johnstown, Pa., 522

Clarewen river, Wales, 405
INDEX.

Clay core-wall of Santo Amaro dam, ex-
posed section of, illustrated, 539
puddle walls in Pilarcitos and San
Andrés dams, 434
@lerke, W. J. C., 372, 373
Cloud, H. H., engr., Lake Avalon dam,
45
Code, W. H., chief engineer, U. S. Indian
Service, 74
Colgate Power House, Yuba river, Cal.,
115
Colorado river, Texas, 315
‘Colorado State dams, 437
‘Combination dams (rock-fill and hydraulic-
fill), Milner, Idaho, 68
Waialua, T. H., 127
Zuni, N. M., 74
‘Combination earth and concrete dam in
California, 545
Commission of Engineers on New Croton
Dam, 451 ‘
“Compound dams,’’ as suggested by W.
L. Strange, 447
Concrete, cyclopean, block construction,
334
Conduits of Sweetwater system, 235
Hemet system, 245
Connellsville dam, Pa., 330
Construction of dam by convicts, 264
Coolgardie, Australia, water-supply dam,
211, 382
Coolie, L. E., 323
Cooper, Hugh L., 334, 409
Core-wall, concrete, highest in world, 441
of clay, 185
of concrete, full height of hydraulic-
fill, 180
in Boonton dyke, N. J., 326
in Dixville, N. H., dam, 543
under hydraulic-fill, 156
of earth in North Dike Wachusett
dam found to be practically im-
permeable, 540
of masonry, Bog Brook dams, 307
of masonry, Catawba River dam,

S. C., 536

of reinforced concrete, in rock-fill
dam, 49, 452

of sheet-steel in Chollas Heights dam,

435
plain concrete, in rock-fill dam, 130
steel (and facing), in rock-fill dam, 59

 

559

Core-wall, wood, in hydraulic-fill dam, 110
in rock-fill dam, 70, 129
with asphaltum and burlap,

129
Core-walls of masonry or concrete seldom
watertight, 186, 451
Cornell University, N. Y., 302, 309
Cost data:
Agua Fria dam, Ariz., 279
Ash Fork steel dams, 455
Ashokan dam, contract, 305
Assiout dam, Egypt, 391
Assouan dam, Egypt, 350
Austin dam, Texas, 314
Ban dam, France, 363
Barossa dam, Australia, 382
Bear Valley dam, cement for, 207
Bear Valley dam, complete, 249
Beetaloo dam, S. Australia, 386
Belle Fourche dam, 8. Dak., 443
Belubula dam, Australia, 386
Betwa dam, India, 376
Buena Vista Lake dam, Kern Co.,
Cal., 433
Burraga dam, Australia, 380
Burrator dam, England, 405
Cache la Poudre dam, Colo., 437
Canistear dam, New Jersey, 439
Cataract dam, Australia, 385
Catskill water-supply for New York
City, 304
Cedar Grove dams, N. J., 441
Chartrain dam, France, 365
Colorado State dams, 439
Coolgardie dam, Australia, 384
Craig Goch and other Welsh dams,
408
Cross River dam, N. Y., 299
Curry Mine, high-pressure dam, 297
Cuyamaca dam, Cal., 424
Derwent Valley dams, England, 408
Escondido conduit, 4
dam, 11
Esperanza dam, Mexico, 527
Fossil Creek, Colo., 492
Furens dam, France, 362
Glenwild dam, Amsterdam, N.Y.,440
Granite Springs dam, Wyo., 322
Hemet dam, cost of cement, 239
Hinckston Run dam, Pa., 524
hydraulic sluicing, Canadian Pacific
Ry., 192
560 INDEX.
Cost data: Cost data:
hydranlic sluicing, Northern Pacific Twin Lakes reservoir outlet and dam,
Ry., 193 487
Northern Pacific Ry., Summary Tyler, Texas, hydraulic-fill dam, 94
of, 200 Wigwam dam, Conn., 312

Indian River dam, N. Y., 309
Ithaca dam, N. Y., 303
La Jalpa dam, Mexico, 347
Lake Carpa dam, Peru, 410
Lake Cheesman dam, Colo., 323
Lake de Smet, Wyo., 489
Lake Quisha dam, Peru, 410
La Mesa dam, Cai., 0&
Laramie, Wyo., 489
Larimer and Weld natural reservoir,
+88
Lauchensee dam, Germany, 393
Loveland, Wyo., 488
McCalls Ferry dam, Pa., 334
Mercedes dam, Durango, Mexico,
350 :
Mercedes Yosemite dam and canal
system, 432
New Croton dam, N. Y., 298
North dike, Wachusett dam, Mass.,
443
Pacoima submerged dam, Cal., 275
Padavil earth dam in Ceylon (esti-
mated), +17
Pas du Riot dam, France, 364
Pathfinder dam, Wyo., 341
Pedlar River dam, Lynchburg, Va.,
334
Periyar dam, India, 377
Poona dam, India, 374
Remscheid dam, Germany, 393
Roosevelt dam, Ariz., 340
Round Hill dam, Pa., 331
Sacsa Lake dam, Peru, 413
Sand River dam, 8. Africa, 391
San José dam, Mexico, 532
Seligman dam, Ariz., 286
Shoshone dam, Wyo., 341
Sodom dam, N. Y., 307
Sweetwater conduit, north side, 237
cost of pumping, 236
dam, Cal., 225, 226
pipe system, 233
pumping plants and wells 236
Tansa dam, India, 372
Ternay dam, France, 363
Titicus dam, N. Y., 306

 

Villar dam, Spain, 359
Vyrnwy dam, England, 402
Wachusett dam, Mass., 329
Walnut Canyon dam, Ariz., 239
Williams dam., Ariz, 238
Cost of reservoir construction per acre-
foot of capacity, tables of, 549
Cottonwood creek, San Diego Co., Cal., 24
Coventry, W. B., 205
Cracks, absence of, in Sweetwater dam,
232
Crafton, Cal., 247
Craig Goch dam, Wales, 405
Crane Valley, hydraulic-fill dam, Cal.,
105
Craven, Alfred, 307
Croes, J. J. R., Member of Commission on.
New Croton Dam, 451
Cross River dam, N. Y., 299
Croton Falls dam, N. Y., 301
Croton, Mich., 177
Crow Creek, Wyo., 317
“Crowder,” used for loading water with
earth in ground sluicing, 132
Crowe, H. 8., 262
Crowell, F. Foster, 458
Crugnola, G., 371
Crushed stone macadam, for core-wall of
earth and rock-fill dams, suggested,
451
Crystal Springs dam, old, 274
Cuevas, Luis S., 534
Curry Mine, high-pressure dam, 296
Curry Mine Norway, Mich., 294
Curtis, C. E., 499
Curved dams, 207
free from cracks, 209
Cuyamaca dam, Cal., 423
Cuyamaca reservoir, Cal., 233, 235

Davis, Arthur P., 284, 340

Davis, Chester B., 296

Davis, Jos. P., 329

Deflecting nozzles, hydraulic giants, 88

De la Barre, Wm., 464

Dei Gasco dam, Guadarrana river, Spain,
356
INDEX.

Delocre, M., designer of Furens dam, 205,
208, 363

Denver Union Water Co., 62, 323

water-supply from South Fork of
Platte river, 323

Derby, -England, supplied by Derwent
dams, 408

Derwent Valley dams, England, 408

“Design and Construction of Dams,” by
Edward Wegmann, C.E., 205

DeWeese dam, Colo., 325

Diagram of forces, reinforced concrete
dams, 466, 469

Diaz, President Porfirio, Mexico, 346

Divers used for placing sheet-piles and
concrete, 70

Dixville, N. H., earth dam, 543

Dobbins Creek, Yuba County, Cal., 115

Dodder River dam, Ireland, 449, and
Plate 5

Douglas Lake reservoir, Colo., 491

Drainage in masonry dams, 399

Drainage of earth dam, Vallejo, Cal., 422

Duchesnay, Edmund, 192

Dudley, Arthur W., 543

Dulzvra Pass, Cal., 24, 28, 30

Duran, Carlos, 356

Durango, Colo. (power received from
Animas dam), 84

Duryea, Edwin, Jr., 546

Early type of hydraulic-fill in Druid Lake
dam, Md., 444
Earth core-wall in North Dike, Wachu-
sett dam, 540
Earth dams:
Apishapa State dam, Colo., 439
Ashti tank, India, 419
Belle Fourche dam, 8. Dak., 441
Bog Brook, N. Y., 307
Boss Lake State dam, Colo., 439
Buena Vista Lake dam, Cal., 433
Cache la Poudre dam, Colo., 437
Canistear dam, New Jersey, 439
Cauverypauk tank, India, 419
Cedar Grove dams, N. J., 440
Chollas Heights dam, Cal., 435
Chumbrumbaukum tank, India, 419
Cold Springs dam, Umatilla, Oregon,
444
Cuyamaca, Cal., 424
Dixville, N. H., 543

 

561

Earth dams:
Druid Lake dam, Baltimore, Md., 444
Ekruk tank, India, 419
Glenwild dam, New York, 440
Hardscrabble State dam, Colo., 439
Hemet distributing-reservoir, 246
Indian river, N. Y., 308
in India, numbers estimated, 417 -419:
John Days, Cal. (combination), 545
Laguna dam, Mexico, 167
Laramie River dam, Wyo., +40
Merced or Yosemite dam, +29
Monument Creek dam, Colo., 438
‘Mudduk Masur tank, India, 419
North Dike, Wachusett dam, Mass.,
443
Pilarcitos dam, Cal., 433
Ponairy tank, India, 419
Saguache State dam, Colo., 439
San Andrés dam, Cal., 434
Tabeaud dam, Cal., 434
Talla dam, Edinburgh, Scotland, 448
Vallejo dam, California, $22
various recent Indian dams, 448
Veranum tank, India, 419
Earthwork, delivery by baskets, Laguna
dam, Mexico, 170
East Jersey Water Co., 439
Eastward, J. 8., 108
Echapré dam, France, 368
Eddy flume-gates, Indian River dam, 308
Eel river, Cal., 545
Einsiedel dam, Germany, 395
El Cajon valley, California, 213, 429
Elche dam, Spain, 357
Elder Creek, Wyo., 489
Electra, Cal., power house, 434
Ellsworth, Maine, reinforced
dam, 471
El Molino dam, San Gabriel, Cal., 213
Emergency development of irrigation
water to substitute for dry reser-
voirs in California, +29
Engineering errors in ancient (‘eylon, +17
Engineering News, 45, 49, 1X8, 296, 297,
309, 310, 317, 366, 450, 451, 452,
459, 164, 546
Engineering Record, 42, 60, 188, 379, 391,
397, 405, 450, 511, 540, 543, 545
English dam (rock-fill), Cal., 63
English dams, 401

concrete

. Enlargement of Sweetwater dam, Cal., 225
562

Ennepe dam, Germany, 398
Eschbach dam, Germany, 398
Eschbach valley, Germany, 398
Escondido, Cal., 2, 4
Esperanza dam, Mexico, 524
Espinal, France, site of Bousey dam, 365
Evaporation, Arrowhead reco.ds, 256
enormous, from Buena Vista reser-
voir, Cal., 433
from Cuyamaca reservoir, 237, 426
from Sweetwater reservoir, 237
reservoirs in India, 419, 421
Excelsior Wood-stave Pipe Co., 296
Expansion movements of masonry dams,
208, 209, 379
Experiments by D. C. Henny on permea-
bility of soils for Cold Springs dam,
Oregon, 444
Experiments with models of masonry
dams, 210, 211, 212

Failure of dams:
Austin dam, Texas, 315
before water pressure was applied, 36
Bousey dam, France, 365
Cheesman Lake rock-fill dam, Colo.,
62
English dam, California, 63
Habra dam, Algiers, 370
Hauser Lake dam, 464
Johnstown dam, Pa., 423
Lake Avalon dam, New Mexico, 49
Lynx Creek dam, Ariz., 290°
original Lake Frances dam, Cal., 117
Puentes dam, Spain, 358
Snake Ravine dams, Cal., 182
Walnut Grove dam, Arizona, 53
Fanning, J. T., 312
Fargo, W. G., 180, 449
Farren, George, 208
Faucherie dam, Cal., 502
Fecht, H., 397
Fishway, 487
Fletcher, Prof. Robert, 543
Flexible core-walls, of reinforced concrete,
450
of brick laid in asphaltum, 450
Flinn, Alfred D., 306, 329
Flood discharge:
Bear Valley reservoir, Cal., 248
Cherry Creek, Colo., in 1900, 40
Drac river, France, 367

 

INDEX.

Flood discharge:
Eel river, Cal., 545
of Missouri river over Hauser Lake
dam, 463
Oigawa river, Japan, 541
over Vir weir, Bhatgur dam, 375
Pecos river, N. Mex., 44, 49, 53
Periyar river, India, 376
River Nile, Egypt, 389
Sweetwater river, Cal., 225, 248
Tuolumne river, Cal., 255
Yelwand river, India (Bhatgur dam),
374
Zuii river, N. M., 75
Folsom dam (masonry) at Folsom prison,
Cal., 262
Forchheimer, Prof., 208, 371
Forest Preserve Board of New York,
309
Fort Collins, Colo., 491
Fortier, Samuel, 60, 202
Fossil Creek reservoir, 492
Francis, Geo. B., 336
Franz Joseph, or Komotau dam, 398
Fraser river canyon, B. C., 190
Freeman, John R., 305
French dams, in France, 359
in Algeria, 370
Frizell, Jos. P., 312
Frog Tanks reservoir-site, Ariz., 279, 284
Fteley, Alphonse, 299, 307, 329
Fuelbecker dam, Germany, 398
Fuertes, Prof. E. A., 310
Furens dam, St. Etienne, France, 362

Gabbro granite, 319

Gawler, S. Australia, 380

Geddes & Seerie, 323, 341

Geelong dam, Australia, 386

General Electric Company, 108

Genoa, Italy, supplied by Gorzente dam,
369

German dams, 393

Gila Valley, Ariz., 279

Gileppe dam, Belgium, 399

Giants Tank dam, Ceylon, India, 417

Glacial flour, 485, 487

Glorbach dam, Germany, 398

Goodale, W. W., 134

Gore, William, 212

Gorzente dam, 369, 370

Gould, E. Sherman, 186, 188
INDEX.

Gowan, Chas. 8., 299, 307
Graeff, M., 362
Gran Cheurfas dam, Algiers, 371
Grand Rapids-Muskegon Power Co., 177
Grand river, Mich., 180
Granite Reef dam, Ariz., 499, 518
Granite Springs dam, Wyo., 317
Gravel preferred for dams, tests of, etc.,
202
Great Plains Water Co., Colo., 490
Greenalch, Walter, 309
Gregory, C. E., 306
Grenoble, France, 368
Gros Bois dam, France, 359
Ground ssluicing, one of hydraulic-fill
processes, 131

Yorba dam, Cal., cost of, 172
Grunsky, C. E., 422
Guadalantin river, Spain, 358
‘Guadarana river, Spain, 356
‘Guanajuato, Mexico, 346

Habra dam, Algiers, 209, 370

Hageman canals, N. M., 51

Haglee dam, Derwent Valley, Eng., 408

Hall, B. M., eng., U. S. Rec. Service, 49,
451

Hall, N. L., 343

Hall, Wm. Ham, 254, 393, 449

Hamiz dam, Algiers, 209, 371

Harper, J. B., engineer, Zufii dam, 74

Harrison, Chas. L., 323

Harrison, E. W., 326

Hasperbach dam, Germany, 398

Hassayampa river, Ariz. (Walnut Grove

dam), 53
‘Hauser Lake steel dam, Helena, Mont.,
459

Hayward, R. F., 172, 499

Helena, Mont., 464

Helena river, Australia, masonry dam, 211,
384

Hemet dam, Cal., 237

Henner dam, Germany, 398

Henny, D. C., 296, 444

Herbringhausen dam, Germany, 398

Herschel, Clemens, 202, 439

Highest dam in Spain, 357

Highest overflow weir in United States,
255

‘Highlands, Cal., 247

‘High-pressure mining dams, 296

 

563

Hijar City, Spain, 359
dams, Spain, 359
Hill, A., 374
Hill, George H., 405
Hill, Louis C., 340, 518
Hill, W. R., 299
Hinckston Run dam, Pa., 499, 518
Hodson, George and F. W., 402
Holbrook, Ariz., 286
Holyoke dam, Mass., 202
Honolulu, T. H., 127
Hooker, Elon H., 310
Hopkirk wood-stave pipe, reinforced, 510,
512
Hopson, E. G., 444
Horn, F. C., engineer, Minidoka dam, 80
Howden dam, Derwent Valley, Eng., 408
Howells, J. M., 90, 94, 98, 108, 117, 499,
549
Hudson Canal and Reservoir Co., 338
Hutchison, Dr. Cary T., 334
Hyde, F. 8., 172, 426
Hydraulic elevator, used in Brazilian dam
construction, 538
Hydraulic-fili dams:
Acatlan, Mexico, 167
Crane Valley, Cal., 109
Croton, Mich., 177
Lake Frances, Cal., 115
Little Bear Valley, Cal., 180, 545
Los Reyes, Mexico, 152
Lyons, Mich., 180
Milner, Idaho, 125, 514
Necaxa, Mexico, 152, 524
Nuuanu, Honolulu, T. H., 136
principles defined, 85, 86, 87
Roland Park, Baltimore, Md., 546
San Leandro, Cal., 89
Santo Amaro, Brazil, 146, 535
Silver lake, Los Angeles, Cal., 174
Swink, Colo., 176
Temescal, Cal., 89
Terrace, Alamosa river, Colo., 139
Tezcapa, Mexico, 152, 167
Waialua, Hawaii, 127
plantation dams, 134
Yorba, Cal., 172
Hydraulic giant, or monitor, 88
Hydraulic lime, used in Habra dam,
Algiers, 371
used in Periyar dam, India, 376
Hydraulic sluicing at Seattle, Wash., 509
564

Hydraulic-sluicing of railway embank-
ments, 90
Hydrographic Commission of Peru, 415

Idaburn dam, New Zealand, dry wall,
concrete face, 82
Ideal conditions for hydraulic-fill dam
building stated, 123
Illustration of typical earth dams, 449
Imitation of hydraulic-fill dam in Scot-
land, 449
India dams, 372
Indian Creek dam, Connellsville, Pa., 330
Ingham, W., 391
Institution of Civil Engineers of Great
Britain, 356
Intze, Prof., 208, 395
Irrigation of cotton from reservoir water
in Mexico, 355
of sugar-cane in Peru, 414
Italian dams, 369
Ithaca dam, N. Y., 302
N. Y., Water Company, 304

Jackson, J. F., 458, 462

Japanese hydraulic-fill dam, 540

Jaycox, T. W., State engineer of Colo-
rado, 142, 146

Jelly models of masonry dam, 212

Jersey City Water Supply Co., 326

John Days dam, Cal., 545

Johnstown, Pa., 499

Jubach dam, Germany, 398

Juniata dam, 477, 478, 479

Katonah, N. Y., 299

Kkeukonahua Gulch, Hawaii, 127, 128

Kearney, Chas. H., 409

Kellogg, H. Clay, 128, 136, 172

Kellogg, L. G., 127, 136

Kelly, Wm., 297

Kilpatrick Bros. & Collins Contracting
Co., 341

Kingman submerged masonry dam, Ariz.,
285

Kkomotau dam, Austria, 308

Koolau Mountains, Hawaii, 128

Krantz, J. B., 208, 363

La Grange masonry dam, Cal., 256
Lagunas Huarochiri, Peru, 409

La Jalpa dam, Mexico, 346

Lake Avalon rock-fill dam, N. M., 43

 

INDEX.

Lake Carpa dam, Peru, 410

Lake Cheesman dam, Colo., 323

Lake Como, Bitterroot Valley, Mont., 483

Lake Frances hydraulic-fill dam, Cal., 115,
509

Lake McMillan, rock-fill dam, N. M., 50

La Mesa hydraulic-fill dam, Cal., 94

Lance, John, 331

Land, Gordon, 437

La Prele dam, Wyo., 480

Laramie river, Wyo., 440

Larimer and Weld natural reservoir, 488

Lauchensee dam, Germany, 397

Leakage, Escondido rock-fill dam, 9

Leakage from Walnut Canyon reservoir,
excessive, 290

Leakage of masonry under 640 ft. head,
295

Leakage through concrete core-walls, 545

Leeming dam, Ireland (no core-wall), 449:

Leicester, England, supplied by Derwent
dams, 408

Lerma river, Mexico, 346

Lewis Construction Company, 512

Limiting height of earth dams, 188

Lingese dam, Germany, 398

Lippincott, J. B., 182, 256

Litigation over flowage tract, Sweetwater
dam, 323

Little Bear Valley dam, Cal., 180

Liverpool, England, supplied by Vyrnwy
dam, 401

Llannefydd dam, Wales, examples of very
deep core trench, 449

Llewellyn Iron Works, Los Angeles, 340

Lloyd Copper Co., N. 8. W., Australia,
379

Loch Island Reavy dam, Ireland (no core-
wall), 449

Loess, or wind-borne soil, for dams, 125

Logway, Indian River dam, 308

Los Angeles, Cal., 493

Lost Canyon natural dam, Colo., 494

Loughborough, England, supplied by
Blackbrook dam, 402

Lozoya dam, Spain, 359

Lux vs. Haggin, a cause celebre, 433

Lynn, Mass., earth dam with concrete
core-wall, 545

Lynx Creek masonry dam, Arizona, 290

Lycn’s Peak, San Diego Co., Cal., 24

Lyons dam, Mich., 449
INDEX.

McCall’s Ferry dam, 332
McCulloh, Walter, 307
McHenry, E. H., 197
McReynolds, O. O., 485
MacArthur Bros. Company, 299, 305
Mackenzie, A. T., 377
‘Madrid, Spain, supply from Rio Lozoya
dam, 359
Manchester, England, supplied by Thirl-
mere dam, +05
Manila, P. I., 343
Mansergh, James, 187, 403, 408
Mariquina river, P. I., 343
Martinez del Rio, Sefior Pablo, 349
Martin, James Wm., 499, 518
Martin river, Spain, 359
Masonry or concrete dams:
Agua Fria, Ariz., 279
Alicante, Spain, 357
Almanza, Spain, 357
Ashokan, N. Y., 304
Assiout, Egypt, 390
Assouan, Egypt, 388
Austin, Texas, 312
Avignonet, Drac river, France, 365
Ban, St. Chamond, France, 363
Barossa, Gawler, South Australia, 380
Basin creek, Mont., 296 ,
Bear Valley, Cal., 246
Beetaloo, Australia, 386
Belubula, Australia, 386
Betwa, India, 375
Bhatgur, India, 374
Blackbrook, Loughborough, England,
402
Boonton, Jersey City, N. J. 325,
Bousey, Epinal, France, 365
Bridgeport, Conn., 310
Burraga, Australia, 379
Burrator, Plymouth, England, 403
Catawba river, 8. C., 336
Chartrain, Roanne, France, 365
Chazilly, Sabine river, France, 362
Cheesman lake, Colo., 325
Connellsville, Pa., 330
Cornell University, N. Y., 309
Cototay, Chambon-Feugerolles,
France, 364
Craig Goch, Birmingham, England,
405
Cross river, N. Y., 299
Croton Falls, N. Y., 301

 

"565

Masonry or concrete dams:

Del Gasco, Spain, 356

diverting weir, San Diego Flume Co.,
Cal., 427

Djidionia, St. Aimé, Algiers, 372

Echapré, Firminy, France, 368

Einseidel, Chemnitz, Germany, 395

Elche, Spain, 357

El Molino, of San Gabriel, Cal., 213

Esperanza dam, Guinajuato, Mexico,
524

Folsom, Cal., 262

Furens, St. Etienne, France, 362

Geelong, Australia, 386

Gilleppe, Verviers, Belgium, 399

Gran Cheurfas, Mekerra river, Al-
giers, 371

Granite Springs, Wyo., 317

Gros Bois, Brenne river, France, 362

Habra, Algiers, 370

Hamiz, Algiers, 371

Helena river, Australia, 211

Hemet, Cal., 237

Hijar, Martin river, Spain, 359

Huasca, Peru, 413

Indian river, N. Y., 308

Johannesburg, %. Africa, 391

John Days dam, Cal. (combination),
545

Kingman (submerged), -Ariz., 285

Komotau, Bohemia, Austria, 398

La Grange, Cal., 256

La Jalpa dams, Mexico, 347

Lake Carpa, Peru, 410

Lake Quisha, Peru, 411

Lauchensee, Germany, 397

Lennep, Germany, 397

Lozoya, Madrid, Spain, 359

McCalls Ferry, Pa., 332

Mariquina, Manila, P. I., 343

Meer Allum, Hyderabad, India, 378

Mercedes, Durango, Mexico, 350

Miodeix, Auvergne, France, 368

Morgan Falls, Atlanta, Ga., 334

Mouche, St. Ciergues, France, 365

New Croton, N. Y., 298

Nijar, Spain, 358

Old Mission of San Diego, Cal., 213

Olla dams, Guanajuato, Mexico, 529

Pacoima (submerged), Cal., 274

Parnahyba, Brazil, 409

Pas ‘lu Riot, St. Etienne, France, 364
566

Masonry or concrete dams:
Pathfinder, N. Platte river, Wyo., 341
Pedlar river, Lynchburg, Va., 334
Periyar, India, 376
Pont, Semur, France, 364
Poona, India, 373
Portland, Ore., 292
Puentes, Spain, 358
Remscheid, Germany, 393
Rio das Lages, Brazil, 408
Roosevelt, Ariz., 338
Round Hill, Wilkesbarre, Pa., 331
Sacsa, Peru, 411
San José dam, San Luis Potosi, Mex-
ico, 531
San Mateo, Cal., 267
Sand river, Port Elizabeth, 8. Africa,
391
Seligman, Ariz., 285
Settons, Yonne river, France, 365
Shoshone, Wyo., 340
Sioule, France, 368
Sodom, N. Y., 307
Solingen, Germany, 396
Swansea, Wales, 403
Sweetwater, Cal., 210, 213
Tansa, Bombay, India, 372
Ternay, France, 363
Thirlmere, Manchester, England, 405
Titicus, N. Y., 306
Tlelat, Sante Barbe, Algiers, 372
Trap Falls, Bridgeport, Conn., 331
Turdine, Tarare, France, 368
Tytam, Hong Kong, China, 388
Upper Otay, Cal., 342
Urft, Aachen, Germany, 395
Val de Infierno, Spain, 358
Verdon, Aix, France, 363 °
Villar Rio Lozoya, Spain, 259
Vingeanne, Baissey, France, 363
Wachusett, Mass., 329
Walnut Canyon, Ariz., 288
Wigwam, Conn., 312
Williams, Ariz., 288
Zola, Aix, France, 362
Maxwell, J. P., 438
Meavy river, England, 403
Meer Allum dam, India, 378
Mekena river, Algiers, 371
Mendocino County, Cal., 545
Mercedes dam, Durango, Mexico, 349
Methods of constructing earth dams, 422

 

INDEX.

Metropolitan Water Board, Mass., 327

‘Mexican dams, 346

Middleton, Reginald, E., 187, 450

Mills, Hiram F., 329

Milner, Idaho, 68, 499

Minidoka, Idaho, 79

Mining dams of masonry under enormous
head, 295

Miodeix dam, Auvergne, France, 368

Miscellaneous data, Chapter VIII, 497

Mission dam of San Diego, Cal., oldest in
State, 213

Models of masonry dams, experiments on
stresses in, 210

“Modern Mexico,” periodical, 349

Modesto canal, Cal., 259

Modesto irrigation district, 259, 262

Mohave river, Cal., 180

Molesworth, Guilford L., 205

Moncrieff, J. C. B., 386

Monegre river, Spain, 357

Montgolfier, M., 363

Morgan, Joseph, 187

Mouche dam, Haute Marne, France, 209,
366

Mountain creek, Selkirk Mountains, B.C.,
192

Mount San Jacinto, 246

Mount Tabor, Portland, Ore., reservoir,
292

Mousam river, Maine, 81

Murphy, E. C., 49

Mulholland, Wm., 174

Mutha river, India (Poona dam), 374

Nagle & Leonard, contractors for Walnut
Grove dam, 55,
Nashua river, Mass., 327
National City, Cal., 215, 229, 231
National School of Engineering, Mexico,
352
Natural reservoirs, 483
Douglas lake, Colo., 491
Fossil Creek, Colo., 492
gravel bed storage, 492
King, Colo., 490
Lake Como, Mont., 484
Lake de Smet, Wyo., 489
Larimer, Wyo., 489
Larimer and Weld reservoir, Colo., 488
Lost Canyon, natural dam, Colo., 494
Loveland, Colo., 488
INDEX.

Natural reservoirs:
Marston lake, Colo., 488
Nee Gronda, Colo., 490
Nee Noshe, Colo., 490
Nee Skah, Colo., 490
Nee Sopah, Colo., 490
Oregon Basin, Wyo., 491
San Bernardino Valley, 493
Twin Lakes, Colo., 484
Upper San Gabriel Valley, Cal., 493
Nazas river, Mexico, 349
Needle gates, Indian River dam, N. Y., 308
New Zealand, Idaburn dam, 82
Newark, N. J., supplied by Cedar Grove
dams, 440
Newell curve of run-off as related to rain-
fall, 426
Newell, F. H., 340
Nicholson, W. D.,454
Nira canal, India, 375
North Bloomfield Mining Co., 67
Northern Pacific Ry., hydraulic-fills on,
193
Norway, Mich., mining dam, under high
head, 296
Nottingham, England, supplied by Der-
went dams, 408
Nuuanu dam, Honolulu, T. H., 136

Oakland, Cal., 89

Oester dam, Germany, 398

Oigawa river, Japan, 540

Olive Bridge dam, Ashokan, N. Y., 305
Oregon Basin reservoir, 491

Orman & Crook, 443

O’Rourke, J. M., & Co., 340

Otay Creek, San Diego Co., Cal., 12
Otay dam, Lower, 12, 60

Ottley, Sir John W., K.C.LE., 212
Outlet pipes, Hauser Lake dam, Mont., 463

Pacoima submerged dam, Cal., 274
Parker, M. 8., 60
Parnahyba, Brazil, 149
dam, Brazil, 409
Parsippany dyke, Boonton dam, N. J., 326
Parsons, Charles F., 302
Parsons, Wm. Barclay, 334
Pasaje, Mexico, 350
Patapsco, Md., reinforced concrete dam,
475
Patoni, Carlos, 356

 

567

Pearson, F. §., Dr.Sc., 149, 152, 409
Pearson, Karl, 210, 212
Pedlar River dam, Lynchburg, Va., 334
Peek, Geo. M., 84
Pelletreau, M., 208
Pennycuick, Cal., 377
Pen-y-Gareg dam, Wales, 405
Percentage of mortar in Mercedes dam,
352
Permeability of soils, experiments on, 445.
Perris, Cal., 247
Periyar dam, India, 376
river, 376
Peruvian dams, 409
Pierce Co., John, 305
Pilarcitos dam, California, 433
Piney Creek, Wyo., 489
Pittsfield dam, Mass., 479
Plantation reservoir cheaply built by-
sluicing, 134
Plasticine models of masonry dams, 212
Plymouth, England, supplied by Burrator-
dam, 403
Port Elizabeth, 8. Africa, 391
Portland, Oregon, concrete dams, 292
Precipitation:
at Bear Valley dam, Cal., 254
at Granite Springs dam, Wyo., 318
at Rowman dam, Cal., 65
at Séo Paulo, Brazil, 151
Catawba river watershed, S. C., 338
Cuyamaca dam, Cal., 1888 to 1896,.
426
in Eastern New Mexico, 52
in Japanese Alps, 543
on Koolau Mountains, Hawaii, 128
on Spring Valley Water Co.’s water~
sheds, 274
record for ten years, Bear Valley,.
Cal., 252
Sweetwater river shed, Cal., 235
Tansa dam watershed, India, 373
Turbio river, Mexico, 346
Prendergast & Clarkson, -341
“Presa de la Ollila,” Guanajuato, Mexico,
349
Principles of hydraulic-fill dam construc-.
tion, 184
Principles of masonry dam designing, 205,.
206
Pumping from bed of Sweetwater reser-.
voir, 235 #
p68

Pumping liquid earth to build a dam, 174,
175

Pumping salt water for sluicing in Seattle,
514

Pumping water for dam _ building by
sluicing, 111, 118, 138, 172, 179

Queis dam, Germany, 398
Quinton, John H., 80

Rafter, Geo. W., 309
Railroad gates for reservoir outlets, 437
Rainfall, sce Precipitation.
Rand Mines, 8. Africa, 391
Rankine, Prof. W. J. M., 205
Record of progress in sluicing, Santo
Amaro dam, Brazil, 538
Reinforcement of concrete dam, Burraga
Australia, 380
Remscheid, Westphalia, Germany, 208,
393
Rennselaer gate-valves, 322
Reservoir capacity:
Agua Fria dam-site, 284
Alicante dam, Spain, 357
Arrowhead Res. Co.’s Little Bear
Valley dam, Cal., 182
Ash Fork dam, Ariz., 282, 455
Ashokan dam, N. Y., 304
Ashti tank, India, 421
Assouan dam, Egypt, 388
Austin dam, Texas, 314
Barossa dam, Australia, 380, 382
Barrett dam, Cal., 30
Basin Creek dam, Butte City, Mont.,
294, 296
Bear Valley dam, Cal., 254
Beetaloo dam, §. Australia, 386
Relle Fourche dam, South Dakota,
442
Belubula dam, Australia, 386
Betwa dam, India, 376
Bhatgur dam, India, 374
Blackbrook dam, England, 402
Boonton dam, N. J., 325
Bousey dam, France, 365
Bowman dam, Cal., 65
Boyd’s Corner dam, N. Y., 308
Bridgeport dam, Conn., 310
Burraga dam, Australia, 379
Burrator dam, England, 405
Cache Ja Poudre dam, Colo., 437

 

INDEX.

Reservoir capacity:

Canistear dam, New Jersey, 439

Cataract dam, Australia, 384

Cedar Grove dams, Newark, N. J., 441

Chartrain dam, France, 365

Cher dam, France, 369

Chumbrumbaukum tank, India, 419

Cold Springs dam, Umatilla, Oregon,
444

Colorado State dams, Colo., 439

Connellsville dam, Pa., 330

Coolgardie dam, Helena river, Aus- *
tralia, 384

Craig Goch dam, Wales, 405

Cross River dam, N. Y., 299

Croton Falls dam, N. Y., 301

Cuyamaca dam, Cal., 426

DeWeese dam, Wet Mt. Valley, Colo.,
325

Djidionia dam, Algiers, 372

Douglas lake, Colo., 491

East Canyon Creek, Utah, 58, 60

Echapré dam, Trance, 369

Einseidel dam, Germany, 395 v

Ekruk tank, India, 419

English dam, Cal., 63

Esperanza dam, Mexico, 527

Eureka Lake dam, Cal., 504

Faucherie dam, Cal., 504

Fossil Creek, Colo., 492

Furens dam, France, 363

Gileppe dam, Belgium, 399

Glenwild dam, New York, 440

Gorzente dam, Italy, 370

Gran Cheurfas dam, Algiers, 372

Granite Springs dam, Wyo., 318

Habra dam, Algiers, 370

Hemet dain, Cal., 246

Hijar dams, Spain, 359

Huarochiri lakes, Peru, 410

Idaburn dam, New Zealand, 82

Indian River dam, N. Y., 309

Johannesburg dam, S. Africa, 393

Kkomotau dam, Austria, 398

Lagolungo dam, Italy, 369

Laguna dam, Mexico, 170

La Jalpa dam, Mexico, 347

Lake Avalon dam, 46

Lake Carpa, Peru, 411

Lake Cheesman dam, Colo., 323

Lake de Smet, Wyo., 489

Lake Frances dam, Cal., 116
INDEX. 569

Reservoir capacity:

Lake Huasca, Peru, 413

Lake McMillan, 50

Lake Quisha, Peru, 411

Lake Sacsa, Peru, 411

La Mesa dam, Cal., 104

Laramie, Wyo., 489

Laramie River dam, Wyoming, 440

Larimer and Weld reservoir, Colo.,
488

Lauchensee dam, Germany, 397

Lennep dam, Germany, 397

Los Reyes dam, Mexico, 171

Lost Canyon dam, Colo., 495

Loveland reservoir, Colo., 489

Mariquina dam, Manila, P. I., 343

Marston lake, Colo., 488 |

Meer Allum dam, India, 379

Mercedes dam, Mexico, 355

Merced- Yosemite reservoir, Cal., 432

Morena dam, Cal., 31

Mudduk Masur tank, India, 419

Necaxa dam, Mexico, 152

New Croton dam, N. Y., 299

Nijar dam, Spain, 358

Nuuanu dam, T. H., 136

Ondenon dam, France, 369

Pacoima submerged dam, 277

Pas du Riot, France, 364

Pathfinder dam, Wyo., 341

Pedlar River dam, Va., 334

Periyar dam, India, 376

Pilarcitos dam, Cal., 434

Poona or Lake Fife dam, India, 374

Portland dams, Ore., 292

Redridge dam, Mich., 458

Remscheid dam, Germany, 393

Rio das Lages dam, Brazil, 408

Roosevelt dam, Ariz., 338

Round Hill dam, Pa., 331

San Andrés dam, Cal., 434

San José dam, Mexico; 533

San Leandro dam, Cal., 90

San Mateo dam, Cal., 268

Sand River dam, 8. Africa, 391

Santo Amaro dam, Brazil, 151

Seligman dam, Ariz., 238, 282

Shoshone dam, Wyo., 341

Silver Lake dam, Cal., 175

Sodom dam, N. Y., 307

Sweetwater dam, Cal., 218, 225, 231

Swink dam, Colo., 177

 

Reservoir capacity:
Tabeaud dam, Cal., 434
table of, mining reservoirs in Califor-
nia, 68
Tansa dam, India, 373
Ternay dam, France, 563
Terrace dam, Colo., 146
Tlelat dam, Algiers, 372
Trap Falls dam, Conn., 331
Turdine dam, France, 368
Twin Lakes, Colo., 484, 485
Tyler dam, Texas, 93
Upper Otay dam, Cal., 342
Victor dam, Colo., 84
Villar dam, Spain, 359
Vyrnwy dam, Wales, 402
Waialua reservoir, Hawaii, 128
Walnut Canyon dam, Ariz., 288
Wigwam dam, Conn., 312
Williams dam, Ariz., 238, 282, 286
Yuba dam, Cal., 172
Zuni dam, N. M., 79
Reservoir capacity, tables of:
Barrett reservoir 555
Bear Valley reservoir, 556
Cuyamaca reservoir, 554
Escondido reservoir, 551
Lake Hemet reservoir, 552
La Mesa reservoir, 562
Little Bear Valley reservoir, 553
Lower Otay reservoir, 551
Morena reservoir, 551
Pauba reservoir, 554
Roosevelt reservoir, 556
Sweetwater reservoir, 553
Upper Otay reservoir, 555
Redridge steel dam, Mich., 456
Reuss, M. G., 364, 369
Reinforced concrete dams at:
Colliers, N. Y., 465
Danville, Ky., 465
Dellwood, Il., 465
Douglas, Wyo., 465
Ellsworth, Maine, 465
Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Can., 465
Gloucester, Mass., 465
Goffston, N. H., 465
Grays, N. Y., 465
Horseshoe, N. Y., 465
Huntingdon, Pa., 465
Ilchester, Md., 465
Newton, Mass., 465
570

Reinforced concrete dams at:
Pittsfield, Mass., 465
Ramapo, N. Y., 465
Ricketts, Pa., 465
Russell, Mass., 465
Schuylerville, N. Y., 465
Sheldon Springs, Vt., 465
Theresa, N. Y., 465
Wilton, N. H., 465
Woodstock, Vt., 465
Woonsocket, R. I., 465
Reyes, Sebastien, 534
Richardson, Thos. F., 330
Ridgway, M. R., 307
Rimac river, Peru, 409
Rio das Lages dam, Brazil, 408
Rio de Janeiro Tramways Light and Power
Co., 408
Riprap on earth portion, Castlewood dam,
Colo., 37
Robinson, Col. E. N. (chief engineer,
Walnut Grove dam), 55
Rockaway river, N. J., 327
Rock-fill dams:
Alfred, Me., dry wall, concrete face,
81
Animas dam, Colo., plank face, 84
Bowman, Cal., 65
Chatsworth Park, Los Angeles Co.,
Cal., 34
classified, 1, 2
East Canyon Creek, Utah, 58
English, Cal. (timber crib), 63, 507
Escondido district, Cal., 2
Eureka Lake dam, Cal., 504
Lake Avalon, N. M., original, 43
reconstruction, 49
Lake McMillan, N. M., 50
Lower Otay, Cal., 60
Milner, Idaho (combination type), 68
Minidoka, Idaho (combination type),
79
Morena, San Diego Co., Cal., 30, 33
Pecos Valley system, N. M., 43
Roswell, Ga., plank face, 82
Victor, Colo., steel face, 83
Waialua dam, Hawaii (combination
type), 127
Walnut Grove, Ariz., 53, 514
Weaver Lake dam, Cal., 504
Zuni, N. M., (combination type), 74
Rock Hill, 8. C., power plant, 336

 

INDEX.

Rogers, J. B., 393
Roland Park, Md., hydraulic-fill dam, 546
Roosevelt dam, Arizona, 338
Roswell, Georgia, 82
Roswell, N. M., 51
Rotten Park dam, England (no core-wall),
449
Round Hill dam, Wilkesbarre, Pa., 331
Run-off:
Agua Fria river, Ariz., estimated, 282
Bear Valley reservoir, estimated, 256
Catawba river, 8. C., 338
Crow Creek, Wyo., 318
Crystal Springs reservoir, San Mateo,
272
Cuyamaca reservoir, 235
Cuyamaca reservoir-basin, 427
Fall Creek, Ithaca, N. Y., 309
Habra river, Algiers, 371
Kaukonahua Gulch, Hawaii, 128
Kern river, Cal., 433
Mercedes dam, Mexico, 355
Nuuanu Valley, Honolulu, 136
of Twin Lakes, Colo., watershed, 484
Sweetwater river, Cal., twenty years’
record, 233
Tansa dam shed, 373
Zuii river, Ariz., 79

Sacramento wash, Ariz., 286
St. Ciergues, France, site of Mouche dam,
367
St. Dionigi, Algiers, 371
Salt river, Ariz., 338
Salts leached out in hydraulic sluicing, 447
San Andrés dam, California, 433
San Bernardino Valley, Cal., 493
San Diego Flume Co.’s diverting weir, 427
San Diego Land and Town Co., 215
San Fernando Valley, Cal., 275, 493
San Gabriel Valley, Cal., 493
San Jacinto Mountains, 238
San Juan Co., Colo., 84
San Leandro, Cal., 89
San Leandro dam, Cal., 89
dam (earth), 89, 188
San Luis Potosi, Mexico, supplied by San
José dam, 534
San Luis Valley, Colo., 139
San Mateo dam, Cal. (concrete), 267
Sand River dam, South Africa, 391
Sand-washing device, Hemet dam, 239
INDEX. 571

Sandeman, Edward, 403
Santa Ana river, Cal., 172
Santa Eulalia river, Peru, 409
Santa Fé Pacific Railway, dams for water-
supply, 282
Santo Amaro dam, Brazil, 146
Sao Paulo, Brazil, 146
Tramways Light and Power Co.,
Brazil, 409
Savage, H. N., 27, 225, 226, 236, 341, 436
Sazilly, M., author of paper on ‘Masonry
Dams in 1853,” 205
Schulze, Oscar, 386
Sears, Walter H., 299, 301
Seattle, Wash., hydraulic dredging at, 201
regrading of city by sluicing, 509
Sedimentation of Sweetwater reservoir in
twelve years, 236
Seligman dam, Ariz., 283
Semur, France, 364
Sengbach dam, Germany, 398
Settons dam, France, 367
Seymour, J. J., 108
Shaler, Ira A., 310
Shaner, H. L., 334
Shear board method of building slopes in
hydraulic-fill dams, 547
Sheepstor (earth) dam, England, 403, 405
Sheet-piling, triple-lap, in Laramie River
dam, 440
Sheffield, England, supplied by Derwent
Valley dams, 408
Sherrerd, M. R., 441
Shirreffs, Reuben, 329
Shoshone dam, Wyo., 340
Shutter, movable, on crest of Folsom dam,
264
Silt carried by various rivers, 315
deposit, Austin dam, Texas, 315
in Alicante dam, Spain, 357
in Mercedes reservoir, Mexico, 356
Silver Lake dam, Los Angeles, Cal., 174
Silverton, Colo., power received from
Animas dam, 84
Sioule dam, France, 368
Six-Mile Creek, Ithaca, N. Y., 302
Slip of a portion of North Dike, Wachu-
sett dam, Mass., 443
Slips in earth dams, common in India, 446
Slips in earth dams in India, 422
Slopes for earth dams proposed by W. L.
Strange, 446

 

Sluice-water supply ditch, 155
Smith, Capt. R. Baird, 417
Smith, Edwin F., 451
Smith, J. Waldo, 299, 301, 305, 327
Smith mechanical concrete mixers, 322
Snake Ravine hydraulic-fill dam s, failure
of, 182
Snake river, Idaho, 68
Sodom dam, N. Y., 307
Solbach dam, Germany, 398
Solingen dam, Germany, 396
Soluble salts a cause of earth slips in
dams, 447
Southern California
Co. 12, 28, 342
South Fork of Eel river, Cal., 545
Spanish dams, 356
Spier Falls dam, N. Y., 301
Spillways of earth dams, lack of sufficient
capacity principal cause of failure,
423
Spring Valley water works, San Fran-
cisco, 267
State prison, Folsom, Cal., 264
Standard Electric Co., 434
Steam-plows for ground-sluicing, 132
Stearns, Frederick P., 305, 329
Steel dams, 453
Ash Fork, Ariz., 453
Hauser Lake, Helena, Mont., 459
Redridge, Mich., 456
Steel sheet-piles for core-walls, 449
Friestedt patent, 462
Stephens, George Henry, 390
Stokes, Frederick W. 8., 390
Stoney roller gates, Assouan dam, 389
Storage reservoirs on Santa Fe Railway,
284
Storrow, Samuel, 497
Strange, William L., 446
Stratification in hydraulic-fill dams, 185
prevention of, 110, 124
Stubden dam, Ireland (no core-wall), 449
Subsidiary weir, Betwa dam, 376
Superiority of hydraulic method, illus-
trated, 540
Susquehanna river power development,
332
Swansea dam, Wales, 403
Sweet, Elnathan, 451
Sweetwater dam, 207, 209,
Sweetwater river, Wyo., 341

Mountain Water
572

Swink, Senator G. W., 177

Swink’s hydraulic-fill dam, Colo., 176

Sydney, N. 8. W., supplied by Cataract
dam, 384 :

Tabor, E. F., 436

Tacoma, Wash., hydraulic filling at, 201

Tahquitz Peak, Hemet watershed, 246

Tait, Wm. A. P., 448

Tansa dam, Bombay, India, 372

Teichman, F., 340

Temperature changes and movements in
masonry dams, 208, 209, 380

Ternay dam, France, 363

Terrace dam, Colo., 139

Tests of strength of andesite stone,
Mexico, 352

Thirlmere dam, England, 405

Tia Juana river, San Diego Co., Cal., 24

Tieté river, Sio Paulo, Brazil, 146, 409

Titicus dam, N. Y., 306

Tonto Creek, Ariz., 338

Torreon, Mexico, 350

Transporting rock by flume, 160

Trap Falls dam, Bridgeport, Conn., 331

Tuolumne river, Cal., 183, 254

Turbio river, Mexico, 346

Turdine dam, France, 368

Turlock Canal, capacity, 257

Turlock irrigation district, 182, 257, 262

Turner, W. T., 410

Twin Falls, Idaho, 499

Twin Falls Landand Water Co., Idaho,
68

Twin Lakes reservoir, Colo., 484

Tyler, Texas, hydraulic-fill dam, 96

Tytam dam, Hongkong, China, 388

Ulley dam, England (no core-wall), 449
and Plate 6

Umatilla, Oregon, irrigation of, U. 5.
Rec. Serv., +414

Umpqua river, Oregon, natural dam, 483

Underflow of Agua Fria river, Ariz., 280

Union Colony of Greeley, Colo., 437

United States Reclamation Service, 49,
79, 338, 340

Urft dam, Germany, 395

Upper Crystal Springs dam, Cal., 449

Utah experiments, Utah Agricultural
College, 202

 

INDEX.

Vacuum on face of dam, relief of, 334

Vale House dam, England (without
puddle-core), 449, and Plate 6

Vallejo dam, California, 422

Value, B. R., 334

Valve, balanced, for reservoir outlet, 62

Valves, wooden, for reservoir outlet, 56

Vehar dam, Bombay, India, 449

Verviers, Belgium, supplied by Gileppe
dam, 399

Vierfontein Water Syndicate, 391

Vigay river, India, 376

Villar dam, Spain, 359

Vingeanne dam, France, 363

Vinolapo river, Spain, site of Elche dam,
358

Vischer, Hubert, 422

Voids in sand, method of determining, 321

Vollmer, George Frederick, 440

Von Segern Canyon, Escondido dam, Cal.,
2

Vosges mountains, Germany, 397

Vyrnwy dam, Wales, 401

Wachusett reservoir, 306, 327
Wade, L. A. B., 385
Wagoner, Luther, 54, 55, 259
Wahiawa Colony, Hawaii, 127
Waialua hydraulic-fill dam, 127
Waianae mountains, Hawaii, 129
Walker, 8. G., 136
Walnut Canyon, masonry dam, Ariz.,
288
Walnut Grove rock-fill dam, Ariz., 53
dam, wooden facing of, 55
Walzl, John H., 547
Warner’s Ranch, Cal., 5
Water cushion:
Betwa dam, India, 376
Castlewood dam, 37
Sweetwater dam, 227, 229
Vir weir dam, India, 375
Water-plane through earth dams with
core-walls, found by Commission
reporting on New Croton dam, 451
Water power of Peruvian rivers, +15
Waterbury, Conn., 312
Watershed areas tributary to:
Austin dam, Texas, 314
Ash Fork steel dam, Ariz., 455
Barrett reservoir, Cal., 28, 30, 33
Bear Valley dam, Cal., 254
INDEX.

Watershed areas tributary to:
Bowman dam, Cal., 19
Castlewood reservoir, Colo., 36
Catawba river, 8. C., 338
Chatsworth Park, Cal., 36
Cuyamaca reservoir, Cal., 233
Habra river, Algeria, 370
Hemet dam, Cal., 246
Hijar dams, Spain, 359
Lake Avalon and Lake MeMillan
dams, N. M., 52
Lynx Creek dam, Ariz., 290
Merced river, Yosemite reservoir, 432
Morena reservoir, Cal., 33
Nuuanu reservoir, Honolulu, 136
Old Crystal Springs reservoir, 274
Pacoima Creek, 273
Periyar river, India, 377
Pilarcitos and San Andrés reservoirs,
274
Round Hill dam, Pa., 331
San Mateo Creek, 266
Seligman reservoir, Ariz., 287
Sodom dam, N. Y., 307
Sweetwater dam, Cal., 233
Tansa dam, India, 373
Wachusett dam, Mass., 327
Walnut Canyon dam, Ariz., 238
Walnut Grove dam, Hessayampa
river, Ariz., 58
Williams dam, Ariz., 238
Zorillo Creek, Mercedes dam, Mexico,
349 ;
Zuni reservoir, 79
Wegmann, Edward, 205, 356, 398
Weight of Ash Fork steel dam, 455
Welles, A. M., 42
Wells, L. W., 94
Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co., 336
Wet Mountain Valley, Colo., 325

 

573

Wever, Benj. 8., 306

Wheatland, Wyo., 440

Whiting, J. E., 375

Wigwam dam, 312

Wilcocks, Sir William, 390

Wiley & Lewis., Inc., 497

Wiley, A. J., 317

Wiley, W. H., 491

Wiley, Wyoming, 491

Wilkesbarre, Pa., 331

Willamette river, Oregon, 292

Williams, C. G., 334

Williams dam, masonry, Ariz., 288

Williams, Prof. Gardner 8., 302

Wilson, H. M., 57, 205, 209, 372, 373, 377,
419, 421, 450

Wilson, John Sigismund, 212

Winston & Co., 299

Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Co., 455, 458,
459

Wooden dam, 503

Wooden-stave pipe, 296

Woodward, Silas H., 323

Wright irrigation district law, 2

Wyrill, R. H., 403

Yarrow dam, England, earth, with pud-
dle-core, 449
Yelwand river, India (Bhatgur dam), 374
Yorba hydraulic-fill dam, Cal., 172
Yuba river, Cal., Middle Fork, 63
North Fork, 115
South Fork, 65

Zola dam, 207, 210, 362

Zorillo Creek, Mexico, 349

Zorn, G. W., 491

Zui dam (combination rock-fill, hydrau-
lie-fill), 74

Zuni Indian Reservation, N. M., 74
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