University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

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26 THE REDWOOD Hydro-Electric Development in California By Robert E. Grady, B. S. in E. E. ' 23. HEN we analyze the great development of natural resources that is the basis of present prosperity and the promise of the future Cali- fornia, the factors that contribute to this worthy accomplishment stand out more clearly. California was favored by the Creator with natural advantages which lead us logically to conclude that our Golden State was de- signed to be something out of the ordinary. The mountain ranges to the east with their snow-capped peaks, deep canyons, and rushing torrents, affording an inexhaustible supply of water power; broad, fertile interior valleys with large rivers fed from the melting snows ; and extended seacoast with splendid harbors as an outlet to commerce and an incentive to industry : all form a nat- ural basis for advanced civilization. Our present excellent development is the product of the combined efforts of many men. Pioneers of initiative and courage, having a clear vision of the future, set in motion forces which have built from humble beginnings the great systems of to-day. As a result the history of the hydroelectric industry in California might well be called the history of the industry itself. In California our power does not consist of great waterfalls like Niagara, but is produced from rushing streams in deep mountain gorges. A stream is diverted from its course and conveyed by canal and tunnel to some point where a drop of from several hundred to possibly three or four thousand feet is obtained to the power house below. The water falling from this height through large steel pipes applies its accumulated energy to the waterwheel driving the generator, is released, and may be used several times in a similar manner during its course through the mountains. In the northern part of the state the peculiar geological formation known as the Modoc Lava Beds, which is in reality a great underground reservoir, gives rise to a number of spring fed streams of which the principal ones are the Pit River and its trib- utaries, supplying the Sacramento River to the west, and the Feather River which flows to the south and later also enters the Sacramento. Streams of this type require no large storage reservoirs with costly dams, and the dis- charge is not affected by heavy floods, giving most favorable conditions for the development of a constant supply of power. In the south where the run- off from extensive watersheds is the principal source of supply, reservoirs and dams are required for conservation, but the additional cost is lowered by tho use of water for irrigation after the development of power. The lack of coal that at first appeared to doom California ' s advancement proved ultimately to be the greatest good fortune that our state could have had. In the east an abundant supply of coal developed an extensive system of costly steam plants, and now, in view of a coal shortage and the greater economy of water power, they are facing a serious problem in the transition from steam to hydraulic power that the west has happily avoided. Necessity

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THE REDWOOD 25 the early part of the war, he was brutally slain at night. No doubt this mar- tyrdom was in answer to his earnest prayer. His name now belongs on the roster of those who live venerated from age to age. It matters not how many years ago they lived, the records of their lives are like lamps shining upon us from the past. Charles de Foueauld may one day be raised high on the altars of the church. To Cordelia By Donald J. Pierr, ' 25. Poor outcast child of vain and fretful Lear, Thy sisters gilded words did mock the heart; Thou hadst the truth. Thou couldst not play a part Of flatt ' ring favor with a tainted tear. Blind Justice, needed at a time so drear When honied phrases reigned, forgot her art. That father cast thy love upon the mart And to thy truthful plea turned not his ear. Yet when the clouds of ill-begotten power Broke over him who ill had done to thee. Thou, loving spirit, from across the sea Didst come to save that feeble, maddened head, And there received thy last and fateful dower. Cordelia ' s love still lives, Cordelia dead!

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THE REDWOOD 27 has prompted the development of our water resources from the beginning. This accounts for the rapid advancement of the west and has given us clean, healthy, and prosperous cities with abundant power conveyed from the dist- ant mountains over great steel transmission lines. Truly California is a land of clear skies and beautiful sunsets, and where can one turn to the Golden West at dusk and not see the outline of one or more tower lines of energy crossing the dimly lighted horizon? The gold rush in the early fifties brought to California men who built wonderful dams in the high Sierras, and constructed marvelous ditches and flumes in the inaccessible cliffs to bring water down to the foothills for wash- ing out the precious metal from the earth. These men, without knowing it, laid the foundations of water power development, for without their primitive efforts it is improbable that we would have attained the advancement of to- day. As the mining enterprise developed, water was applied to crude wheels to provide power for working and crushing the ore. A most interesting his- tory is connected with the early development of the water wheel for power. A miner named Pelton, having a wheel of this type from which he obtained energy by causing a jet of water to strike against wooden buckets on the cir- cumference of a wheel, left, it is said, to administer punishment to a cow which had vexed him by her bellowing. On returning he found that the wheel had slipped to one side, so that the jet now struck the inside edge of the bucket instead of the center, and the wheel was running much faster and giving more power than before. This demonstrated the principle which led to the development of the Pelton water wheel, practically doubling the power that could be obtained from the water. The industrial growth of our cities gave a great demand for power, and the steam generating companies, seeking to meet this demand, turned to water power development, constructing new plants and purchasing those already in operation. This entry of the consolidated companies into the hydroelectric field established confidence, contributed strong organizations of personnel to guide and direct through centralized management, and established a perma- nency that made possible the rapid rise of the electrical industry. As addi- tional water power was made available the steam plants were closed down, except in times of large demand, and are now being used for stand by service, with the possibility, in time, of their being eliminated from the power systems entirely. The outgrowth of the power systems, clearly shown by the overloading necessary to supply centers of large demand, has led to the undertaking of projects of such magnitude as to be classified as superpower developments. Years of study, research, and investigation resulted in a solution of the prob- lem of connecting places of large demand with constant sources of large power by high voltage transmission. The year 1921 was notable as marking the first extensive construction work on these new projects such as the Pit River, the Feather River, and the Big Creek developmnts. Of these the Pit River pro- ject is the outstanding feature, due to its magnitude and long distance trans- mission of energy at 220,000 volts, while the Big Creek development is dis-