Water Power on the 
 
 Santiam River 
 
 £. H. McAlister, Dean of the College 
 of Engineeriag, University of Oregon 
 
 New /eries Volume 2 No. 1 
 
 Univmity of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 Published Bi-Monthly by the University of Oregon. 
 Entered January 2, 1904, at Eugene, Oregon as Second 
 Class Matter, under act of Congress of July > 6 , 1894. 
 
 NOVEMBER, 1904 
 
 
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 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 
 
 
WATER POWER 
 
 ON THE 
 
 SANTIAM RIVER 
 
 E.H. McAlister 
 
 tDean of the College of Engineering 
 University of Oregon 
 

 
 
 
 ; 
 
LIBRARY 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS 
 
ROCK GORGE AT NIAGARA. 
 
 ROCKY GORGE A FEW MILES ABOVE NIAGARA. 
 
Water Power on the Santiam River 
 
 EXPLANATORY NOTE, 
 
 This Bulletin, No. i, Vol. II., of the new Series, is the 
 third industrial bulletin issued by the University. The 
 first was entitled ‘‘Water Power on the McKenzie River,” 
 and contained also “Botanical Notes” gathered by Profes- 
 sor Sweetser at the same time with the hydrographic 
 survev. 
 
 The second was entitled “Mineral Resources and Min- 
 eral Industries of Oregon,” prepared by Professor O. F. 
 Stafford, of the Department of Chemistry. No more 
 copies of the first bulletin remain for distribution, the 
 issue of 700 copies having been exhausted some time 
 since. 
 
 In the first bulletin referred to, the announcement was. 
 made that the University had entered upon tl e poliev of 
 gathering carefuR and reliable data as to the industrial 
 resources of the state, and the reasons therefor were 
 set forth at some length. It i^ unnecess'^ry here to repeat 
 the explanation in full, but the following extract will 
 perhaps be pertinent : 
 
 “It is believed that the University, while increasiri2- its 
 store of useful knowledge for the immediate benefit of 
 its courses of instruction, can contribute materially to 
 the industrial development of the state; and this too at 
 a minimum of expense, since it already has an organized 
 corps of men, well trained in their specialties, receiving 
 
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 University af Oregon Bulletin 
 
 a regular salary, and having a very considerable equip- 
 ment of field instruments, apparatus and laboratory fa- 
 cilities. While it is true that this force is not primarily 
 organized for the purpose of gathering information, it is 
 also true that its organization and equipment are exactly 
 of the kind required for such a purpose, and since no 
 specific organization has been provided in the state, or 
 could be provided without a very large initial outlay, the 
 University feels under obligation to do what its resources 
 will permit,' in making the largest possible return to the 
 state for the cost of its equipment and maintenance. 
 
 “In a word, then, the policy of the University under 
 which this survey was begun is simply this: To better 
 its courses of instruction for students, and also to serve 
 as helpfully and fully as it may its wider clientele, • the 
 citizens of Oregon.” 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 As a part of the general scheme of gathering industrial 
 data, the hydrographic survey herein described was un- 
 dertaken to investigate the available water power of the 
 Santiam River. This river forms the boundarv between 
 the counties of Linn and Marion, and has its source in the 
 snow banks that cover the slopes of Mt. Jefiferson, flow- 
 ing westerly a distance of seventy odd miles to its con- 
 fluence with the Willamette some eight or ten miles 
 below Albany. 
 
 The survey covered a stretch of about 24 miles of th-. 
 river, from a half mile above the abandoned railroad 
 station Idanha, to Mill City. It is believed that the 
 earliest developments of power on the Santiam are likely 
 to be along the portion surveyed. 
 
 For most of the 24 miles, the river flows through a 
 narrow canyon, with only infrequent “flats” of small 
 area — it has nothing that could be called a valley. The 
 slopes of the canyon generally run sheer to the river, 
 without the intervention of any level bottom land such as 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 wi^Hlffiding from 
 
 University of lllino'is Ur&alia-bliampaign Alternates 
 
 https://archive.org/details/waterpoweronsantOOmcal 
 
VIEW SHOWING GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SANTIAM — 
 ROCKY BANKS AND NARROW CANYON. 
 
 T.IANSITS ITSKD OX THE SKRYEY — THE SECONDARY TELESCOPE ON THE 
 SMALLIH-: IXSTRLMCNT ISA SOLAR ATTACHMENT WHICH WAS REMOVED 
 
University of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 5 
 
 is usually found along most streams. These slopes are 
 in the main covered with timber, much of it valuable; 
 in fact the lumber industry, with its necessary concomi- 
 tants, is practically the sole dependence for the support 
 both of the population and of the railroad. 
 
 With few if any exceptions, the banks of the stream 
 are either solid rock or gravel so firmly cemented with 
 clay and iron that it stands at a nearly vertical slope 
 from 20 to 40 feet in height. Naturally, under these 
 circumstances, the lateral erosion of the stream is small 
 — the river simply cuts its channel deeper without cutting 
 the banks to any considerable extent. It appears prob- 
 able that in past ages there may have been several falls 
 along this portion of the river, but at the present time 
 the water has cut a narrow, deep and sometimes tortuous 
 channel through the rock. In some of these places the 
 channel is not over 20 feet wide, and in at least one 
 place (at Niagara), it is less than 10 feet wide. 
 
 While there are numberless little creeks and rills flow- 
 ing into the Santiam, the only tributaries of any individ- 
 ual consequence between Idanha and Mill City are^ the 
 Breitenbush and Blowout Creeks, of which some men- 
 tion will be made later on. 
 
 The survey involved four kinds of work; Leveling, to 
 determine the elevation of the river surface from point 
 to point, the amount of fall between any two points be- 
 ing directly shown by the difference of elevation ; a tran- 
 sit traverse, showing the windings of the stream bed and 
 distances along the bank ; astronomical observations for 
 the correction of azimuths carried forward by the tran- 
 sit; measurements of the stream flow, or the number of 
 cubic feet of water passing a given section of the river 
 in a second of time. This work was divided as follows: 
 The leveling was done by Mr. C. F. Rhodes, of the class 
 of 1905, assisted by Mr. Carl McClain, ’06. The transit 
 traverse was made by Mr. Percy P. Adams, instructor 
 in the Department of Civil Engineering, assisted by Mr. 
 
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 University of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 J. A. Gamber, ’02, Registrar of the University, and Mr. 
 A. R. Tiffany, ’06. In the stream measurements all 
 members of the party assisted in building rafts, when 
 necessary, stretching the rope across the river, making 
 soundings, etc., while in the velocity measurements, Mr. 
 Rhodes manipulated the current meter, the writer noted 
 the record of the electric sounder and stop watch, and 
 Mr. Adams recorded the results. The astronomical ob- 
 servations were taken at night by the writer, assisted by 
 Mr. Adams. During the day, the writer, as chief of 
 party, exercised general supervision over the entire work 
 and carried on such reconnoissance work as seemed nec- 
 essary. The task of reducing the field notes and making 
 the necessary calculations was borne chiefly by Mr. 
 Adams, who also drew the map. The methods of field 
 work were substantially the same as described in the ap- 
 l^endix to the McKenzie Bulletin, and need not be 
 described here. 
 
 RESULTS OF THE SURVEY. 
 
 The main results of the survey are shown on the fold- 
 ing map and profile following the text. The profile of 
 the river surface shows the elevations above sea level 
 of the points designated, the elevations being given in 
 feet and tenths. The elevations stated are those obtained 
 at the time of the survey. The actual elevations of 
 course fluctuate with the rise and fall of the river, but 
 for the most part the profile would be parallel to the one 
 given. At times of flood, however, the shaoe of the profile 
 would be more or less altered, since the river rises most 
 in places where the channel is narrow and confined, while 
 in places where the channel widens out the rise may be 
 several feet less. The fall between any two points may be 
 found from the profile by simply taking the difference 
 
University of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 7 
 
 of elevation at those points and the distance along the 
 river may be counted on the vertical lines, which are one 
 mile apart. These distances are the actual distances 
 measured along the winding course of the stream. Cor- 
 responding points on the map and profile are marked by 
 consecutive numbers. 
 
 Stream measurements were made at three places, the 
 first a half mile above Detroit, the second below the 
 mouth of Blowout Creek, and the third just above Mill 
 City. These measurements consist of soundings taken at 
 intervals across the stream bed, together with measure- 
 ments of the velocity of the water at numerous points 
 in the cross-section of the stream, the velocities being 
 taken with a standard current meter having an electric 
 attachment to indicate the number of revolutions of the 
 wheel in a given time, noted by a stop-watch. The dis- 
 charge of the stream at the points mentioned was found 
 
 to be as follows : 
 
 Cubic feet 
 per second 
 
 Above Detroit 1228 
 
 Below Blowout Creek 1899 
 
 At Mill City 2191 
 
 Those who wish to know the flow in miner’s inches 
 may multiply the above numbers by 50, obtaining re- 
 spectively 61,400, 94,950 and 109,550 miner’s inches. 
 
 As the Breitenbush and Blowout Creek are the 
 principal tributaries between tl e first and second meas- 
 urements, it will be seen that these two streams carried 
 together something over 600 cubic feet per second. 
 
 These measurements made early in the summer, during 
 the latter half of June, do not represent quite the ex- 
 treme low water flow of the stream, but they give what 
 may be called the average summer flow ; for the Santiam, 
 like other streams fed by eternal snow peaks, does not 
 markedly decrease in flow during the summer, though 
 there is of course a slight diminution. 
 
8 
 
 University of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 POSSIBILITIES OF THE SANTIAM. 
 
 It will be noted from the profile that the total fall of 
 the river in the 24 miles surveyed is nearly 900 feet. 
 This, in connection with the three discharge measure- 
 ments, shows that the total energy of the stream for the 
 24 miles is the equivalent in round numbers of 175,000 
 horse power continuously exerted. It would of course 
 be impracticable to develop the whole of this power, but 
 probably 100,000 horse power could be economically de- 
 veloped in a series of plants varying from 5000 to 10,000 
 horse power each, or any smaller amount. In one place, 
 at least, a 15,000 horse power plant would be possible. 
 
 As to the methods of development, a consideration of 
 the character of the river canyon, as already described, 
 would indicate that canals of any considerable size and 
 length would generally be out of the question, on ac- 
 count of the expense of excavation. Possibly in two or 
 three places canals of moderate length and size might 
 be practical, but certainly such instances are very rare. 
 
 For any large plant, a high dam, controlling the en- 
 tire flow of the stream, would seem to be the best solu- 
 tion. Fortunately, there are several places which are 
 almost ideal dam sites. Unfortunately, some of them 
 cannot be utilized to the full extent of their natural ad- 
 vantages without flooding the railroad and involving a 
 large expense for relocation. This is of course not the 
 fault of the railroad, for’ like all other railroads, it was 
 laid out to secure the best attainable grades, without 
 reference to the then remote possibility of power develop- 
 ment. However, dams of from 30 to 50 feet in height 
 could be constructed without, flooding the railroad, and 
 at a very moderate expense, owing to the extreme nar- 
 rowness of the channel and the solid rock on sides and 
 bottom. Such dams would afford a sufflcient head and 
 
ROCK GORGE AND LOG JAM ABOVE PORTION OF UNCOMPLETED DAM 
 
 SARDINE CREEK AT NIAGARA. 
 
LIBRARY . 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS 
 
University of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 9 
 
 volume for plants of from 5^^ 8000 or 9000 horse 
 
 power. At Niagara the height of dam could be about 80 
 feet without interfering with the railroad, and probably 
 without doing any material damage to other property. 
 This would give a plant of about 15000 horse power. The 
 Niagara site is in many respects not the best one natur- 
 ally, but it has the advantage mentioned, over sites far- 
 ther up the river. At several of the sites referred to, the 
 curved or arched type of dam, like the Bear Valley dam 
 in California, would be practicable and efifect a great 
 saving of masonry over the ordinary straight type of 
 gravity dam. 
 
 For smaller plants, say up to 2000 horse power, either 
 low dams affording a large volume under a small head, 
 or wooden flumes, headed by short diversion canals, af- 
 fording a smaller volume under a greater head, would 
 seem advisable. The cost of fluming would nowhere 
 be extraordinary, as there is an abundance of timber, saw 
 mills, and a railroad for transportation. For this method 
 of development, reference to the profile will show many 
 stretches where the fall exceeds 40 feet per mile, and in 
 one instance runs up to 70 feet. A list of these places 
 has been prepared, but reference to the profile is so easy 
 that it seems unnecessary to print the list. 
 
 Doubtless ingenuity could devise other methods of 
 development than those mentioned, but these seem to 
 be the ones most naturally suggested by the conditions. 
 
 Attention should perhaps be called to Blowout Creek 
 as a possible site for a high-head development. This 
 creek is said to come from a lake which is at no great 
 distance from the river, but at a very considerable eleva- 
 tion above the river. Opportunity for an investigation of 
 this matter did not present itself during the course of 
 the survey, nor were the possibilities of the Breitenbush 
 examined. 
 
 The only water power development so far existing on 
 this portion of the river is at Mill City, where a short 
 
10 
 
 University of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 ditch afifords power for a saw mill. Some money has 
 been spent at Niagara in constructing a portion of a 
 dam, but the work has been abandoned. 
 
 ' " In Bulletin No. 3, some remarks were made as to the 
 possibility of a market for electricity generated by 
 water power at favorable sites and transmitted to the 
 valley. The same remarks apply to the case of the 
 Santiam. Judging from recent developments, the profit- 
 able nature of the trolley line appears to be pretty thor- 
 oughly appreciated, and doubtless factories operated by 
 electric power generated in the mountain streams will 
 soon follow the trolley. With the abundance of water 
 power which the state possesses, there is small excuse for 
 paying transcontinental freight on manufactured articles. 
 
 One other point needs repeated emphasis. The desir- 
 ability of electric heating along with electric lighting has 
 long been re.cognized, but so far the appliances seem un- 
 satisfactory. Here is the possibility of an enormous con- 
 sumption of electricity, and genuine progress in our 
 home life. 
 
 Considering the vastness of the possible market, this 
 matter appears not to have received the attention which 
 it deserves, and it would seem desirable for those finan- 
 cially interested to stimulate progress in this line. Our 
 water power can give us cheap electricity in our homes: 
 let the electricians perfect an economical and satisfactory 
 heating appliance. 
 
 In concluding this report, it may be said that the 
 Santiam oflfers many advantages in the way of water 
 power development. Some of these have been set forth, 
 but not the least is the fact that a railroad already runs u]) 
 the river and would greatly lessen the cost of transpor- 
 tation of machinery, cement and other materials required 
 in the construction of a power plant. Probably there is 
 no other stream in this part of the state where plants of 
 the capacities herein stated could be installed at so low 
 
WYK I.KVEI. AND CUK’DKNT METERS 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS- 
 
University of Oregon Bulletin 
 
 11 
 
 a cost. In the future progress of the middle VVillaniette 
 \^alley the water power of the Santiam, electrically trans- 
 mitted, is bound to prove an important factor. 
 
^f6d7./