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The Water Power of Texas. 
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section is approximately trapezoidal in shape, measuring three feet on 
top, about ten feet at the base, and averaging twelve feet in height. It 
is founded on solid limestone. The head obtained by this dam is prac- 
tically constant and amounts to ten feet. The machinery consists of a 
Warren 30-kilowatt alternating dynamo and a 6-ton ice machine, which 
are run by 44-inch Leffel turbines; the one operating the ice machine 
giving twenty horse power with the gate partly open, and the one oper- 
ating the dynamo giving thirty horse power with a full gate opening. 
The turbine that operates the ice machine runs only fourteen hours a day 
in the summer only, and the electric light turbine fourteen hours per day 
the year round. A fifty horse power emergency engine is also installed 
in the power house, but has never, as vet, been used. 
At Castroville, Joseph Courand has erected a stone dam across the 
Medina river. The dam is 250 feet long, eight feet high, with ah effect- 
ive fall of eight feet. The power generated by a 35-inch Leffel turbine 
is used to operate a gin and mill. The Medina often stops flowing during 
the dry seasons and an auxiliary steam plant is used during periods of 
no flow. 
SA]ST ANTONIO AND SAN PEDRO SPRINGS. 
The San Antonio river rises about three miles north of the mission of 
San Fernando, which is the geographical center of the city. To better 
control and utilize the water of the San Antonio, two canals, an upper 
and a lower, were constructed in 1878 and 1881. A power house was 
built on each canal, called, respectively, the upper and the lower power 
house. The fall at the upper power house is about seven feet, and that at 
the lower twelve, while that at Guenther’s upper and lower mills is three 
and one-half feet and six feet, respectively. The dam at Guenther’s 
upper mill is shown in Fig. 2. 
The San Antonio river became so low in 1896 that the water power 
was abandoned. Previous to this, in 1895, an auxiliary steam plant of 
130-horse power was installed at the lower power house. The water at 
these power stations was pumped from artesian wells — one 12-inch being 
located at the upper station, and one 12-inch and three 8-inch wells 
being located at the lower power house. In 1891 a steam and electric 
power plant was constructed on the banks of the river, near Commerce 
street, at which there are four 9 -inch and three 12 -inch wells. An indi- 
cation of the stage of the underground water can be obtained from the 
water level in the standpipes at the waterworks on Commerce street and 
at the lower power house. The artesian wells at these works are con- 
nected to standpipes some fifty feet high. The following table shows the 
heights to which the water rose at the respective plants : 
