8 
Transactions Texas Academy of Science. 
[ 54 ] 
Commerce Street. 
Upper Power House. 
Date. 
Height. 
Date. 
Height. 
May, 1893 
42.10 feet. 
Jan. 
1, 1900. ... 
1.8 feet. 
Dec. 6, 1897 
33 80 feet. 
Feb. 
1, 1900 
6.76 feet. 
April, 1898 
31.60 feet. 
Mar. 
1, 1900 .... 
13.76 feet. 
April 29, 1900 
43.00 feet. 
April 
1, 1900 
13.77 feet. 
Mav 1, 1900 
44 10 feet. 
May 
1, 1900 
15.57 feet. 
May 5, 1900 
45.10 feet. 
May 
24, 1900 
18.74 feet. 
May 9, 1900 
46.20 feet. 
June 
1, 1900 
17.99 feet. 
May 22, 1900 
47.10 feet. 
July 
1, 1900 
14.65 feet. 
Aug. 
1, 1900 
12.76 feet. 
Sept. 
8, 1900 
12.10 feet. 
Oct. 
1. 1900 
11.47 feet. 
Nov. 
1, 1900 
11.38 feet. 
Dec. 
1, 1900 
10.51 feet. 
The San Antonio river has had an eventful history. About 1895 it 
began to fail, and by the latter part of 1897 the flow above the city had 
entirely ceased. The following table of measurements gives its history : 
Date. 
Dec., 1895 
Nov., 1896 
Dec., 1897 
Mar., 1898 
June, 1899 
Sept., 1900 
Sept. 19, 1900 
Oct. 31, 1901 
Flow in Second-feet. 
San Pedro. 
River. 
Total. 
9 
12 
40 
29 
49 
41 
11a 
9a 
10a 
125 
103 
41 
9 
94 
Locality. 
Hydrogra- 
plier. 
Canal 
C. C. Babb. 
dan n,l 
C. C. Babb. 
T. II. Taylor. 
T. U. Taylor. 
T. IJ. Taylor. 
T. U. Taylor. 
T. U. Taylor. 
T. U. Taylor. 
Hot, Wells.... 
Hot Wells.... 
Hot Wells.... 
Hot Wells.... 
Canal 
Hut Wells.... 
There are in all four dams across the San Antonio river within the 
city limits : ( 1 ) The upper power house, fed by upper canal where the 
head is seven feet ; (2) the lower power house, fed also by a canal where 
the fall is twelve feet; (3) Guenther’s upper mill, where the fall is three 
and one-half feet; and (4) Guenther’s lower mill, where the fall is six 
feet. The fall from the upper power house to the lower Guenther’s mill 
is — — feet. At this date (February, 1902) the upper power house is 
not used on account of lack of water. Its equipment consisted of two Ris- 
don turbines, forty-three and sixty inches in diameter, with vents of 220 
and 425 square inches. The lower power house has one Hercules 33-inch 
double capacity turbine and one 43-incli single capacity Risdon turbine. 
At present the water is held back in the big canal above the lower power 
house for twelve hours and then used for twelve hours through the wheel 
with gate one-third open. The intimate connection between the artesian 
wells and the river has been conclusively proven. A few years ago. a 
series of stakes were driven in the still waters of the head lake and the 
height of the water marked thereon. The artesian wells were then all 
turned on and let run for twenty-four hours. The level of the water in 
the head lake or pond of the river had fallen two and one-half inches. 
