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The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised


Medford Water
MEDFORD WATERSHED PROTECTED
    For the protection of Medford's million-dollar water system, the federal government has purchased approximately 6000 acres of land in the Butte Creek section from private holders, it was announced today by Karl L. Janouch, supervisor of the Rogue River National Forest.
    Supervisor Janouch pointed out that the land purchase now protects the sources from which the water enters the main stream. The land was bought from the Owen-Oregon Lumber Company, he said.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 8, 1934, page 3


MOUNTAIN SPRING IN EVERY HOME
IS MEDFORD'S BOAST
Waters Gushing Forth at Base of Mt. McLoughlin
Never See Light Until Released from Faucet.
    Medford's "Million Dollar Water Supply" places it in an enviable position. Every fountain in the city is a proof of this statement and carries its message to all that nowhere are people blessed with water more deliciously cool and pure. "A Mountain Spring in Every Home" is a thoughtful description of what local citizens have provided for themselves in the Big Butte Springs water supply.
    The permanent purity of the water was the first consideration in selection of the Big Butte Springs, and in the design and construction of the system no expense was spared to keep the supply generous and undefiled.
Comes from Spring
    Gushing from among mossy rocks in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains adjoining Crater National Forest, the "sparkling water" ripples forth crystal clear, and is trapped in all its purity by a concrete collection gallery and led to the pipeline intake, where it flows 31 miles southwest to Medford. The water emerges from every faucet in the city with the same glistening highlights and sparkle that it gathers as it filters down to Big Butte Springs through lava beds from the snows that tap ancient Mt. McLoughlin. Some rare mineral content which defies detection in the most exacting chemical analysis, yet captivates the eye and imagination of the drinker, gives the water its beautiful crystalline sparkle.
    The supply system was completed July 1, 1927, and visions of green lawns and beautiful flowers throughout the city during the hot months, and a happy and healthy Medford populace, were realized.
Purity Absolute
    The permanent purity of Big Butte Springs is placed beyond possible suspicion by rigid tests repeated twice monthly by the Oregon State Board of Health. The report received always confirms the absolute purity of the water. Combined with a refreshingly low temperature, even after it has been carried 31 miles through specially constructed pipelines of steel properly preserved against corrosion and temperature change, the water comes to the citizens of Medford as the very ultimate beverage.
    Daylight never reaches its crystal clearness from the time it ripples out of the springs until it reaches Medford homes. The temperature of the water at the springs is 43 degrees Fahrenheit, and as it sparkles from the city fountain, 52 degrees.
Enough for 30,000
    The sufficiency of the supply is such that it will afford 400 gallons per capita for a population of approximately 30,000, and additional pipeage may be constructed to supply a population of nearly 60,000 people. When that demand is reached, as it surely will be with all the attractions of the surrounding valley, this perfect supply of cool, crystal water will still be one of Medford's greatest charms.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 4, 1934, page B7


REMINISCENCES OF MEDFORD WATER SYSTEMS
By an Old Timer
    Looking back over the nearly forty years I have had contact with the various water systems of the city of Medford, I am wondering at the patience the people of that city have shown through the years. When I first landed in Medford in the fall of 1908, one of the first things I saw was a huge water tower on West Main Street in the block west of the city park where the city library now stands. It was a wooden tower with a very dilapidated appearance. When I inquired as to where the city well was I was told that there was no well but that the city water was pumped from Bear Creek. The pumping plant was on the banks of the creek a short distance above the bridge not far from where Valentine's Cafe now stands [at 5 South Riverside].
    I and my family were fortunate in not having to use this water to any great extent for the first two years of our residence in the city, as our next-door neighbor had a good well and we carried what we needed from there. I believe it was in 1910 that the first water main was laid on South Fir Street where we lived and we began to use city water. [The 1910 Medford city directory lists A. E. Powell's address as 528 South Fir.] By this time the city had put in a new water system, which was known as the Fish Lake system. This was a great improvement over the Bear Creek pumping system, both as to quantity and quality. In fact we got away from the stigma of having every public restroom in Ashland carrying signs telling users to "Pull the chain. Medford needs the water."
    If you will look at the map of Jackson County you will note that the North Fork of Little Butte Creek is the outlet of Fish Lake. Anyone who has ever driven up that canyon knows that the water plunges downgrade very rapidly for the first twelve miles or so--in fact the falls are so thick that the water is mostly foam! This has a tendency to aerate the water and take away the stagnant taste usually found in lake water. From the intake on the Hanley Ranch the water was brought to the city in a large redwood pipe. The water wasn't half bad, although it got quite warm where it crossed the "desert." I believe the old pipe is still being used to bring water for irrigation purposes for the Rogue River Valley Irrigation Company.
    This water system was still in use when I moved away from the valley in 1920. I was gone for five years in other parts of the state, and when I returned to my old home in 1925 I found to my delight that during my absence the city had once more put in a new water system--the present one. [Medford citizens passed the bond measure for the Big Butte Springs water system in 1925, but the water didn't arrive at Medford taps until July 1, 1927.] A bond issue of one million dollars had been voted by the people of the city; the city charter had been amended and the present water commission set up, with all the powers usually belonging to any other municipal corporation.
    The city had acquired the land adjacent to the Big Butte Springs above Butte Falls. Here some three or four huge springs boil out of the earth very close together. A concrete basin was built about these springs roofed over with a concrete roof to avoid any possibility of any foreign matter getting into the pipeline. From this concrete basin the water is brought to the city in a huge steel pipe buried deep in the ground. The water at the springs is very cold and even after being conveyed some forty miles in this pipe is delivered to the consumer at a temperature of about 55 degrees. The pressure in the downtown district is about 90 pounds, while in some parts of the city it is as high as 110 pounds. The present pipeline will only carry about one-fourth of the water which boils from the big springs. Thus all that would be required to bring down more water in case the demand should exceed the present supply would be to build another pipeline to the springs.
    Thus the city of Medford has the distinction of having one of the finest water systems of any city in the United States. Pure, soft water--so soft and free from mineral content that it may safely be used in storage batteries instead of distilled water--brought down from the mountains by gravity. Truly, a "mountain spring in every home."
    Since the installation of this wonderful water system the city of Medford has enjoyed a very rapid growth. Whether having such a water system had anything to do with this growth is any man's guess, but it no doubt helped. Today this water is used by the Berrydale Water District, the Oakdale Water District and the city of Eagle Point, as well as Camp White, which has a contract with the city of Medford for a maximum of 5,000,000 gallons of water a month. The revenue derived from the sale of water to so many customers has enabled the city to pay off a large percentage of the original indebtedness of 1,000,000 dollars. In speaking of the different districts which use Medford water I forgot to mention the hundreds of suburban homes east of the city, as well as other subdivisions scattered all about the city limits, all of which get this water.
Excerpt, Central Point American, August 9, 1945, page 1   The author is undoubtedly Central Point American editor Arthur E. Powell.



Last revised October 24, 2009