Filtration Basins

Filtration Basins. Lake Chabot Historical Walk. , Public outcry led Oakland councilman George Pardee, who later became Governor of California, to campaign Contra Costa Water Company for a clean reliable water system. The Hyatt filters were installed, along with pump houses and filtration basins, to form “one of the West’s first” filtration systems, now part of a Historic Engineering Landmark. , The peaceful meadow you face was the site of one of two large filtration basins. The innovation of rapid filtration was new in 1884, patented by John Hyatt, and continued in use at Lake Chabot for well over 50 years. Water in the basin had a coagulant added to assist in clumping and filtering out mud and other particulates. The water from the basins was then forced through the Hyatt filters (see separate panel) to further purify it, delivering greater improved water quality to customers in Oakland and San Leandro. , In the 1890s “water wars” between Contra Costa Water Company (CCWC) and a rival company broke out, leading to verbal and physical clashes. One written attack on CCWC was included in an 1895 issue of the Oakland Tribune. “The water stored in Lake Chabot and Lake Temescal contains more animal rottenness than any other in the world… It is the perfume of the morgue.” , , [Captions:] , The hand cut stone used for the tunnel was quarried from creeks nearby and pulled by steamboat on a barge like the one above. (top right); The Chinese laborers employed techniques similar to those used in building the Transcontinental railroads. (bottom right).