Marlette Lake Water System

Marlette Lake Water System

The Marlette Lake Water System is one of the most important engineering feats accomplished in the American West during the 19th Century: When its unique inverted siphon began operation in 1873, its working head of over 1,700 feet was more than twice that of any other pipeline. The size and cost of the system plus the ingenuity and engineering skill of the builders make it a ma.ior engineering triumph.

From its birth, Virginia City put an inordinate demand on its water supply. Thou- sands of residents and dozens of mines and mills consumed large quanitities of water. Between 1859 and 1862, two companies the Virginia Water Company and the Gold Hill Water Company engaged in the collection and distribution of water. In May of 1862 the two companies merged to become the Virginia and Gold Hill Water Company. These companies bought or leased streams of water coming from several mining tunnels, transfered it via flumes and ditches into cisterns, then distributed it to Virginia City and Gold Hill in wooden mains placed on or near the surface of the ground. By the early 1870’s, the system was rapidly being outgrown.

The Marlette Lake Water System is located in Carson City, Nevada and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (#92001162) on September 16, 1992.

The possibility of tapping the immense water reserves of the Sierra Nevada 30 miles to the west had been discussed on the Comstock as early as 1864. Ideas began to move toward reality in 1869 when the combination of Mackay, Flood, Fair, and O’Brien bought the Virginia and Gold Hill Water Co. from William Sharon. Following the Crown Point-Belcher bonanza of 1870, the new owners of the water company needed more water than the old water system could provide – and they decided to go to the Sierra Nevada for it.

In October, 1871, Mr. Hermann Schussler, a consulting engineer from San Francisco, submitted a favorable report to the company for a water system from the Sierra Nevada to Virginia City. By May, 1872, Schussler had drawn up the specifications and ordered the pipe for a seven-mile-long inverted siphon. The pipe alone weighed 700 tons and required 952,000 rivets. Pipe laying began on June 11, 1873, and was completed by July 25th. Part of the pipe was buried, while some remained exposed. By the time the piplines was laid, the 14.32 miles of wooden flumes had been completed and on August 2, 1873, the system was in operation. The cost was approximately $750,000.

As the demands of the Comstock grew, so did the Marlette Lake Water System. A second pipeline and flume system was built parallel to the first one in 1875, and Marlette Lake was tapped via flume and tunnel by mid-1877. A third pipeline and flume system was added in 1887, bring the value of the system at this time to $2.2 million.

From 1872 to 1887 a system which could match the huge demand for water on the Com- stock was built. By 1887 the system could produce 10,000,000 gallons of water per day. From 1887 to 1941 the system received normal maintenance and that was about all. The major alterations to the system have occurred since 1941, with most of these occurring since the mid-1950’s. Since purchase of the system by the state in 1963, it has under- gone many changes, but the basic plan established in 1872 is still being used, as are parts of the original pipelines of 1873, 1875, and 1887. A testimonial to the greatness of the idea is that the system still provides all of Virginia City’s water and it also supplies a minimum of 3,000,000 gallons a day to Carson City. Although construction materials have changed, the basic plan and structure of the system is still functioning over a century after the initial system was completed.

The nominated boundary of the Marlette Lake Water System shall consist of the various segments of the system described below. Although the entire system is being nominated, it is being described one portion at a time to avoid confusion.

1. Marlette Lake Dam – the area between and 50 feet either side of a line from Points A and B on the Marlette Lake Quadrangle Map.
2. Flume which runs northward from Marlette Dam to Tunnel Creek Station – the boundary of this portion of the system shall extend 50 feet on either side of the flume which runs northward from the Marlette Lake Dam (Point B) to Tunnel Creek Station (Point F) via Points B,C,D, and E.
3. Tunnel Creek Station – the Tunnel Creek Station, Point G, shall be included in the nominated boundaries of the system. The area 100 feet from the ex- ternal walls of the Tunnel Creek Station structures shall be included in the nomination.
4. Marlette Lake Water System Tunnel (Incline Tunnel, Divide Tunnel) – this 3,994 foot tunnel, between Points F and H, and the area 50 feet on either side of the tunnel shall be included within the boundaries of the nomination.
5. Flume which runs south, then east, from Incline Tunnel to Red House – the nominated boundary for this portion of the system shall extend 50 feet on either side of the flume which runs from the east end of the tunnel (Point H) through Points I,J, and K to the Hobart Creek Diversion Dam, commonly called the Red House Diversion Dam (Point L).
6. Red House and Red House Diversion Dam (Hobart Creek Diversion Dam) – these structures, Points L and M, shall be included within the nominated boundary, The area within 100 feet of the external walls of the house and the dam shall be included in the nominated boundary.
7. Hobart Creek Reservoir Dam – the nominated boundary of this structure shall be the area within a 200 foot radius of Point N, which is located in the center of the crest of the dam.
8. Upper and Lower Flumes from Red House to The Tanks – the nominated boundary for this portion of the system shall extend 500 feet on either side of a line from Red House Diversion Dam (Point L) to The Tanks (Point V). The route of the boundary will roughly follow the present pipe-line system or aquaduct as it is labeled on the USGS Quadrangle Map. The route will go via Points 0,P,Q,R,S,T, and U to The Tanks (Point V). This rather wide boundary following the modern aquaduct will include nearly all portions of the original Upper and Lower Flumes.
9. The Tanks – the nominated boundary for this portion of the system shall be all the area within a 400 foot radius of the western end of the Siphon pipes, which is marked as Point V. This will put all the structures at The Tanks within the nominated boundaries of the system. 10- 11. 12. 13. 14.
10. The Siphon – the nominated boundaries for this portion of the system included the area from and 200 feet on either side of a line from the west end of the siphon (Point V) to the east end of the siphon pipeline (Point HH). The route of the pipeline and the boundary line shall run northerly and east- erly via Points W,X,Y,Z,AA,BB,CC,DD,EE,FF,GG, and HH. This rather wide boundary will insure the inclusion of all remnants of all three pipelines which were part of the Marlette Lake Siphon.
11. Lakeview House – this structure, already on the National Register of Historic Places, is within 200 feet of the siphon pipeline, at Point Y, and will thus fall within the nominated boundaries of this system. Flume which runs eastward from the east end of the siphon to Five-Mile Reservoir – the nominated boundary for this portion of the system shall include a line from, and 150 feet on either side of the line from, Point HH (east end of siphon) to Point UU (Five-Mile Reservoir). The route of the boundary shall run northerly and easterly via Points II,JJ,KK,LL,MM,NN,00,PP, QQ,RR,SS,TT, and UU. Point UU is where the flume enters Five-Mile Reservoir.
12. Five-Mile Reservoir and Caretaker’s House – the nominated boundary of this portion of the system shall extend outward 300 feet from the banks of the reservoir, Point UU, encompassing all the associated structures built around the reservoir, including the caretaker’s house.
13. Flume which runs from Five-Mile Reservoir to the water tanks above Virgina City – the nominated boundary for this portion of the system shall extend from Point VV, at Five-Mile Reservoir, to Point HHH, at the water tanks above Virginia City. The boundary shall run along and 100 ft. on either side of a line from Point VV to Point HHH via Points WW,XX,YY,ZZ,AAA,BBB,CCC, DDD,EEE,FFF,GGG, and HHH. The flume roughly follows the route of the Ophir Grade from Five-Mile Reservoir to Bullion Ravine, where the grade ends. Then the flume turns north, following the contour of the hills above Virginia City to a set of wooden and concrete water tanks. This entire section of the system, from Five-Mile Reservoir to Virginia City lies within the Virginia City Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district.