This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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Excerpt from Reports on the Water Supply of San Francisco: 1900 to 1908, Inc Upon the settling up of the peninsula in 1849 - 50 the necessity of a water supply was met by springs and wells at several points within the limits of the city. The soil being unpolluted, these nearby sources were safe, but soon failed to meet the rapidly growing demand. Water was then brought from springs and streams in Marin County and distributed to homes, restaurants, hotels, shipping, etc., in buckets and casks (as is now being done). In 1851 the Mountain Lake Water Company undertook to bring the water of Mountain Lake and Lobos Creek into the city, and made a contract with the city of date June 1, 1851. (city Manual, page, 117, Ordinance No. This ordinance was amended and the time extended from time to time. In 1857 the San Francisco Water Works was organized and succeeded in bringing in the water of Lobos Creek around the shores of Golden Gate, by tunnel through Fort Point, and flume to Black Point, where it was pumped to suitable elevations. Water was introduced on September 16, 1858. This company and the previous one, the Mountain Lake Water Company, had numerous suits at law. The Mountain Lake Water Company failed in 1862 and went out of business. In the meanwhile George H. Ensign organized the Spring Valley Water Works under a charter obtained from the legislature. He took up a small Spring near the intersection of Mason and Washington streets and laid a few pipes in 1858. He kept this franchise alive by extensions of time until 1860, when it was bought by a stronger company. (this company retained the name of Spring Valley Water Works until 1904, when for the purpose of overreaching the state law, which limits the bond issue to the amount of stock, it doubled its capital stock so as to issue an equivalent volume in bonds. It then changed its name to Spring Valley Water Company) About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

“The first history of seismic engineering in San Francisco . . . spiced with survivor and eyewitness accounts. ”—Midwest Book Review For the past one hundred and fifty years, architects and engineers have quietly been learning from each quake and designing newer earthquake-resistant building techniques and applying them in an ongoing effort to save San Francisco. Bracing for Disaster is a fresh appraisal of a city responding to repeated devastation. In the language of a skilled teacher, Tobriner examines what really happened during the city’s earthquakes—which buildings were damaged, which survived, and who were the unsung heroes. Filled with more than two hundred photographs, diagrams, and illustrations, this is a revealing look at the history of buildings by a true expert, and it offers lessons not just for San Francisco but for any city beset by natural disasters. “The real saga is how a fast-growing city grapples with the reality that it has more to worry about than fires and fog. The core of the story is fairly technical, rooted in the crude intuitive ways in which builders reacted to a seismic threat they could neither measure nor define. But Tobriner crafts the story well.”—SFGate