Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Project, Childs System, Sally May-Purple Mountain Siphon Discharge, Forest Service Road 708/502, Camp Verde, Yavapai County, AZ. Surveyed as HAER AZ-65-R, with a 572-word written history.
“The route of the siphon was modified about between engineering stations and Originally the west end of the siphon included a bridge (original# 4) across a steep wash; the siphon then traversed a steep slope to hook up with Tunnel# 3.”
Written record, HAER AZ-65-R survey. Machine-read text.
Surveyed by the federal HAER program as HAER AZ-65-R · the record runs 572 words · one of 63 surveyed structures published for this county.
Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-65-R. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
The route of the siphon was modified about between engineering stations and Originally the west end of the siphon included a bridge (original# 4) across a steep wash; the siphon then traversed a steep slope to hook up with Tunnel# 3. However, after several cases of undermining of the siphon pipe on this slope, operators decided to reroute the siphon around the slope.
Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-65-R. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
Between February and November Arizona Public Service (APS) and SWCA Environmental Consultants documented the hydroelectric complex, under guidance of the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER). Project managers Phil Smithers (APS) and Linda Martin (SWCA) coordinated historian Steely, photographer Jessica Maggio, and draftsman Hanson Todachine to complete the HAER documentation. Archives for the Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Project are at APS in Phoenix, Arizona. CHILDS-IRVING HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT, CHILDS SYSTEM: SALLY MAY/PURPLE MOUNTAIN SIPHON DISCHARGE HAER No.
AZ-65-R (Page 2) Historic and Engineering Context: The Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Project encompassed a unique system-according to engineering historians evaluating the historic complex since 1976-that 1) was constructed with great effort in an extremely remote landscape, 2) captured a natural water source and followed dramatic topography, 3) generated electric power in a remarkably simple and efficient manner, and 4) operated continuously for 95 years.
In addition to its individual significance nationwide, the Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Project is a classic part of Arizona history spanning the century: remote low-grade mining operations sought reliable and less-expensive energy; a combination of investors, entrepreneurs and engineers modified a natural resource to supply the energy; cutting-edge technology entered a harsh and remote landscape; an isolated labor force merged those with skills learned far away with local residents, including Native Americans with traditional ties to the land; nearby communities soon offered an additional customer base; farmers and irrigation cooperatives became major consumers for their pumps and agricultural machinery; distant metropolitan areas boomed by tapping the energy source; and finally a conservative operational approach to investment and maintenance retained aging technology within a huge modem power grid for many, many years past a reasonable retirement.
Character Defining Attributes Component/Feature No.29 on National Register form. This west extreme of the siphon was a concrete box, part of an adjustment of the siphon about to solve undermining problems with the siphon near its discharge. This reroute and modification included a steel flume that ran between the end of the siphon and tunnel #3, and a corrugated metal shed nearby. (Effland and Macnider Bibliography Effland, Richard W., and Barbara S. Macnider Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Facilities. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Washington, Neal, and Linda Martin Childs/Irving Hydroelectric Decommissioning Project, Historic Properties Management Plan Prepared for APS/Generation Engineering.
SWCA Environmental Consultants. Flagstaff.
| Camp Verde, Arizona | The place record: every map, photograph and survey of this town. |
| Yavapai County, Arizona | 336 topographic sheets across the county. |
| Library of Congress record | The original filed report as the survey filed it. |
The federal surveyors worked through Camp Verde building by building. These are the other structures they measured and filed a report on, longest report first.
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