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Finding aid to the William W. Helbush collection of water project
records, 1905-1947, MS 980
MS
980
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Title: William W. Helbush collection of water project records
Date: 1905-1947
Collection Identifier: MS
980
Creator:
Helbush, William W.
Contributing Institution:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Abstract: The collection consists of primary and secondary
source materials collected by William Helbush in his position as engineer for the
San Francisco Department of Public Works. The collection contains project records,
including reports, contracts, notes, specifications, plans, blueprints, and site
photographs, as well as administrative records, financial records, and reference
material related to the design and construction of various water projects, most
notably the Hetch Hetchy water supply project, the enlargement of O'Shaughnessy Dam,
and the Richmond-Sunset sewage treatment plant and reservoir for the San Francisco
Water Department. Many of the records collected by Helbush were created by or for
Michael M. O'Shaughnessy, City Engineer for San Francisco and Chief Engineer of the
Hetch Hetchy Project; and Ray L. Allin and Paul J. Ost, engineers for the San
Francisco Department of Public Works. A small number of Helbush's personal papers
can be found in the collection.
CHS is not taking appointments for research at this time. Please check the Library's website updates:
https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/collections/north-baker-research-library/
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Director of Library and Archives, North Baker
Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the
owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from
the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
[Identification of item], William W. Helbush collection of water project records, MS
980, California Historical Society.
The collection is arranged into three series: 1) Hetch Hetchy water supply project
records; 2) Other water project records; and 3) Research and reference materials.
Other water project records (Series 2) contain records for water projects other than
Hetch Hetchy.
The collection was reprocessed by Frances W. Kaplan in 2012.
William W. Helbush (circa 1895-1965) served as an engineer for the San Francisco
Department of Public Works. During the 1930s he worked on the Hetch Hetchy project
(1914-1934) and the enlargement of O'Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite Valley (1934-1938).
Among his known accomplishments was the design of the radial gates of the new
spillway at the south abutment of O’Shaughnessy Dam. Helbush collected reference
materials, notes, and records for a number of water projects, but the extent of his
role in the plan and design of projects represented in the collection is
unknown.
The Hetch Hetchy water supply and hydroelectric power system is a gravity driven
network of dams, reservoirs, railroads, aqueducts, pipelines, power plants, and
tunnels that delivers drinking water from Yosemite National Park to San Francisco
and the Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy Valley and the Tuolumne River had been recommended as
a water source for the City of San Francisco as early as a 1901, but it was not
until the Raker Act of 1913 that the City of San Francisco was granted the right to
dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a reservoir and use public lands to construct
projects necessary for the development of a water and power supply system from the
Sierras to San Franciso. Started in 1914 and completed in 1934, the Hetch Hetchy
project succeeded in providing water to people in San Francisco, Santa Clara,
Alameda, and San Mateo counties. Since then, the Hetch Hetchy water supply system
has undergone various upgrades, replacements, additions, and seismic retrofits.
Administration of San Francisco’s water supply system has been governed by various
corporate and municipal bodies. In 1900 the San Francisco Department of Public
Works, called the Board of Public Works, was created and charged with studying
possible ways to supply San Francisco with drinking water. In 1930 San Francisco
purchased the Spring Valley Water Company, a private enterprise that had been
supplying water to San Francisco since 1858. The San Francisco Water Department was
then formed under the Board of Public Works. In 1932, the Charter of the City and
County of San Francisco created the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
(SFPUC). The SFPUC was responsible for the construction, management, supervision,
operation, and control of all public utilities that served the City and County of
San Francisco and its inhabitants. Upon its completion in 1934, the Hetch Hetchy
project, formerly an independent department under the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission, became part of the San Francisco Water Department.
The collection consists of primary and secondary source materials collected by
William (Bill) Helbush in his position as engineer for the San Francisco Department
of Public Works. The collection contains project records, including reports,
contracts, notes, specifications, plans, blueprints, and site photographs, as well
as administrative records, financial records, and reference material related to the
design and construction of various water projects, notably the Hetch Hetchy water
supply project, the enlargement of O'Shaughnessy Dam, and the Richmond-Sunset sewage
treatment plant and reservoir for the San Francisco Water Department. A small number
of Helbush's personal papers can be found in the collection.
The bulk of the collection comprises engineering records and blueprints related to
the design, plan, and construction of the Hetch Hetchy water supply system, a
massive public works project undertaken by the City of San Francisco. Consisting of
a series of dams, tunnels, railroads, and powerhouses, the Hetch Hetchy project
(1914-1934) provided the city and its surrounding areas with a longterm water
supply. The collection also includes records and blueprints for the enlargement of
O’Shaughnessy Dam (1934-1938), a renovation project funded in part by the Public
Works Administration that raised O'Shaughnessy Dam by eighty-six feet.
Other records in the collection relate to water and power projects both within the
United States and overseas. These include the Bucks Creek power house in Feather
River Canyon, California; Moffat Tunnel in Colorado; the Mokelumne River power
development for the City of Lodi, California; Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam) on the
Colorado River; and Madden Dam in Panama. Reference materials collected by Helbush
include engineering manuals, handbooks, catalogs, articles, and bulletins.
Many of the records collected by Helbush were created by or for Michael M.
O'Shaughnessy, City Engineer for San Francisco and Chief Engineer of the Hetch
Hetchy Project; and Ray L. Allin and Paul J. Ost, engineers for the San Francisco
Department of Public Works.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog:
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (Calif.)
Water-supply--California--San Francisco.
Dams--Design and construction.
Municipal engineering--California--San Francisco.
Civil engineers--California--San Francisco.
Helbush, William W.
O'Shaughnessy, M. M. (Michael
Maurice), 1864-1934.
Allin, Ray L.
Ost, Paul J.
San Francisco (Calif.). Water Dept.
San Francisco (Calif.). Dept. of Public Works
.
San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission.
Blueprints.
Contract documents.
Contract drawings.
Engineering drawings.