49

even if reservoirs be available. Some losses, also, are likely to occur because
of leakages from the ditches, unless these be specially well constructed and
flumed at places where the ground is porous. The actual amount of water
available for hydraulicking is, therefore, somewhat less than as calculated
above and depends partly on the manner in which it is used, and partly
on the efficiency of the storage system. The amounts available at other
places in the area, where determinations of the amounts are possible, are
referred to in the descriptions of the creeks.

The average duty, in the district, of a miner’s inch of water per 24
hours, is 1 to 3 cubic yards of ground, the amount varying with the head,
character of the ground, and other factors. By taking the total amount
of water available and the duty of the water, an estimate may be made
of the amount of ground which may be handled yearly. In practice, and
even with good storage reservoirs, the amount of water available during
the freshet will be much greater than at other times. It is, therefore,
necessary to provide a ditch to carry a fairly large flow. For example, at
Lowhee mine the main ditch is 7 feet wide at the top and 44 feet at the
bottom and carries 1,500 miner’s inches of water, the amount that is
used to supply one large monitor during a considerable part of the season.
The excess water is used as a ground-sluice and when a full head is not
available for the monitor the plant is shut down and the water stored, or
the plant is operated only during a part of the day or week.

There are no falls suitable for the development of waterpower, but there
are a few places where small amounts of power might be developed by the
construction of dams. Willow river, a short distance below the junction of
Slough creek, flows through a rock canyon 100 to 150 feet wide and 30 to 50
feet deep. The flow of the river above the canyon on August 14, 1923,
was 34-5 cubic feet per second, which is about the average low water
summer flow. A dam 30 feet high would develop 94 horsepower, 80 per
cent efficiency, at low water. The drainage area is 74 square miles and
the only storage available is Jack of Clubs lake. As the winter flow is
somewhat less than the low-water summer flow, the amount of power that
can be made available throughout the year is less than 94 horsepower.
The rock canyon of lower Antler creek, which has a larger flow than Willow
river, also affords an opportunity for the development of waterpower by
the construction of a dam. The most important falls in adjacent districts
are the two on Swamp river about 30 miles east of Barkerville. One is a
few miles below the outlet of Isaac lake and is said to be 60 to 70 feet high;
the other is a short distance below the outlet of Sandy lake and has a
direct fall of 50 to 60 feet. It is estimated! that 1,000 horsepower can be
developed from the latter. Waterpower can also be developed by a dam
at the foot of Bowron (Bear) lake, 20 miles northeast of Barkerville. In
Barkerville area a head of 700 or 800 feet can be obtained at several places
by means of ditches, but the water, except on Lightning creek, is mostly
in use for hydraulicking. There would be difficulty, also, in maintaining
the flow throughout the year unless good reservoirs were provided.

Water of good quality for domestic purposes is readily available
throughout the area either from the creeks themselves or from springs

1Water Powers of British Columbia’’; Commission of Conservation, Canada, p. 254.