Pulgas Water Temple
Encyclopedia
The Pulgas Water Temple is a stone structure in Woodside, California
, USA, designed by architect William G. Merchant. It was erected by the San Francisco Water Department
to commemorate the 1934 completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
and is located at the aqueduct's terminus. In 1938, the original water temple was replaced with the current design.
The water temple consists of fluted columns arranged in a circle, upon which a large stone masonry ring with the words "I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people " [from Isaiah
43:20] are inscribed. There is a large, tree-lined reflecting pool to the east.
San Francisco and surrounding communities get water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
approximately 160 miles away via the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
. Water once made the journey to the Pulgas Water Temple and flowed over a small C-shaped waterfall within the water temple itself where it continued approximately 800 feet down a canal to the west into Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir
. Starting in 2004, water no longer flows through the temple, but instead is diverted to a nearby treatment plant where chloramine
added at the Sunol
treatment plant is removed. The retreated water then either enters the drinking water system after being chloraminated yet again at another plant or is stored as surplus in Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir.
"Pulgas" is the Spanish
(and Portuguese
) word for "fleas", which were encountered by early Spanish explorers of the area.
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
, USA, designed by architect William G. Merchant. It was erected by the San Francisco Water Department
San Francisco Water Department
The San Francisco Water Department is an agency in San Francisco that provides water service to residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco Water Department privately holds substantial amounts of undeveloped land in many parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.Since the mid-19th century...
to commemorate the 1934 completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
The Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct is a conveyance of Tuolumne River water runoff from federal lands in Yosemite National Park to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area...
and is located at the aqueduct's terminus. In 1938, the original water temple was replaced with the current design.
Isaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
43:20] are inscribed. There is a large, tree-lined reflecting pool to the east.
San Francisco and surrounding communities get water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is a reservoir in Yosemite National Park, about northeast from the city of Merced, California. The reservoir has a capacity of and is formed by the concrete gravity O'Shaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley on the Tuolumne River...
approximately 160 miles away via the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
The Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct is a conveyance of Tuolumne River water runoff from federal lands in Yosemite National Park to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area...
. Water once made the journey to the Pulgas Water Temple and flowed over a small C-shaped waterfall within the water temple itself where it continued approximately 800 feet down a canal to the west into Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir
Crystal Springs Reservoir
Crystal Springs Reservoir is a pair of artificial lakes located in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains of San Mateo County, California situated in the rift valley created by the San Andreas Fault just to the west of the cities of San Mateo and Hillsborough, and I-280...
. Starting in 2004, water no longer flows through the temple, but instead is diverted to a nearby treatment plant where chloramine
Chloramine
Chloramines are derivatives of ammonia by substitution of one, two or three hydrogen atoms with chlorine atoms. Monochloramine is an inorganic compound with the formula NH2Cl. It is an unstable colourless liquid at its melting point of -66° temperature, but it is usually handled as a dilute...
added at the Sunol
Sunol, California
Sunol is an unincorporated census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 913 at the 2010 census....
treatment plant is removed. The retreated water then either enters the drinking water system after being chloraminated yet again at another plant or is stored as surplus in Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir.
"Pulgas" is the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) word for "fleas", which were encountered by early Spanish explorers of the area.