In 1919 the Natomas Water Company commissioned hydraulic engineer George Nickserson to produce an inventory of the the entire Natomas water ditch, flumes, gates, dams and other appurtenances from the dam down into and past the City of Folsom. The Natomas Water Company was seeking a water rate increase in front of the Railroad Commission, predecessor of the Public Utility Commission, and they knew they would have to, in part, justify the costs of the water based on value of the entire operating system. Within the detailed report, housed at the California State Archives, were numerous images of the canal structures, Natoma Dam on the South Fork of the American River, and most interestingly, the inverted redwood siphon that carried the ditch water across New York Ravine. Below are some of the photos and drawings Nickerson included in his 1919 report on the reproduction costs of the Natomas Ditch.
