72 replies to this topic

[Holden West]

Wow, some great examples here. My favourites are the Currie Road house and the Esquimalt house. A burglar would be in for a surprise if he broke in there.

[Mike K.]

If it wasn't blocked by the parking payment machine you'd see "private" written on the door. Yes, it's a brothel.

https://maps.google....,13.98,,1,-0.85

[VicHockeyFan]

^ But what is it disguised as? We'll need to see comparable local brothels with no disguises. There is one somewhere near the Oak Bay border or Stadacona Centre I think.

[sebberry]

There is one somewhere near the Oak Bay border or Stadacona Centre I think.

That would explain the funny noises last night...

[D.L.]

Typical brothel streetfront - http://bardcityblog....09/contrast.jpg

[Mike K.]

See.

[http]

Wow, some great examples here. My favourites are the Currie Road house and the Esquimalt house. A burglar would be in for a surprise if he broke in there.

Not if it were a copper burglar.

[HB]

I think that your info is incorrect as I remember them building that "platform" and it is indeed a reservoir inside.

When I was at Japan Gulch Clorination and UV plant today I had a look at teh computers chart and the Mt Tolmie Resevoir if full and that black and white picture from the newspapper was taken in 1960 and it was when the first water was flowing into it you can see it bubbling up from the floor as it hits the column

[Bingo]

When I was at Japan Gulch Clorination and UV plant today I had a look at teh computers chart and the Mt Tolmie Resevoir if full and that black and white picture from the newspapper was taken in 1960 and it was when the first water was flowing into it you can see it bubbling up from the floor as it hits the column

We are talking about two different facilities. The larger reservoir is on Cromwell which is no where near the summit of Mt. Tolmie. The Mt. Tolmie reservoir built in 1967 is much smaller and is right at the summit, and provides the water pressure for homes in the area.

[VicHockeyFan]

It sounds like someone missed an opportunity to get all of this straight.

[G-Man]

Saw this one on the weekend at Fort Rodd Hill:



http://victoriadaily...dd-hill-ii.html

Inside is a spotlight to shine on the enemy ships. Apparently a common practice during the Second World War.

[HB]

We are talking about two different facilities. The larger reservoir is on Cromwell which is no where near the summit of Mt. Tolmie. The Mt. Tolmie reservoir built in 1967 is much smaller and is right at the summit, and provides the water pressure for homes in the area.

When I was at the CRD Water Tour yesterday I specifically asked about the resevoir on Top of Mt Tolmie.
They have newspaper (Victoria Times Oct 26 1960) clippings there in a book that says that contruction started in Jan 1960 .
The dimensions are 200 ft x 400ft and it hold 6 million gallons. The cost to build it was $ 600 000 and the columns inside are 14ft high
It is full of water that is piped directly from the Sooke Lake and Goldstream lake systems.
It supplies homes not just in that area but most of Oak Bay.

The res. on top of Mt Tolmie creates head for the Cromwell Res.. the water on top of Mt Tolmie flows down to Cromwell creating pressure in the system.

These are not 2 separate systems but one.

The statement that the 2 are no where near each other is inacurate too because they are approx. 350metes apart from each other.If you are basing their distance to one anothe ron how far you need to drive yoru car to them then yes it may seem like they are many miles apart but line of sight they are very close.


The Mt Tolmie Reservoir creates good head because it has 14 feet of water that drops about 60 metres to the Cromwel reservoir.
As water is used it is replaced so the system is always full or charged. Pumps are not needed to pump the water up to Mt Tolmie because the water source is high in the Sooke Hills ( +/_ 440 mteres at Goldtream Lake) at an elevation much higher than little old Mt Tolmie.
It is the exact same as siphoning gas or water from a garden house. Keep the open end of the hose lower than the source and you will always have head even if you stop the flow with your thumb. Move your thumb and the liquid flows again.




The original plan was to cover the Mt Tolmie Resevoir with dirt and plant it with grass and this was going to be used as a sports field for Victoria College. (that is what the newpaper clipping says) this proves again that it was not built in 67 because Victoria College was gone by 1967 and UVIC was the name of the education game.

As for Smith Hill that system has not been used for about 100 years but if the water is used it is used for fire fighting purposes.

If you do not agree with any of theses facts you may want to contact the CRD water people and let them know they have it all wrong.


There....I fixed er all up VHF

[Bingo]

Oh okay, thanks for clearing that up HB.

I guess we were talking about two locations built 7 years apart. This debate started because there was a posting suggesting that the concrete structure at the summit was built as part of a WWII Department of Defence installation.

This picture I posted earlier is from the Saanich Achives naming the summit location as a reservoir.


Archives Number: 1980-015-057
Title: Mount Tolmie Reservoir
Date: 1967

[aastra]

So then is Ross Crockford's info completely wrong or was there once a radio building in that same spot? (at the top of the mountain)

[phx]

The two reservoirs do not appear to be directly connected. The pipes from them go out into the neighbourhoods, where they are interconnected in various places, but the water would not normally flow from one to the other.

I would be surprised if the lower reservoir is pressurized.

Edit: Hmm, the map I'm looking at may not show everything. There may indeed be a direct connection between the reservoirs.

[hotdoglegz]

Dylan points out the second floor car park behind the facade of this Oak Bay Avenue building:

http://www.facebook.....23&h=nAQFObzwn

Not that long ago (2009) a car launched through the window and landed upside down on the sidewalk

http://www.firehouse...forums/t111489/

[Bingo]

So then is Ross Crockford's info completely wrong or was there once a radio building in that same spot? (at the top of the mountain)

Ross' blogspot says "Some people think the reservoir is the concrete slab on the very peak, but that’s the old platform for a WWII radio building."

http://unknownvictor...p-to-drink.html

and the information I found says..."The reservoir was constructed in 1967" or some twenty years after WWII, The dimensions of that reservoir are not 200 feet by 400 feet as mentioned by HB. The summit reservoir is around 50 X 150 feet, and is not large enough to have a sports field, as was suggested.

I don't see any other structure on the top of Mt. Tolmie that looks like a WWII platform.

http://www.saanich.ca/gorp/tolmie.html

I also agree with phx that the lower reservoir is probably not pressurized, so it would not to be able to service the homes that are at a higher elevation. If the Cromwell Road reservoir was pressurized, I don't see that they would need a summit reservoir, because the elevation of the water supply is higher than Mt Tolmie.

[HB]

The summit reservoir is around 50 X 150 feet, and is not large enough to have a sports field, as was suggested.


I also agree with phx that the lower reservoir is probably not pressurized, so it would not to be able to service the homes that are at a higher elevation. If the Cromwell Road reservoir was pressurized, I don't see that they would need a summit reservoir, because the elevation of the water supply is higher than Mt Tolmie.

The dimensions in newspaper article say that the Tolmie reservoir is 200 x 400 ft so I guess they were wrong too.


Summit reservoir is way bigger than 50'x 150' I suggest you go up there and have a look and it is square all side are the same.

Also never said that they were putting a sports fieldd on Smith Hill if you have a look back at my post it says they were going to put it on the Tolmie res. which makes more sense because Victoria college was just down the street.

I tried my best to explain how hydraulics work but some insist that its wrong . Now I see that you are saying Cromwell is not under pressure after I explained how it works. So here we go one more time.

Cromwell Is under pressure due to the fact that it is connected to Tolmie via a pipe. Tolmie sit much higher than Cromwell and Tolmie has 14 feet of water in it which also ads to the pressure value.

So this is how I would explain it in the simplist of terms.

Knowing that Tolmie reservoir sits way up above Cromwell and is connected by a pipe to Cromwell and both are full to the brim with water I ask you this...If you were to go and make a hole in Cromwell Reservoir are you trying to suggest that nothing would come out of it because it is not under pressure?? If this is what you are suggesting please explain to me what would hold the water back on Tolmie??
Oh and let me know when you try this experiment because id love to film it as the water that you say is not under pressure fires you 50m into the air.

Here is another way of looking at it.
The system IS under pressure ..yes Cromwell is too. Because of this when you open a tap or any king of valve in the system including a fire hydrant...guess what happens? Water comes out. The water flows from Cromwell under pressure to the tap and is always being replaced from Tolmie and Tolmie is always being replaced from the water shed lines.
We already know that Mt Tolmie reservoir supplies the Muni of Oak Bay and if you dont know..... Mt Tolmie is the highest point in Oak Bay. It is higher than the top floor of any building too.

This means that when a person, say on the top floor of Royal Jubilee hospital, opens a faucet Water comes out and water comes from Cromwell and it is under pressure because the head from Tolmie creates pressure.
There are no homes at a higher elevation as YOU suggested.


Also Smith Hill( summit) reservoir has not been used for 100 years for drinking water so remove that from the discussion and the equation because it has nothing to do with the Victoria water supply as I said they use it for fire suppresion water if needed. Smith Hill reservoir did not use water from the Sooke Hills either it probably came from Thetis Lake or maybe Beaver/Elk Lake not sure which

The whole victoria water system is gravity fed.


You obviously dont believe anything that I have written here about the water system even teh info that I was given by Water staff I see that because you have picked apart everything I listed .

You say the Cromwell is not under pressure (CRD water says it is)
You say Summit is only 150 x 50 (looking at it anyone would know that it is square and not a rectangle and it is obviously longer )than 50 ft
You say that Tolmie is not 200 x 400 (new paper article and Saanich say it is 200 x 400)
You say it was built in 1967 not 1960 (as above)
You say no sports field on Tolmie reservoir was part of the plan (stories of the day say this was the plan)


Whats next.


If you are going to keep discounting my facts please start backing up your claims with facts like I do.

I usually have a coffee before a good morning rant ...Ill go make one now

[VicHockeyFan]

If you were to go and make a hole in Cromwell Reservoir

There we go, finally a science-based challenge someone can take up.

Who's volunteering? What's the Great Scaper, or Vic Duck up to these days?

[HB]

The two reservoirs do not appear to be directly connected. The pipes from them go out into the neighbourhoods, where they are interconnected in various places, but the water would not normally flow from one to the other.

I would be surprised if the lower reservoir is pressurized.

Edit: Hmm, the map I'm looking at may not show everything. There may indeed be a direct connection between the reservoirs.

They do not appear to be connected becasue the pipe is buried.

Why would water not normally flow from a higher reservoir to a lower reservoir?

If the lower reservoir is not under pressure how does water flow from it to to a home on Oak Bay Ave or to UVIC?