A water-systems engineer and architect of dams

His father, a physician, sent Hermann to be educated at the Prussian Military Academy of Oldenburg. After graduation in 1862, he spent two years in Zurich and Karlsruhe schools enrolled as a civil engineer. During these years, he gained practical experience at the Lucerne Vulcan Iron Works in Germany where he learned to fabricate pipe. This experience helped him immensely in designing water systems on the various water projects he undertook in the United States.

In 1864, he headed for California to practice his vocation. The Spring Valley Water Works of San Francisco hired him at a salary of $50 per month. The president of the SVWW, a Mr. Babcock, sent Schussler down the Peninsula where they were constructing a dam on the Pilarcitos Creek. In 1858, George H. Ensign had formed the Spring Valley Water Works and obtained water from springs on Washington Street. As the demand for water increased, the SVWW began buying land on the Peninsula for expansion of needed water sources. The Pilarcitos Creek originated in mountains to the east of Montara Mountain and west of Skyline Boulevard. The SVWW secured land in a valley to the west of the San Andreas Valley and began construction of a dam. Schussler, who spoke only German, was sent to help build this dam. He studied English and mastered the language within a short time. Throughout his life, he tackled all problems with the same determination as he did in learning his new language, working hard until he conquered the problem.

Within two years, due to his exceptional ability to understand and develop solutions to water systems, Schussler left the Pilarcitos site to work in the company’s city office. His salary was raised to $175 per month, and he was put in charge of building a dam northeast of Pilarcitos Valley, in the San Andreas Valley where he concluded that the valley would be a perfect reservoir for the storage of water. His astute ability to read landscapes, elevations and potential sites for damming water led the SVWW to give Schussler permission to purchase property around the San Andreas Valley in anticipation of erecting a dam, the San Andreas Dam.

The San Andreas Valley was lower than the Pilarcitos Dam and a 3,400 foot tunnel was dug through the mountain in 1868 to send the water to the San Andreas Valley, then north to San Francisco by using gravity. No pumping station was needed. Schussler’s knowledge of pipes and pressure assured the SVWW that the job could be successful. Many of the pipes for this water system are visible throughout the landscape in San Mateo and San Francisco counties. It was a marvelous engineering feat when completed.

The San Andreas Dam was engineered and constructed by Schussler in 1868. Due to the winds from the ocean and the elevation of the Montara Mountain, the area sometimes receives 40 inches of annual rain. This was a big factor in building the dam in the San Andreas Valley. Schussler was able to purchase 4.4 miles of watershed in the area to assure privacy of the site and keep the water uncontaminated. The 95 foot-high dam is an earth-filled structure with "puddled-clay” core. When full, it can hold six billion gallons of water.

In 1871, Schussler went to Nevada to work for the Virginia and Gold Hill Water Companies. Water from the mountains needed to be delivered to Carson City and then on to Gold Hill and Virginia City. Extreme pressure was developed in the pipes, but Schussler was able to successfully engineer the problem.

After returning to the SVWW in 1875, Schussler constructed an earthen dam west of Belmont (Upper Crystal Springs Dam). The dam is now used as a base for State Route 92. During his work in this area, he procured additional water supply by purchasing the Alameda Creek area east of San Francisco Bay. In 1887, construction of a pipeline from Alameda Creek to the Millbrae pumping station began. The pipe crossed the Bay underwater at the Dumbarton Bridge area, went to the pumping station in Belmont and then ended up in Millbrae.

In 1887, the Crystal Springs Dam on San Mateo Creek, west of San Mateo, was begun. This dam was composed of numerous irregularly shaped cement blocks, average size — six to t10 feet high, 10 to 15 feet wide and 40 feet long. The completed dam is 149 feet high. The construction was so strong and engineered so expertly by Schussler, it was not damaged by the 1906 Earthquake, although it lies on the San Andreas Fault. Upon completion, a culvert was laid connecting the Upper Crystal Springs Dam (State Route 92) with lower Crystal Springs Dam.

Hermann Schussler retired from the Spring Valley Water Company on Oct. 8, 1914. He died April 27, 1919 at the age of 76. A memorial plaque was placed near the Crystal Springs Dam by the Spring Valley Water Company. It reads: "If you seek his monument, look about you.”