Max J. Bartell was born in 1879. In July 1908 he was appointed Assistant Engineer with the City Engineer of San Francisco. His early accomplishments included runoff investigations and reinforced concrete sewer design. He designed the Beale St. steel bridge and began stream flow measurements on the Hetch Hetchy Project, a plan to deliver water to the City of San Francisco from the Tuolumne River. He worked with Percy V. Long, City Attorney, John R. Freeman, consulting engineer, and M.M. O'Shaughnessy, City Engineer, in conjunction with the project. He also investigated alternate water supplies for the city from the Mokelumne River, the Stanislaus River, the McCloud River, and the San Joaquin River. In 1914 he was made Chief Hydraulic Engineer for the city and investigated the total available water supply from the Alameda Creek system for the Spring Valley Water Company. He also reported on the underground water supplies of the Livermore Valley, the Niles Cone of Alameda Creek, and the City of San Francisco. He analyzed the Raker Act and its effects upon the water rights of the City and County of San Francisco and served as an expert witness for the City Attorney in water rates cases regarding water productivity and value of water productivity for rate making purposes. In his 41-year career he was responsible for many other projects and reports on San Francisco's water development. He retired from city service in 1949 and died in April 1968 in San Francisco.