Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-12-05
For the snr.
The Water Question.


Since our city government have had under con-
sideration the important question of obtaining
supply of pure water, sufficient for the wants of
our citizens, it is curious to notice the various
projects which have been gravely advocated, often
honestly by persons not aware of the real merits
of the case, but sometimes it is to be feared, BY
parties alive only to their own pecuniary interest
and anxious to defeat the project which is to
come before our citizens at the coming election.
by diverting their attention from the question
really before them, to any scheme that appears at
first sight to have the merit of plausibility.
There have just appeared in the Daily Bay
State, two articles on Artesian wells, from which
it would appear that all that is necessary to wa
ter city or to establish water privilege of any
required power, is to sink one or more Artesan
wells, and, that as we left to infer at an ex,
pense wholly Insignificant, when compared with
the plan now under consideration. The writer of
one OF the above articles, states that a we'll, now
being bored by Messrs Goddard, Rice & Co., de-
scends through bed of gravel about sixty feet,
and then comes to ledge of rock which they
propose to bore through, las soon as they can make
the necessary arrangements.
This shaft now being sunk, affords the final
proof of what the geology of this region has long
ago taught US, viz: that the whole valley in
which the city of Worcester lies, and which is
drained by Mill Brook, is a rocky basin of un.
known thickness, certainly very great, say thou
sands of feet at the least calculation. and these
mr. Of aaaNT
rate, highly metamorphic There is therefore no
possibility of obtaining by boring this rock
substratum all the water is contained in, and
must come from the superficial strata of earth
and gravel, say about sixty feet in thickness at
its lowest grade. The total quantity of water
contained in this basin may be pretty nearly as
certained by survey of the valley drained by
Mill Brook This valley is bounded by steep hills
which shed the water that falls upon them, with
great rapidity, as is shown by the freshets which
80 Of Ii.
Ofall the water which falls upon this area at
least sixty per cent,runs at once into Mill Brook
and the remaining forty per cent must 20 to ac-
count for the constant evaporation that's going
on from the surface Of the earth besides the mois
ture consumed by vegetation, and taken up by
the roots OF plants during its passage into the
soil. But still further, the Worcester basin de-
scends from the northerly part of the city, near
the "hve points, " SO called, along the course of
Mill Brook, through the city proper and Quin-
sigamond village towards Millbury. Now the
water which percolates through the upper gravel
~ strata, tends at once to run far beyond the
limits OF our city into the valley of the Blackstone
and is resisted but very imperfectly by the OBJ
structons arising out of the nature of the soil
through which it flows. 1t is true. that this re-
sistance may be sufficient to force small ouanti-
ty OF water, in the immediate neighborhood of
our nigh hills. to the surface, even somewhat
higher, but If well were sunk several feet in di-
ameter, the flow of water into it, would be far too
slow to maintain its level at anything near the
surface of the ground.
Besides, the writer in the Ban State assumes
that If well eight inches in diameter will furnish
twelve. thousand (l2,OOO) gallons daily, one OF
four times that diameter would afford sixteen
times as much, and upon this assumption he bases
his whole theory. Now it is far more probable
that single we'll, one foot in diameter would ex-
haust nearly the whole supply, and if twenty were
bored, the only effect would be to divide the water
between them without much increasing the total
amount and far from the water rising to the sur.
face of the ground, it would have to be pumped
from level forty or fifty feet lower. In short
under the most favorable circumstances possible
the water would have to be pumped about the
same distance, and very nearly to the same height
that 1t would it taken from Long Pond and the
quality OF the water would be vastly better from
the latter source.
But to return to the article published in the
DAILY Bay State. The expense of sinking three
artesian wells of two and one-half q q feet in
diameter each, which, by the writer's own esti
mate, would furnish less than six hundred thou.
sand (60O,000) gallons daily is gravey set against
the whole estimate of the City Engineer, (S340,
OOO, besides land damages,) leaving entirely Out
of view the fact that S230000 of the above esti
mate is for distribution alone, an item which
would be the same whatever plan is adopted The
whole estimate for the works at Henshaw Pond
Kettle Brook, reservoir, and pipe as far as La.
Academy buildings, is only seventy.eight thou.
sand FIVE hundred (S78,500) dollars Add to this
y727o, the proportion of the item contingencies
belonging to this part Of the work, and we have
y85,773, besides land damages, for which 2l20..
600 would leave an ample margin.
Here we have to Offset the artesian well scheme
the sum Of 100000, at the outside, instead Of
Sl0OO,OOO, as set forth by the writer in the Bav
| State. Is this honest ?-or is the writer in tho
Bay State quite sure he knows what he is talking
about lie tells us nothing about pumping the
water from Worcester Valley into Bell Pond OF
other reservoir, an operation by no means without
expense, either at the outset, in the erection OF
buildings and machinery, or subsequently in the
daily outlay for fuel, repairs attendance, &c, &c
Let us now take fair and impartial view Of
the cost OF the various projects for bringing water
to the city. leaving out Of account the whole mat.
ter OF distribution, being the same in all cases
The whole cost Of bringing from Henshaw Pond
and Kettle Brook to Lagrange street 1890, 200
gallons Of water daily is Sl2O, 00O or at six per
cent, $1,000 year. Can water enough for The
wants OF our city be obtained by sinking Artesian
wells, aud then pumping to a height of two hun.
bred (2O0) feet, at anything near so small sum |
Would $500 year pay for the fuel necessary to
raise the water into the reservoir to say nothing
OF the superitendence repairs Of engines interest
ncost Of machinery, buildings, &c.
COMMoN SENSE