The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-12-16
Water supply.

Fourth Page-AIiss Careless, Fairy Story.
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Water supply.
The water question has come TO the surface
again rather unexpectedly. The majority re-
port of the city committee, which we published
Saturday morning, was sigued by Alderman
Deering and Councilmen Chase, Gould, Rob
inson and Mari, and recommends a further in
vestigation Of the plan Of bringing water from
the Lower Falls Of the Presumpscot to reser-
voirs mile away, from which it to De ra'seu
by artificial means to distributing rcSei 'o,i
on Munjoy Hill. The minority repol'' WHICH
will be found on the first page oil touayS pa
per. is signed by Alderman Bailey and Coun-
Gilman Burgess, and recommends that the
wafer be taken from Sebago Pond, and that
further conference be had with the Portland
Water Company. Both reports agree that it
would be better for the city to control the
water supply from the beginning, if the con-
dition of the city treasury would permit, aud
both agree that it would bs better to take the
water from its source in Lake Sebago, If posi-
bic. The debate upon the reports lasted till
late hour Friday night, and will be resumed
this evening. --- srl.zn
The agreement of both reports on the source
of supply to be preferred, is explained by tne
results of DR.. Goodale's analysis 1t appears
that while the solid residuum OF SeDaSo wafer
is LOS or LIP grains per gallon, the residuum
in the Presumpscot water is LOG or 10y grains,
a difference of from 80 to over 100 per cent.
against the river water. This difference is to
be sure very slight, but it exists, and it is suf
fcient to account for the unanimous prefer
ence of the COMMITTEES for the purer water OF
the lake. 1t is nothing to the purpose that
Cochituate is purer, or Croton and Mystic less
pure, than Presumpscot water, or that the
muddy Thames has a. residuum Of 20 grains to
the gallon. The committee had simply to
choose between one and two grains, and nat
urally prefer one, other things being equal
But other things are not equal. The city is
not able to build works to Lake Sebago, but is
thought to be able to build the works to the
Presumpscot Lower Falls. Yet this plan has
serious drawback-the necessity of raising the
water artifcially to the Munioy reservoir. The
danger of depending upon single main for a
water supply appears to be sufficiently appre-
ciated, but the danger Of depending upon lift
ing apparatus, liable to thousand accidents,
form testimony from cities which depend upon
pumps for their daily supply of water, is that
the annoyance, expense and risk of such de-
pendence ought not to be incurred except I'M
der the pressure of absolute necessity. On the
one hand, there is Sebago with its $50 feet
head. capable of carrying the water over the
lot5iest spires of the city. On the other, we
are to take the same water with additional inn
purities acquired during the river transit, and
lift it from the level of the sea liz feet to the
top of Munjoy Hill. This dead lift is expen-
sive and every way Objectionable. Still if the
city can manage it, and cannot get the water
from the lake, we must do the best we can.
But at this point the Portland Water Com
pany comes in; offers to build the works and
bring the water from Sebago direct; asks only
the right of way; and agrees, we understand,
to conform in every respect to the reasonable
wishes of the City Goyeremept. 1t would be
better for the city to have full control of the
matter from the beginning; but if the purer
water is to be brought to us by the force of
gravitation, and the Company which brings it
'will comply" to use the language of the mi
nority report, with the requirements of the
city as regards the size of mains and reser-
voirs and rates to be charged the citizens for
the water" it is very much the same as if the
city borrowed the money of the Water Com
pany and built the works for itself; and five
years hence we have the right, by law, to take
the works at fair valuation. We can get the
water now without costing the city dollar.
We can fix the maximum water rates, SO that
every citizen who deals with the Company can
make his bargain with fair understanding
beforehand and with no risk of unexpected
exorbitant charges. And five years hence,
when we have recovered from our recent
losses, we can take the works at a fair ap-
pra'sal and control completely thenceforth for
ever full supply of the purest water in the
world, flowing down to us by its own weight
with no clumsy intervening continuance.
This is fair statement of the case, as it APP
pears to most readers of the two reports Both
documents are very clearly and ably drawn,
presenting in brief, sufficient outline the vari-
Gus plans which have been considered by the
committee, the minority report emitting how
ever many details which had been previously
given by the majority and needed no repeti.
tion The majority have given too little
weight, we are inclined to think, to the slight
difference in favor of the Sebago water and es-
peclaly to the serious objection to raising
water to supply city by pumps. They have
nevertheless presented the results of their in
vestigation with such scrupulous fairness and
completeness of detail as TO deserve the cor
dial thanks of those of their fellow citizens
who reject as well as those who accept their
conclusions. ea isl+" @