Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-05-03

ac;er Of or people. The consum ptiol
from this cause In nearly every instance ha
been found considerably to exceed what was an
ticipated. If the water is supplied At an eleya
ton Of 80 feet. its value for mechanical pur
poses will be more than double what it would b,
at half that elevation, and it will beara greater
price and still be eh, aper to the consumer.
To raise water by stesm power, to be used a.
a motive power BY its gravity will hardly pay
under any circumstances, and If that plan j.
adopted, the city must forego the advantage Of
its use for mechanical purposes \ eheap
supply ty grariiati0u Is all important. The
quantity Of water consumed will depend upon
the cost TO the consumer. and ike cheap post
age. or cheap anything else, the consumption
will Increase in greater ratio than the DIM
mutton os the cost
rs to the quality, the water from Sucker brook
alley viii te pure soft water. There is not,
nor is there likely to be, in that locality, any
manufacturing or dying establishment to 10 it
any injury. It must be swee,er and purer even
than the water Of the lake, unless the latter is
taken from outside the bTeakwater
The effect OF the city sewerage upon the lake
water. has not, # i believed, been properly con-
sidercd. The sewerage matter IS deposited close
in shore AMI is o9HsiGntly Geegmulatirg. 1t
does not readily mix with the mass Of the water
in the lake, but Is deposited where it will be
stirred up By every wind which agitates the lake
water. The experience Of Chicago should be
s5nclusive on this head
The waters o: Lake Michigan are purer than
those Of Champliin. They are mere like those
Of Lake George, the contrast between which and
the Champlain water is so marked at Ticorde-
roga. The pipes first laid at Chicago, ran far
ther into the lake than IS proposed or assumed
IN any estimate Of the lake plan, and the tunnel
Just finished is carried out under the bottom Of
the lake, distance ofiiro miles, at great cost to
the city, to Obtain water not tainted BY the'city
drainage and free from the fne sand which is
kept adoat near the shore by the winds and
waves.
The plan ola supply Of water by grsvi;atiOn,
has 50 many advantages over other plans that
it should be first considered, and not abandoned
until by careful measurement and thorough and
irFarii1! iaresligati0n, It has been shown to
be impracticable or inferior. It Is the plsn
adopted, to \ great extent, in New York, Brook
iyn, Boston, and many other cities. In neither
Of these cities, is the fow Of the rivers adequate,
bat the supply Is obtained by collecting the
drainage into reservoirs. in the manner pro-
posed.
The city Of Hartford, numbering now over
1900 inhatiants, adopted several years since
;le I'sn Of supplying the city with water, by
puml.a from the Connecticut River. at an e1-
treme elevation Of only l2j feet There is no
better or rurer water than IS afforded BY the
Connecticut. /, has been carried by sea going
vessels, all the world over, and preferred to any
other, for its freedom from e1traneous matter
but notwithstanding these facts, the city of Hart
flrl has Just completed an artificial reservoir,
f7e miles distant, Tor collecting the surface
drainage, which IS conveyed to the city through
a single pipe BY gravity, and the pumps are to
he DC longer relied upon for a supply.
Upon the gravity plan suggested for Burling-
ton. the water would lie delivered at an eleva-
ton Of SO fet OF course on this plan the
distributing pipes viii be Of smaller dimensions
nesr the level Of the lake, where the pressure is
the greatest, consideration Of some Importance.
The water vii all be delivered through the
service pipes, a, a steady and uniform pressure,
and in case OF a sudden aud great demand, as
for the eztinguishment Of fires, the risk Of fall
ure from breaking Of machinery will never be
incurred. Tie practical Difficult les Of forcing
water upward. to the height required, and
through all the ramifcations of a system Of
distribution, are very great, and should he
appreciated.
The plan Of procuring a supply Of water by
grayitati0n, possesses advantages superior to
all others. If, therefore, proper instrumental
examination has not already been made, Of the
method Of supply pointed out above, it should
most certainly be made, and in the most thor
ough and careful manner, before coming to a
decision upon this subject, 70 important to the
people Of Burlington and in which their future
no less than their prsssAi interests. are deeply
involved.
GRAVITY.