The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-02-23
our Water WORKS.

pure WAt6f IOT QOmesuC puIPo1esI IN Cou'
junction with an adequate supply for our
large manufacturing establishments and
for Ere and other contingencies, Is begin.
ming to be q matter for the serious consid.
Grafton Of our city authorities and Sques.
ton which will shortly pres itself most
emphAtlcAlly upon the attention Of our
citizens. 1t Is an eminently practical
question, and enters into the hourly life Of
every family and every individual. The
inSuflciency Of our present water iacili.
ties Is q fact which for some years has
been patent 10 every one who has been
connected with the management Of city
Affairs, and any one who viii investigate
Just little, will be convinced Of the fact
that with the present works the city can.
not be provided with supply Of water
that will LAST twenty.lour hour In any
contingency, and unless the mAnulsctur.
ing establishments stop there can never
be more than nine hours supply. This
insuficieDcy Of capacity Is feature Of our
present Water Works which, in the opin.
ion Of those who oughtto be able 10 Judge
correctly, cannot be remedied BY any
changes in or additions TO them; or, in
other Wo1is, no adequate benefit can be
derived from any outlay Of ssy seventy FIVE
thousand dollars in repairs upon the pres.
ent works, as suggested by our Mar.
ket street neighbor some days since.
OF course the Works at the time they
were built, and for many years afterwards,
were amply sufficient for the wants Of the
city, but things have changed wonder
fully In the last fifteen years. and every
year sdds weight TO the necessity for new
and more ample water facilities. The
Water Works building Is in q very shat
tered condition. The massive walls are
cracked in many places. and at the west
end are split from top to bottom, in TACT
the whole building is held together by &
system Of Hog chains and massive iron
plates. The building is irrepsrable save
with new one. The machinery is in.
adequate and unreliable, only one engine
Is at all serviceable. It's throwing ca
pacity is dfty-six thousand gallons per
hour, and when the mills are on the water
In the basin will be lowered three inches
per hour beyond the capacity of this en-
CINE 10 keep up the supply. The other
engine ia Of very little account and has
not been for years, and is st best mere
assistant In case Of q total disabling Of
the good pump the city would be prsc-
tically without water. New and larger
pumping machinery could not be put into
the present works with ssfety; such an
increase in the machinery would require
entire new pipe from the supply pipe ly.
ing In the river all the way up 10 the basin.
Again, the basin is inadequate 10 the
present necessities Of the city. II is one
hundred and twenty feet long by eighty
feet wide and has an average depth of
seven feet, which gives capacity equal
TO about $50 600 gallons, very limited
supply for the wants Of city like Wheel.
ing There is however, another very
important matter in connection with the
present Water Works, and that is the
location itself; indeed there are many
citizens in whose minds this Is the most
important consideration. The cinder
banks created by the various works 10.
Gated above the Water Works have SO
effected the current Of the river as to
form an eddy in which is deposited large
quantities Of impurities. Sand also gath.
ers 10 sufficient quantities TO make great
deal Of trouble and labor in keeping the
supply pipe clear. Then the washipgs from
the hill, the filthy streets and back yards
as well as the sewerage OF the city north
ofthe Water Works, comes right down
into the eddy and the Water Works take
in good share of II for the special benefit
Of the people. North Wheeling Is in
cteasiDg in exten' and population, and in.
creasIng density Of population al
though very gratifying considev-
alton is none the less very
sound reason for changing the location OF
the Water Works. As TO the location OF
the basin, II may be remarked that not
being in line with the Water Works it re-
quires two short shGrp turns in the pipe,
which adds both difficulty and expense TO
the working Of the machinery, and be-
sides they are not high enough up the hill.
It is well known that at the head oil 18th,
18th and 14th streets the residences have
very feeble supply oil water. There is q
considerable amount of building territory
still higher up on the streets we have
named which would be made available
but for the lack Of water. In case oil fire
In that part oil town property holders have
little or no protection. II the objections
We have presented are good, why should
there be any large amount Of money ftit-
tered away in attempting TO patch
up the present Water Works? Shonld
the city authorities rather not con.
slider the propriety Of changing the
location altogether. The expense Of
new Water Works Is something
that we will have TO face at no dis
tant period, do as VIC may, and when we
have 10 do that ii strikes Us that 1t would
cost no more to erect them al some point
above the city, where we could have the |
advantage Of deeper water, freedom from
street wAshings and yard sewerage, boat
yard ooztngs and other contributions
Of filth too numerous 10 mention,
besides the advantage OF a higher
basin and the better general ar
rangement Of the works inciden, 10
making them commensurate with our
nraaant and Ep,ura pacassi,i..