The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-12-11
THE INCOMPETENCE OF OUR
LATE WATER BOARD,
The Botch In not Putting the Exchange
Street Main U-der the Canal
Street Ditch as Ordered.
Extra Expense will nowihave to be Incur.
red to Protect the Pipe.i

Last spring the turned-out water COM
missioners recommended to the city coun-
Gil that Cowell i Co., the waterworks con-
tractors, be instructed to place the Ex-
change street main, where it crossed the
culvert at Canal street, at least two feet
below the surface, and also stated that it
only required ditch about feet deep to
allow this to be done, and that the expense
would be triAing compared with the bene-
fits to be derived by the people living on
the sunny side of the slough, this winter, in
case of fire.
On this recommendation, the council so
instructed the contractors, and from that
day until the last regular meeting, ON Mon
day evening, the 9th, majority of the
council thought that the contractors had
done the work as ordered by that body.
At that meeting. Aid Wollenhaupt
brought up the subject and said that the
laying of the water pipe across the ditch.
on Exchange street, was an outrageous
job; that Cowell & Go. were paid extra
for that particular place 10 order that the
pipe might be run under the said ditch,
and that it had not been done, but on the
contrary it had been made to cross the
dicth in plain view, few inches above
the water in the ditch. He was present
when the work was being done, and had
asked the gentleman in charge of the job
why it was not done in accordance with the
instructions from the council. The reply
made to him was that they were working
under orders given by the water commits
sioners.
Aid. Carse, one of the turned-outs, stat
ed that when the contractors were at work
on that street it was found that to run the
water pipe under the ditch would be more
expensive, and meeting of the water
commissioners was held, and, after exam
lining into the matter it was decided not to
place the pipe under the ground but to run
it through the ditch as it now is, thus dis
regarding the orders of the city council
He thought there was great deal of talk
about this matter which was of very little
Importance. He mentioned, as another
reason why the pipe was not run under the
ditch, the fact that sewer was to 60 in
and the water commissioners did not know
what the grade of it would be.
He was here informed that the board
had been furnished with the grade of the
sewer.
No action has yet been taken by the
council to remedy this matter, although
something ought to be done OF once.
Since the last meeting of the council, i
has been ascertained that the contractors
following the instruction of the council
had deepened the exchange street trencl
sufficient to allow the pipe to be laid tw
feet beneath the bottom of the Canal stree
ditch; that when within about two lenght
from the ditch a meeting of the waite
commissioners was held and it was decide,
to place the pipe where it now is; tina
the contractors then had to slant thei
, pipes upward so as to bring them abov
the bottom of the ditch; that about tn
= only reason given at the time of tn
meeting, why the pipes should be place
where they now are, was that if place
> below the surface the lob0rerS ,oould la,
>. to acork IN mud and aodter for some littl
distance, as the water in the. slough woul
run into the trench. How thoughtfl
and kind-hnarted our water commissioner
!; have become! They would rather hav
8 every water pipe in the city freeze up tina
allow laborers to work in mud and waite
n for one day! But it is limited that there
: still another reason why the water boar
70 did not want the pipe run under the ditcl
viz; That Cowell & Co. were losin
is money on that street. AS it now is som
thing will have to be done before tt
weather becomes extremely cold. or I'll
at people in the south part of the city will |
IS, without water again this winter.