St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-10
THE WATER WORKS SYSTEM.

The Annual Report and Pertinent
Remarks OF Engineer Waters.
The first copies of the annual report of
the board of water commissioners were is
sued yesterday. The report of the chief en-
gineer of the board is complete and eX-
hauStive, giving all the improvements COM
pleted, contracted for and projected in the
system: The report contains many yalua
bic conclusions and suggestions, from which
the following is taken:
Our present reserve should be maintained,
it is more reliable than reservoirs. which
are soon emptied, Or as is very often the
case are already empty on account of the
lack of sufficient pumping machinery,
which very clearly proves that without the
aid of sufficient machinery reservoirs are
practically useless, and with sufficient ma
chinery they are not needed.
| know of a case of one of the standard
water woks of the country, of the pond
and machinery variety, that when an acct
dent happened there was more relief offered
from $4,000 of additional machinery
than could be obtained from the
pond that cost with its appurtenanceS
$3.50, 600; and think the time is not far
distant when water works throughout all of
it's parts will have to be constructed with
6SpCCldl I6l0l6uC6 W IllclI uUlIlGy, tiIu UP W
the present state of the arts, and when that
is done, large expenditures for stagnant
ponds in the vicinity of an unlimited supply
of water will cease to be built, and the re-
liability of machinery over hollows scooped
in the earth for a reserve will be established
beyond cavil.
There are a great many places where res
ervoirs are absolutely necessary and any
amount of pumping machinery would not
take its place, but this city is not one of
them. There must be a reserve of some
kind or else the city will be frequently out
of water, and it is better to have reserve
of machinery that will, when required, sup
ply, say 20, 900, 600 gallons day, and keep
doing it day after day, than it is to have a
reservoir of 30, 600, 600 gallons capacity that
will only supply 10000, 000 gallons, and is
then played out until the accident to the
machinery is repaired and it is again re-
plenished, and if not in continual use by
being drawn from, then to stagnate until
the next accident, or if it should be subject
to fluctuations, in this climate the probable
tiles are that by spring the reservoir would
be little else than ice hummOcks.
There are several of the large mills using
steam, to enable them to run during low
water and at the same time they get all
there is, and in consequence of their having
steam, they can utilize every drop of water
they can get, whereas before they could not
run unless there was given head; conse-
quently, in the future we may expect the
water drawn down lower than it has
ever been before, when, in order to insure
against any interruption in our own supply
we probably will have to resort to steam to
help us out; but the folly of dispensing en-
tirely with water power, which will always
be sufficient to furnish the city with the
greater part of its water, and use steam en-
tirely Will probably not be committed until
after the Mississippi ceases to flow; and es-
pecially in view of the fact that evrey gal
Ion pumped by steam will cost four times
as much as that pumped by water.
The report closes by stating that four
years ago, when the water
works came under the
contract of the board of water commission
ers, the machinery in the pump house was
represented by two turbine water wheels and
three pumps. The power had not been in
creased as fast as the pumps, and conse-
quently the pumping capacity at fire pres
sure was limited to 5000, 900 gallons of
water in twentyfour hours causing COM
plant from lack of power and pressure
from all parts of the city. The pumping
capacity is now 4O. 900, 600 gallons in TWEEN
ty-fOur hours, and the power has been in
creased IN proportion, giving an ample sup
ply and pressure to all parts of the city, not
withstanding the great increase in con-
sumption consequent upon the large num-
Der of extensions of mains that have been
addad