The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-06-26
THE WATER SUPPLY.
saG not 10 individuals.

matter Of water supply having been
taken, active operations will begin at
once and the work crowded to compile
ton IS rapidly as possible. The mains
have seen ordered and in the. course Of
a few days Nrce Of men will be set to
work IN the trenches, The people on
the dry bench nay congratulate them
selves that their long endured water
femme is so near an end and others OF
the community may congratulate them
selves that they are at last to be relieved
from listening TO the wall that has been
heard almost ithoutinterrupt:on these
many years,
Bot amid these congratulations all
around there looms up more trouble and
annoyance. City Creek, which was so
much OF q food a few days
ago. running fair-sized river
fer several days, has since fallen
so rapidly as TO excite apprehen-
sion and alarm. There is very little
snow in the mountains. and that is fast
disappearing. though the summer has
only made its appearance. The three
months OF the year when the most wa
ter Is required are before us, and the
stream is already as low as it gets in
ordinary years a month later in the
season. It is said that within three
weeks all the water that comes down
the creek will run through the mains of
the present water-works system, and a
month hence the supply will be insult
Gent to SUPPLY the demand. Thus the
prospect is not very promising. consid-
ering thar another system of Torks is
being put in to draw from the already
inadequate supply. 1t should be appar-
ent TO all that the water supply must be
materially increased, or such rigid
economy enforced as viii seem hard
ship 70 consumers. As the supply
cannot be increased the economy VII
necessarily have to be enjoined; and
while we get rid of the distressing plant
from the north bench. a similar cry is
likely TO 60 up from all over the city.
There is one waste that can and |
should be stopped at once. Early last
spring THE HERkLD called attention to |
the fact that there would be q scarcity |
of water in City Greek this year, and
urged that strset-sprinkling be done
from the canal instead of from the
mountain stream. This will have to be
done now, or the streets go without
water, The people canuot consistently
be asked to deny themselves
water, when the roads are being
flooded, aud especially when the
sprink ing can as wei be done from
another source. We are told that the
sprinkling carts take sbcrt 200 900 gag
Ions daily. What tkey spread upon
the streets would be ample to supply
the north benchers for domestic pur-
poses, leaving the old system undis-
turbed. There is an abundance of
water in the canal for street sprinkling
and irrigation, and from that source
the carts should be compelled to draw
their supply.
Ia this connection We have heard an
other suggestion. It is this-thst the
cheap wood pipes be laid along the
principal streets to supply water from
the canal for lawn sprinkling. 1t must
be apparent to all that the day |,
is close at hand-it may be here .
before the end of the present summer :
when City Greek will all be taken
for house uses and IRE purposes, none
being left for irrigation or lawn sprink-
ing. Probably two-thirds OF the water
running through the mains now goes
upon lawns and gardens; this must ne
be stopped with the decrease
Of the stream. The canal water Is better
for irrigation purposes than that from
City Greek, and can readily and cheaply
be conveyed to pretty nearly every :
quarter OF the city. The suggestion is
hat pipes be laid from the csnar
along the principal streets, adj
hat the lawn-sprinkling be done ?
rom these pipes instead of from the IL
mains, as at present. We have the
of the Mayor for The state
nent that the city will lay the pipes If n
he property-owners will purchase s,
hem, and the Mayor is also of the o
pinion that under such circumstances v
10 charge would be made for the use b
he water. r,
This matter demands the immediate a.
nd earnest consideration and intelH- v
ent action of the municipal authori- OF
les and the people. There is ne occa- m
ion for a water famine in this city, but b.
-e viii soon De the victims Of a most h,
evere scarcity OF water unless some W
hing is done TO arrest the catastrophe. dc