Wichita eagle., 1888-09-18
TEST OF PLANT.
The Fairmount Water Works Enjoys . Pres
sure One Hundred and Twenty Pounds
Good Water and Fire Protection.

At last the Fairmount water works are
ready for use and Councilman Buckridgs
who has been superintending the job o1
| putting in the plant is one Of the happiest
men in town over the fact. The water was
TUNED on yesterday and everything proved
| to be in first class condition.
The boilers and pump were put in by a
| gentleman in the employ of Mather, OF
| Port Huron, Mich, who has been in the
| city some weeks looking after that feature
| The boilers ale ninety horse power cadacity
and are set with some of Mr.. Mathers
patents. The brick walls are so arranged
| that they will not be cracked by the ex-
pansion and contraction of the boilers.
This is said to be good feature, not only
preserving the walls but in economizing
with heat.
At present only one pump is used. 1t is
Mather with three-quarter millions gal
Ions per day capacity and is able TO throw
four one inch fire streams. Another pump
has been ordered which will make a set
and give better protection to the con-
sumers, as if one should fail another will
be ready for use. This will give one and
half millions per day which will be
sufficient to keep Paramount going for
while.
The water is taken from four six inch
driue wells which are thirty feet deep and
from which it is thought the finest water
in the valley is secured. Mr.. Geo. c.
Strong who has championed the enter
prise, before deciding definitely to have
water works, he had the water supply
tested and found it to be Plentiful enough.
The next question to be settled was to
test the quality and accordingly to proceed
with the investigation he sent some of it
to a reliable chemist and had it analyzed.
He sent it with some water ne knew to be
Objectionable and the chemist very readily
reported which was the best for use, and
the Fairmount water was very fine. This
was sufficient to cause him to decide affir-
matively on the enterprise which has
results to be seen today. The material is
on the road for four more drive wells, as
those already in are not sufficient to give
the pump water under great demand.
This will be sufficient to supply both
pumps under heavy pressure in time of
fire.
The building for the station is a two
story brick thirtytwo by torty-two feet
with smoke stack forty feet. Over two
miles of main are ready for the water
and two miles more have been ordered.
They will be put in as soon as possible.
Most of the material is on hand, which
will do away with irksome delay.
Mr.. Mather, the patentee of the pump
used, has been in the city a few days ex-
amining the plant A test was made yes
terday and the pressure on the mains run
up to one hundred and twenty pounds and
no danger signal was observed The pump
is warranted to furnish one hundred and
eighty pounds and the pipe guaranteed to
stand two hundred. The average pressure
for the hill will be about fortv-five pounds
The teft with hose was witnessed by
number of the Fairmount people, who
were highly pleased with the result. The
stream from the base at plug on the hill
was about ninety feet high.
In order to utilize the fire protection Mr.
Strong proposes to donate the lot for a
hose house if the council Will put up the
house and supply the apparatus. A VOL
unteer hose company will be formed on
the hill which will manipulate the hose.
Mr.. Mather left last night for Omaha,
where he is having some pumps put in.
He has over forty stations supplied with
them but Wichita is the only town in the
state that has them. The city water
works has been using them since they
moved to the island