The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1889-03-12
rEg FAILuRR OF OuR wArER suPpLy.

serious matter than anything of the
kind which we have vet experienced.
! We have enjoyed a series Of compar
atively wet years. During that per
iod, the supply Of water, if not al
ways ample for irrigation, has soon
4 been renewed by the return Of rain.
1t has always been abundant for do
nestle uses. In the meantime the
city has grown. and the number Of
taps has greatly increased Sud
denly.an old fashioned drought comes
down on rs, right in what ought 10
/ be our rainy season. The streams
which supply our reservoirs are run
ming very low. People get up in the
morning to find their taps dry. They
have to shrmish around for water to
wash their faces. Housekeepers
cannot improve Monday for the
weeks washing. The shower bath
and the plunge are both becoming
-unattainable luxuries. Not only are
the green leaves turning sere. but
the tender lawns are in danger Of go
ing thirsty We all hope the drought
Is not going to last long; but who
knows?
Meanwhile the Superintendent Of
Water Works and his men viii do
the best they know. II they do. or
do not, they viii be we'll growled at.
all the same. 1t is an emergency for
which the city Is not prepared.
There are no springs or streams
available that can be turned in.
Contemplated storage reservoirs
have not yet been built. There is a I
fine system Of pipes and taps, but
the heavens refuse to ill them. Evi
dentiy nothing can be done at once /
to reieEe the distress, except to dis /
tribute the moderate supply there is. !
with economy. and to wait with pa
uence for the rain 10 fall.
Can anything be done to prevent
the recurrence Of the evil in the fu-
ture? Build storage reservoirs. do
you say? But they are very expen-
sive, and might, if not thoroughly
constructed, endanger portions Of
the city by breaking away in a storm.
The plan we would suggest Is quite
and we think much cheaper,
safer. and more certain TO meet the
need.
We all know that beneath the city
already exists q vast reservoir Of the
nurest water which drives its pent
Up floods to height of forty feet
above sea level wherever an artesian
we'll has been pierced down to it.
That reservoir Is one that is always
.ull, and substantially unaffected by
brought. The plan we advocate
hen Is. to bore q sufficient number
# artesian wells to supply the
greater part Of the city, and by /
means Of steam pumps to force the |
water to the proper height above J
he city. say one hundred feet, or {
ixty feet above the artesian level. c
from some statements which have l
ONE to Us from competent engi- 6
.eers we are inclined to believe that :
be cost Of wells and pumps and c
would leave the water I
forks bureau large profit at Q
resent rates. even If the entire city I
cpply was derived from that source. I
-hich Of course It would not be. b
he source Is certain and unfailing q
5 Lake Michigan Is to the people Of p
.hicago. It Is absolutely without a
eril. as no dams would exist TO c
reak down. If small distributing 4
aservoirs are needed. either the
resent ones can be used, or one '
IN be constructed on the Punch t
owl slope. il
One advantage Of such an auIl- Z
~ pumping system, IS that It :
ould prevent the necessity which Il
on appears unavoidable, Of depriv- Il
g, during drought, the culGyat0rs II
taro IN Nuuanu valley OF their p
ater rights, thereby subiecting them %
heavy loss, and the Government o.
corresponding payment Of dam 4
,es. As matters nov stand, the =
overnment expect 10 provide a =
rye sum for caneelling Of water Ii
yhts By our plan this sum could Of
saved and applied 70 pumping le
1rks. = =
Vow, while the public mind Is tI
5eawake upon Il Is good time If
discuss this subject Has any one + 50
better plan to offer than the one ac
owe presented?
4 friend Of ours. who has & talent q
"a taste for figuring. ont odd ur0- s.