Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-12
CITY TRUSTEES.
HuMBERg's REPORT UPON THE
MATER SUPPLY.
All Dives Oan be Closed Under Or
dinance 23z The Board
Orders One Closed.

The Board of City Trustees met in regu-
lar session at 10 A. NJ. yesterday, all the
members present.
The Chief Engineer of the Water Works
reported for the week ending Sunday,
March 10Th, 24675,ooo gallons of water
pumped, The Holly pump being in opera
ton 1854 hours and the Stevens pump
but 10.
City Treasurer Gerber reports balance on
hand February LIST, $103,0Ss 81. Received
during the month, $47 ,22S OF. Total, $780,
SIG "a Warrants paid during the month,
2l.552 30; coupons. $4,272. Totai dis
LIST, $l24 ,69l 81
CONFIRMING WELL WATER.
P. A. Humbert sent in the following
communication, which was read by the
Mayor and ordered placed on file:
To the Honorable Eugene j. Gregory, Mauor of
Sacramento City, and the Board OF Csty Trustees
GENTLEh EN-: In answer to the communication
received from your honorable Board referring
to me the protest of Dr. G. l.. Simmons to the
report presented to you on the water supply of
sacramento city. together with your request for
further iacts will state that:
l. : IL
pumping 10 600. 900 gallons daily be bought and
stand pipe erected for the distribution of proper
ilre and house pressure. This machinery esti-
mate at SS5, 00e
To erect the machinery upon the wells sink
these wells, bring and distribute the water into
Sacramento city, would cost S250,000. at very
conservative estimate. / recommended plan
which can be made success, and the cheapest
II remains for the people of sacramento city to
"a whether they will try an experiment at a cost
OF s25O,0O0, or spend SS5,o00 for certainty.
have the report presented by me 10 your
honorable Board published in full; by so doing
you would at once remove the impression con-
veyed by Dr.. G. L. Simmons. that recommended
any particular hltering system.
a POINTER on RIVER WATER.
claim as an engineer, that to insure at all
seasons OF the year clear water in sacramento
city, the fltering of the water of the Sacrament
TO river is practicable, and furthermore is the
only feasible way TO introduce clear water into
Sacramento city, except at great cost from the
mountains. | also claim that the death rate of
Sacramento eity-being Per LOO inhabitant
shows that the water of the Sacramento river
is good-thi rate being below that OF most East
ern cities.
The turbines of the river water is objection
able more particularly to strangers, and filter
ing IS an Improvement which the future will
demand as a luxury and was so stated in
my report. and therefore recommended. No
estimate was given to the cost of fltering
piaht. us had not decided which system TO
recommend
When DR.. Simmons affirms that state that
the water OF tue wells comes from infiltratiuns
formed this opinion from the facs they
exist
WELLS AFFECTED BY THE RIVER
The water in these wells is higher in the
winter than i'll the summer. 1t rises and falls
with the American river. During one of the
great floods attempts were made TO plug these
wells. showing them to have connection with
the river. If these wells had in their downward
course penetrated an underground river or
stream, the hight of the water should remain
alike III summer and winter, controlled only by
the amount of water taken from the wells by
the pumps, and this up to the present being an
1nsis niticaLt quantity, should hot affect the
Level OF the water.
The night of the water must very nearly de-
termine the elevation of the source of this
water. This water level Is from nine 10 twelve
feet below the surface of the valley conse-
gently the source from which these wells re-
ceive their water must be looked for ten to
twelve feet below the surface.
The American river, Burns slough, and other
water-courses in the valley, appear 10 me to
most probably furnish this, and when it is taken
into consideration that the formation is aliuvisl
innitrations are d probability.
With all respect to DR.. simmons and the re-
speetable g. ntleman whom he quote. would
like tosuggest that physician diagnoses a Gaze
by examining the condition of his patient. and
an engineer i taught 10 build theory on facts
not to theorize as to the facts.
4. As to tine borings DR.. Simmons suggests /
have tailed to have made, can no exactly I'M
derstaud .heir necessity; a number of wells
have cen bored; they have all penetrated the
same STRATA have han The pleasure OF talking
with wei-borers, and it is from these gentle
men that received The information as to the
formation which these walls penetrated. To
have made borngS would have entaied upon
the aity an expenditure of money which would
have had oniy as an object To prove that the
gentlemen no tor many Yeas have lived in
your mid aud bore these wells had told me the
truth could see no reason for recommending
this expenditure.
WHOLE COLONIES or GERMS.
.; In regard TO the quality OF the water of the
\ tken web and III Hospia al we'll will say
thls-thst had careful tests made sot for mir
erals. as these had been deseTm ned by Mr. Eitel
and Professor Price, whose suits l accept as
beng correct; but b ID the water examined hy
the method Of Dr. Koch, of rim as TO am lunt
of micro-osg5n isms or germs contained in IL. II
was not my intention 10 publish these resu Is
as they might injure laud values about the
wei 5, aud having satisfied myself that there ex-
listed sutilcis nj other reasons OF an engineerii
cha, scier to make impracticable to use these
wei, 10 supply the city with drinking water
withheld the results OF these tests from my re-
port.
In answer to Dr. mmons assertion that this
is Absolutely pure water, and would be a boon
to have Ii int oduced 10 sacramento city | beg
TO submit the following facts
The water OF the Aiken and of the County
Hospital vet gave the following result. Aiken
well. 10 grains of water showed after three
days, when mixed with prepared gelatine on re-
ir;gert,r glass plates more than 20 Go colonies:
~ ti,e C.iluty Hospita, well over 900; each
one u these colonies while repr senting mill
lois upon millions of bacteria, represent only
one germ. The Aiken well gave two kinds of
families, the Hospital well only oBe: - graius
OF Spriag Valley gave 30 colonies; Is grains OF
Oakland well water gave $50 colonies: Is grains
OF artfsian vel water gave 30 colonies: Is
graf, S of athens well water gave 200u colo
MES 10 grains OF County Hospital we'll water
gavr 4.0O0 colonies.
his table shows the excess OF germs in Sacra-
mento wells. The 'eason for the excess of
germs in the Aiken well is probably due to The
age of the well and its proximity to Burns
slough
ms AUTHORITY.
DR. tieh', who made these examinations.
says "sf may be allowed 10 express my opin-
ion 10 regard {, the sanitary qualities of these
two samples Of water, l wish TO state that deem
sample No l-Aitkens weil-entirely unfit for
drinking purp ses, and sample No. County
Hoss wel-iolerably good"
viii add that the water of the Aiken well
and OF the CouGty Hospital is not such wat as
should be advocated for the use of large city.
] satisfied that to the use of this well
wster throughout the Sacramento valley can be
attributed large amount of malarial aud other
levers. In this m only expressing the opinion
of modern scientists ana doctors, who generally
condemn wells as being receptacle Tor the
breeding germs OF typhus and other fevers.
DR.. Cyrus tdson. of New York, in the Scicn-
tic american supplement. No. 6s7 of March 2.
1889. says; During the past year / have
Wis ted twenty towns supplied with water from
dug or driven wells. In every instance the
supply was polluted. aud in the case of twelve
was responsible for an outbreak OF typhoid"
To this allow me to add the opinion of DR.. II.
Ieiherby Medical officer of Health of tae city
OF london until his decease in 1876. In his
opinion on river water for drinking more especi-
ally referring to the supply OF London from the
Thames--he says: 81 have arrived at q very
decided conclusion that sewerage, when 1t is
mixed with twenty times its volume of running
water and has flowed distance of ten or
twelve miles. is absolutely destroyed: the
agents of destruction being infusoral animals,
aquatic plants and fish. and chemical oxida-
ton." To this let me add, that can find no
evidence which would tend TO show that any
city would he justified in using well water as
against running water.
6 In CONCLUSION. .et state that 1 am too
deeply interested in the welfare of Sacramento
city to advise snch doubtful and expensive