Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-19
A COMEDY OF ERRORS.
INTERESTING HISTORY OF THE
 CITY,S WATER SUPPLY.

l Twenty Years and the Question | still UnsoIved Patchwork Sys-
 tenn that is Penny Wise and Pound
 Foolish. | Nearly everybody has formed an opln- ion ere this as to which of the proposed plans for increasing the city's water SUD- ply is the most desirable. The DEMOCRAT has taken position in favor of making connections direct with Bantam lake and thus forever settling the question which has forced itself upon the people every few years since the establishment of the
 present water system. The records of the water board for twenty years prove
 that mistakes have been made which have
 cost the city thousands and tens of thou
 sands of dollars.
 The history of the water board is an interesting and instructive one. In 1866 the first steps to secure a water supply
 were taken, Mayor P. G. Rockwell call ing attention to the matter in his mes sage. A committee consisting of F. c.
 Rockwell, N. J. Welton, A. E. Rice, Greene Kendrick, J. w. Webster and c. B. Merriman were appointed to make
 investigations. The advisability of
 bringing water from Quassapaug was
 considered, but the expense was thought too great. Hancock brook was also men toned, but did not meet with much fla vor. A proposition to secure the desired
 result by sinking an artesian we'll was
 also suggested. but the committee
 thought it a hazardous experiment and
 would not recommend it. The commit tee finally examined a stream upon East
 mountain and it was their unanimous
 opinion that this was the source to be
 recommended. The report was accepted by the court of common council and a
 charter was secured with permission to
 issue bonds not to exceed the sum of
 S150, ,000. A board of water commis-
 sioners consisting of N. J. Welton, presi-
 dent, F. J. kingsbury, $. w. Webster
 and A. $. Chase were elected. They re-
 ported plan to erect dam across East
 Mountain brook about one hundred rods from the junction of the brook with
 Beaver Pond brook, forming reservoir
 to contain S,OO0,OO0 gallons of water;
 and also to build another dam upon the
 same stream about half mile southerly from the first, the second reservoir to be for storing water and to contain 100, ,000,- 900 gallons. The probable cost they
 estimated at S150,000. The plan was ac- cepted by the court of common council.
 When the work was completed it was found to have cost S40. .000 more than the
 engineers estimate.
 In 1876, eight years after the system
 was established, the board reported that
 the rapid increase of the consumption of water rendered it necessary to take ac- tive measures to increase the supply. Families residing on high ground did not receive full supply of water at cer-
 tain hours of the day. Messrs Welton X Bennett, the engineers to whom the
 matter was referred for investigation re
 ported that a reservoir 300 by 300 feet in size and about twelve feet deep, to con- tain II 100000 gallons of water, could be built at Cooke street and supplied from , the distributing reservoir at East m oun- tain, the whole cost not to exceed $50, 900. , It was not until 1878 that the board of
 commissioners received instructions to secure the right of way and build a res
 ervoir according to the plans submitted, i and it was a year later before permission } was secured from the legislature to issue ) bonds not exceeding S75,0 ,000 to carry out the project. When the work was com = pleted the cost was found to exceed the original estimate by about S15, 1000.
 In January, 1880, the supply from the
 reservoirs at East mountain was again : reported inadequate and another storage } reservoir was constructed in Prospect at U a cost of about S15,000.
 : In 1883 1t was the same old story. The l city was growing, the consumption of . water was increasing at an alarming . rate and the supply threatened to give 7 out. The water i'll the storage reser-
 voirs became less and less and on Nov
 obliged to stop the use of water in all l the factories except where absolutely
 necessary. The engineers reported a
 plan for pumping from the Mad river ! and piece of land was secured near the a Plank road. President Welton and ' Commissioner Hamilton were instruct , ed to purchase boiler and pump and q q have them placed in position. The cost u of this work was about S4,OO0 and the n, commissioners reported that the pump 5 ing capacity was ,O00 O00 gallons day i Their estimate was subsequently, found O to be 250,O0O gallons day more than z the actual capacity of the pump. The pumping capacity is only 75O, ,000 gallons . a day.
 In 1885 the need of still further addi-
 ton to the water supply was recognized Q by the council and the commissioners = were instructed to make preliminary I surveys with view of ascertaining what = could be done to increase the supply. They reported favorably upon the Hop
 brook scheme, but the matter has been
 dragging along since without any defi-
 mite action being taken. The total ex- I penditures since the commencement of
 the work up to December 31, 1887, are as follows:
 I Water Bonds .................... S19O, ,0OO. %
 Reservoir Account t..,................ 769. 35 = Interest. .......................... 663. 10 h Water Damages. s...................... 10,2O0. % - Cash for Extensions. .............. 272, ,253 B u Total, $473, ,ss5. .6S
 In the face of the record we ask would " it not have been a cheaper investment and better one for the city to have V tapped Bantam lake for its water supply twenty years ago instead of spend
 ing half million dollars upon Il' our present patchwork system : ;, The expense would certainly have ,l a been no greater while the supply, \, v without a doubt, would have been mex " haustible. The movers in the Hop brook h i, scheme are but trying to add another d block to the crazy work ,and if they carry # their point the citizens of Waterbury d will regret it, for within ten years there V, will be another cry for water. A great