Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1889-08-10
A JUST DEMAND.
Tax Payers and Water Consumers Clam
oring for those Two Additional
Reservoirs.
Increased Consumption and Its Result
viii the Water Company
Keep Faith?

Santa Fe water consumers have awak-
cned to the TACT that they have been
placed in an annoying and most unpleas-
ant position by the failure OF the Water
i Improvement company to keep faith
with the provisions OF its charter aud ar
range for increased storage capacity as
the increase OF consumption demands.
This question is one that has come prom
inently to the front within the past few
weeks, and to-day one hears it discussed
on every hand throughout the city.
There vas Il time when certain eie'
ment opposed the maintenance OF res
ervOir across the mouth OF the Rio Santa
Fe canon because
DESIGNING PARTIES
had partially persuaded them that such
dam served to lessen the flow Of water in
The bitches and interlered with farm igri-
CATION 1t is charged that the water com
pany has taken advantage OF this sentl-
nent to avoid the building OF additional
reservoirs; hut, nevertheless, such feeling
now no longer exists and the utility ana
necessity OF water storage has come to he
universal demand, such reservoirs to he
located in side Canons and suitable de-
preSsiOns adjacent to the Rio Santa Re
and supplied from the surplus and not the
ordinary natural flow Of the stream.
Nearly every body speaks kindly Of the
water company, and there is apparently
no disposition to create undue ANNOYANCE
ior that corporation, but ut the same time
Il just regard for the business demands Of
the community is called for.
THE PRESENT SITUATION
is bad, to say the least. Old patrons Of
the company are without water, even for
ordinary domestic purposes. Beautiful
lawns and gardens that have been years
in becoming established are perishing.
Three consumers, for instance, are using
water from one pipe that originally cost
$200--and they pay 5000 year to secure
the water At those figures it would
seem that they should have reasonably
good water service, but they don't. On
the other hand, even at these eXorbitant
prices, very many more people are clam
oring to become patrons OF the company.
1t isn't question Of money, it IS purely q
question of water.
The fact is
santa FE IS GROWING;
the water consumption has increased
steadily for five years past, while the sup
ply has steadily diminished. How? The
only reservoir which the company main
tains has been constantly filling up with
sand and goat manure washed down the
mountain stream that feeds it until there
is a comparatively small capacity for stor-
age lett above the dam, and the water
that lodges there soaks up impurities that
come from hundreds of goats and sheep
on one hand and thick green scum on
the other that isn't pleasant to contem-
plate when a man sits down to regale
himself With sparkling glass of ice water,
apparently pure and wholesome.
The water company is on record as
ADMITTING ITS OBLIGATION
to construct and maintain two additional
reservoirs here. It is the talk On the
street to-day that petition will be pre-.
scented to the county commissioners at its
meeting on the 24th, asking that it ex-
anime well into this matter and call upon
the water company to keep faith with the
people