The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-03-29
How the La Sale Water Works Were Con.
structed.

at the city election in April, the his
! tory OF the construction OF water
works In neighboring city, without
| the creation OF "A bonded debt, Is o.
considerable public interest. To the
end OF placing the facts before the
voters OF this city in an authority,
manner, a FREE TRADER reporter
called upon Mr.. II. ID. Mcdonald al
his Office in the Globe building.
"Mr. Mcdonald the reporter said
you were city attorney of La Sallt
during the building of the water
works. How did the city of La Sale
proceed in organizing the water-works
movement"
1T was started in the spring of 81
about month after | was elected city
attorney. We found on Investigation
that the city could not issue bonds in
the regular form without getting
beyond the constitutional limitation.
The mayor and water-works commit
tee submitted several plans, all OF
which failed because each time the
plan ran back to the issuing of bonds,
and that branch Of the matter was re-
ferred to the city attorney to devise
some means to raise enough money to
go ahead. The matter was investi-
gated and a plan was adopted to issue
water-workS warrants to the extent OF
$4,000, but the city only sold $40, 900
Of the amount authorized"
previous to the issuing of the water
works warrants an ordinance was
adopted setting apart so much OF the
revenues Of the city to pay $4,000 a
year Of these warrants, with accumu-
lated interest at per cent. The war
rants were then placed upon the mar
ket and could all have been sold in one
day. The first sale was $4,000. The
first series of the water-workS war
rants and the interest on them have
been paid. The warrants were so
drawn that the city was exempted
from all liability on such warrants,
the purchaser relying upon the income
of the city and that alone for the pay
ment of the warrants
"ThiS plan has been substantially
sustained by the Supreme Court OF
this state on similar warrants issued
anticipating the incoming revenues in
the case of the city of Chicago. We
were materially aided in the con-
struction of the water-wOrks by a very
handsome and liberal donation from
the mayor, amounting, in the aggre-
gate, to $4,000, he having donated
the pumping over and paying other
expenses connected with it, which
amounted to the sum named. To
further aid in the construction OF the
water-works, the city took from its
current revenues, then on hand. be-
tween $l2, 900 and $4,000. The total
expense of the water-wOrkS would be
between S75, 900 and $50, 900 to the city
of La Sale"
where did you find your water sup
ply and what was your method of con-
Quoting water to The city,"
THE supply is found at Spring
Dells, two miles from the city, where
there are four large springs, which can
be made to furnish 100000 gallons
of water every twenty-four hours. We
lowered these springs eight feet and
placed twO-foOt st. Louis vitrifled salt
glazed sewer-pipe in them, leading tOl
our reservoir at La Sale. The pipes
nowhere approach the surface within
eight feet and the water reaches the
reservoir at La Sale as pure and cold
as though the spring had been bodily
and set down where the reser-
voir now stands"
"How did you let the construction
Of the works? Was it by contract for
the entire affair, or only in part?"
"The digging of the trenches for the
pipe was let to the lowest responsible
bidder after an advertisement of one
month, based upon the plans and Spe-
furnished for that purpose.
The iron pipings were all let in the
same manner, the lowest responsible
of such material Secur-
fed pipe was furnished in the same
There were in each case as
many as halt dozen different bids
put in by different Institutions. "A
great deal of the work of connecting
the main lines with the branch lines
to convey the water to dwellings and
business houses was performed by the
city. :.
"Dld you use standpipe or the di-
rect pressure SYSTEM
"The system used is the direct
pressure, dispensing with a stand
pipe. The water is forced through
the pipes underground from the reser-
yoir and does not come to the level of
the ground until it reaches the fau-
GETS"
(Which do you consider the better
system, the direct pressure or the
Which is the cheaper"
when we first figured we consid-
cred the stand-pipe system, and in
tended to place stand-pipe about a
mile from the city, but we found 1T
would make the cost Of the plant
about 100000, and if the direct
had been placed at the springs
and forced into stand-pipe at the
CITY, it would also have cost about
100000, but by allowing the water to
reach the city by its own gravity, the
fall being l2t feet, we saved about
s25, 000."
docs the system work satisfactor-
ily? How does it act in case CT IRE!
ct is grand success. To test 1T
for fire purposes the city opened seven
hydrants and attached to each a one
inch nozzle, throwing streams over
the tops of the highest buildings on
the hill, but we failed to lower the
level of the reservoir the sixteenth
part of an inch after the current in
the pipes from the springs once got
started. The city of La Sale has as
fine quality Of water as any city In
) 10 Tot a nf Il1inniS ~