Telegram-herald., 1891-12-03
ROGUE RIVER Is BES1
Engineer Coates u Positive That II
IL the Only Resource
FOR AZ ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF WATER
nat Win Remain 50 for Years - as
Gisss ilustratiens-rhs Relations OF
the Negro and Whites Thrssxhiy
Unsatisfactory OF the Hotels.

w. R.Coates. of Kalamazoo, the note 4
hydraulic and sanitary engineer, was
At the Morton yesterday. To reporter
for the TELEsKAM- HERALD he expressed
himself very freely on the subject of q
water supply for Grand Rapids. "i'm
just rs much interested in good water
sysiem in Grand Rapids as | eyer MAS
IN Kalamazoo" he said. "because did
my fret work here ia this city, and
have done great deal of work towards
perfecting the present supply. | don't
tnnk Grand Rapihs is any nearer to
solving the question of q water supply
than 1t was twenty years ago; but. when
they do finally do something definite. l
an confident that they will act upon
the suggestion that made last May.
am confident Of it, because know
that is the only true source of supply.
Now. the Cook Tubular Well company
made very glowing prol ,tion to the
board, and represented that they
would sink welis to supply
Grand Rapids with water. and
II would never cost the city cent. OF
course they expected they would get
all the money out Of the city that they
invested, and / believs the city did pay
them 81 900 for t.e five wells tney sunk
l knew the proposition to supply the
city with water from wells was a wild
visionary scheme. More than twenty
years ago, bored all over the country
here. and | know that the strata condi-
tons are such that supply of water
cannot be obtained from wells. The
real thing for the city to do would be
to employ q competent engineer-I
don't care who he ls-and have that
man make q detailed report of the
whole matter.
The Only FracticabIe Supply.
Then it would know what there was
to be done and how 1t could do it, But
until 1t does MAKE thorough eyste-
matte investigation l have no hope of
the questions CT wafer supply being
solved. AS for myself. am positive
that Rogue river is the only practicable
source. People talk about going to
Black lake and other lakes for a supply.
This Is impossible. You can't expect 10
get more water from a lake than what
passes out of its outlet Now in the
dry season OF the year the outflow of
Black lake does not amount 70 more
than 4.0O0, 900 gallons day, while the
city will soon require 10000, 900 gal
Ions. There Is no lake anywhere near
here that could supply the demand.
Gun lake might after it were pumped
down fifteen or twenty feet be-
low the present surface; but zee
what stagnant mess Of decom-
| posing veg tation it would uls..
mately become. Battle Creek, 4 city
that doesn't uss more -than 1000. 900
q day, tapped Goguac Lake and is now
pumping It dry. That isa lake over q
mile and half long. Some people talk
about going to Thornapple or Flat riv-
ers; but it would cost three times as
much as IT would to tap Rogue river,
| and the water from those rivers is sub
ject to all kinds of contamination. The
water OF Rogue river is spring water,
and is exceptionally pure. There ,s
little to contaminate Il, and il would
| furnish supply sufficient to last
| for years. / know of no river
within q radius of 100 miles that can
furnish such water supply as Rogue
river can. 1t could be tapped above
Rockford or at the place where it emp
ties into Grand river. That would have
TO De determined by careful survey
but As / said before am confident
Grand Rapids will never have a decent
water supply until it does tap Rogue
river, and 1t will never do that unless il
goes at the matter IN a systematic man.
ner."