The morning call., 1892-12-25
WASTE OF WATER.
English and American
Cities Compared.
METHODS OF PREVENTION.
Introduction of Mechanical Devices
to Regulate Consumption The
Question of the Future.

An ample supply Of pure water Ia OF the
utmost Importance for the healthiness of
towns. When the population Of district
Is coDgregated into limited area the
natural supply of water is usually insult
fcient and in danger of being contaminated
by the sewage and surface refuse. Reser-
voirs for the storage and supply of water
are OF ancient date. Rome had her acQue-
ducts, and her rulers knew well the i'm
portance Of a supply of the aqueous fluid.
Artificial provisions for the supply of
water is a product of modern civilization,
and during the times when mankind was
sunk In the ignorance and degradation of
the dark ages the works Of former ages
were suffered TO lapse and fall into decay.
The available water supply of any
locality depends largely upon the rain fall
from the clouds. which is decreased by just
the amount of evaporation which is alb
sorbed by the heat of the sun. Rain
descending in a continuous fall loses less by
evaporation than when it falls in inter-
militant showers. Forests and vegetation
also check the natural waste.
1t is claimed by those who make the
water question study that one-half the
water is wasted by useless extravaganza.
1t is doubted if the lavish expenditure of
water is sanitary beneti; and not the
result Of willful negligence. A wiser use Of
water Is effected by the use of meters
restricting the supply to actual necessities.
In the system OF city supply il is thought
that decided advantages result from the
employment OF meters. Reckless waste is
checked and one consumer does not suffer
from his neigh boris extravaganza. AS pOpu-
lation increases the area from which the
water supply Is obtained decreases. Forests
are denuded. and the springs which supply
the flow oil the streams become exhausted
and that is the reason why the rivers of the
United States almost without exception are
lessening In flow with each successive year
There are no people 60 lavish in their
consumption OF water as those of the
United States. and the comparison between
the great cities of Great Britain and those
OF this country in the amount of water con-
sumed per capita affords room for con-
siderable reflection. The English are surely
not an uncieanly people. Yet O LondOner
regards 1898 gallons OF water per day as
ample for personal use, while the people OF
Manchester get along with thirteen gallons
each; Liverpool with ii 18th. and Birraing-
ham with fifteen gallons, while twenty other
provincial cities allow their citizens IL 4-5lhs
gallons each. The conditions Of life in
Great Britain are OF course widely different
from this country. An enormous population
existing In so small an area obliges them TO
submit 10 economies which amaze Rn
American and in nothing more than in the
wafer used. In most OF the English cities
the tank system Is IN vogue, where water is
measured TO the last gallon and each house
holder gets just what no pays for and not a
drop besides. Compared with this SEEM
lngiy hight consumption OF the English
cites. take few OF our American NUM-
cipalities. Allegheny. Pa, consumes 22S
gallons per day for ehinhabitant; Buffalo,
y. Y. 1S6 gallons; Richmond, Va, 167 |;
Chicago. 40; Philadelphia, 1872; Cincinnati.
York. 70; Minneapolis. 40; ST. l. luis, u !;
Syracuse. 6S. and San Francisco, 6S gallons
Out Of 2037 cities supplied by water compa-
MES only SO exceed San Francisco in consump-
;ion per capita per day. BY the last census
it is reported that %, Sf4. O6l. or So per cent
OF the population OF the whole country, de-
pend for their water supply upon these
20S7 companies, which represent an agCre-
gate capitalization of S5i3 000. 600, or one
SEVENTEEN as much as the capital invested
10 all the railroads In the country. With
hardly an exception the water companies
are confronted with an increased population
10 supply and decreasing area from which
20 draw from, and at a recent congress
OF experts II was regarded as most
important emergency that must be
met la the future; the economy Of
water consumption and the prevention of
needless waste. Men of science agree that
consumption of forty gallons per day per
head ls not only enough, but is more than
ample, aud that all that is used above this
amount IS extravaganza and useless waste.
This condition NAV not be true in every
case, as large manufacturing eenters are the
heaviest consumers. but is true as a general
proposition. How 10 habituate the people
TO restraint and 20 educate them 10 careful
ness In tue use OF water is the study of the
water companies Our local co rpOration has
given the subject much considerati3n-not
from any fear OF limited water supply
Tor population OF the present, or of even
greater size, but from the fact that the
wants OF the great municipality that will
crowd the peninsula eventually and will
have To be provided for.
This Is the reason, therefore, that nearly
all the great cities are adopting the meter
system. New York has now q, 900 in opera
ton and eventually will have them In
general USE Utica, n. Y, has 200 me-
ters and Chicago 1924, and the list might
be continued indefinitely. 10 every instance
where meters have been adopted an econo-
my results to the consumer as well as TO the
company who finds source of waste 10 be
cut OH. VINE once meter Is applied the
customer soon realizes the advantage il is 10
him. Waste, which the water meter reduces
Is not generally willful. but arises from
careiessness or inattention, but when at
tentlon is called TO 1t large majority of the
consumers at once rectify it, An instance
OIL this may be cited when the Spring Val
ley Company In six months. from July 1,
1870, sent out 3248 waste notices. Only q
small proportion of these notices failed in
effect. For August, 1881. 400 notices of
waste we're sent, and only 81 of these bad
10 be repeated. Time is required for the
Introduction and adoption of all reforms,
aud 1t may not be long before mechanical
devices will effect what conviction has
hitherto tailed In accomplishing, that is