The morning call., 1893-03-11
FROM THE ARaoNAUr OF MARCH 6.


During the past few weeks the Super
visors have been examining the reservoirs,
sources Of supply, pipe lines. pumping
works and plant OF the Spring Valley Water
Company, with view 10 fixing the rates for
the ensuing year. as required by law. Dur
ing this period of suspense the stock fell of
several points, and Is slowly recovering
Stockholders were timid. warned by the at
tempts o. previous boards 10 ''clnch" the
company.
disposition to be fair. There are two sides
TO every question. There are wafer stock
holders as well as water consumers. There
is no reason why \, who owns wafer stock,
should lose money in order to provide b
with cheap water. The stockholders OF the
Spring Valley Company are entitled to a
far rate OF interest upon their investment.
They receive from the present rates not
quite per cent per annum. No one can
claim that this is Is more than a fair rate.
The question OF rates Is Of Importance,
but 1t IS Of far less consequence than the
volume Of the water supply and the quality
OF the water. San francisco now consumes
20,000.0 coo gallons Of water per day. In the
storage reservoirs of the company there are
at present IS .000, 000, 0O0 gallons of water and
1O,0O0,0O0 gallons are added daily by pump
ing. The storage reservoirs of the Croton
Water Works in New York are capable of
holding thirty days supply only; though
New Y Ork, with a population of 100000,
consumes the same quantity OF water per
bead-say siXtY-siX gallOns-that San Fran
cisco does In the event OF an accident
New York might be exposed to a water
famine at the end of month. San Fran
cisco could stand siege Of over four years.
The quality Of the water supplied by the
Spring Valley Is superior to that furnished
to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston
and many other cities. In most of these the
water is not absolutely pure, and is derived
from sources which the progress of settle
ment is rendering less pune every day.
Philadelphia used TO have q supply of nota-
bly, pure water; it Is now so f0ully contain
mated that people do not drink It if they
can help 1t, and 1t Is accused Of being unfit
for use even when boiled. The Croton sup
ply in New York being now inadequate
bill is before the Legislature TO authorize
the State government to buy all the land
bordering on streams, lakes and reservoirs
from which the future supply may be OBJ
tanned. Should the bill pass the city will
incur liability which will vastly increase
its debt. And yet it seems to be an absolute
necessity.
Well water, which used to be considered
so wholesome. is now known to be the most
active of all causes of disease. In the c6un-
try the well and the cesspool are frequently
neighborS and exchange contents with re-
suits which may be imagined. Only the
other day at a small town in England sud-
den and unaceUun table outbreak of typhoid
fever was traced directly to a well from
which the people had been in the habit of
drawing their water. Some wells receive
the rainfall from limited area round the
mouth OF the well. But if the we'll is at
the bottom of a valley, or II the soil through
which the well has been sunk Is stratified,
the water may come from quite a distance
II it fell in line with the inclination OF the
soil toward the we'll. Where the soil is
porous water may flow for considerable
distance underground. carrying with it any
disease germs which il meets on its way.
In the interior OF California hundreds of
thousands of people get their drinking
water from wells. IL cholera should reach
us this summer grave danger will attach to
such q practice. San Francisco. however.
Will be relatively free from danger, owing
10 the generous and uncontaminated sources
OF her water supplYs