Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-01-23
WATER QUESTION AGAIN.

| An Effort Being Made to Railroad the
 Hop Brook Scheme Through the
 Council.
 A special meeting of the board of will be held this evening, for the purpose of considering the ques- tion of an additional water supply. The DEMOCRAT has discussed this ques- tion at great length during the past | three years and the weight of evidence | has been in favor of the eastern project, | which was recommended by Rudolph Herring, the eminent hydraulic engi- neer who was brought here at great | expense with the implied understanding that his recommendation should be adopted without further delay or dis cussion.
 In his report Mir Herring says in re- gard to the quantity of water required and obtalnable: ''It does not seem wise in planning new works for the city of Waterbury to consider future supply of less than eighty gallons per head per day, nor a population of less than S0,000 persons, which population the city will probably have in twenty-four years. be provided should not be less than (, 100000 gallons per day. The mini mum flow of She brooks near Water bury, in the fall of 1891 was: Hop brook, 300,000 gallons; Chestnut hill reservoir, 165, ,000; Lindley brook, 456,- 900; Lily brook, 597,000; Quassapaug, 51 ,00O.
 Before leaving the subject of storage," he says, ''it is necessary to re- fer to the facilities available for re- placing by storage the water which would be taken by the city from the streams now supplying the mills. In the case of Hop Brook and Quassapaug pond no sufficient storage capacity can be obtained for this purpose high \ enough up the brook to be of service to all the mill owners, and the water privi- Ieges would have to be purchased. In the Mad river valley, however, the
 water taken by the city could be again supplied by new storage reservoirs This water is that which is furnished by \ the Chestnut hill and Cedar swamp \ reservoirs, also the minimum flow from
 the territory between the proposed dam
 and Cedar swamp, and the minimum | flow from the watershed of Lindley
 brook proposed to be diverted. There are several sites for storing the desired quantity of water for mill purposes be-
 low the points where the city's supply
 would be taken"
 In conclusion Mir Herring says that it
 seems better to develop Mad river first \ His reasons in brief are:
 First. The quality of water from the
 eastern sources is better than the aver age of the others.
 \ Second. The supply to be procured
 from the eastern sources is larger.
 Third. The water privileges on Mao
 river are less expensive now than they
 may be at a later period, while Quassa
 paug and Hop brook can never demand
 higher price than now.
 Fourth. As Quassapaug drains into the HOusatOnic river it may he neces
 9arv t" obtain legislation to divert tho
 water.
 Fifth. There is the same opportunity with the eastern as the western sources !, to extend the work gradually. On thi . point the engineer says: "The construc
 tion of the Mad river reservoir will fur nish together with the East Mountain ; supply, 3,210,0 gallons per dav, or tn , estimated consumption for 1899. Afte , constructing the Mad river reservoir , the Lindley brook, if added, would fur nish total supply to the city of 3,S42 GOO gallons, the estimated supply fo , | 1905. If instead of Lindley brook tn | Chestnut Hill reservoir be added so tn
 Mad river, the city would be supplies safely until 1909.
 The cost of the eastern project pc million gallons delivered daily is esti mated at S132, ,3O7; the cost of tn , western project per million gallons de ! livered daily is placed at S141. 399. Tn |, eastern sources ~can supply 4,2O0,0 ,00
 gallons daily; the western sources onl z 900. .0O0. The combined supply of Ho . brook and Quassapaug would give tn city only until 1904 if the followin sources would supply the city unt , 1916.
 The way of the councilmen woul seem clear, with the above facts il : mind Engineer Herring says that tn , mills on the line of Mad rIver can supplied with all the water they requir
 by building storage reservoirs. Is M Herring not to be trusted? If ther . were any doubt of his ability why wa
 he brought here at great expense to tn
 Taxpayers?
 There is a growing suspicion that tn
 calling of special meeting of the couu Gil to discuss the water question mean something more than appears on tn surface. Why this spasmodic haste ; The new members of the council hay 7 not had time to carefully weigh thi . question-the greatest that ever con :; fronted the city. It is whispered that canvass of the members of the lowe board has given the advocates of tn | t1Op DrOOk SCneul6 cause IO OSllSN0 tho if they act now they will succeed Il carrying their point. We warn tn
 members of the council that grave re sponsibility rests upon them. An emi ; nent engineer says the western source will only supply water for few years l and that there is water enough to sur /; ply the needs of both the city and tn mills in the Mad river and it's trihu taries. Will you sacrifice half millio
 dollars of the peoples money simpl
 because the manufacturers may be pu
 to the trouble of building few dams I the Mad river supply be taken? Who
 at the bottom of this Hop 5roo scheme? Is some personal interest ir volved? These are questions for tn , oath bound city fathers to careful , consider.
 About ninety teachers have joine ! the class in physical culture to be unde the direction of Dr Anderson of the Val = | Iovmnasiuno The instruction iS fII