The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-01-13
CHICAGO'S WATER SUPPLY.
Preparations Being Made for
Worlds Fair Visitors.
Enlargement OF the system to Meet the
Growing Demand-POiuts About Lake
Michigan, the Exposition,
Etc, Etc
Especial Chicago Correspondence

| rCdTS were cApIcSScu WHcn IHt
worlds fair enterprise was in its in.
fancy that the water supply of Chicago
would not be sufficient for the multi
tudes that would be in the city all dur
ing the summer of 1898. 1t was point
ed out that even then it was impossi
BILE, during the summer months, to get
any water higher than the third story
of a building in many parts of the city,
and large buildings that could not dc
without water were obliged to provide
tanks on the top of the building to sup
| ply water when the regular supply
gave out
All this was due to the fact that the
water system of Chicago was not in
| tended for city CT a million and a
half of people, that Chicago had out
grown its former ample supply as it
outgrew everything else. Ten years
ago the old crib where the water IS
taken in two miles from shore out in
Lake Michigan was the pride of the
city and our water supply was one of
the chief things we boasted of about
| the city. To-day the old crib receives
more abuse than almost any other part
| of our public works or our municipal
administration except the scavenger
service There has been quite little
tinlleriug done in the past. The old
north shore inlet off Chicago avenue
was moved out into the lake in order
TO get into deep water. By the way,
this was a very poor move. The inlet
was placed at the north end of the
northeast brealIwater and it SO hap
| pened. that whenever the water from
the Chicago river flowed out into the
lake it would be carried along this
! breakw alter and reach the north shore
inlet, thus polluting that part of our
water supply.
| Then new inlet is being built at
! Lake View, which will relieve the city
considerably. But the greatest inn
provement and feat of engineering
! that is interesting of itself without re-
! gard to its relation to the water sup
| ply, is the new four-mile tunnel.
This new source of supply was opened
a short time ago ard about doubles the
entire water supply of the city. 1t
/ gave both the contractor and the city
government great amount of trouble
Starting from Il poins at the south end
of the Lake Front park this tunnel
runs due east for four miles into the
! lake, passing under the outer harbOr
| and the government breakwater and
| thence to an intermediate crib which
| is about two and Il half miles from
| shore, thence 10 the inlet four miles
from shore. The water here is about
! eighty feet deep and ordinarily is good
and pure. At times if the wind hap
! pens to create 4 peculiar kind of cur
rent some of the river water will flow
( to the south and then eddy around SO
as to pass northward further out in the
I lake. At such times the water around
this new crib is subject to pollution.
But analysis has shown that as gem
cral thing the water ut the four-mile
crib is entirely free from any injurious
substances.
And while we are out on the lake Il
curious thing may be mentioned That
is that a Though Chicago is the great
est harbor, in the amount of commerce.
along the, great lakes and that South
Chicago, eleven miles south of Chicago
river. is another big port, yet the
waters between these two ports were
almost unknown until last summer
There is huge reef extending from
! Thirty-ninth street south for Il couple
of miles, over which there is only four
feet of water in some places. Many Il
boat has struck this reef, and it is con-
sidered exceedingly dangerous. Only
such pilots as know the channel init
mately venture to go within the reef.
All others, and especially all large
boats, run out mile or two in the lake
to get outside the reef
The exact condition of these waters
Was never examined by the United
States government, which is quite re-
markable, considering the extreme
care taken in marking the waters all
over the lakes A solitary buoy
showed where the reef commenced,
but it was not sufficient to save such
shippers as did not know the channel
Last winter the cruiser Michigan lay
i'll the harbor for several days and its
men were engaged in taking surveys
of the shore and soundings of the wa
tiers for the purpose of marking them
next spring to make traffic safe during
the worlds fair. This is one of the
permanent improvements that Chicago
will get from the worlds fair.
In add tion to the regular water sup
ply of the city the worlds fair will
have its own water system by which
40. 600, 600 gallons can be pumped daily.
A Il 60, . ~
purpose leading to crib located about
mile and half from shore off the
south end of Jackson park.
Preparations are beginning at the
worlds fair grounds for installing ex-
hibits. Qcite considerable number
of exhibits have arrived and are being
placed in Some of the buildings for tenn
porary storage. \ temporary bonded
warehouse has been erected near the
grounds for the purpose of storing for
eign goods until such time as they can
be installed in their proper places The
representatives of foreign governments
are beginning to arrive to supervise
their sections of the exposition. The
German commissioner has opened an
Office in the Transportation building
and intends to remain there from this
time forward.
Work on the interior Of the buildings
is progressing well. but on the exterior
work the cold weather is causing con-
siderable DELAY. Still it is thought that
the work will be completed by the time
the exposition shall open.
Onc of the most difficult problems
that the exposition management has
had to solve was the one of receiving,
transporting and installing the cXhib-
it's 1t is intimated that there will be