Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-06-10
WILL PILE UP THE WATER.
UNTIL A DILLIoN GALLONS Is IN
STORE.
A aIan who Knows Whereof lie
Speaks Offers n solution for
the waier-suppiy Problem.

VIII at tbs time be particularly inter-
estlng to our citizens.
on every side can be heard criti-
cisms Of the action OF the city council
that selected the site on the Clear Fork
for the location of the new pumphouse'
many going so far as to say that the
plant win have to be removed to the
old site and that the greater part Of
the money expended in it's erection VIII
be lost to the city, the argument being
that the West Fork is the only reliable
source of supply available.
The writer remembers that in the
summer Of 1885. on account of the ex-
tremely low state Of both streams, tho
city had ditch aug in the bed Of the
West Fork for mile or moro to tap a
pool Of wuter that Mad been laying
stagnant for months and receiving the
seepage from the adjacent graveyard,
ard that the mixture of mud and water
thus obtained did not near supply the
needs of the 1900 people that the city
then contained. This supply was sup
plcinented and favored by the drainage
from Robinsou's branch during the oc-
casioral showers. RObinsCn's branch Is
DlltklNAlig llAlAhAb bhN a h0tAa'N'
sewer that drains u large part OF the
city. cad discharges ITS occunulaiions
of Nth into the Clear FIX very short
tancc above the old pumps. In fact,
neither stream nor both combined can
be relied upon to furnish sufficient
water at all seasons, ana II taken at the
site Of the old wetarworks its q-lliy
will always be questionable, and that
part taken from the West Fork open
10 the suspicion that 1t Is composed IN
part II the orainase from The new
cemetery.
The old pumping plant Is constant
menace h the health Of this cpmnuni-
ty, and while we may be compelled
during this season to use tne water
from this source, its use should hc con-
fined to watering lawns, sprinking
streets md putting out fires.
THE time has came when Fort Worth
II II wishes to advance In population
and wealth must provide an abundant
supply Of good, clear water, Il supply
that can b. relied on n any ana all
times, ana of quality that can be safely
used for all domestic purposes. That
this can be obtained is beyond queS-
ten. All that is needed is to follow
the example of hundreds of older and
larger cities and construct larga
| storage reservoir. BY a reservoir ii Is
not 10 be understood that I advocate
such a reservoir as WINS embodied In
the plans of the new waterworlSs, but a
IL servoir that will hold not less than
one billion Callons-a quantity allowing
| for evaporation and leakage, sufficient,
with ut replepislljng, to furnish abund-
ant water for our present population
| for four months That such reser-
voir is both desirable and necessary for
| the continued edvanse and prosperity
| of this city cannot be questioned.
lTcw people have any real idea OF tue
quantity of water used daily II TINS
| city. Perhaps It will be more readily
| cr,npreheuded when ! say that the
daily consumption during the suEir or
months would MI a tank two acres In
| area ton feet deep From this 1t Will
| be seen that II would be the heishth
| of folly TO construct II reservpic by OK
cavating and eub~nking u few acres
OF land in the bottom to be lltd from
| tn, river by the pumps Such resar-
| Vcir would he exhausted in few days
| Reservoirs IF that kind are not strictly
speplIing, storage rostrvoirs,' nut
simply settling basins, and are used
principally VIII N there Is large sup
ply of water 10 pump from, for the
| sediment 10 settle In before The water
is Iietrihutcl through the pires,
The only reservoir that can be con-
strticted that will be Of any practical
or permanent benefit will be one made
| by building dam across the entire
| valley and channel OF the Clear Fork.
1 mention the Clear Fork because 1t
is the most desirable and suitable In
| every way First, because It's water Ia
| far superior in every respect to that
of the West Fork; its water shed Is
composed Except the extreme upper
| end of high rolling prairie. free from
| timber and consequent decayed Vege-
table matter; its channel has compare
lively steep incline (about six feet to
Vls, a n
swift current that passes over beds of
gravel for nearly Its entire length; the
| sediment contained In Its water during
rise is granular, and quickly settles
| when still, the water becoming as clear
as a crystal In a very short time. The
| quantity is also sufficient Enough
water has passed this city through the
channel of the Clear Fork within the
last two weeks TO overflow one billion
! gallon reservoir twice. In fact, the
| Clear Fork Is capable OF supplying
water sufficient for the needs OF city
many times larger than Fort Worth.
| Fort Worth can congratulate herself
on having at her very doors stream
| that can furnish such an abundant
| supply OF exceedingly good water. Very
| few cities are so well favored In this
| respect.
On account OF the quick fall Of the
stream. a dam high enough to make a
| depth OF II feet In the valley and "a
| or SO feet In the channel would cnly
overflow the valley for about two miles.
and only small part Of the reservoir
would be shallow. In reservoir OF
| this magnitude the water would de.
| post its sediment before It reashed
the outlet, and you'd pass into the
aqueduct at all times clear.
| The West Fork Is an entirely different
stream-so different that the two MICH
be hundreds instead OF a few milos
apart. II drains country thIclxly
| wooded, full of decayed vegetation. Its
fall is slight tonly about two feet to a
milo, and It's current consequently
sluggish, and when low Is a series ~
stagnant pools; has but few crave,
beds, and Its sediment IL mostly rom
posed of clay, slow to settle, and when
settled, the water Is cloudy. ana laclts
the clear and crystal appearance n,
that Of the Clear Fork.
a site should be selected above any
possible drainage from the CITY or even
Arlington Heights. The surrounling
land should be purchased and mi -
der police supervision.
The cost OF all this, incmdinr ,a,a
oam gates and aqueduct TO connect v',,i,
the intake well at the pump honee ~,
| probably be 5000, 900 or $3.50 onn ~lli
as ms sum may seem. It viii provo ~
De the best investment that ;his ci,,,
ever made. The consumption m Nve,sss
| even by the present population ,r,i, ~