The record-union., 1894-05-24
CoMPLICATING THE WATER QUEs-
TON


The City Board of Health is aiding in
the tangle into which it would seem some
influences are industriously working the
water supply question.
The Board of Health is probably in
aocent in the premises, but it is none the
less augmenting the complication into
which the Trustees and the clear water
opponents are bringing the whole matter.
What the people want to know from
the Board of Health IS this: docs the
water furnished under the contract made
by direction of the voters of the city fill
the requirements of that contract?" It is
with this and this only that the officials
of this city have now to do. The people
must be consulted at the ballot-box be-
fore any fltering of river water or other
fanciful scheme can be introduced.
In the light of the analysis made; in
the face of the facts of the development
of the eastside water, does the product of
the test wells fill the requirements of the
contract? That is what the people ask
the Trustees to decide, and they in turn
ask the aid of the Board of Health through
an official opinion.
The simple fact is that the city has
made contract with certain parties for
new water supply; that contract is de-
pendent upon the water to be supplied
meeting the requirements called for by
that contract. On that point the opinion
of the Board of Health, which would be
valuable, is asked by the City Trustees,
the only authority that can deal with the
question lawfully.
But, urged on by the broad resolution
of the Trustees, here we have the Board
Of Health debating some other system,
and the President of the board throwing
out suggestions about some people wish
ing the experiment of fltering the river
water tried. Not all the members of the
board got off the track. One or two stuck
to the text the people give, namely. is the
water offered up to the standard required
by the contract?
But the outcome of the recent meeting
was that the Board of Health switched off
into consideration of the legal aspect of
the question of the validity of the result
of the water election, and it was con-
cluded to await the opinion of the City
Attorney on that point.
What then? Does this very excellent
collection of very worthy doctors and
one layman propose to constitute itself
court, and pass upon the law issues?
It appears to US that there is industri-
Gus effort in and outside of official circles
to complicate this water question need
lessly, and tangle it as badly as our river
water is mixed with sand, slickens, the
extract of dead fish and Cinnamon, and
the waste matter of the Folsom prison.
We should wish to be the last to sug-
gest that any of this backing and filling
by the city has a possible relation to any
one of the three propositions made to the
San Francisco Water Committee this
week to furnish that city with mountain
water, to be carried in bitches and pipes
from the Sierras near as and by our doors
to San Francisco.
Sacramento has always been looked
upon by ditch companies as a possi-
Bile customer, and no one may say how
badly it would knock down the stocks
and bonds of such enterprises for Sacra-
mento to have q home water system to be
owned and controlled by the city under
conditions that call upon Us for the ex-
penditure of not dollar in excess of
what we now put out for pumping in
river water.
Our officials may be as innocent as
lambs-and we do not question their in
tegrity in this direction-of any far-lying
ends of that order. Nevertheless there
might be such a thing as finding the
cause for the continued and persistent
effort to break up the contract already
made by the votes of the people, TO lie
deeper than appears to the casual OBJ
server.
AT all events there is no good reason
given for the backing and filling that has
been going on for the last three months.
1t ought to be an easy thing to do, aud il
Is, to determine whather the eastside