The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-29
WASTE OF THE WATER.
Differences of Opinion rs to the
Amount of Water Pumped.

council and the water commission yet, but
will probably do so shortly.
The ACCESSIBILITY of inviting Mr.. T. T
johnson, the engineer who planned the
new water works. to visit Savannah for
the purpose of comforting with the water
committee and the commission, with
view to securing his advice as to the best
means Of increasing the water supply, will
be one of the matters considered. Mayor
Meldrim has been in correspondence with
Mr.. Johnson, with a view to ascertaining
when he will be able to come to Savan-
nah, in order that the conference may be
able to take intelligent action.
Alderman O'Donnell, chairman of the
water committee, said. day or two ago.
that he would not care to express any de-
cided opinions on the subject of the water
supply which might be contradicted by
an expert like Mr.. johnson. At the same
time, he expressed some opinions which
are of interest
Il think that the water supply from the
wells at the new works has decreased
since the wells were first tested" said AL
derman O'Donnell. Though l have not
looked up the statistics. AS to whether the
present supply Is sufficient / am not pre-
pared to say. / have not the slightest doubt
there is a tremendous waste going on, but
whether we can diminish this waste to an
consider. 1 agree with Superintendent LOT
ton that the waste is almost entirely due
to leaky fixtures on the premises of water
users and that the best way to diminish
the waste is to get after the people who
have the leaky fixtures. Meters are good
things for people who will persist in vast
ing water, though am not prepared to say
that the meter system would be a good
thing for the entire city. 1 do not believe
that the waste is from the water mains.
In our porous soil even a small leak will
soon manifest itself on the surface and at
tract attention"
DO you think that deepening the wet
we'll at the works would increase the
fow?" Alderman O'Donnell was asked.
Il think it would to a certain extent"
he replied. 'It would increase the amount
of water available for pumpage. When
Mr.. Johnson comes, as l expect he will
we will probably discuss the advisability
of shooting the wells with dynamite and
1t is very likely that this will be done.
This has been found to be an effective
means of clearing out the wells and in
creasing the flow of water"
II am inclined to Think" continued AL
derman ODonnell, THAT there has been
a little too much theory and not enough
practice In the estimates of our water
consumption. / am not by any means
certain that our water consumption is as
great as it appears to be. The amount of
water pumped is measured by the num-
Der of gallons taken up at each stroke of
the pumps. 1t is more than likely that in
the three years or more the pumps have
been in use that there has been some
wear and that the number of gallons
taken up by the pumps at each stroke Is
not as great as when the works were first
started. A careful examination of the
pumps will be necessary to tell whether
or not this is the case. The connection
IL nd ha tstU will
have to be made sooner or later, think,
to insure an ample supply of water.
Superintendent Lotion, when spoken to
about the matter, was positive that the
pumps are in first-class condition, and
that the full amount of water accorded to
their capacity is taken up at each stroke.
1.-THE actual pumpage," said he, lis, II any
thing. a little in excess of the recorded
figures An allowance of Is per cent. Is
made for loss in pumpage, this being the
standard allowance of loss. ! am salts
fed that our loss does not reach 10 per
cent and that consequently the figures
recorded are slightly below the real pump
age The large waste Of water going on
in the city is practically all on the prem
ises of water users. The water pipes are
near the surface being only from two to
four feet underground. and a leak the size
of a pin point viii show on the surface
inside Of two hours after it has sprung.
a very small leak is remarkable, as l know
| by experience, and it is this that convinces
| me that there is no leakage from the
mains. A leak is not allowed to remain
| Ions after it shows on the surface. The
| inspectors do not have to look for this
sort of leaks. Every body considers it his
| duty to notify us, and we will get half
dozen calls by telephone within an hour
| after such a leak appears"
"All that is needed to make our water
| supply ample" continued Supt. Lotion,
sis to decrease the waste We have al
ready accomplished considerable on this
| line. The agitation of the subject in the
| newspapers has caused people to give
| more attention to their water fixtures and
| the introduction of meters and the work
| of our inspectors has done the rest. We
| are now pumping less than 100000 gallons
| daily, and l believe that by the end of
| the year, by decreasing the waste, we will
have the pumpage down to 100000 gallons
| daily. Atlanta, with nearly twice our
| population, does not pump as much wa
ter as Savannah"
| A former resident of Wilmington, ". c.,
| explained the very low daily per capita
| consumption of water in that city, % gal
| Ions, as stated in statistics recently pub
lished in the Morning News, by the fact
| that the works there is owned and opera
| ted by private capital. The people pay
| for the water by the thousand gallons and
| the meter system is in use. Consequently
| all leaks on the premises of water users
receive prompt attention and there is lit
| tie waste. The Savannah water works
could furnish the population here with
| three times the amount Of water per CAPT
ia consumed by the people willing and
then still have a big surplus for emergen-
| gies.
A large real estate owner called the at.
| tentlon Of a Morning News reporter a day
| or two ago to the amount of water used
! in flushing sewer traps. There are three
| or four hundred of these sewer traps
throughout the city, and in all of them
| the water Is kept running constantly, he
said This has only been the custom of
recent years, he said, as formerly 1t was
| only customary TO flush the traps at reg
| ular intervals. on account of the com
plants Of the bad odors emanating from
| the traps, the informant said, 1t finally
became customary to flush them con-
stantly. This odor, he said, was due to the
| fact that the traps were leaky and would
not hold water When the water supply
is cut Off, the water remaining in the
trap leaks out and leaves a scum, which
gives out a bad odor. The amount of