Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-03-04
President Jones then submitted the
following document

AseCI S.-t,-
President Jones then submitted the
following document
WHEELING, W. Va, March /, 1898.
ITO the Honorable Committee on Water
Works.
"Gentlemen:-The City Water Board
has found it necessary in behalf of the
welfare of the city to increase the water
supply. We have a storage capacity Of
4500000 gallons. Our daily consumption is
about 100000 gallons. ana during the hot
and dry summer months we consumed as
high as IL 600 gallons, and within $500
900 gallons of our entire capacity. Should
an accident occur to disable one engine
it would be impossible to keep up the city
supply.
I'VE at first contemplated the erection
of a new reservoir, but that would neces-
state an expenditure of from $500 000 to
100000, and that would be beyond
any possibility at the present
time; consequently we considered the
plan of purchasing new pump.
providing the terms be made within our
limits, and satisfactory to all concerned
We find. after careful elaboration. that
we can erect on our present site a new
pump u I-,uUU.Uvp Cdpdtlly, LOT dDOuI 3ilf-
0G0 and the plan of purchase the same as
the contract with the Holly Manufacture
ing Company, payable at fixed sum ev-
cry six months: also that the contract be
held by an institution in our city. provided
your honorable body endorse the action
Of the Board, allowing the City Water
Board the use of its revenue until the
above contract is paid, same as our pres
ent arrangements with the Holly Com
pany.
1--WE recommend that the Ordinance
Committee be instructed to have an ordi-
nance drafted with the above request for
an additional pump.
Very respectfully.
THE CITY WATER BOARD
III. f. Jones'
president"
After this document had been read
President Jones was called upon for
a statement, and in substance said: -
The situation at the works is pre-
carious. and several times within the
past year. unknown to the citizens or
even to Council, there has been grave
danger that the supply of water would
give out The maximum consumption
of the city is three times the capacity
Of the reservoir, for we cannot allow
the reservoir to empty. Its capacity
is 100000 gallons, but the available
supply is not over 3,750,000 gallons.
To pump the maximum consumption
REQUIRES the continuous service of one
pump. and then we must work the
other six or seven hours day. 1t will
thus be seen that with one engine dis
allied the other cannot supply the
demand. On occasions Of this kind
we have speeded the remaining engine
up. but it is always dangerous to do
that with machinery, and particularly
with pumping machinery. We must
keep a reserve supply of water in case
of fire, and when the stage in the res
ervoir falls to seven feet we shut
down the valves. Only once have we
allowed the depth to fall below that
and on that occasion we knew reason
ably that repairs would be completed
in an hour. and we took the risk.
Three or four times one engine has
been disabled. and on one occasion one
of the pumps was out of service for
fortv-seven DAYS, twenty days longer
than ever before That was owing TO
the impossibility of obtaining the
broken parts sooner. On another oc-
casion repairs TO one pump We're bare
" completed when the piston-rod Of
the other broke. Had both occurred