The San Francisco call., 1898-08-02
VALUE OF THE LESSON.
Almost Certain That There Win Never Be Another
 Shortage.

BERk AuS. Lit IS SApSClcp that next Monday night the citizens conn mittee engaged on a report regarding the water supply of Berkeley will be pre- pared to present plan to the Town Trus- tees that will be feasible and economical. During the past two weeks the Committee, which consists of Trustee l.. J. Le Conte, Dr. Thomas Addison and School Director E. F. Niehaus, have been engaged in pre- pairing plans and forming estimates for the purpose of discovering how much re- uanee can be placed on the local supply. They are much encouraged by the success of Superintendent of Streets Guy H. Chick, who, in sinking wells on the City Hall block. and in North Oakland and West Oakland, has found plenty ot water supply for street sprinkling. This was re- garded as one of the most ob1ec- tionable features of the , dearth of water, improving of late and 10 have ceased sprinkling would have caused the ruin of many thoroughfares.
 The supply for the sprinkling Is now all that is desired, and the streets are in good condition. The ordinance introduced some weeks ago prohi6iting irri@gating @ a lawns a,yI, lar practices was unanimously killed by the Trustees at their last meeting, on the ground that the Alameda Water Com uany which supplies Berkeley, should be in position to give its patrons all the water they require or else should enter into a contract with the Oakland water companies to supply it.. .The Trustees de cided that it was not within their juris- diction to dictate to the consumers, but they decided that the the w water company
 At the present time the residents have voluntarily economized in the use of wa ter to such an extent that the demand is just about equal tos the supply and the mains are always full, insuring protection against fire.o
 The North Berkeley Improvement Asso- ti fc fa xfner the lao6 in tba f to acquire a water .plant by the town, They have been officially informed by Town Attorney. Hanseom that Berkeley sitien of bonding the town. The commit tee now Investigating the matter, has at by the Town Board of. Trustees some weeks ago to pursue Its experiments and prepare plans.
 MT. Hanscom Jr. to-day, "will no doubt prove of great yalue to Berkeley. While the details of the scarcity of water have no doubt been exaggerated it has opened the town is growing and that 1t is high time the water supply was attended to. not only for the present, but for the fu- ture
 in bis house. although many of the lawns have been neglected. We have never been as some represented reduced to the. plight of refraintug from taking bath, and since the Trustees sank wells to obtain water for street sprinkTfng we have fared pretty well.
 "However, the fact has been forced home that Berkeley needs a water supply and everything now points. to the con clusion that we shall soon have one. The Oakland companies do not feel like going to the expense of piping all over Berke- lev because as soon as the rains set in the Alameda companys reservoirs north of town and at Wildcat Creek will be re- plenished and the competition between the o,,fa xxyfI1 a ta tn IA profitable"
 In discussing the situation Town Trus- tee MaJoney said: My position right along has been that the Alameda Water Company is playing the part. of the dog in the manager. It insists upon having the whole territory, while 1t has repeated ly shown its inability or unwillingness to adequately supply even part of 1t. Berkeley Is a town of many and extraor- dInary attractions and a growing town. It has outgrown the present resources of disposition to increase Its plant, and the town must new take steps to prevent any shortage of water in future years" Trustee l.. J. Le Conte is firmly of the opinion that the only permanent relief consists in the ownership of an adequate water plant by the town. AS a member of the committee he Is working on the basis that the plan for water plant should allow for an increase of 1000 in the population each. year. En- gineers have already located ample un- derground supplies, and in the report which the committee is now preparing the cost of pumping stations, reservoirs and a distributing system will be coV- cred practically and in detail.