The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1899-02-18
SAN JUAN's WATER PLANT.
a Mui4icipal Improvement That Has
Been s-5ur Hundred Years
in Coming.

yeen :-Sur HunIrsd Years
In Coming.
The new $500, 900 municipal water
system of San Juan, which is part OF
81, 100000 worth of improvements au-
torized by the Spanish home govern
ment within the past four years, will
be ready for use before the next dry
season, in February, 1899. For the
first time then in 400 years the people
here will not have TO depend upon ire
uuent showers, or country water carts,
for the supply of water. They viii
get thereafter filtered product, l,Ooo,-
BOO gallons daily, if necessary, from
perhaps the best city plant, for pop
ulation of 10000, in the United States.
Each housetop during the rainy sea-
son now supplies the inhabitants I'M
derneath with water. From the nat
roofs the rain descends through pipes
to a cistern, which in most dwellings
of three or four families holds 700 gal
Ions. Many people take the water di-
rect from the cistern for washing ana
ordinary household purposes. But LOT
drinking they all filter the water
through a small bowl of sandstone two
feet across the top, which costs at the
store from two to six pesos. AS snow
ers come every few days, except in the
dry season, the people get plentiiui
| supply of water nine months In the
wear. In February, March, and some
times in April, however, the poorer
| classes often suffer from the dry spell.
| At this season the well-to-do residents
! buy water from the country peddlers
for five cents jug, the quantity de-
pending somewhat on the quality. but
as the city maintains free cisterns IN
| the public squares, even the poorest
need not die from thirst. Here at
the public wells a Spanish policeman
armed with small sword allows the
applicants in regular turn to NIL tbeir
iugs or pals. This water the city gov
eminent brings from the Rio Piedrai
at a cost, during the dry season, OF
S.. 900 a month. In two squares, the
Colon Plaza, where the rainwatei
comes from the roof of the theater
and the Marina plaza, where an arte
sian well bubbles up, the city also
maintains free cisterns IL months II
the year.
The water of the new municipal
plant will come, not from the house
tops, but through 20-inch main from
the Rio Piedras, nine miles distant
In January the contractors began thu
construction of the water system, bu
owing to the war were unable to fin
ish the work, as agreed, last August
Nevertheless, only the power station
now remains uncompleted. At Ri
Piedras the plant includes two settling
tanks with total capacity of 1880, 90
gallons, three separate filter beds,
collecting reservoir and the accom-
panying power house. Taken from tn
river, the water will be stored first il
one of the two settling tanks "a hour
before passing through the adjoining
filter beds, only two of which will b
used al time. When purified by tn
finest grade of sand the water will b
pumped up $50 feet to the collectin
reservoir, half mile away, whicl
stands 40 feet above the highest poin
; in San Juan. For the present the dis
tribution will be made to the city d
rect from the Rio Piedras basin, whic
has capacity of 100000 gallons.
The appropriation of $780, 900 for tn
water system also includes the cost {
a covered distributing reservoir witt
in the city limits, on the north coas
J hill, between MORO castle and Sa
Cristobal. The contract for this b;
0 sin, which will cost $50, 900, provides fe
a capacity of 100000 gallons.
3 City Engineer Arturo Guerra, undo
whose supervision the municipal in
D provements are being made, now e.
4 poets to have the water system read
D for service within two months.
Y the property owners are then con
}, PEELED to equip their buildings wit
e modern sanitary arrangements,
r proposed by the new administration
a the plumbers here will reap sma
4 harvest of gold. For although most I
i the houses are connected with the ne
+ sewer system, none of them has phi
Q leading to the water mains, which ha'
been laid in all the principal street
S IN. Y. Sun.