The record-union., 1899-12-27
ABOUT READY FOR PUMPING.
THE WELL TESTS TO BE MADE
VERY SOON.
DIR. Power Reports the Results Of
His Examination Of the
River Water.


| A meeting of the Citizens Water
Committee was held yesterday after
noon, there being present l.. Tozer, w.
]. Hassett Tom Scott, A. Meister, J. H.
Arnold, H. Grau, DR.. Power, FRANK
E. Smith and Secretary Howe.
| Claims were presented and approved
as follows: Wells Committee, for labor
performed, $457; Mrs. Kellogg, for bond
on land on which wells have been sunk,
500; Dr. Power, for experimenting
with river water (fifty- eight tests), $4O;
salary of Secretary, $25; salary of JAM
| tor, So. =
| DR.. Power of the Committee on Pur-
ity, who had been experimenting on the
turbidity and sedimentary matter in
the waters of the Sacramento River,
submitted the following report, which
was received and ordered placed on file:
To the Citizens Water Committee
Gentlemen: Experiments on the tur-
bidity and rate of sedimentation of the
Sacramento River water as supplied in
the city mains have been made in ac-
cordance with the advice of Mr.. Her
ring, and the results are herein set
forth: -.
The experiments were made on water
taken from the large main at the city
waterworks, at noon each day from the
LIST of November until the 25th and on
water drawn at the same hour from a
tap situated at the Pommer building,
Ninth and J streets, on the first floor.
The distance between the two sources
being about three-quarters of mile,
and the close similarity of the results
is proof that over these particular
mains there is but little sedimentation
| in transit.
Two methods of experimentation were
followed. First, the method of Hazen,
which consists In determining the depth
Of fluid at which a plainly marked OBJ
ject covered by the water to be test
ed, placed in we'll lighted test tube
and observed from above, becomes in
visible. The results are given in cent?
meters in the table hereto appended,
and are known as degrees of turbidity.
The second method was to estimate
the bulk of suspended matter capable Of
rapid sedimentation. This was effected
by placing 500 cubic centimeters of the
1 water in a percolator the lower part of
which terminated in tube of such
bore that each centimeter of length cor
responded to one cubic centimeter of
contents. The readings of the suspend
ed matter deposited therein, therefore,
corresponded to parts in 500, and multi
piled by 1000 are recorded in the ap-
pended table as parts per million.
Rain fell intermittently during the
period of the experiments, and judg-
ing from these results it would appear
that a rainfall affects the river at Sac
ramento in about thirty-six hours The
change in the condition of the river for
the worse takes place very rapidly; thus
on the 10th of November the bulk of
suspended matter was $50 parts per
million, the lowest recorded On the
following day it rose to 1000 parts per
million, the highest recorded For five
days it fell slowly to 800 per million
and then suddenly rose again to 1900
per million in consequence of a fresh
rainfall
Five days were thus required for the
flowing river to deposit or carry away
its silt. In the notionIess contents of
a test tube the deposition is much more
rapid, six hours having about the same
effect as six days in the river. After
standing twelve hours in a closed YES
sci, residium remains on which fur
Their standing has little effect. but
which can be readily precipitated by the
addition of a trace of alum The con-
ditions of sedimentation in a settling
tank would approximate to those of the
test tubes rather than those of the flow
| ing river and it may therefore be con-
cluded that tank holding one million
gallons would deposit in six hours about
1000 gallons of loose material. That
is, under such a very dirty condition
of the river as existed on November
18th and which was again approxi-
mated to on the 22d, when the volume
of deposit again rose to 1,5OO parts per
million
In conclusion it would appear that
| there is such a close relation between
the degree of turbidity as recorded by
Hazen's method and the results obtain
ed by sedimentation that it would be
safe to rely on the simpler method of
Hazen in any future experiments that
might be required
(Signed) H. DARCY POWER.
A. Meister, Chairman of the Wells
Committee, reported that the wells au-
thorized were all finished, the pumps
put in and engines enough to run them
been secured, and that within two or
three days the committee would be
ready to begin the pumping test. Seven
pumps are in and ready to begin pump
ing as soon as final arrangements shall
have been completed.
MIR. Goodrich, who owns a twenty
acre tract in the small pocket just be-
low Sutterville, appeared before the
committee, and said he felt certain that
to set all the pumps working would
mean to overflow the small pocket and
do considerable damage to clover and
other crops. He suggested that before
operations are commenced that the
committee appoint man, the property
owners another, and they a third, to act
as a Board of Arbitration and assess
damages, should any accrue.
The proposition was thought worthy
| of consideration, and T. B. Hall sug-
gested the advisability of sending j. E.
Cody to report on the situation, unless
the water could be diverted from the
Y street canal into the Sixteenth street
sewer and handled by the pumps. at
the city stump.
Tom Scott said there would be neither