The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-11
HAVE TO STOP WORK
City Engineer Will Not Complete His
Surveys.
IT COSTS TOO MUCH MONEY
QUESTION OF ADEQUATE WATER
SUPPLY SIDETRACKED.
Councilman Direct the City Engineer
to Discontinue His .Investiga
-Backman's Requisition For
Typewriter-FoTtuns Tellers to
Pay License.

The city council last night put stop
to any further investigation by the city
engineer to determine the feasibility OF
increasing the city's water supply from
Mill Greek, Big Cottonwood or Little
Cottonwood creeks. They decided it
was too expensive an undertaking, and
if the city fathers do not change their
minds, the water question is going to
be the all-impOrtant one next summer.
The work so far done by City Engi-
neer Kelsey has cost the city $2,S4S.2l
up to Jan. l, and in his report to the
council he estimated it would take 81
500 more to complete it. When these
figures confronted Councilmen Romney,
Fernstrom and others. they held up
their hands in horror and insisted any
further expenditure must cease. ROD-
ertson mace . very good talk in favor
of continuing the work. SO that in case
OF future emergency the city may know
just where it is at in regard to this inn
portant question. Buckle. who under
stands the water question thoroughly.
also raised rs voice in favor of con-
tinuance of tne surveying work, but the
majority felt disincliued TO spend SO
much money.
City Engineer Kelsey's report on the
matter WAS rs follows:
Gentlemen-In accordance with your
| request for a report of the cost TO date.
and the estimated cost OF completing
the work of making the surveys. inves-
I legations and estimates to determine
the feasibility of the proposed plan, and
the cost of procuring an adequate water
supply for Salt Lake City from Mill
creek, Big Cottonwood creek. or Little
Cottonwood creek, l beg leave to re-
port that the amount paid TO Jan. l.
1899, is S2.S4S.2T. and the estimated cost
of completing the work ordered by the
city council is about $500.
The amount expended was for instru-
ments, materials, putting in weirs,
making surveys, stream measurements.
maps, plans, profiles. calculations. col
| lecting data and investigating water
rights. The greater part of the field
work is DONE and the office work is
well under way.
AT the time this work was ordered
| the city council did not ask for an esti-
mate of the cost. but individual mem
/ bers Of the council who did ask were
/ told that the probable cost would be
1 $1,000; this amount is not excessive for
/ the work necessary to be done.
/ The past recommendations Of the city
| engineers have been ignored. and their
I requests for authority to make surveys
and stream measurements have been
I utIltN, So tldl IL was Unnecessary DNAO4
reporting to secure data which Should
have been obtained and placed on rec
ord in tne city engineers office, where
it properly belongs, and make surveys
which should have been made years
ago. There were no records Of the To-
cation, grade or capacity of the canal
from Utah lake, or of the volume Of
water that has been delivered through
it, and complete resUrvey of this ca
nal was necessary. The city ordinances
make it the duty of the officer who has
charge of the city's irrigation system
TO keep a full and complete record of
the clty'S water rights. and the loca-
ton, size, capacity of the waterways
and measurements and division of the
water TO which the city is entitled: yet
there are no records of these matters In
| that department, and the city's rights
are infringed upon with impunity.
The work is not yet far enough adj
Vanced to make an estimate. and have
made no estimate of the cost Of procur-
ing an adequate supply of water by one
of the proposed plans which I was in
structe6 to investigate; but. including
the necessary changes in the distribu
ton system which Will have TO be made
in the near future. It will approximate
$780, and an exI snditure of 1 per
cent of this amount in securing the
data necessary for a thorough under
standing Of the water question is GER
tainly q reasonable one. Before decid-
ing on any plan for increasing the
water supply the city should secure
all of the information TO be obtained.
and Investigate other sources of sup
ply. Very respectfully.
f. c. KELSEY, City Engineer.
The report was a great surprise TO
Fernstrom, who thought the city en-
gineer's department the most expens-
i've part OF the city machinery.
Romney wanted the work to stop.
Anybody. he thought, would under
stand that field work was very expens-
i've in the winter time, q crOwbar being
necessary to make holes for the pegs"
Robertson pointed out that the coun-
ell had previously passed a resolution
instructing the city engineer to make
complete surveys. There was no pre-
vious records in the Office to work on,
and the surveys We're not completed in
a week or two weeks. The water sup
ply was becoming more Inadequate
every year, and in the near future the
city must meet it.
Buckle spoke in the same strain, and
Diehl~ added some pertinent sentences
as food for contemplation.
Howe expressed himself in favor of
continuing the surveys, providing it
would be followed up by actual work
to increase the supply.
After a good deal of debate, the re-
port was referred to the committee on
waterworlzs, with instructions to noti-
fy the city engineer to stop all work
until further notice.
Recorder Baclzman sent in a requisi-
ton for book typewriter, the cost of
which is $3.50. for the purpose of copy
ing records in his office.
This caused a good deal of a stir
among some of the councilmen. It
seems the recorder had consulted some
members of the supply committee, and
at a previous meeting presented a bill
for the machine. The bill was not au-
dited or approved. and it was stricken
OFF the list, and so the recorder sent
in a requisition in the regular manner.
Bnckle took occasion to address some
insinuating remarks to the recorder
about an attempt to railroad the bill
through the committee without knowl-
edge of the council.
Robertson said il the recorder needed
the machine he ought to have it, and
all this talk was of no consequence.
Recorder Backman explained the only |
reason he made out the bin before the !
machine was ordered was to secure the !
machine as soon as possible. in order
to make use OF il with the opening Of !
the year.
The requisition was referred TO the |
committee on enrolment.
City Attorney Hall reported that in |
the case of 3. T. BenCsten VS.. Salt |
Lake, suing for $1,000 damage to prop
erty by reason of the construction of /
the gravity sewer plaintiff offered to |
compromise the case by the city pay |
ing $500 The matter was referred to
the committee on municipal law for in