The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-06-18


tity and under great pressure. 1t were un-
necessary to enter farther into the rela-
ton of what is now generally recognized
by hydraulic engineers as visible and IN
visible waste. Even were it deemed neces-
sary the limits of space forbid.
Many cities can not be persuaded how
large the invisible waste is until they fol-
low the plan suggested by Geo. F. Dea-
con, member of the Institute of Civil
Engineers of London, of measuring the
flow through the mains at the turn that
there should be little or no flow at all.
In the City of Liverpool, Mr.. Deacon
followed this plan He did not put metres
in private houses, but placed them at
various places on the leading and dis
tributing mains and by these means
located the leaks and reduced the con-
sumption of water to twenty-seven and
one-half (2712) U. S. gallons per capita
per diem. In five (5) smaller English
cities which before Mr.. Deacon's system
of preventing waste was put into opera
tion they were pumping an average of
IS S4-100 gallons per head per day, the
amount was reduced to II 93-1O0 gallons
per head per day and this amount de-
livered included household waste, which
as stated before can never be eliminated.
The system was also applied with great
success in the Charlestown District of the
City of Boston, Mass, when the con-
sumption was reduced from SO $40 to
&c 4-1O gallons per capita per diem.
The cost of adopting the method is in
significant in comparison with the value OF
the results obtained. The report of Mr..
freedman, the engineer employed by
Comptroller Coler of New York City. to
investigate the water problem confirms in
a remarkable manner the results obtain
ed by the investigation of Mr.. Deacon.
New York was in the position of Liver
pool, when the water authorities could
not be persuaded how large the waste
was until Mr.. Freedman roughly
measured the flow at the time when there
ought to have been no flow at all.
Mr.. Freedman's calculations showed a
delivery through the mains Of 12O gallons
per head per day, while at the hour of
A. M. the consumption was at the rate of
80 gallons per head per day. Scarcely any
water was being consumed at the hour of
A. NJ, the use of water at that hour be-
ing extremely small. Almost the entire
amount is street waste and the water ac-
between 90 gallons and 12O gallons, or 80
gallons, which is singularly close to the
2719 gallons used in Liverpool.
All the statistics of water consumption
show that the free and lavish use of wa
ter will not exceed from 25 to 35 gallons
per capita per diem exclusive of invisible
waste.
Space forbids entering into details of the
system of calculating invisible waste un-
der the plan suggested by Mr.. Deacon.
Sufficient to say that the city is divided
into districts through which the water is
admitted through an migrating metre
which shows the quantity consumed in
particular period of time.
These metres are so simple and efficient
that it is difficult to imagine better.
A city is divided into districts, and upon
the main supplying each district metre
is placed in such manner that all the
water supplying the district passes
through the metre.
Three inspectors can easily examine a
district in from two to three hours Dia-
grams are taken at the rate of about 80 a
day. Eliminating house leaks by the use
of the stethoscope at the outside stop
cock or If continued after shutting off
the water by ascertaining the point in foot
or carriage way, the inspectors are en-
abled by system of systematic pro-
cedure to locate and the department to
correct the waste at points located.
Both the visible and invisible waste are
easily ascertained.
To those interested, I may state rnat
full details upon the subject may be OBJ
tained by consulting at the Free Public
Library Burtons work on the Water
Supply of Towns London, 1894, and the
current periodicals to which his chapter
on prevention of waste refers.
L. ]. GORDON.