New-York tribune., 1901-09-23
THE WATER EXAMPLE OF NEW ORLEANS.

The announcement is current that the city OF
| New-Orleans is presently to be provided with
what it has long needed pure and plentiful
water supply. This is to be effected by the
simple process of tapping the Mississippi River
and flterng the water thus procured. Conf
| dence is expressed in the purity of this supply.
| OF it's abundance there can be no doubt. All
| that will be necessary will be TO make the filter
| ing plant adequate to the demands of the city.
| The question of cost is an interesting one. but
confidence is also expressed that 1t will be salts
factoriIy answered. 1t is estimated that the
cost Of taking the water from the river, filter
ing it and putting it into the reservoirs will
not exceed S13 million gallons. The cost of
distribution throughout the city will be about
S12 million making the total cost to consum-
ers S25 million gallons. Those figures include
allowance for interest on investment, deteriora-
tien of plant, etc. 1t is reasonable to suppose
they are approximately accurate, and that the
project will be successful. There is no reason
why it should not be successful. It will be no
novelty Other cities have been doing the same
thing for years. Berlin thus the water Of
the Spree. In Paris they have filtered the
watery part of sewage until it Is as limpid and
pure as we'll water. In Hamburg the whole
supply is taken from the Elbe, which is par
ticulary foul river, and is made by filtration
''as pure the water Of an Alpine spring In
deed, in Albany and other American cities filtra
ton has long been in use, with eminently salts
factory results, though we believe the water
| magnates Of this Tammany ruled city continue
TO regard the system visionary, impracti-
cable and not at all to be compared with a good
fat Ramapo contract.
Passing by the question of practica bility.
then. as sufficiently settled that of cost presents
an interesting feature. The total cost of the
Mississippi water in the reservoirs is to be not
more than S13 million gallons, and, when dis
tributed TO the public $25. The cost of Croton
water-which has always been regarded as par
ticuIarly cheap since it requires no pumping or
filtering-has been much more than that. In
1898 it was reduced to a trife more than 500,
and when the works are completed it will
be further reduced to So. or perhaps to $40.
The cost of additional water supplies, from
other and more remote sources, has been vari-
ously estimated That from Esopus Creek
would cost about $50 million; that from the
Waikiki and Shawangunk, $50; that from the
Adrondacks from SO to SAT, and that from
the Ten Mile and Housatonic rivers. by utilizing
existing appliances, has been figured down to
the phenomenally low cost of SO "a. Water
from the Hudson above Poughkeepsie, filtered,
would cost from S3S to S48 And finally the
Ramapo spectators, in the precious contract
which they came near to saddling upon the
city. were to get $40. II should be added that
all of these figures represent the cost of water
at the receiving reservoirs, TO which about $40
a million gallons must be added for the cost Of
distribution All of them, moreover except
Ramapo, include allowance for sinking fund
which in forty years would extinguish the in
debtedness for cost Of plant
These figures indicate that the filtered Mssis
sippi water will cost New Orleans Just about Is
much Croton water will cost New-York
few years hence and considerably less than
any other proposed water supply for New-York
only that from the Ten Mile and Housa-
tonic rivers which latter is not likely TO be OBJ
tained, because it lies largely in another State.
1t is however, difficult to see why. If New-O Or
leans can get Mississippi water for S13 a mill
ion, it should cost New-York $3S to S4S to get
Hudson River water. We should think the
! latter might be obtained about cheaply as
/ the former If we could get water from the
Hudson and filter II into reservoirs for S13 a
million gallons the whole problem OF New
Yorks water supply would be forever solved.