Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-03-14
ABl )UT WATER.
tCof ltinued from PAGE AZ

| Ing by GAO oil the councilmen that sam
| pies of II le water had been submit
ted to the state board of health an,
| that while that board reported no an
| alysis of the, water, it did rccommen,
that a new source of supply be got
| ten 1t is certainly desirable thai
the water he pufe and the suppl,
abundant.
Sources Of Supply Available.
We append hereto copy of the
report submitted by John b. Harper
the engineer employed by the city to
| investigate tho Florida and report on
the feasibility of obtaining a supplv
| therefrom. He made surveys and es.
Inmates. and submitted the plans for
a system obtaining its supply from
that source.
| The council is not yet committed
to this source of supply or to this sys.
TEN, but the proposition is looked m.
on favorably in many quarters. There
seems to be no question of the uual.
! ity of the water to be obtained from
| this source. The watershed or drain.
age area of the Florida is mostly In
l o. biitt ioi anu IL Is common
knowledge that the stream carries
less organic or mineral matter than
any other stream lying near to it.
Mr.. Harper reports that it is feas
| ible to carry the water from that
stream to reservoir to be built upon
| the mesa east of the city, and that
| such reservoir can in all probability
| be safely constructed.
There has been considerable ques-
| tiol as to whether a sufficient supply
OF water can be obtained from this
source. The proposition ought not
to be undertaken In our opinion un-
less the city can first purchase and
secure enough of the prior rights up.
on the stream to insure an adequate
supply. There seems to be no uues.
tion but that this can be done upoa
comparatively reasonable terms. and
it would seem to us to be advisable
that the council, If it has not already
| done so, should appoint committee
to see what can be done in this direc-
tion and at what cost Before any
such system is constructed, careful
and full tests ought to be made at
the site of the proposed reservoir, to
determine in advance whether such
a reservoir as is contemplated can
be safely constructed so as not to in
any manner endanger the city and
SO that il will hold the water If
the soil is adapted to the purpose,
the proposed site of the reservoir is.
because of the small drainage area.
above it. favorable site If reser-
voirs were desired higher up in the
mountains, there seems to be plenty
of sites on the Upper Florida where
such reservoirs could be built. II
such reservoirs could be added to
the system so that We could be sure
at all seasos OF having an ample sup
ply of fresh running water to turn
into our local reservoir, it would seem
to be desirable.
Harper's estimates are based upon
system sufficiently large to supply
city of several times the present
size. He estimates the total cost of
this system at sS0S72, but his esti-
mate does not include anything for
purchase Of water rights. Something
Will have to be added for this pur-
pose If this plan is adopted, but we do
not believe the total amount required
Tor this purpose ought to exceed $l5,,
900 or 10000.
There has been some question made
as to whether the city could purchase
irrigation priorities and use them for
reservoir purposes. We are advised
that the city attorney. basing his de-
cision upon the Colorado Springs case
in 16 Colorado Reports. page 81, and
upon the act of the legislature in ses-
sion laws Of 1891, page 3s5, has held
this could be done. The purchase of
such rights will, in our opinion, be
necessary unless the city should
build reservoirs at the head OF the
streams. or unless water is taken from
Pine river or the Vallccito river and
turned into the Florida for this pur.
pose, We have not made any esti-
mates upon the cost of doing this, as
we believe that a sufficient supply of
water can be obtained without the
necessity of doing it. either by the
purchase of prior rights or the build.
iAS VI SAuib5t lestTNulTS On the upper
Florida.
Numerous other sources of water
supply have been suggested, among
them Junction creek, Lightner creek,
Hermosa and the various streams in
the neishborhood of lockwood
The Junction creek proposition has
been Investigated before this by sev.
oral councils, and has not been deem.
ed satisfactory, and without going in
to details we would say that we think
all the Investigations have shown
that while 1t would be practicable
to secure good supply of water from
the Cascade or other streams above
lockwood. yet the cost of securing
it from this source would be prohibit
tive.
II has also been suggested that the
quality of the water could be very
much improved by putting in large
wells In tie neighborhood of the
present pumping station and filtrating