New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-12-14
FEARS A SHORTAGE OF WATER.
City Club Urges Municipal Installation OF
Meters.

.,cor4ir-, IN the panphlet being issued by the
CITY club relative the waste OF water III TINS
city since 1850 the amount of water used In Man
haitian and The Bronx has increased at the rate
of more than two and one-haif times the rate OF
increase in Population and IL this goes on IN less
than one year the city will be confronted win d
shortage. The pamphlet says in part:
In New-York city there l. always steady mini
mum now nf water through the pipes AT all hours.
This regular flow; OF course mus, Ig mis- steady
minimum tic is almost entirely the flow OF water
going W. e At all hours OF the Gay or tb m
Brooklyn, Nater is running TO waste at .it "a" tr
Of ffty-eight gallons per tapita DAY WINE ~
eaInns OF the appr6ximatey 1874 gallons per
capita nomnally consumed daily in New-York o at
noh OF 'i Gefecfjve plumbing in the interior OF
houses and buildings and another large proportion
by the careless waste OF consumers Inns results 1
in the failure to collect revenue for the wafer Aver
through defects in the distributive system and the
In January James cF9gs Mr. e. S at the
tHe eDfifiy houses in Manhattan. The premises
premises in New-York City. Readings were taken
from these meters resuary' and II was soon tOarW
&c assumption water. In three or these houses de-
fects in plumbing discovered in the servants
quarters and a large amount of alter was flowing
waste without any ones knowiedge; IN amor anotheg
steady flow 4,532 gallons per day in part of his
tbesn seven premises and calling the attention of
the occupants to their plumbing was a reducto on
pf
gallons to 1856 gallons per day-a saving of Io2
Hons house In the twenty-five houses the
az erage daily consumption, after the installation
Of meters was 500 gallons per day. 6j55 gallons
rer head per day-a saving of 25H gallons per fead
per iay without any reduction In the actual use
OF water. Mr.. Croes very properly says:
THE only way in which such waste this
be checked is by the application of a meter to
every building In which water is used and Il sys-
ttmatic and sufficient inspection Of the meter
On this point the report further
Leaks outside of buildings given attention
when the pavement sinks or street Is flooded. No
investigation is made Of plumbing or consumption
within buildings. There is no general system of
metering and such meter service as is in use Is
badly planned and worse administered. Whatever
,,opuIar prejudice there may be against the in
stallation of in private houses could easily
he removed by popular dis cuSSion and knowledge
of the facts and by the cty's undertaking, it
should, to install meters at its own expense.
CoIer made March 23, 1900, and the records of in
crease I'm population kept by the Health Depart
rent it Is shown that the population of Manhattan
and The this Is 2f39 6S2. the percentage
of Increase being 200 and that 28S 100000 gallons OF
water have been consumed, the percentage of in
completion OF Cornell Dam the permanent yield of
v alter from Croton watershed and from the Bronx
f3yram watershed will not exceed from two
hundred million to three hundred million gallons
per day, and from these figures 1t may be that
IL there be no change in rate OF increase in popu-
lation and consumption per capita. the daily
81 mpton at close of 1908 will exceed the daily
Weld these watersheds. This excess must be
drawn from storage reservoirs. These reservoirs
will supply is estimated, from seventy sew
billions of gallons or say, sufficient
last from 2i0 TO 252 DAYS.