Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-04-08
THE WATER SUPPLY.
Special Committee of the Council
Report on Its Condition.
LET THE READERS PONDER.

Last night, at the regular meeting OF
the city council. the special committee
appointed to investigate the water fur
nished Albuquerque people for drink
ing and cooking purposes by the Water
Supply company made its report. and
The Citizen. published in the interest
of the people, gives space to the report
in full. 1t is good reading: should be
read over carefully, and prompt action
should he taken to abate the nuisance
before an epidemic of sickness pre-.
walls In the city. The report as read
was adopted by the city council and is
as follows:
To the City Council of the City of AL
buquerque:
Gentlemen:-Your committee, to
whom was referred the question of the
ource and condition of the city's wa
ter supply beg leave to report as fol-
lows:
We have examined the premises and
file herewith and make a part of our
report a plat of the tract on which the
water works proper is located, show
ing the location of the different build
ings, wells, etc. and the boundaries of
the tract. This tract as originally
used by the water company is bounded
on the north by Tijeras road, on the
east by the Acequia' Nadre de los Bare
las and Broadway. on the south by
Hahn's coal yards and IN the west by
h railroad grounds. This tract is
about 200 feet wide on Broadway and
450 feet long on Tijeras road. Origin
ally it was occupied by the water
works alone. now the west portion is
occupied by the Albuquerque Wool
Securing mills. The main building of
the water works is located on the east
portion of the tract neal Broadway.
Lying between the main building of
the water works and the wool scour-
ing mill is a ditch from fifteen to twen-
ty feet deep. about fifteen feet wide
at the top and six feet at the bottom
and 165 feet long, extending on the
west to within twenty-five or thirty
feet of the VOC securing mills, and on
the east about the same distance from
the main building of the water works.
The sides and ends of this ditch are
protected from caving by heavy tim
bers and boards and is covered with
boards. The covering, owing to shrink
age. leaves spaces between the boards
from one-half to two inches wide from
which the sand dirt and filth can readi-
ly sift into the ditch. The ditch was
originally dug, we are informed, so as
to allow ready access to the company's
pipe lines, the purpose which it really
serves we will refer to later.
The company has a well located
about three or four feet from the
mills, which is about twenty feet in
diameter and from twenty to twenty
five feet deep, walled with stone; this
we designate as well No I
1t has another we'll about seventy
five feet from the wool securing mill
which Is about twenty feet in diameter
and from thirty to t~hirty-five feet deep
n which we designate as well No. 2
In each of the wells there are mum
erous pipes driven in the bottom which
are said to reach the seventy foot
strata. They open and empty into the
wells. In the ditch are a number OF
pipes driven, as we are informed, &c
the seventy foot strata and are con
nected directly with the pumping PLAN
and so far as these last mentioned
pipes are concerned there is apparent
ly no opportunity for the surface water
to get in, but the pumping plant is
also connected with well No. 2 by 9
pipe which reaches near the bottom
of the open part. so it will be seer
that the water supply is drawn princi
pally from the open well thirty feet
deep rather than from the seventy foot
strata and whatever goes into the
open well goes into our water supply
We are particular in drawing attention
to this fact for the reaso that 1t has
been repeatedly asserted that we get
no water in our water supply except
from the seventy foot strata. That
this is not so we have demonstrated by
actual investigation and call the atten.
tion of the council to the following
sources of water supply other than the
seventy foot strata.
In the first place the wells in ques.
ton have pipes driven horizontally in
to the earth about half way between
the top and bottom of the wells which
were put in for the purpose of catch,
ing the surface waters and serve thai
purpose as they were pouring into the
open wells streams of water at the
time of our examination.
Well No. / furnishes but little water
but is connected by an open pipe with
well No. 2 and when the water rises
sufficiently in well No. 1 and is suffic
iently low in well No. 2 water from
well No. l empties directly into wei
No. 2. Well No. l, as we have already
ohoN io oAluoitu "Athi hitS VI AOb'
feet of the wool securing mills and il
covered with plank which are in the
same condition as the plank covering
the ditch so that whatever filth may be
blown about can readily drop into this
we'll.
Besides the surface water which
runs into the well from the horizontal
pipes above referred to the surface
water ans into the big ditch from all
sides and is conducted by it to well
No. 2, where il is emptied into that
well by an opening made through the
wall and protected by wire netting, and
thus the council will see that this fur
nishes not only a means of gathering
the surface water in that vicinity but
that it m continually in contact
with the ~decaying timbers which sup
port the walls of the ditch and the filth
which Sits through the openings IN
the plank covering.
We made our examination of the
WallS and ditch or ahOnt A nfnInaE ir