Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1902-11-12
LexInpton,s Water Supply.

For some weeks past tne lnau
equacy of the town weter supplyundel
present conditions has been brought
forcibly to the attention of all Ou
citizens, and the questions naturally
arise whether to increase the supply
or curtail the uses. "A third sugges
ton is that possibly wastage, through
neglect or defective hydrants and
faucets, may be the cause of the
seeming scarcity.
In view of present conditions, Pro
fessor ID. G. Humphreys was request
ed by the town council to visit the
springs which supply Lexington and
to make measurements and exami-
nations of the same in order that
recommendation might be made to
remedy the situation. Last week he
performed that duty and submitted
his report Thursday night to the
council His report showed that the
present supply of water for the town
is 164, 900 gallons per day, which is
about AZ gallons per day per capita,
which he says should be ample for
all purpose for town of this size.
Professor Humphreys then recon-
mended the employment of a man
with comfortable pay, to look after
the water works, who shall be required
to make house-to-hcuse il spection
and whenever leaky or defective fix
lures are found the owner shall be at
once notified to have the same re-
paired, failure to comply being sub
ject to fine in proportion to the
offense. Another an an important
recommendation was that the town
should adopt the meter system more
generally than at present. The town,
he CLAIMS, should own the meters and
charge the user $50 per year rental,
which will cover the cost of install
latiOn, interest on investment and re-
pairs, including depreciation.
In his report Professor Humphreys
claims that after full investigation in
many cities and towns, it has been
conclusively demonstrated that the
use of meters is the only effective way
to stop or regulate the waste of wa:e..
He then calculates that if the water
now being used, or wasted, 164, 900
gallons per day, could be sold at 10
cents per one thousand gallons, the
revenue would be 1886 per year.
This view is taken by many others as
the most practical way of disposing
of the question.
On the other hand, there are those
who oppose the meter system, and
not without good reasons. They claim
that there is no meter on the market
but what after short use will leak,
and instances are cited to illustrate
their position. The leaks may be so
small that the issuance of water will
fail to register A streem the size of
a straw is often found flowing through
made. If this should be kept up for
any length of time, and it is possible,
then an immense amount of water
may be lost through wastage, of
which no record can BE- made
That there is great waste under
present conditions cannot be denied,
and the waste is traceable in large
measure to defective faucets. The
remedy for this seems to be in the
adoption of different and better
faucet. There are several kinds on
the market which have proved salts
factory and have resulted in a great
saving CT water. The spring faucet
is suggested, but better still is the
automatic faucet. These can be
bought from Is cents to one dollar
each, and their general use would in
sure a saving of a large percentage of
the water now wasted from defective
fixtures.
If with the installation of the auto
matte faucets the supply of water
should still be insufficient, then there
remains the proposition advocated by
some, to increase the present water
supply by securing other springs.
Councilman Quisenherry of the water
committee, claims that with the
of $4,000 or $4,000 the
present supply can be more than
doubled, which will be abundant for
all needs for years to come, even in
the greatest drouth In proof of this
position Mr. Quisenberry yesterday
closed an option on the farm of Mr..
j. ID. Barger, known as the Baxter
farm, containing $50 acres and stu
ated near the present town springs,
for "a, 800. to be taken up February 5,
1908. On this farm is an exceedingly
bold spring which furnishes more
water than all the town springs com
bined The flow is estimated at 200, !
900 gallons per day. The estimates
for securing the use of this water are
about as follows:
Cost of spring and farm 81, 800; cost
of purchasing and laying 5000 feet of
pipe to connect with present water
system, 81, 900; cost of 10-horse power
gasolene engine plant, 81 900, making |
a total expenditure of $500. From
this may be deducted if need be the
sum OF $500 or $4,000, the amount |
that can be realized from the sale of |
the farm, the town retaining the |
spring and sufficient land surround
ing the same for its protection. This
would reduce the outlay to about
"a. 600.
The cost of gasolene and engineer
or running the engine for three
ten hours day, will be about
$500. This will be an annual expen-
liture.
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