BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-04-11
Pumping Machines Unfit For Use,

Il
Moment.
Pumping Machines Unfit For Use,
Matter Taken Up BY Municipal Engineer Canals.
Report To the Council
Last Night.
IA Commission Appointed By the City
f. Council.
Immediate Action Necessary To Save the City
of San Juan From Long Water Famine.
City Engineer H. J. Canals, has pre-
sented to the City Council a report on
the condition of the city. aqueduct at
Rio Piedras. According to this report
the city of San Juan is liable to be
without water at any moment, and
there is great danger: that this water
famine may continue for many months
unless immediate steps are taken to
prevent the stopping of the pumping,
station by the introduction Of new
pumps from the States. The report
also conclusive1y shows that this relief
can only be temporary, and that the
onlxcrea1 permanent relief for the .situ-
alton is the building of a new aqueduct
ON the Lola River.
The report also shows that there
are several reasons for the existence of
present conditions, the most important
amongst them being what Mr.. Canals
ca!ls "fa1se economy" and improper
aiatenance of the plant The report
was presented to the Council last night,
and was amply discussed. Mr.. Soler,
the new councilman recently appointed
by the Governor, stated that he agreed
with the opinion of the Engineer be-
cause ofsthe fact that he was a member
of the City Council in 1897, when the
present aqueduct was projected, and
he stated that he did not believe at
that time that the aqueduct would last,
that it lacked :pern1anency, and that
he had predicted the conditions which
now exist in the aqueduct and the
water supply.
The Alca1de appointed Mr. .Tu1io
Larrinaga and Mr.. Sanchez Morales
committee to act in conjunction with
the city engineer to further examine
the "a led lct and to recommend mea-
Sures for the protection of the city's
water supply. In conversation with
BOLETIN representative this morning
the city engineer stated that he had
made two previous reports on the sit
uation, and that the real gravity of the
present state of affairs could not be
overestimated He stated that the City
Council must act at once, Or the city of
San Juan would suffer from one of the
worst water famines which have ever
been known.
The following is an exact verbatim
copy of the report of the city engineer,
which was presented to the City Coun-
Gil las night:
"San Juan April 9Th, 1902 y.
I To The Alcalde,
The assistant engineer has just sent
to me his report on the general condi-
tons of the pumping station of the
| waterworks of this city, and as his con-
clusions are so important l beg to sub
init the copy of his report. In this
Connection there are several points to
consider
| The first one, is that the present water
works have not the character of perm.l-
lnency because of the bad state of the
machinery, and We are taking the risk
of being without water at any moment.
This ceasing of the water supply may
last from several days to months. l do.
not like to extend my report and for
shis reason | will nor q tote two eme-
nent engineers, two authorities in the
United States, on what they say about
the character and permanency of the
waterworks. Both recommend that
the city design a waterworks system,
taking care above all to make their
wo.k permanent because the circulation
tofwater through any city may be CON-
pared to the circulation of blood through
the human body.
Second point, the pumping station is
not sufficient for.the' actual consump-
tion of water From the obs ervations
which have taken Sihce entered this
office / have seen that with the
speed of thirty. six revolutions minute
one engine lifts hardly enough water to
supply the city consumption and that
there is no water surplus to go into the
reservoir Let. us suppose big fire, a
br-aks of the main + ipe, flood of the
Rio Piedras river, which will destroy
the pump, what would be the result?
Fhe reservoir at Rio Piedras will be
empty and the pumps will not be able
to fill them unless the two pumps work
at the same time, which constitutes in
itself danger on account of the bad
condition of the machinery.
If the plant is rot efficient, today
for the present consumption it is clear
that in eight or ten months from now
when the sewage system will be CON-
pleted and when all the population will
take the water, instead Of forty-eight
-