Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-01-15
CITY STRIKES BLOW
Water Company's Old Race Con-
demned as a Nuisance.
BOARD OF HEALTH TAKES A HAND

OVnNU Va uIdLlu 1duUN UHHU
That Body, Remembering How the
Council Has Been Worried About
Waterworks, Gives Company Sixty
Days to Abate Nuisance.
..li ,ltsE,
From Tuesdays Daily.
The city is again after the City Wa
ter Supply Co., and the nuisance or
dlnance, which is used as weapon
by the aldermen, is nearly as effective
as the Injunction to which the water
company has appealed. This time the
aldermen are acting under the as
sumed names. as it were, but in the
members of the board of health it
is not hard to recognize the members
OF the city council, that same body of
men, each of whom has racked his
brain to find some way of getting
around the obstacles which the water
company has placed in the way of the
city in It's attempts to build or buy a
water plant of its own. This time the
bone Of contention is the old defense
less waterway which formerly lead
from the river above the dam to the
old settling basin located at the point
where Wapello street crosses over in
to Central Addition. Last evening the
city council sitting as board of health
decided that the condition of this race
with its broken down banks, which
allows the water to flow out over Cen
trail Addition during flood tide, justi-
fled them in condemning the place as
nuisance and ordering the owners
to abate it. A time limit was set for
the abatement and the board of health
went to bed happier than any of it's
members have been for some time.
Property Was Damaged.
When the Des Moines river this
summer took several fits and seemed
to be trying to see how high it could
rise without flowing out over Court
hill, it accomplished veirtable wreck
in the vicinity of the old race. The
fact of the matter so some of the men,
bers of the board say, is that since
the filters were instituted at the water
company's plant, the settling basins
have not been used and as conse-
quence, the race through which they
were supplied has been allowed to go
to rack and ruin. However, it continu-
ed to allow the passage of water from
the river toward the basins, and fin
ally into the head race proper, which
lies at it's north. and thence into the
river near the Market street bridge.
Those who visited the Blackhawk
street approach near the Milwaukee
junction about July Is or 16 will
doubtless remember how the water
from the river, rising rapidly, broke
through the banks between the used
and unused races and swept away the
interposing ground with much force,
thus damaging the property of the wa
ter company and the Milwaukee rail-
road company considerably.
However, this was not ALL After go.
ing under the Milwaukee tracks the
water started down town alongside of
Central Addition. In the real head
race, which is kept in repair by the
water company, the behavior of the
torrent was not such as could not be
controlled, and little damage was done
except at the settling BASIN However
at several points coming down toward
the basins, the old race banks gave
way, letting the water out over Cen.
trail Addition, which is level as a
dancing floor, to all intents and pur-
poses when life-sized flood comes
around.
City Lost Money.
! Alderman Keefe, chairman of the
Il Sfront ,ooitfnn GOV +Jaf ~ NJ
been for this very water from the old
race, the city would now have been
| 500 richer, as that was the amount
spent to repair bad washout or two
on some of the streets in Central Ad
dition. Alderman Hyatt, chairman OF
the sanitary committee, and City PLY.
stefan ]. t. Herrick, who last evening
were central figures at the meeting OF
the board of health. didn't stop at that
but complained that the water, break
ing over the banks into Central AID
dition, flooding dooryards and even
sometimes putting out kitchen fires
left bad effect upon the health OF
the residents and the guardians of the
health of the city say much disease
resulted from the flood.
Blame Old Race.
| Just how it is figured is question
with some, but some of the residents
of Central Addition. so Alderman
Keefe last evening told the board, say
that had it not been for the old race
and the breaking of its banks, the
/ highest point in Central Addition 10
Gated on the north side near the race
| would have been high and dry. Alder
man Hoglund doubted that this was
the case and thought that at any ratt
the water would have backed up tt
almost any point on the island regard
less of the broken banks.
/ Last evening the question of a pipt
which extends from the river nea
Blackhawlk street over the low land
lying north of the Milwaukee yards, il
Central Addition was brought up TO
discussion. DR.. Herrick mentioned
this pipe in his talk to the board abou
the general conditions in the city, ant
no;,l +Iot fl,a re- pf Co,,t,o1 A 4