Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-06-06
CARRYING WATER TO A DESERT
Australia Is Building a Pipe Line to
 Gold Mines, BPS Miles Away.


 Western Australia is now one of the largest gold producers in the world Twenty years ago the great desert east of the fringe of fertile grain lands and timber along the sea was not sup posed to be worth a cent square mile. The desert was wholly unknown, ex- cept that a few explorers had made their toilsome way over the immense expanse of sand; few others less for tunate had perished in these forbidden wastes.
 Then it was found that this Sahara was really to be the treasure house of the colony. The precious metal dug out of these sands has made the gold product of Western Australia equal to that of all the other states in the com- monWealth. Gold has helped this di- vision of Australia to become one of the lustiest members of the British colonial empire. ~t
 Around the great mining center in the desert, 5O,OOO people are living. It's natural to ask how they get water to supply their needs The fact is, water is an extremely scarce commodi- ty there. 1t probably does not bring so high a price in any other part of the world. Salt water is obtained without much difficulty by digging, but the cost of condensing 1t to procure fresh water Is so costly that every pint must be carefully used. There is an occasional shower, and every house and tent in the mining district is sup piled with tanks to catch the rain wa ter, but it is an unreliable source of supply. The result is that every drop of water must be husbanded.
 We have no idea here, where water seems almost as free as air, how care . full they are in the mining region of western australia to put every drop to the best use It is not comfortable to be compelled to use water as though you never expected to have another pailful. The inconvience and discom- fort due to this cause are a terrible drawback to that region, and nothing less than the greed for gold would ln- duce anyone to submit to the incessant deprivation. s .,.,r5-4s.
 To-day western Australia is hard at work to remedy this great need and to supply the Coolgardie and Kalgoolie mining districts with good supply of water The total cost of the work will be not less than $15,O00,0O0, but it will solve the water problem.
 About % miles northwest of Perth, near the sea and the capital Of west ern Australia is the Green Mount range. The Helena river crosses this range through a deep valley. A dam 100 feet high has been built across the river and the reservoir thus formed is seven miles in length and will hold 4,OOO, 100000 gallons It Is necessary to lift the water 2,7OO feet to the top of the mountains in order to give it sufficient headway to reach the gold camps out in the desert. The distance to Kalgoole, the furthest camp to De supplied, is BPS miles The water is to be raised to the mountain top by means of eight pumping stations, the machln- cry for which has been purcnased at cost of $1,500,000.
 ] At the summit of the mountains the pipe line begins. It is 30 inches in di- ameter and is laid a little under the surface along the railroad track, except that in crossing various salt lakes on the route 1t Is supported on piers. It is hoped to deliver from the reservoir to the mining camps 5,00O,OOO gallons of fresh water daily. Even with this amount of water it Is not expected that the mining population will have crop to waste. They will have to pay good price for it. The charge to theI miners, for example will be $1.50 toI S1.75 per thousand gallons at whole sale rates. We should probably have little street sprinkling, and garden hose in the back yards, is Brooklyn would become obsolete if we had to pay so high price as this for the pre- cious fluid. g
 It is not expected that the project will become self supporting for some time. The plant is to be owned Dy the state, and the deficit must be paid ont of the general taxes. Even if the 30 GOO persons to be supplied should re- ouire the works to run at their fullest capacity, the pipe line would hardly meet exepnses.
 It is believed, however, that an in- creas sed production of the gold will be made possible by good supply or wa fer and that the entire state will thus he benefited, for more miners will be reouired in the field, and practically all their supplies. except machinery come from the farmers and merchants of western Australia. New York Sun. t