The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-30
THE PUBLIC WORKS.
commissioners Appear Before city Oean>
ell With Communication ana
Recommendations,

lie Works appeared before the INiN
Council at their meeting "Wednesday
night and presented the following c>>,n,
munication and Recommendations whi>,,
will be Of interest To the citizens ii the
city. The Council postponed actioa Nn
the Recommendations and will take the
matter up at an early date.
REroKT OF rAS BOARD.
| The Bosd Of Public Works would
respectfully request Of the City Council
careful examination Of the following
communication:
Since the inception Of the water
works al d electric lighting plant, the
effort Of the Board has been to give TO
the community as much water and as
lSrood lighting service as possible at the
least cost. and in carrying out that pur-
pose they have made tn:s mistake: that
water and light service has been fur
nished SO near to actual cost price that
the system has never been able to lay
aside the necessary money that the en-
tension and repairs now call for.
They have no funds to fall back upon
to make extensions, and the growth of
the city now demands an enlargement
of the plant, and to bring this matter
to the attention of the citizens the
Board makes the following statement:
LIST. Our supply of water is as perfect
as the day it wes turned over to the
Board. We have only one well and
well pump, a stand-pipe Of 2SO, OGo gal
Ions capacity, and small reservoir of
an estimated capacity of 14O, 900 gal
Ions.
| The daily average consumption now
varies from $4,000 to 5000 gallons and
the average daily consumption in the
summer is from $4,000 to rs, OCo gallons
per day. (Last summer one day there
was consumed 100000 gallons.) This,
you can see, does not give us a sufficient
reserve supply Of water in case of an
accident to our well-pumping machinery.
For with the demand soon to be made
for water for the sewer system (from
10000 to Is, 7Co gallons daily, with the
regular daily demand, we should have a
resel vor of 750, 0C0 gallons capacity at
the vely least.
End. The electric light plant was in
stalled with capacity for 1000 incandes-
cent lights. We now have attached to
its circuits 1,604 lights, greatly over
loading the capacity, and still other par
ties wanting lights, which we are forced
to decline as we have more on now than
we can carry with any degree of safety
to the plant. The arc machine carries
so lights of 1000 candle power, and is
at its limit.
| Take Greenville for instance: She
pays $97. so per yearsfor each arc lamp
of l,200 candle power. Atlanta paws
$82.50 each per year. Water COM
panies all over the county charge from
$24.00 to $50 per annum for each fire
| hydrant in the street. Newberry now
has 81 hydrants for which she paws
nothing.
The first contract that the Board
made with the Council was that we
would only charge cost price for street
lighting and fire hydrant service. The
Board furnished AZ arc lights of 2, ,OCO
candle power at $50. 60 each per annum
and charged the city nothing for fire
service.
Under these conditions the receipts
from the city and for domestic service
pald all the lunning expenses and fol
the first three years enabled the Boarc
to expand in extensions of water anC
light plant all that has been necessary
with the beginning of 1901 there hac
been such a demand for extensions tha
the Board brought the matter to the
attention of the Council, with the propo
sition that the Board should eithe,
charge the city $500 per annum TO-
each fire hydrant, or, if the Counci
would make an appropriation of 81, ,5O
per year, in addition to what they wer
already paying for street lights, tn
Board would attempt to run the plan
on that basis and expand the plants a
far as the extra appropriations woul,
allow, with the expectation that tn,
same arrangement would be carried on
: through the year 1902. Out of the ex
pected 81 500 to be paid during each O
the yeas 1901 and 1902 the Board onl,
received during the two years Q9O
/ and 1902 $840 of this amount. The in
come under the present arrangement
is estimated at 50, 500 for 1903 and ex
penses estimated at $500 to SO, 900
leaving probable profit of $500 t.
$1,CCo.
If the city had the means now to OH
5 the water plant and electric lightin,
systems in better operating condition
"a larger pump for the well an
improved electric apparatus in
come would increase, and at the sam
; time the expenses for fuel, carbons an
. repairs would diminish by large be
i cent. In view of the fact that w
badly need an increased capacity for
I reserve supply of water, and an en-
largement of the electl ic lighting plan