The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1904-04-20
WATER IS MADE PURE
BY THE USE OF FILTER
North Yakima Should Have One With
out DeIay--Work of the Filter
at Oregon City.

Since the high water set in there has
been general complaint throughout
the city about the muddy condition of
the city water Many people contend
that the fltering OF the water would
improve present conditions. The sub
icct ot alteration j. one that is now be-
ing investigated by Mayor Fcchtcr and
the aldermen The new franchise of
the water company requires it TO put in
a $4,000 filter. but anything as cheap ~
that. it j. contcndcd by some, would he
useless. The special committee on wat
cr and light will have a conference with
President Strahorn OF the local company
next month when he will visit th, city
and at that time the subject of fltcra-
tion and everything else pertaining to
water and light will be considered y
/ description OF a filter that would seem
/ to be both cheap aud effective j. one
/ located at Oregon City, which Is de
Scrihed by a citizen of ColfaN. Wash.
/ in the Gazette OF that cay as follows:
In order that thc citizens of ColfaX
might understand the working of
water filter. the Gazette interviewed 5.
| {. Armstrong after hi, return from Ore
gon City. where he inspected the filter
/ II
that city. Mr. Armstrong. in discussing
! the plant. described it rs follows:
I'm Oregon City the water is taken
! from the Willamette river through II
conduit. similar to the one in use at the
water works in thi, city, and is carried
/ through pipes to the settling tanks,
! two in number. each of which is l6 feet
! in diameter and l6 feet high. Inc water
passes into these tanks about four feet
from the bottom and it requires about
20 minutes to fill them. thus giving it
about that amount of time to settle as
! il passes through.
Just before the water enters the
tanks. solution of sulphate of alumni
mum or commercial alum is added, the
proportion being about One-half grain
per gallon This incurs an expense of
not to exceed 80 cents per day. and
coaguatcS all foreign matter in the
water by the chemical combination
which is formed. All of these substances
are prccipitatcd in the form of sort of
u atherv sediment. and the settling
tanks catch Il great deal of this as the
water pa~,e, through them to the filter
ing tanks. of which there are two in
number. each Is feet in diameter.
Each filtering tank contains bed of
about four feet of crushed quartz. or
sharp sand. there being about $4,000
pounds in each. The water passes
through these tanks of its own weight.
there being no pressure whatever and
the sand collects every particle of coag-
ulent and removes all sediment. render
ing the water 9S to 90 per cent pure.
according to the analysis of the state
chemist of Oregon. This is from water
badly contaminated with sewerage.
The filters need cleaning on an aver
age of once every II hours. but may run
for - hours without any material
harm. The process of cleaning requires
a reverse of pure water from the re-cr-
voir through the sand. passing out
through a waste pipe. The sand Is a@i-
tated by means of cross arms reaching
across the tank in all directions from a
center rod. which is revoved by a small
water motor run by pressure from the
reservoir The water which pas
through the motor falls into the clear
water basin located under The tilterng
tanks. In this way no water i lost and
the only loss incurred is the pumping of
the same water into the reservoir again,
which in itself is very small item 1t
takes about 20 minutes to clean the
filter.
"The pumping power of the plant is
not applied to the filter in any way the
pumping to the reservoir being directly
from the clear water basin the same rs
from our settling well. The filters re
quire no attention. except when clean
ing. and the pumps do not have to he
"a Il tbava hain ~
no direct connection. The Settlin" and
fltcring tanks are built above the
ground and the clear water basin is be
low the surface.
"Thc people of Oregon City arc very
enthusiastic over their water system ~
il now stands. and it is not necessary to
AK them regarding their plant. If Won
are "A stranger they want YOU TO tcst the
water Immediately. They claim that it
j. better water than Is furnished Port
land. which has a reputation all over the
country In Oregon City the pumping
plant and the filter are about 100 leot
apart and run constantly furnishing
100000 gallons of water per day
The pumps operate under direct pres
sure. one into the mains AMI the other
70 the reservoir. The pump that feeds
llt MAINS i llllbtI ~ IhNNl~ pressure
and the lifting nnmr. which throw. the
water TO the reservoir works under ~
pressure of lS5 pounds They employ .
night and u dav man. IN rnt9S would
need no more help than is at p.e,nt
cmploved
The filters need ab-out'lv ro pcs
sure except the weight of he wator.
there BEING inst enough elevation inr
the water to pass from one t2n. 10 the
other Tho amount of wa.Hr that the
tanks receive i governed hv noatiro
valves. and Just a. much vatcr will
mass rs will flow of its own weight.
there hem" about ono foot of water ON
tn" sand all of the time.
There j. no question in my mind but
that filter will make our water -
pure and wholesome a il does It Crc-
con City. or any other place. think
that i self evident from tho "Toc, Nc
filter has on wat"r from tho Wilomeit"
and also from the effect the coa@rlen;
used in the filter has upon water from
the Palouse river. which | have lem