The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-02-22
E. B. Cowgirl Discusses Condition
Of Water Plant.
What City Must Do to Put 1t in
Condition.
NEW BOILERS AT ONCE.
Says That Their Need Is Most
Imperative.
Also ''ChOke'' in Mains Must Be
Taken Out.

One of the first things which will
meet the attention OF the board of
trustees into whose hands the manage
ment of the waterworzs plant will
fall is the amount of necessary ex-
penditure required to place the water
works property in a good working
condition. The city council have no
specific information at hand as to the
present condition of the waterworks
and no report is available. z. B.
Cowgirl of the Kansas Farmer who
has had technical and practical ex-
perience with hydraulics and who has
built a number of waterworks over
this portion of the country is prob
ably the only man in the city who has
any information available as to the
condition of the plant and who can
give a good idea of what will prob
ably be necessary in the way of eX-
penditure right away at the outset on
the taking over of the plant upon the
LIST of April.
In speaking of this feature Mr.
Cowgirl said last night: THE first
thing that should be done, and it
should be done right away as soon as
the plant falls into the hands of the
city; that is the purchase of two new
boilers. The present boilers are in
bad shape. I inspected them some
time ago and they were in need of re-
pair badly at that time and of course
the repair is more urgent now than
It was then, since nothing has been
done to them. In fact it has been
impossible to repair them since they
cannot be placed out OF commission
for the repairs without placing the
pumps out of commission. The boiler
capacity out at the plant is not SUI
dcient, as 1 have stated before, to Sc
cure the best possible results from the
pumps. In other words you can't get
the full pressure from the pumps with
the present boiler inefficiency. 1
have no doubt that when you have in
stalled two additional boilers and are
then in a position to overhaul the old
boilers that you can place the latter
into good serviceable condition. The
cost of the new boilers would be in
the neighborhood of $3.50. I GER
tainly would insist should chance to
be placed upon the board of trustees
that the city Immediately place two
new boilers into commission. Until
we do that the fire pressure will never
be what it should and we will be in
ever present danger from severe fire
loss.
Another expenditure of paramount
Importance is the alleviation of the
choke in the pipe What mean by
this is the sudden reduction IN the size
of the mains out at Auburndale. From
the great large is main, which brings
the water to the city a sudden Ieduc-
ton takes place in the size to a IL inch.
This piles Up the water at that point
and you fail to secure the best posi-
bic results from your pipes, that is, the
pressure you ought to secure. To ale
viate this the city should contract for
additional piping, say $500 feet Of II
inch, to connect onto the 18th main at
some point above and thus relieve the
choke This win cost approximately
s., 800. This I say is of almost para
mount Importance but it could await
action until the completion of the ex-
penditure in the purchase of the boil
ers that should be done right away. OF
course additional boiler room would
have to be constructed out at the plant
and I have estimated that cost at So
$50 though 1t probably can be done for
less than that. The estimate which J
placed on that is in the rough and by
no means final. The total expenditure
which should and would have to be
made is from $4,000 to $15,50O.
1.-The pumps I have no doubt are in
6rst class condition. there has been
nothing to occur which should render
them in bad condition and they should
be free from grit and sand think
that the machinery is in pretty good
shape. The mains over the city will
not require any attention of immediate
Importance and I think that for the
most part they are also in good condi-
ton. There may be exceptions to this
where malleable iron pipes have been
used instead of castiron. I have noticed
4
below Huntoon street but / don't know
how much of this may be in place.
Malleable iron does not last like cast
1ron and its life in comparison is short.
Engineers estimate castiron piping to
depreciate at the rate of per cent each
year but in fact you may chance
TO see it down 100 years hence. The
longer it's down in fact. the better. be
cause the weak points are shown up
and a repair can be made. These weak
places are due to defects in the manu-
facture. With these finally eliminated
the mains should last for years.
Several Of the councilmen deem it ad-
visable to have an inspection and re-
port made of the plant upon the con-
dition of the plant when the board of
trustees assume the control. The re-
port would embody an outline of what
should be done in the way of extern
sions and improvements Such a re-
port and inspection would have to be
necessarily made by expert hydrau-
lie engineers and some of the council
men believe the expense of such an IN
spectiOn would be more than the case
would warrant.
Mr.. Cowgirl does not consider such an
inspection necessary and thinks that a
report whlle it might be valuable could
be dispensed with for the time.