Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-17

While consumption of water and water
waste in the District of Columbia have be-
come subjects of great Importance. since In
terest was rearoused a few weeks ago by
the report of Colonel Smith H. Leach, and
since the more recent opening OF the nj
tration plant made it obvious that the great
est good to the greatest number would &C
crue only by conserving the pure supply,
comparatively little attention has been at
tracted by the methods which have long
been In vogue in the District water depart
ment of regulating the amount of water
used and of stopping, wherever possible,
the unnecessary use or waste of water.
Hundreds of householders have grown
ia n.iliar with the semi-annual or tri-annual
visits of the water inspector. and have stood
calmly by while that official made his brief
tour through the house. testing spigot
here and there, and listening with his
water phone" for possible leaks In pipes
where they are hidden in the walls or under
ground that visual inspection Is I'M
pre- cticable. But, though these visits or the
water inspector are expected at regular in
tervals, very few people stop to think just
what his work and that of his" associates
means to the city at large.
II would be interesting for any mousse
keeper, whose kitchen faucet has unexpect-
eddy taken to leaking, possibly not more
than drop by DROP Ito place receptacle be-
heath tne Idulty COCK anu, dltST
the quantity gone to waste in an hour,
compute the quantity wasted In twenty
fout hours, in week. month or until the
spigot is repaired-and then still further
carry out the computation and estimate the
vest amount of water thus thoughtlessly
wasted by the 200 water users in the Dis
trict. Records kept by Water Registrar
Karpeles and his assistants show that leakY
fixtures are found on an average in every
fifth house visited by the inspectors. In
some houses two or more spigots or pipes,
are found to be leaky, and this number Is
sufficient to run up the average, SO that II
may be safely said that every fourth house
on every street in the city under which
water mains are laid contains a faucet or
pipes which is adding its quota to the enor-
nous total of gallons of water wasted in
the capital, as shown by the report Of Col
Leach.
X
In their constant efforts to prevent such
waste the water department has employed
eighteen inspectors. To each of these men
is assigned a certain territory, outside Of
which he never goes, and the whole city,
with due consideration of the varying dis
tapces to be traversed, is so divided that
each inspector has approximately one
eighteenth of the whole. This insures, prac-
tically, an equal service throughout the Dis
trict.
Each morning, except Sundays, at about
o'clock, all of the inspectors report to
their chief, the water registrar, and to each
Is then assigned his days work. Unless he
has some Special duty for all or part of
the day such appearing in the Police
Court to prosecute delinquent water user,
each inspector begins his days labors at
the point where he stopped the day before,
and such Is the system and designation of
territory that the chief inspector can tell
almost exactly where each of his men can
be found at any time.
To do this 1t is the imperative order to
each member of the outside force of the
water registrars office that in entering
upon work in a new square a beginning
must always be made at the northeast
corner From this point the inspector goes
into every house on the street bounding the
square on the north and unless an inter-
secting alley Is encountered, his progress
around all four sides of the block back to
the starting point is interrupted only by
such houses as 1t is not possible to enter
because the owner occupant may be out.
Where an intersecting alley occurs the in
spector works through on one side of the
minor street to its other end and thence
back on the opposite side to the main street.
This method of block by block inspection
the water department has found to be the
least complicated and the best from every
standpoint as labor saver. With the pres
ent force at his command the water regis
trar is able to cover the entire city about
two and one-haIf times each year.
In each house visited the water inspector
examines, first, the fixtures and visible
house, noting faulty faucets and leaks as
they are encountered, and then, as a final
test, places his water phone" against the
pipes and listens for leaks which may be
present in the underground piping and in
pipes In the walls When this test Is made
all spigots in the house must be closed-and
If there is leak the tricklng of the water
will be plainly audible through the water
phone.
This instrument is shaped exactly like an
ordinary telephone receiver, though it is not
SO sensitive as the latter, with tiny steel
prong projecting from the small end This
prong, when placed against a pipe, forms
the only connection necessary.
Unless a leak Is found the inspector goes
quietly on his rounds, noting the result Of
the inspection as he walks to the next
house. When one more leaks are found,
however, the inspector leaves a notice for
the occupant of the premises, specifying the
faults necessary to be remeded. and stating
that the repairs must be made Immediately
The notice contains a printed statement Of
the requirements of the law, reading fol-
lows: