Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-01-02
Mr.. WRIGHT'S LETTER.

intendent of the Wausau water
works in 1899-1900, but had to take
walk because republican council
was elected which had a prejudice
against men of his particular brand
of politics, regardless of capability.
If Mr.. Wright's recommendation
had been followed, we believe, to-
day, that Wausau would have a
water supply equal to, if not the
best of any city in the state. He
wanted board of commissioners
appointed to look after the water
works plant, the same as the city
has today, and the same as when
it was put into operation. 1t is the
only proper way to conduct munich
pal ownership plants-take them
out of politics.
Mr.. Wright makes the same COM
plants that the PILOT has, and
gives other things to think about
concerning the way in which our
municipal plant has been man
aged, viz
GAS a matter of fact the water
problem confronting US is no new
one. The taste of the water at
certain seasons has been growing
worse for more than ten years !;
there have been frequent COM
plants of the water smelling, due
to the vegetable growth which has
yearly become more troublesome.
We have not had pressure enough
to fight serious fire for years. In
the first place the city has grown
and extensions to the pipe system
have been added until the capacity
of the main sixteen inch supply
pipe from the pumping station is
greatly overtaxed. The original
capacity of all the pipes has also
been greatly decreased by reason
of the vegetable growth and in
addition to these two unforeseen
causes, nearly every consumer of
water has been wasting water in
most extravagant way. In 1899
the water amounted to 568, 260, 271
gallons, or 436, 451 gallons for each
tap in use and we now pump about
1000, 900 gallons day. This waste
is due to open faucets, leaks and
poor plumbing and is the main
cause of our poor fire pressure for
which we are nearly all to blame
and perhaps the worst offenders
have been the newspapers, nearly
all of which, except the Record,
used water moters to run their
presses.
In the past, several water super
intendents have called the atten-
ton of the council to the evils
which menaced the plant and at
the same time issued reports on the
subject to every consumer in an
effort to create a public sentiment
which would demand a remedy. l
believe at least three superintend-
ents asked that the department
be put on permanent basis, under
a board of water commissioners,
free from politics, so that the
department would have a settled
policy, which would enable them to
carry a remedy to completion.
Instead of needing the heads of the
department the people each year
put in a fresh council of eighteen
men to manage the department
and generally fired all the men with
any experience in managing the
plant and put in an entire new
force"
Why Mr.. Wright should deem it
necessary to make the assertion
that some of the articles on the
present condition of our municipal
water plant, are unfair because they
have given the impression that the
present administration is to blame
for the present conditions, is not
easily determined because there is
absolutely no foundation for it.
The PILOT does not believe there is
any such feeling existing in the
city. In fact the feeling is about
as Mr.. Wright puts it, viz:
81 claim that the present admin
istration in putting the department
under board of commissioners has
done more for our municipal plant
than all the councils for the past
ten years. True, the general
charter flor which the legislature
is to blame) does not give the COM
mission the powers it should have,
but it is a long step in the direc-
ton. The council also elected a
good lot of commissioners in G. E..
Turner, F. r. Genrich and A. f.
Marquardt. The mayor and ]. H.
Farrell of the council complete the
board. These gentlemen serve
without pay and as a matter of
public spirit. They went into Office
~, Mou l,e4. c;,-a +La, 4bau b,va