Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-01-18
To the Honorable Board of Commis-
 sioners of Public Works, City of

To the Honorable Board of Commits
 sioners of Public Works. City of
 Waterbury.
 Gentlemen:-At meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Public Works held July S1st., 1906 the follow ing vote was passed, to witt
 Voted:-That the Supt. of Water and the City Engineer be and they hereby are appointed committee to submit to this Board report, containing all the facts and figures, for the maintenance penses of the Water Department with such recommendations as they deem ad- visable for revision of the present wa ter rates and the metering of the entire city.
 Acting according to the instructions contained in the above vote, beg to re- port that I have performed the duty imposed upon me to the best Of rfsfin my aoii Il . such comprehensive subject can be dealt with.
 In short. we have been charged with the duty of submitting report on the
 ist.-Ail of the facts and figures re- garding the. cost and maintenance of the Reservoir.
 2nd.-The actual cost of the running expenses of the Water Department.
 3rd-Such recommendations as are deemed advisable for the revision of the present water rates and the meter ing of the entire city.
 The cost to date of the Water system of the City of Waterbury is approxi- mately $2,000,000.
 Prospect. East Mountain, Distributing, Cooke Street and Wigwam Reservoirs.
 The lands overlowed and adjacent to reservoirs have been purchased. cleaned and put in good condition, These properties compromise about 1S acres at Cooke Street, PA acres in the eastern section, and 727 acres at the
 An IS inch pipe line has been built from the distributing reservoir to the center of the City; 36 inch pipe line, from the Wigwam Reservoir. in Thom- aston. to West Main Street; and pipe has been built from the East Mountain Reservoir. in Dublin Street. to supply the High Service system. Rights of ways, land and water damages, occas- stoned by the building of these reser- voirs, have also been bought by the City. Land on the Plank Road was pur- chased and 2 pumping station at Mad Mad shop at Benedict Street was also pur- chased.
 Distributing mains of various sizes, the distribution. hydrants and such have also been bought.
 All of these make an asset for the City which is we'll worth $2.000,00
 In order to maintain this system, the sum of from $6,500 to $10.000 is annually appropriated by the city. This sum is ex- pended in as careful manner as possible in keeping the water pure and whole some. In order to do this it is necessary to daily patrol the shores of each res ervoir, to guard against any dangerous matter @ getting into the srss,es water. !, ,, specting farms and premises on the wa . tersheds. As the watershed at the Wig wam Reservoir compromises a territory of IS square miles, containing III farms 1f6 houses. 169 barns. popu- iation of 3S5 people, and necessitates a drive of so miles to reach all points. the size of this undertaking alone can be imagined. The water sheds at the other reservoirs, while not so large, are just as thoroughly inspected. A written report of this inspection is sub mitted to the Superintendent by these inspectors. every month. These reports are on file at the Department and show just what work has been done in this line.
 shown by the fact. that there has not been case of typhoid fever. directly traceable to our city water, in many years. In fact, I may state, never has a case Of typhoid been directly traced to the City water supply.
 According to the City Health Officer. there were s2 cases of typhoid fever during the last fiscal year. The cause of these cases has been traced, out and none were attributed to city water. The Health officer. in an interview in a local paper of recent date, says that many of these cases were contracted in various summer resorts. during vaca- tion, by drinking water that Is none too carefully guarded. The patient returned home sick. and this city was credited with the case of typhoid few CT.
 Besides this inspection. the shores of the reservoirs are raked and moved. and the general appearance of the sur roundings. such as painting. cleaning and repairing. attended to. The water in the brooks and other feeds. is clear and wholesome and contains no danger ous germs or matter.
 At times. during the summer months. there has been a slight taste and odor to the water. This is caused by vege- table matter. which starts to grow on the shores of the reservoir. when the water is low. The Department cannot avoid this. unless by keeping the reser- voir full and overfiowing. which they are unable to do considering the large consumption and draught made upon the supply.
 The City Chemist. Mir Hommon. and myself have taken samples of the water at different depths in the wigwam Res ervoir and find the water to be of good quality. His analysis of these samples is as follows: