Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-17
STOPS WASTE
IN CITY WATER.
CONSUMPTION.
METER INSTALLATION PROVES
EFFECTIVE
DEPARTMENT SHOWS YEARS
GAIN Or $e5,55e
With Fair Rainfall and Economy Los
Angeles Can Tide Over Interval
Until Aqueduct Is
Built

Financial opera tions of the Los Angeles
water department for the year closed
November 80 show a gain of $65,556 in
collections over the preceding year
The Los Angeles department is one of
very few which make collections often
er than quarterly or semi-annually and
many cities collect annually in advance.
Cleveland collects semi-annually; Mil
waukee semi-annually for flat rates and
quarterly for meter rates; Rochester
semi annually and quarterly and Detroit
and Kansas City quarterly
The department therefore suggests that
the bills be payable quarterly at its Of
fee, with a penalty of 10 per cent for
delinquency This would reduce the force
of billmakers and collectors and by in
sisting on paying bills at the office the
friction that now sometimes exists as
to bills and responsibility could be re-
duced.
Furnishes City Free
1t is also suggested that the water de-
partment should get credit for the free
water it is furnishing to the city, which
now uses $150,000 worth a year, and the
demand is increasing.
Some of the financial figures are;
Balance by last report, water revenue fund.-
$eS, ,459; balance last report, bond fund.-
$40, 772; total, s110,231.
Collectons-Water rates. $9S6,796 permits for
water used in construction, $19,5S1; service con-
f,ections, $685. meters. 800; sundries, la
Dor and materials 6,919; other items, S11, 49,
return of aqueduct advances, s25,SOO; total ST.
1853, 220
There were 1891 new services put in
during the year. Cast iron pipe laid
amounted to So miles, the pipe weighing
1870 tons. There were also 592 tons of
steel used in the force main for the new
Figueroa street pumping station
Better Fire Service
Much attention was given to improve
ment of the fire service. Great as have
been the efforts as shown by the addition
of 446 fire hydrants for the year much
still remains to be done.
The doubling of the number of fire hy-
rdants in the congested business section
had to be deferred because of lack of
funds.
1t is doubtful if there is a city in the
country that requires as great a mileage
of pipe per capita to serve her people
with water, gas or an adequate sewer
system as Los Angeles. The total length
Of distributing mains in use November
Is was 639 miles.
The department experienced great trou-
BILE from the growth of algae as well as
larva and molluscan growths in both
Bellevue and Ivanhoe reservoirs, necessf-
tating the hasty construction of roofs
over each. Both roofs are carried on
reinforced concrete posts and girders.
Conserving the Supply
Succeeding the remarkable series of dry
years that ended with the season of 1888
81 Los Angeles has had three successive
| winters with the rainfall decidedly above
the mean, the average for the three
being about 20 per cent above the mean
annual precipitation for the last thirty
| years.
The effect of this increase on the flow
of the Los Angeles river, while disap-
pointing, still gives hope that with a
fair rainfall for the four or five years
necessary to complete the Owens river
aqueduct the city will not materially
suffer- although under any circumstances
it will in the meantime require extraor-
binary expenditures for development work
of a temporary character to exc out our
falling supply.
Owing to the increased flow in the Los
Angeles river 1t was not found necessary
to use the pumping plant at Figueroa
and Slauson avenue, but it will without
doubt prove valuable reserve for the
future
When the department first began meter
ing the city the plan adopted was to
meter the factories and premises having
large areas on which it was assumed the
waste OF water WAS BredleSt, tilio pSiu6
made necessary by the serious shrinkage
of the water supply due to the dry years
and the excessive rate of consumption
in the city as a whole. This rate was not
exceeded by any city of which we had
record at any time and amounted TO more
than 300 gallons per capita.
Following the metering of these places
systematic plan was adopted of solidly
metering the city. This was begun in
the business section, where excessive and
extravagant use of water was very OBJ
vious and constant source of irritation
between the inspectors of the water de-
partment and the owners. 1t was found
that whereas the section which consumed
between 100000 and 100000 gallons per
day after meters were installed, the con-
sumption was reduced to much less than
1000, 900 gallons per day, the difference
representing an absolute waste.
CHE | OWES ME MORE THAN