Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-09-21
TIE WATER SUPPLY
Cily Officials vIsIled ReserveIr
 salnEdsy Aiisrpees.


 voirs Saturday was well attended and while they possibly may not have found all they expected In the way of water sources the trip cannot but prove beneficial In more than one way. In the first place 1t satisneo the visitors that the place Is Kept in excellent repair, everything peing found in most satisfactory condi- ton, notwithstanding the fact that Caretaker Kenny had no time to make any special effort to trim up' The East Mountain reservoir, ike the one up the road which is looked after by Mir Danaher, shows constant anu practical attention, and this was ap- parent to all as soon as they came In view of the grounds.
 The distance from Exchange place to East Mountain Is not far, but the hill proved too much for some Of the autos and as consequence some or the boys left the machines on the roadside and walked. The weather was warm and when the pedestrians reached the Sprague place, where luncheon was served, they were tired and weary and covered with dust and interested in something better than the nice sheet of water reaching out before them. Of course N. J. Well ton had been there before. having toured the entire distance many times before selecting that place as a water source. Major Bannon was cowboy out that way in 1853, and others in the party were also quite familiar with the lay of the land, so that the number present who need- ed coaching was small. While noth- ing definite was decided upon 1t would appear from what was said that more water can be obtained from the eastern section of the city than we have been getting, but whether we can look to 1t as an offset to the Branch proposition is some thing few if anybody believes. Nel- son J. Welton thinks the East Noun tain dam would stand an elevation of aye feet, and this could be done in such way that it would not cost much. A temporary addition could be constructed of substantial blanks for trial and then If 1t did not prove worth while the city would not be out much. He Is positive. though, that quite considerable water that now is lost could be stored by an ad- dition to the dam at the lower reser- yoir, but even at that he Is not pre- pared to say that the eastern supply would be any more than sufficient to meet the demands of the high ser vice.
 The members of the board of all dermen are not saying much for pub lication, but 1t is understood they are not satisfied that 1t would be safe to trust to East Mountain for such additions as the increasing demands for good portable water require. All agreed with Alderman Hayes that some land purchases ought to be made out there and nobody, not even MT Cairns, cared to deny that It would not pay to make provision to add to the storage capacity.
 Whatever the outcome of the agi- tation may be, 1t is certain that the aldermen are not committed to any thing at this stage of the game. If 1t can be demonstrated that Alder man Hayes is right, 1t is.safe to pre- dict that he will have enough with him to carry his point: but If 1t should prove that water cannot be had at East Mountain in such Quan- titles as we want. then it Is only fair to conclude that none of them, not even Alderman Hayes, would be willing to abandon the proposed Branch project. It is an honest eff fort all around to get at the best re- suits. and while some may think the coast clear, 1t does not appear so to others. How can 1t be when the claim Is made that we can do as we'll for a small outlay as we can for an expenditure of $1,000.000. This is the reason why the officials are not prepared to say much, for with the light they have at this time they are not able to tell what Is best, and be- fore the matter comes to vote in the aldermanic chamber it should be thoroughly aired and the question put before them in such way that no blunder may be made, for there is too much at stake, and the alder men should be sure of their ground before committing themselves to any thing.
 This water question is a many sided subject and to discuss it intel ligently one needs a lot of experi- ence and good sound judgment. In order to get at it in a business way you should disassociate the engineer and everybody else from it and en- deavor to look at the proposition on It's own merit. After you have done that the next thing to consider Is what VIC proposed to do with city water. If you make up your mind to provide for domestic consumption and fire protection only. then you want no million dollar storage reser- voir. In fact the supply you have will be ample for many years. But the city wants to do more than that, and most people will approve the plan. The man who is running a store wants water, the carriage maker, the blacksmith, the butcher. the baker, and last but by no means least, the factories must have water in abundance, and If all these wants cannot be supplied you know the re- suit. It is true that some of the fac- tories and business houses have