The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-09-26
REPORT ON CONDITION AND VALUATIO n ns1
of PENSACOLA'S WATER WORKS SYSTEM o~""rH

has reduced greatly the carrying ca
pacity of the distribution mains. hence
their value What is true Of the orig
lnal mains laid seems also to be true
of those laid more recently.
Wherever the mains were dug up
the outside was in excellent condl-
ton Tests we're made to determine
electrolytic action, but none whateve"
was observed
Many of the gate valves are il Door
condition, and the same may bb sand
of some of the fire hydrants, alt luugh
as rule the latter are in excellent
condition
The operating and maintenance az
penses are extremely high, amounting
to $4,000 per million gallons pumped,
whereas pumping plants of this char
acter do the same work for from
$1,000 to $500 per million gallons
pumped, but a large share Of these
operating expenses represents the
salaries of the president and secretary
which, under municipal control, would
be entirely saved, so that under nh
nicipal control the Pensacola water
works can be now much cheaper oDe--
ated than under the present control,
although in the judgment of your en-
gineer the present good condition OF
the water plant is due to the careful
supervision of the president of water
company, had il not been for this SUI
pervisiOn the original equipment and
plant would long ago have been over
worked
Ability of Present Plant to Meet Pres
ent and Future Conditions.
As herein stated, the present wells
yield sufficient water to accommodate
a population of 1927, based upon the
present consumption per capita, but
your engineer believes that these
wells can be made to yield twice as
much water. or at least the territory
from which the wells now draw the
water This water stratum has now
been used for twenty years and has
passed the experimental age. The
drawing upon one set of wells does
not seem to lower the water horizon
in the other set. showing that there is
an abundance of water in the ground
With wells driven further apart and
the water pumped therefrom by COIL
pressed air. the writer has estimated
from the drainage area that this
stratum will yield about 4 millions of
gallons in "a hours, or sufficient TO
accommodate a population of 10000
persons. each using double the amount
of water row being consumed In fact,
the writer believes the water supply,
as owned by the Pensacola Water Co.
is one of it's most valuable assets, and
should he taken into consideration IN
making the appraisement of its prop
eTty.
The present population of Pensacola
is estimated to be $4,000, and 10 -
commodate this IL will be necessary
to extend the distribution mains gG. ut
is miles 3or nearly, double the present
system.
The writer begs 10 call your atten-
ton to his tests made to determine
the pressure on the water mains a
various points in the system. These
were made by placing a gauge upon
the FIRE hSClrants with zone nozzle
closed and observing the pressure,
then by opening both nOzzleS full, let
ting the water flow freely and observ-
ing the gauge under these conditions.
The pressure with nozzle closed ran
from IS pounds to y pounds per
square inch. and from 6 pounds to So
pounds with nozzleS opened. The
stand-pipe and tower and tank were
in normal condition. with reference
TO depth Of water in them. during tn"
test This test determined two things.
that there were several sections Of
the city with poor fire protection and
that this was due to q reduced capaC-
ity of the original mains. and to an
improper arrangement of the mains
for fire protection. These present
mains should have been arranged with
larger feeders crossing the city east
and west and north and south. MAX
ing an outside circuit. and the smaller
six-inch and eight-inch mains bcins
connected Herewith in every uiTec-
ton. and until this is done the f-e
protection of the city will not be
ample to place your city among the
upper classes of insurance risks The
present tower and tank Is being sup
piled by q Six-inCh main. several thou
sand feet long. and is delivering
through a main of the same size.
which is far from a good arrangement
At this point it may be well to call
your attention to the terms of the
franchise granted to 5. r. Bullock &
Co. by the authority of which the Pen
sacola Water Company is operating
Section s specifies that the forcing
main to the stand-pipc shall be i
inches in diameter. that there shall
be $50 feet of 10-inch pipe. an 1880
feet of S-inch pipe. whereas. a. a mat
ter of fact. the forcing main is u
inches in diameter, and there is no
10-inch or S-inch pipe in the distTlbut-
ing system, showing that the original
plan upon which the franchise was
granted was not carried out, which
has resulted in greatly reducing the
efficiency of the plant
The writer, however, cannot see
how you can now take advantage OF
this point, as the city of Pensacola,
through its properly constituted au-
thorities, accepted the plant in 1886,
and stated that il satisfactorily full
filled the terms of the ordinance Rut