Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-10-19

/ for clear water storage in this re
spect, however, we find that they ara
rot so favoraoly situated as some oil
the other bidders in that but a small
portion of the old basins can be util
lied for gravity storage. and storage
in excess of this amount must be Oh
tanned by pumping filtered water. We
have estimated the cost of pumping
this water at about 5000 per year OF
about 5000 per annum including inter
est and depreciation. 1t is, however
not obligatory to resort to this pump
ing unless at exceptional times.
This company proposes concrete
battles in both sedimentation basins
and ten filter units of 400 square feet
each located as to take water below
the lower outlet of the sedimeItation
basins at an elevation of 166 feet.
Connecting mains to the sedimentatio1
basins are to be "a inches in diameter.
There are extra estimates for ny
draulic operation of the filter valves.
The building proposed is in good
aste and well arranged for all of its
yaried purposes. 1t does not cover
entirely the filters as is the case with
all but one of the other bidders. The
filter equipment is in some respects
novel; the strainer system being
served by concrete manifolds and
brass strainers set in square concrete
sections. There is q separate air wash
and the water wash pumps are also IN
duplicate. The general bid of the COM
1any on this plant is $50, 600, but in-
Guiding the extras for removing the
contents OF the old filters, battling the
eoagulating basins and clear water
basin. and for hydraulic operation .:
filters, their bid becomes s67,5S7.
Method of Comparison.
1t is obviously impossible to know
how the respective bidders compare
IN the basis of economy without IN
some way standardizing these bids.
There are, OF course, some things
which can not well be included in such
standardizing, such as economy IN
operation and efficiency of filtration,
1ut it is nevertheless important ami
desirable to learn how the bidders
stand relatively as to cost. And while
L is impossible to do this with extreme
accuracy it is reasonably possible 10
do it in such as to learn who are the
relatively highest and lowest in terms
of price only.
With this object in view the bids
have been thoroughly convassed, item
lied and tabulated so that all of their
important points have been brought
in comparative columns In
those columns all items of exceptional
value not common to all bids have
been segregated and their value COM
Duted above or below a fixeG standard
plant, which standard plant may be
said to be the average of all the propo-
A system of unit costs derived in
part from extras figured by different
in part from the bids theta
selves and to some degree from our
own experience has been used. and n
1ebiting and crediting each bid so that
all have been reduced to a common
evel. When this debiting and credit
ing has been footed up, and added 10
Or deducted from the original figures
he bidders have been found 10 rate
themselves in the order of the follow
ng table; the first column giving the
cost. the second column
giving the amount of the bic as orig
nally presented.
Rating on StandardiinS.
Standard AS
lied Of
cost. fered.
|. American Water
softener Co. ....$45,974 $67,5S7
;. Pittsburg Filter
Manufacturing Co... $3.50 G3,700
;. Fred T. Ley e Co,
Incorporated -. 1880 $3.50
l. New York Cont
mental Jewel Co... 53,19G $3.50
). Roberts Filter Man
ufacturing Co 80. 1856 $4,000
). Norwood Engineer
ing Co. ..... 59.4l0 7O,50O
7. Thomas Lightbody. 6O,G25 $4,000
1t will be seen from the ABOVE tabu-
alton that the American Water Sof-
ener company makes the best show-
ng on this basis. although they are
,nly slightly lower Cabout S336) than
he Pittsburg Filter Manufacturing
company
This method OF standardizing, how
yer, is only one of the elements to be
in determining the best
it is valuable chiefly in |
hat it enables us to narrow the mat |
err down to the consideration of less
lumber of bids which in turn must be |