Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-03-20
HAS ITS FA|L|NGS
Artesian Water Not Good for
All Purposes, Says Water
works superintendent.
IS FULL OF UNCERTAINTIES
Properly Filtered River Water, on the
Other Hand, Would BE of Same
Quality Year Around.

That artesian we'll water is unfit for
all purposes, and therefore not best
suited for city to depend upon as its
sole supply, is the contention of j. w.
CavaUaugh, superintendent of the Rock
Islapd waterworks. Speaking on the
SUBJECT to an Argus representative to-
DE- he said:
II noticed the interview with John
D. Shaw, the artesian well man OF
Davenport, printed in The Argus the
other day. and | wish to dispute his
statement that untreated artesian wa
ter is used for all purposes in cities
where it is pumped through the city
mains While the quality of artesian
well water varies widely in different
localities, as any one who has drank
water from the wells in this vicinity
knows, it is generally too hard for
use in boilers or for laundry purposes.
and it is necessary to break it or
treat ii with some chemical which will
neutraiize the lime. This causes lot
OF Inconvenience.
VIII XIII the Grass.
Another thing. it will not do to
sprinkle lawns with, for as a rule it's
chemical composition is such that it
will in time destroy vegetation which
is continually watered with it. 1t will
not do to supply the lakes in the
parks, for fish will not live in it. 1t is
generally. though not always, good for
drinking purposes, and that is about
all
Then there is the question of sup.
ply. Wells fail from time to time, and
If Rock Island were depending upon
an artesian supply. we would never
know when we might be left with a
famine on our hands.
Same Year Around.
What the mechanical filter is sup
posed to provide is water of an even
purity the year around. We are rea
sonably certain of an abundant supply
of river water as long as Rock Island
shall exist, and it has been demon
strated that mechanical filters are
made which will make any river water
perfectly pure, removing practically
all animal, vegetable and mineral
matter.
AT times, such as in the spring
Mississippi river water is full of sed
iment-muddy. in other words. Al
other times, such as last fail wher
the stage was low and there had beer
no rains north of here for weeks, the
water becomes very hard, taking III
lime from the rocks over which il
Howed. A good filter properly manag
ed will remove this lime as effectivel,
as it will remove the mud of the early
spring.
Is Not an Extravaganza.
The cost is not great, and if Rocl
Island expends even 100000 for {
filter now, adding this amount to the
investment already made, it will no
have been eXtravagant, based on the
experience of other cities. The water
problem is one of the greatest ones
racing the municipalities of the worlC
today, and cities the size of Rock Is
land are everywhere expanding hun
dreds of thousands of dollars to get E
pure supply. Larger cities are ex
pending millions. In Davenport the
private company that supplies the city
recently expended 100000 to improve
the quality of its product There was
no Doodle or graft here, for it was
straight business proposition which
the company expected to reap a ben
eft from
If it were necessary to issue bonds
to buy a filter for Rock Island. we
might naturally expect some of the
taxpayers to be heard from. but as the
purchase will be arranged without
bonds and the filter will be paid fol
in few years from the receipts of the
waterworks and without increasing
charges to single consumer, it seems
to me that even the penny wise and
pound foolish people haven't the slight
est excuse for holler'