The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-09-25
THE WATER SUPPLY,


Editor Advertiser: Your article. en-
titled "City Facing Water Famine, y
in your issue of the 23rd inst, should
receive the careful consideration of all
those who are interested in the making
of Hawaii, real Paradise of the Pa.
eife.
The question of the water supply of
the city of Honolulu and its prospects
for the future, demand our earnest at
tention. The population has rapidly
increased on account of the military
posts that surround the city, and the
efforts of the Promotion Committee il
advertising Hawaii, that the most i'm
portant obligation of the government
to the populace from point of hygi
enc, is the water supply. Its source
and distribution, and its consequent
purity are of the greatest Importance
1t is necessity to supply water in g
condition pure and fit to drink. The
! rich can, and will boil and filter theil
water, but the poor have not the facil
tiles, and many would not take the
trouble if they could. These same may
become sick, and a menace to the popu
lace generally, by contracting water
borne diseases, and propagating them
The supply of Honolulu was fol-
many years the surface draining Of the
Nuuanu valley uplands. A water con
tanning deleterious matter, absolutely
unfit for drinking purposes. And yet
this is the kind of water that oul
good government is giving its dear PEG
pie, and the poor taxpayers are paying
for. During the last few years the
artesian system has been opened ur
with great Improvement, developing
many wells of good water, but you will
find that these wells are not absolute.
ly pure, containing much chlorides and
sulphates. OF all natural water. rain
caught in the mountains, and noun.
tain springs are the purest. Of the
latter kind, the Pauoa springs form a
good example.
Every city endeavors to put before
its populace the best water obtainable,
and Honolulu, may be regarded as es-
pecially fortunate in this respect, IN
asmueh as high above us, within two
miles of the center of the city, at an
elevation covering the most important
sections of the city (including Alewa
Heights), there is sufficient spring
water, of purity impossible to excel,
and unaffected in quantity through the
change of seasons. Yet the govern
ment in its policy of economy, failed
to take advantage of this natural re-
source of our city, and appropriated
over 100000 for the famous Nuuanu
dam, simply because some of our good
people thought that Mr.. c. w. Booth
was making fortune out of the Pau
Ga springs. Had the government ac-
eepted the offer of $150,000 for the
Pauoa springs, it could have saved
enough money to build the Kula pipe
line without going to the trouble of
issuing another bond issue of $780,
600 for that purpose.
Over million gallons of pure water
day is going to waste in the taro-
patches in Pauoa valley, and yet the
city of Honolulu is crying of water
famine only two miles away, and the
head of the Department of Public
Works is worrying his head off how in
he world is he going to get enough
water for the city. This seems ridicu-
lous indeed.
1t should be the duty of every pub
lic-spirited citizen of these islands to
see that the government give us a bet
ter supply of pure drinking water. and
not dirty filthy water that is fit for
cleaning our sewers. And it behooves
every member of the Legislature the