The enterprise-recorder. (Madison, Fla.) 1908-1933, 1910-03-10

the streams Of the mountain valleys,
will IN a few years be served to the
inhabitants Of New York city The
project ranks as the greatest munich
pal water supply enterprise over UNI
dcrtaken, and as an engineering work
is probably second only TO the Panama
Canal. The need of the water is much
greater than Is realized by a major
fly Of the citizens or by the guard
ians Of their interests.
Nothing can 80 quickly and COM
pletely disorganize and complex activ-
tiles of modern community as a
shortage Of suitable water; no single
agency can so rapidly spread disease
and death as a polluted water supply,
For several years New York has been
using more water than its sources Of
supply can safely be depended upon
TO furnish in a series of dry years,
/, such as have occurred within the men,
DRY of men who have scarcely reached
middle age. Continuing years of
abundant rainfall have masked the
danger TO which engineers have re-
peated called attention,
In 1906, as the result of a move
ment promoted by civic bodies in the
days of Mayor Van Wyck and Mayor
Low, a bill was introduced into the
legislature, on the initiative Of Mayor
Mcclellan which, becoming a law, en-.
able the city to start new systems Of
water supply that with the already
existing permanent works should ulti-
mately give New York the best and
largest water supply ever known.
As thousands Of waterwise Ameri-
cans know, New York city cold New
York; has used Croton River water
for more than two generations, SINH
larly from the Ridgewood system Of
wells, streams and reservoirs, Brook
lyn has drawn its supply, often scan
ty. approximately five hundred mil
lion gallons of water are consumed in
the metropolis every day, a stream
that would flow hip deep between the
buildings in Fifth avenues fashion.
able shopping district at a comfortable
walking pace. For every man, woman
and child this allows q daily average
Of 1875 gallons. Or, to put it still an.
other way, for all domestic, manufact-
uring and public purposes New York
uses every day water which weighs
about eight times as much as its pop
ulation.
Compared with the 1870, 14O, 200, 22O,
and 320 gallons used every day for
every person in several large Ameri.
can cities, New York's allowance is
moderate, especially when one recalls
the character OF business and the
methods Of living which prevail in the
metropolis Liberal even lavish, do.
mestic use of water is not waste. The
very necessities Of life demand that
there should be a maximum supply,
in order to provide for the average
demand for the individual. The
word waste should be properly in
terpreted. Its use in writing about
water supply has been unfortunate,
for it has been employed both techni-
cally and popularity to characterize
quite different conditions in the econ
omy of water, To let a dozen glass
fuls flow from faucet in order to get
one cool draft is not waste so long as
this is the least expensive way to get
cool water. In a broad sense, to per-
NIT water to flow from the faucets
through the cold winter nights is
not waste so long as this is the least
expensive way 10 protect ones plumb
ing fixtures.
To allow even large volumes of
water TO spill over the lowest dam of
watershed is in no sense waste when
the city has already taken from the
stream all that IL can use, or when the
saving Of occasional discharges of this
sort would cost more than to get the
same quantity Of water, of equal Or
better quality, from another stream.
Doubtless some water is carelessly or
wantonly wasted in New York city,
but not nearly so much as some per-
sons assume. Waste should be dis
oouraged and curtailed, but waste of
water can no more be wholly pre-.
vented than the waste of energy and
time, But II all the waste which it
would be reasonably practicable to
stop ceased, New York would still re-
quire more water works to provide be.
yond peradventure for present needs
and future growth.
!Croton River drains into New Yorl's
reservoirs the water of $50 square
miles Of forest and farm, and can safe
ly furnish about 336,0OO,OOO gallons
daddy Two aqueducts, one thirty