The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-05-12
Facts In Regard to Water Co.
Refute Statements Made
BY Opponents Of Intake
WELLS CONDITION DANGEROUS
Distributing System Large Enough to
Take Care of Combined Capacity of
ALI Pumps and Demands are Increas-
ing Rapidly

Some truths about the proposed new
intake pipe for the Kenosha Water
Works.
A number Of tests were made during
the summer of 1908 with a view Of
finding some spot in the lake where
pure water could be obtained. Sam
Piles were collected from different
points (many of them by members Of
the board of water commissioners and
sent to the Columbus Laboratory in
Chicago where examinations were made
by DR.. A. Gehrman whose reputation
as an bacteriologist cannot be question
ed. Although no sample was examin-
ed which showed an absolute absence
of any bacteria, a much better and a
perfectly safe water was found at a
point about 5000 feet northeast Of the
present crib. The reports of these
office and are open to public inspec-
ton. The present intake is "a inches in
diameter and 5000 feet long with a
friction head of between and Z feet.
It's capacity is about 100000 gal
Ions in "a hours. While it is true
that this amount of water has never
been pumped in "a hours yet there
are hours in the day when the con
sumption has almost reached that rate
and the water in the pump we'll was
lowered SO that there was danger of
its getting below the suction pipe Of
the pump. In fact the gauge showed
a lift of % feet which is far in
excess of what should be expected OF
any steam pump. Should fire break
out during these hours Of heavy load,
there would be grave danger that suf-
fcient water could not be supplied
without shutting off parts Of the city.
Should it be necessary to operate two
Of the pumps at present, to their full
capacity it would be absolutely i'm
possible to get enough water through
the intake. Several engineers who
have been consulted agree that the
present condition is dangerous and
that larger intake should be built
at once so that greater supply of
water may be insured
In regard to the proposition of in
stalling pump to increase the supply
Of water from the present intake, it
may be,said that the conditions at Ra-
cine are very different from those at
Kenosha. At Racine the large pump
well is located under part of the
pumping station and it was compare
lively easy matter to install an en-
CINE and rotary pump. Also this
auxiliary pump is seldom used as the
ordinary consumption in Racine is con-
siderably less than in Kenosha. IF
such an arrangement was made in Ke-
nosha, a new building would have to
be erected over the we'll, new we'll
built, all the piping in the we'll chang
ed and steam supplied under ground.
This would be expensive and at best
would be only make shift arrange
ment. The cost of operating such an aux
iliary pump would be large item in the
operating expenses of the plant, for
if our consumption continues to in
crease as it did during the past year,
it would be necessarF-to run this pump
all day.
The distributing system leaves the
pumping station with two fourteen
inch discharge pipes laid parallel in
Market street, one extending as far
west as Ashland avenue from which
point it supplies the north and west
sides of the city, the other connects
with the Prairie avenue main by way
of Maiden Lane and Wisconsin street,
this supplying the south side. The
combined capacity of these two dis
charge pipes under 20 pounds of pres
sure, is far in excess of the total
capacity of all pumps so that no danger
exists in this way.
It is probable that in the future
some changes may have to be made
in the pipe system. Some of the small
mains will have to be replaced by larg-
er ones which will act as feeders for
different parts of the city. This,
however, is only the invariable ex-
perience of every growing city and
when it becomes necessary the water
department viii be able to take care
of this improvement as it has all other
improvements and extensions in the
past without cost to the city at large.
Mayor NJ. ]. Scholey fled the ac-