The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-02-22
q overton Protests Against Taking
over Present Plant, De-
elarlns Il IL made
quate.
IS IN POOR CONDITION
sees Folly in Expanding Large Sum
OF Money for Such . System
Build New Ono Would
be Better.

Municipal ownership OF the present
4 xaterworks plant does not meet with
The favor of F. C. Overton, the local
insurance man. He says the present
plant is wholly inadequate and not at
Al desirable to the city. Ills commune
cation to The Gate City bearing on
the subject follows:
To the Editor Of The Gate City:
AS citizen interested In the city OF
! Keokuk, / am wondering il it is a
GOOD proposition to invest several hun
bred thousand dollars in an old plant
in many respects below the standard
Of works the city of Keokuk should
have. ! believe in the municipal own
ership of water supply, but should
not city in its corporate. capacity en-
ter upon a business proposition in the
same way that judicious business men
would upon matters effecting their
Individual interests? Why buy old
works If, as is not improbable, it will
cost nearly as much money to put
them in A No. condition, as it would
to build new works?
The city of Keokuk should have wa
ter works estimated as sufficient for
a population of from thirty to forty
thousand people. Has it been demon
strated by actual experience during
the last ten to twenty years that the
present works are adequate, if so, why
is the proposed special demonstra-
ton to take place upon Main street
within the next few days? 1t must be
because the actual demonstrations Of
the lack Of sufficient power, etc. have
been latent in the past. believe that
there has scarcely been any consider
able fire in the city OF Keokuk during
the last fifteen years where it was adj
mitted that the force and quantity of
water was sufficient. 1t Is not too
much to say that this proposed DEM
onstration is an admission of past de-
ficiency and is intended to lure the
people Of Keokuk into purchasing in
adequate or largely played out works
Then along with this purchase should
be considered the question whether
the works as now situated can be
made to supply the city with good
wholesome water without the use of
large quantities Of alum for filtering
purposes
The following is given as necessary
for first class water. works for first
class cities of twenty-five to forty
thousand population. I believe there
are no cities now establishing new wa
ter works under the force OF any law
or regulation less in proportion:
Mains in the business center and
manufacturing districts should not he
less than ten inches in diameter with
eight inch laterals and in the resi-
Dental section not less than eight
inches in diameter and with six inch
laterals. Where direct pressure such
as is used In Keokuk, the pumping
capacity should be one hundred per
cent greater than the total maximum
daily domestic consumption, and the
estimated fire consumption. The fill
iering plant to have capacity equal to
the total of the maximum daily con
sumption, containing clear water suffi
cient for at least one days domestic
use. Mains on main streets to be il
duplicate.
Now do the present water works il
heoiiuk compare in any substantial
way with the above estimate? If not
and the city Of Keokuk should pur
chase the old works there is no doub
Whatever of the necessity of doubling
the out-go for Improvements, and mos
anyone knows that it win cost but lit
lie more to build new works than tt
repair old ones
F. c. ovERToN.
February %, 1912.