Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-18
MILLIONS.
ARE WASTED IN
GEORGIA
Engineer Declares City Could
Build Plant to Furnish Electric
ity to All for 100000.

Warren Z. Hall. district engineer
Of the United States Geological Sur
yey. located in the Federal Building
Tuesday declared that approximate
ly 5000 600 horsepower Of water pow
er is going to waste per minute with
in a radius Of $50 miles Of Atlanta.
THE water power available to At
lRnta is worth more than all the coal
we can get" declared Mr.. Hall, be
cause the water viii be here when
the coal is gone.
None Of this water is too far away
TO bring 10 Atlanta" continued Mr..
Hall For approximately 81 600. 900
a power plant could be built by this
city which would furnish lights for
the entire community for all pur-
poses.
Enough power can be developed
to run all cotton mills. mines and
manufacturing plants that locate here.
! estimate that within the next fifty
years the bulk Of this great amount
OF wasted power will be taken up,
harnessed and put In practical use.
Tremendous Profits,
Already are the great power com
panies Of this State reaping an enor-
nous profit from their investment IN
water power plants. The Central
Georgia Power Company has a large
power plant Columbus has three
large ones. The Southern Power
Company IN North and South Caro-
lima has five plants The Alabama
Power Company Is now preparing 20
build several tremendous power sta
tons. The Tennessee Power Com
pany In Chattanooga has two nam
moth plants and is preparing to build
a third OF greater proportions than
the other two combined on the Ten
nessee River
The consumption Of these plants !
name does not include the amount of
power that is being used by the hun
dreds Of small corporations which
have their own plants TO supply their
own properties.
The total power consumed by all
Of the power companies in this State
does not total 1,O00.000 horsepower.
Think what that means and how
much power yet remains undeveloped.
Enough power could in a short time
be brought 20 Atlanta to furnish cleo
trio current for a score Of electric
railways which could network the en-
tire State"
Even then there would be an album
dance Of power left for the people who
want IT, The water power rights are
by no means all bought up by the big
companies, and this IL something that
can not be said Of the coal lands or OF
any other sources OF power"
Survey Measures Power.
The United States Government Ge-
illogical Survey prepares data free for
all who are interested IN promoting
power plants. Charts showing the
average rainfall. the fan OF water per
second to every stream, the exact per-
centage or power obtainahle and the
horsepower per second from any given
area, together with many other Inn
portant facts and extensive data, are
furnished 10 power companies.
Mr.. Hall explained that at present
his appropriation Is limited to a total
Of $4,000 per year, which Is INSULT
cient fully to demonstrate 20 the pub
tic in general just what our natural
resources in water power really
amount TO. Mr.. Hall thinks that $40
600 would be more I'm proportion to
what other States which have not
the resources that Georgia has are
spending along this line.
The Western States. California
more particularly subscribe to the
Governments appropriation for the
geological survey. These States have
not nearly as much to boast of as
has Georgia. The great pity is we
are a little slower to SEQ IL here"
said Mr.. Hall.
Mr.. Hall was born in Atlanta and
is a graduate Of Georgia Tech. He
IS young man and has had charge
OF this department for about year
He is much enthused over his work
in fact so much so that II aggravates
him TO see natural resource Of such
great Importance as the water power
Of this State lying dormant.