The Topeka state journal., 1913-09-05
WATER PROBLEM
WellsviIIe Begins Drilling Deep
WeIls-Wichita Suffers.
independence Near Crisis-Pa-
irons Use Only in Home.

Wellsville, Kan, Sept. 5.-Wellsville
almost has a water famine and the
citizens of the town have engaged a
driller to dig for water near the city.
| A professional driller has been Sc
| cured from Waverly and will COM
mence operations at once on a well to
be 900 feet deep at point about one
mile and a half distant from Wells
| vile. The well is already opened to
| a depth of over a hundred feet and
formerly mineral water was found in
! it. Tt is the intention now to drill
| for fine water which can be used in
| the town, as the other wells of the
| city have almost gone dry.
The Star Grain & Lumber company
| has petitioned the Santa Fe railroad
to haul water from the Kansas river
at Holiday and a rate of $3.50 per
| one thousand gallons has been made.
This lumber company is the largest
| user of water in Wellsville, and was
! forced to discontinue depending on
/ the wells of the town for it's supply.
There are three wells in WellSville
which are yet filled, but the continued
| drain on them will soon exhaust them
| and the residents are taking precau-
| tionary measures to insure plenty of
water.
Wichita Power House Affected.
! Wichita, Kan, Sept. because of
| the long period of hot and dry wealth
er which has lowered the Arkansas
river until it is a stretch of sand, the
Kansas Gas & Electric company has
been compelled to sink wells for
water to keep its power house gong.
A temporary well is now in operation,
and a permanent well will be COM
pleted and running next week.
The company uses 100000 gallons
of water an hour at it's Third street
power house and because there is
little water in the river it's supply has
been cut down to q little more than
5000 gallons an hour. This reduc-
ton is causing the company a loss of
H.,
so a company expert figures.
The temporary well and the river
supplies 500 gallons a minute, or 30,-
900 gallons an hour.
The permanent we'll now being pre-
pared for use will give 1000 gallons
per minute, or 10000 an hour if
needed.
independence Near Crisis.
Independence, Kan, Sept. 5.-Since
Saturday night our reserve supply of
water has fallen until at this time we
have only % inches over the intake
pipe. At this rate of loss all the re-
serve supply will be exhausted by
next Saturday night. With regret the
that they can not take further risk
at this time by allowing continued
Sprinkling of lawns. All patrons have
been notified to use city water only
for strictly necessary purposes until
further notice.
ElDorado Has Prize Well.
ElDorado, Kan, Sept. 5.-WhiIe
many of his neighbors are hauling
water to their stock, Joseph Warren
Kimbell has plenty of water all the
time for sixty head of cattle in his
200-acre pasture on his 240-acre farm
three miles east of ElDorado, in Pros
pect township, where he has lived for
the past 25 years.
One we'll in Kimbell's pasture fur
nishes five barrels of water an hour;
with a windmill pump two tanks hold
ing twenty-eight barrels of water have
been kept full all season and are
filled in four or five hours. The we'll
is seventy feet deep and has not failed
in two years and it has looked more
like a million dollars to Mr.. Kimbell
this season than ever before.
Mr.. Kimbell thinks his valuable
supply of water is due to faith and
perseverance, for it was only after
having drilled four wells in his pas
ture that he secured 1t. The other
three are not used-they were not
successful.