Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-01-10
ILL.,. WATERMAN OUTLINES WATER
POWER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Continued From Page ID

/ Ouu6W IIUII
two objections urged by few persons
against making the extensions and the
bond issue:
Ftrst--Opposition to municipal own
ership.
Second-A fear that it will increase
taxes.
Municipal ownership is not at issue,
as we already have such ownership.
so far as the waterworks Is concerned,
and the question now is shall we
properly care for and utilize all Of It's
possible resources and thereby secure
all of the benefits possible out Of such
ownership. Not to do SO would show
| poor business management, as bad as
would be the case of person owning
o farm, managed by an agent, whom
he would not permit to drain and cult
vate an additional rich forty or eighty,
through dislike to increase his invest
ment, or through fear that his agent
would not be capable Of managing q
larger acreage.
The city owns it's waterworks, in
Guiding the water power obtained by
use Of the dams.
It manages the same through agents
who are selected by the officers the
people elect.
It is possible that sometime in the
future the agent or agents selected
may prove inefficient, but If full pub
licity of all details Of the management
is demanded and enforced 1t will
create a watchfulness on the part of
the public that should prove effective
against any serious results.
The owner Of the farm should in
crease his investment or change
agents and thereby increase the pro-
ductiveness Of his farm and the city
had better put little more money into
it's property where, by SO doing, it can
safeguard what 1t already owns and
largely increase the returns on its in
vestment.
! It is known to everyone that the
present wood dams are both ineffective
and insecure. .
i They are ineffective as, on account
OF leakage, at low stage Of water In
the river, a sufficient head cannot be
maintained to run the present pumps
of the water works. With concrete
dams there would be no leakage. At
the lowest stage of water 8 foot head
could be maintained and still give a
considerable overflow. Flood gates
would be provided whereby accumula-
tons of mud above the dams could be
removed.
The present dams are insecure as
past experience has proven. Two
years ago some 35 TT. Of east dam was
carried away on the breaking up Of the
ice in the river. A like occurrence
may happen any winter and possibly
on SO large a scale as not only to
wholly destroy our power but to cause
the river to fall below the present in
let of water for the pumps at the Is
land g.,
The timbers Of the present dams are
still in fair state Of preservation but
the dams are neither safe nor effective.
They answered the purpose fairly we'll
when built, before concrete had come
into general use, and when sufficient
capital was not obtainable to build
with such other material as would In
sure effective and permanent struc-
lures.
At an average low flow Of water in
the Des Moines river, careful and &C
curate measurements show that the
flow is Al, 900 cubic feet per minute
and that about 10000 cubic feet can
be made available for power through
the installation of proper machinery.
Nine or more feet Of head can be
maintained and ATS. h. p. produced. OF
this amount $50 h. p. would be required
to operate the water works, as max
imum requirement, leaving 225 h. p.
available for such other purposes as
will bring the largest returns to the
city.
TO properly light the city, as here
| to fore shown, will cost about $4,000
per annum and will require 120 h. p.
at the lights or approximately 100 h.
D. at the switch board. g..
! To produce the power by steam for
365 days of 10 hours each will cost ap-
proximately $4,000. 1t Is safe to assume
that with the contemplated improve
ments, water power instead Of steam
4 could be used exclusively at least 10
months in each year making saving
of $4,100 in the generating of the pow
er for street lighting alone. Such es-
innate is very conservative, as during
the last three years there has been not
to exceed three weeks, all told, when
there was entire loss Of water power,
this resulting from extreme high
water. During the months Of Decem-
Der and January, after very dry seas
on, there might be small reduction
in power.
i Again, there would be further saw
ing of fuel for running the water works
of $4,000, or a total saving of fuel OF
$7,1O0 per annum.
But after providing $50 h. p, for the
water works service and 1870 h. p. for
street lighting there remains out of
the ATS h. p. surplus of IS h. p. avail
able during the "a hours and the 100
h. D. for street lighting, available for