The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-05-14
Aldermen Being Urged to
Consider Plan for Building
Of a New Water Plant.
ISLAND URGED AS 4 SITE

With the slaughter of the plan for
the building of filtration plant in
the city by the refusal Of the people
to issue bonds to pay the cost of in
stalling such plant, a new movement
is being started among the members
of the common council which has for
its purpose the rebuilding of the Keno
sha water plant at point where it
win be entirely isolated from any of
the other manufacturing industries in
the city and at point where it will be
possible to get purer water and water
that will not be subject to pollution
from sewers pouring into the lake
off Kenosha.
The plan is not a new one, but the
agitation of it at this time promises to
be sufficient to bring it formally be-.
fore the members of the council and
the members Of the board of water
commissioners and urged on by the
manufacturers it is probable that
joint meeting Of the council and water
commission will be called to consider
the plan within the next month. The
amount of the expenditure necessary
to carry out the plan is the main draw
back to its being taken up Immediate
ly. The plan, if properly carried out,
would probably entail the expenditure
of a half million dollars or more.
For long time manufacturers have
been alarmed ON account of the small
amount of water available in the city
for fire pressure. 1t is declared that
in case there should be great fire in
one of the west side factories the city
plant would not be sufficient to furnish
pressure to fight the flames. This fact
was shown at the recent fire at the
malt house when with ten streams
playing on the fire the pressure was de-
cidedly unsatisfactory.
The old plan for new intake
would in part take care of this trouble
but men who have gone into the mat
ter deeply declare that the present To-
cation OF the water plant is in no way
suitable for a city the size of Kenosha
and that no possible provision for the
future Of the city can be made so long
as the plant is maintained at the foot
of Market street, A big fire in the
plant of the Simmons Manufacturing
Company would endanger the water
plant and the city has no emergency
plant.
The suggestion that has been made is
that the city secure tract of land of
not less than ten acres, either on Wash
ington Island, or to the north of the
island and that the pumping plant be
built in the center of this large tract.
This would make possible the building
OF a plant which would be adequate
for the demands of a city of several
hundred thousand people and at the
same time it would permit the putting
out Of the intake at point where
there would be little or no danger from
pollution by sewerage 1t has been
declared that Washington Island would
be an ideal place for water plant.
OF course any change in the location
OF tho pumping station would bring a
necessary rebuilding of the mains of
the company. With the large addi-
tions of territory to the city planned
for next month the water board has
already seen the necessity of laying
new and larger mains and it is prob
able that direct main from the plant
is the territory to the west will have
to be laid. 1t would be possible to
utilize a portion of the present mains
under the new plan.
The aldermen are not ready to com
NIT themselves on the plan at present
but they are considering it very seri-
ously and it is pretty certain that the
new plan will have formal considera-
ton. There would be no way to pro-
vide funds for such plant without a
bond issue. Such an issue could be
made without submitting the question
to the people, but it is pretty certain
that no issue of such magnitude would
be voted by the council without first
submitting the question to the people.
TJTTcp ANTI DIT ANEr1c Exyxr,r,