The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1914-03-24
ENGINEERS REPORT FAVORS
MECHANICAL FILTRATION PLANT

mates for the printing OF the report
this morning. II having been submit
ted for bids yesterday.
Engineer Johnson read the report.
which Is composed OF 10000 words.
covering los pages of typewriter
matter. IL Is divided into two see
tons. one covering the detailed re.
port and the other conclusion OF
the whole matter. In the opening. he
called attention to the fact that the
commission had been appointed dur.
ing the month of December. 1918. and
that they went to work Immediately.
The three systems were gone over
carefully. They found that Wheeling s
daily consumption of water runs from
twelve TO eighteen million gallons.
and the investigation of the present
system was found to be faulty and
unsatisfactory. The typhoid fever
rate for the past ten years. up until
the last of 1913, was so per 100000
and with the proposed system IL
number OF people. They stated that
great taste existed at present. due TO
the allowing of water to run through
open spigots. left that way so that IL
might clear. They emphasized the
fact that filtration could decrease the
consumption of water as IL would be
OF such quality as to need no waste.
well system.
The first system taken up was the
driven well system. which was wide
y augmented at the beginning of the
filtration talk. * large percentage
of the total number of communities
in this country get their water sup
ply from driven wells, some of the
larger places being Lowell, Mass. /;
Ign. y. Y; Cameron. o.; Memphis.
Tenn, and San Antonio. Texas. The
great bulk of well supplies is found
among the smaller towns and villages,
and there are but a relatively small
number OF places where the public
water supply is still drawn from driv.
en- wells. The reason why this is so
are three in number, namely: The
quality or the water. adequateness Of
the supply and the cost OF securing
the water In large quantities.
We'll waters, as a rule, are hygeni.
ically pure. but most of them are hard
and many contain Objectionable
amount of iron. Hard waters are un
satisfactory for steam raising pur
poses and many other industrial uses
and are also unsatisfactory for laun
/ dry use on account of excessive soar
consumption. Furthermore. they are
unsatisfactory for general culinary
purposes. The presence OF even q
small amount of iron i'm well water
Is sometimes very Objectionable be
tduSt o. the stain deposited there
from on fabrics.
! AS to adequateness OF we'll sup
plies. inasmuch as such supplies are
drawn from underground sources
there Is never complete assurance
that the supply may not at the same
Z time fail. Indeed. such has been the
experience in numerous places as We
shall point out in some detail beyond.
Not Satisfactory.
] He continued. Volumes could be
written on the unsatisfactory expert
ence of communities using well wat
ers. but we shall give but a few ex
amples here He then named Spring
field, o.; indianapolis. Ind: Terre
I llaute, Ind: Atlantic City. n. J.:
I brooklyn, y. Y: Logansport. Ind.
Muncte. Ind; Jackson, Ills. Colum
bus. o.; Lowell. Mass. and Canton
] O. In each OF these places there
/ were drawbacks pointed out to tn,
system. For a city the size oil
4 Wheeling we cannot recommend thai
the new supply be taken from driver
wells
: The cost Of 100 wells. air pumps
/ ana equipment. ..............s17b.0 0f
storage reservoir .............. 90 O0f
4 Gravity line to pumping station. &C. SOC
Y A..N.it = Z lshWt
I Addition Of % per cent for extra
4 costs and emergencies would
u raise the total to............ afz60i
I Cost 81 grounds az Sisters island.