Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-07-21
WATERPLANT COST
or 0PERATINCLOW
Figure for 1000 Gallons Last Year,
Exclusive Of Overhead, Was
s.03e447.
SHARP MAKES REPORT ON YEAR
Remarkable Efficiency Indicated by
Data Prepared for American
Health League.

DATA Prepared for American
Health League.
That Rock Island has a remarkably
efficient water system is shown Ia an
exhaustive report on the operations for
last year just prepared by Superin-
tendent R. ". Sharp. The actual cost Of
the operation Of delivering 1000 gal
Ions Of water to consumers was
S-032447. This. however, does not IN
clude depreciation on a plant valued
al more than one million dollars, and
interest on the investment.
The rate charged for water, it may
be stated, is fixed merely high enough
70 return costs of operation and to
provide for maintenance and the max
ing Of necessary extensions. The min
imum meter rate is cents for 100
cubic feet, or approximately 61a cents
for 1000 gallons. The maximum meter
rate Is Is cents per cubic foot Re-
ceipts are turned into the waterworks
fund and can be used for no other pur-
poses. The income yearly is about
$4,000
Mr.. Sharp prepared his report for
the American Public Health associa-
ton Of which he Is a member and in
the 10 typewriter pages are contain
ed detailed figures on every phase Of
the departments operations.
Total Cost s87,71s.G5.
Total cost of delivering the 1,172.-
10000 gallons Of water consumed
during the year was S37,71S65 Mr..
Sharp's report divides the cost OF de-
hvering the water into cost Of pump
ing, $13,732 a million gallons; cost
OF f1ltering, $15,635 a million; cost Of
distribution, 81 ,794 a million, cost Of
metering, $1,000 a million; cost Of sta
tionery and postage. $.2s2 a million.
General statistics show 10,944,000
revolutions Of the pumpage engine,
which was in operation 6,202 hours to
pump 1172,I90,000 gallons of water.
The plant required 3.56S tons of coal,
1875 gallons Of engine oil 378-57
of cylinder oil, aand 1855 pounds Of
waste. An unusually low amount of
wash water. Is per cent. was used at
the filter plant. the total being 20 500
329 gallons Standard specifications
allow per cent for washing 1t re-
CURED $4,000 pounds Of sulphate, or
3S6 grains of the alum to a gallon
of water and 12,025 pounds of hypo-
Chlorite OF 10 pounds TO a million gal
Ions. The electrically operated pumps
used 217.452 kilowat hours Of electric 1
current.
High Mark in July.
July set the high mark for con
sumption 117,040.000 gallons. with
August q close second with a record
OF 1l6,540,000. Daily average pumping
was 3,211.000 This would figure out
to about 100 gallons per capita, con- /
siderably above the normal As gal /
Ions, but the latter figure does not
take into account the factory consump- /
ton while the city figures do.
OF considerable interest to the stu T.
dent Of filtration and TO the patron Of T.
the service are the tabulated statis- /
tics in the report relating to the eff /.
cheney Of the filtration system An (
efficiency of 1886 per cent, based on +
bacteria count on geIatine. and 9452 +
per cent based on count on Iitmus lac .
tose agar, in removal of all bacteria, I
is shown. IN removal Of the specific .
disease germs the plant showed 100 F.
per cent efficiency. Mr. Sbarp's rec
ords indicate an average Of 1 ,259 bac- (
terra to the cubic centimeter in raw
water during the year. and an average +
of eight bacteriau a cubic centimeter
in the filtered water. The average
number Of bacteria in treated water,
before it went through the filtration
process, was but IS to the cubic cen
and this water, according to
accepted standards, would have been
safe for general use.
In January, the tests of raw water
showed as many as 1900 bacteria 10
the cubic centimeter, and in the same
month the largest number of bacteria
in the filtered water was II and the
average just three bacteria TO the cubic
centimeter. In no test were gas
forming bacteria shown to be present
in filtered water, though present in
raw water In 142 samples and absent
in but seven during the year.
Turbidity Removed Perfect.
Perfect removal of turbidity is also
shown by the years records. In raw
water the turbidity averaged 108 parts
TO the million, in treated water the
average was - parts, and in filtered
water more Turbidity was greatest
in September, when the high mark of
i 100 parts to the million was set
In color removal the efficiency was
nearly as high. Color, in parts per
million. was shown as follows; Raw
water, IS; treated water, Is: filtered
water, one.
Positive evidence that none OF the