Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1915-03-05
Issued on Friday of Each Week.
Statement Regarding
Water Works
Mayor and City Council Join In
Plea for Bond Issue to Build Ele.
waited ReservOir-Present Structure
Condemned by State Inspector.

waited KeSerVOlr-freSe0c structure
Condemned by State Inspector.
Inasmuch as the voters of Cres-
co are to say at a special cleo
ton to be held in the City of Cres-
co on March 10th, 1915, whether or
not the City of Cresco shall issue
bonds to the amount of $4,000 for
the construction of new elevated
water tower and for the purchase of
a piece of ground upon which to To-
state such tower, ETC., it is deemed
advisable by this council that a
true and accurate statement of the
condition of the present standpipe be
furnished the voters in order that
they may vote intelligently.
During the latter part of 1913, the
City of Cresco, through its official
head, the mayor, received notice from
the state of Iowa's inspection depart
ment to make an examination of the
present standpipe and stated that the
inspection when made should be done
by emptying the standpipe and giving
it a thorough hammer test. Owing
to vorious causes, difficulty in keep
ing up a sufficient water supply for
fire fighting purposes, etc., the
making a test--other than an out
side one, which is of no value what
ever in work of this character-was
deferred from time to time until the
city again received visit from one
of the states inspectors who stated
that inasmufh as the present stand
pipe had already exceeded the aver
age life of work of this character, and
as his personal outside inspection ofthe
standpipe gave him considerable rea-
son to believe that It was in very
poor condition it would be his duty
to insist that the stand pipe be
emptied and inspected as soon a.
possible. Although the city made ar
rangements to do this at the earliest
date possible, before the work could
be done the inspector again called
on us and insisted that no further
delay be made.
Accordingly, few days afterward
Tin the meantime pumping continu-
ously in order to fill the cement res
ervoir to prepare for any fire out
break the standpipe was emptied and
the manhole cover taken off and the
mayor, A. E. Barker, and Council
men Hamilton, Klingle, Taubman and
Addie, after first providing long
extension lamp cord and an electric
lamp, which was connected to the
water works lighting circuit, entered
the standpipe and found on the bot
tom about dozen wheelbarrow loads
of metal rust and scale accumulated
thereon. Examination of its sides
disclosed the fact that at nearly
every seam, both vertical and. hori-
zontal, the wall sheets were eaten
from half to nearly through for a
hands width in most places the whole
length of the seam. In addition to
this, 20 far as could be seen upward
from the bottom, there were hun
dreds of places in the bodies of the
sheets where patches from an inch
to several inches in diameter were
nearly eaten through. 1t was also
found that in a great many places a
person striking light blow with a
hammer easily sank the metal
ahead of the hammer and demon
strated that it would be an easy mat
ter by striking a moderate blow to
drive a hammer through it in many
places.
A short time after this inspection
by the council one of these places
which was nearly eaten through
gave way and a leak resulted. This
place was plugged as best as posi-
BILE, without much expectation that
the repair job would last long as the
metal was so thin. A report was then
made to the state inspector and dur
ing the correspondence q promise was
given that the standpipe should not
be filled more than seventy feet of
it's height and also that immediate
steps would be taken looking toward
construction of another water tower
and the removal of the present dan
gerous structure.
In view of the foregoing we have
to state that it is our full belief that
the standpipe is in a dangerous con-
dition, and inasmuch as the City OF
Cresco would be legally liable for any
loss of life or property which might
be caused by its falling, to say
nothing of the possibility Of its
wrecking our water works plant or