Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-08-08
notice TO CITY
WATER-USERS! J!


of the Annapolis Water Company feel
constrained by the urgent necessity of
conserving the supply of city water to
advise all consumers TO exercise the
utmost economy and care in the use
Of the public water supply The stu
alton IS one that could have been
foreseen. but which the directors were
powerIess to remedy. 1t is this:
Since January we have run off about
50 900 900 gallons of water that was
discolored and turbid and therefore
roo Objectionable to our patrons TO be
sent through the mSins for their con
sumption. All Of this could have been
saved for use at this time The stor-
age capacity of the reservoirs is more
than 47.O00,000 gallons. and we were
unable to maintain this full capacity
up 10 the season Of failing springs
and extraordinary demand for water
because when muddied by rains the
stored water had TO be allowed to run
out until a clearer supply could be
had for daily use.
For some weeks the waterworks
have been sending through the mains
for consumption in the city from l00,-
600 to 100000 more gallons per day
than was afforded from the streams
After the beginning of the summers
hot. dry weather these two streams
gradually became limited, although
for some time the frequent rains made
their impairment less noticeable
Now, however the shortage in the
city's' water supply has become such
that we deem it our duty TO. request
all consumers to cooperate in the
economical use of the water. The
supply is still ample for all absolutely
necessary purposes, we are assured,
but there should be no waste through
this month, and probably for most OF
next month. AS a lawn sprinkler,
running night and day, is estimated
10 consume as much water as twelve
average families, il can be readily
seen that these sprinklers are
source of prolific waste, and their use
ought to be rigidly supervised, or, bet
ter, they ought not to be used at all
when the actual needs of the people
require that the entire capacity of the
waterworks be devoted to their daily
wants
Unless immediate and radical action
Is taken for conservation, the water
supply may run so short in the near
future that the health of the people
will be endangered, to say nothing of
their comfort and convenience. 1t is
better to safeguard human life than
to promote the growth of ornamental
grass for a brief time. Property in
terosts, too, are exposed to great dan
ger in case of conflagration at per-
iod OF insufficient water supply, and
widespread loss might follow to prop
erty owners because of lack of conser-
vation NOW.
Under the advice of the ablest en-
gineers, the directors of the Annapo-
lis Water Company, more than year
ago increased the storage capacity to
nearly $4,000 600 gallons which would
be ample to carry the city through any
dry spell that might come but this
advice was given and this work was
done on the assumption that the water
would be filterd as the supplies of al
most all other cities are, and that the
storage reservoirs would be kept
filed with a reserve of pure. clean
water TO supplement in dry seasons,
the ordinary supply of the stream
sources. Although every phase of
this question was gone into thorough
~. the City Council, by tie vote, re-
jected the plan for the installation OF
the filtration plant which would have
made certain to the consumers of An
napolis, without any increase of taxes
or raising of water rents, the ampiest
and very best supply of water at any
and all seasons of the year. Chief En-
gineer Morse, of the State Board OF
Health, has stated that he doubted
that the Board would permit the Wa
ter Company to go TO the great ex-
pense of securing the watershed and
branch below the present waterworks,
for the reason that the present source
supply was abundantly sufficient If
conserved and filtered, and the ex-
penditure that would be necessary to
secure the addition would be a waste
OF money.
JAMES f. STRANGE,
Mayor.
CHARLES q, FELDMEYER.