Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1920-10-21
COMMUNICATION

Any city without pure drinking
water and a good sewerage system
will always have high percentage
of diseases and sickness and, without
doubt, the tax payers in this city will
heartily support any proposition that
will give them suitable drinking
water and adequate sewage disposal.
The average American wants the
. facts as V. Blasco Ibanez, the great
! Spanish novelist says, "The American
likes absolute certainty, solid, pos
tive truths without the slightest
suspicion of doubt If the facts
warrant the expenditure of $4,000.
think the citizens Of Alma will vote
for the bonding proposition.
A few years ago the then village
of Alma purchased voting machines
at no small cost and the taxpayers
were told the savings from elections
would soon pay for the machines.
The writer recalls voting with the
machines but twice. Did they ever
pay the interest on the investment
Some years later the city purchased
plot of ground where the Central
Michigan Light and Power Co. plant
is now located for a water works
site but later abandoned this and
began to put down wells in what was
known as Bird Park" This Bird
Park" was naturally much more
adopted for the use of birds, espec-
tally the web-footed species, than for
water works site. Biologists tell
us that the chances of securing water
would seem to be much better on the
original location than on the present
location. Why was the change in
location made?
Later, a centrifugal pump was
purchased although the city was
working on the wells and it was
known that the pump would be used
to pump from wells. Now, the tax
payer is told that a new, long stroke
pump must be purchased at cost
of $1,000. Why did the city not pur-
chase long stroke pump in the first
place and thus save several thousand
dollars? One member of the council
states that this centrifugal pump is
to be used to pump river water to
the big concerns so that they will
not have to pay such high fire in
surance rates. How can the aver
age tax payer get his rate lowered
Last spring the fourteen wells at
the water works were covered with
sewage water from the second ward.
For time this sewage was pumped
into the houses of our people and
many were using it for bathing and
cooking purposes. The council quick
ly extended the intake pipe after
their attention was called TO the mat
ter and now the water is taken from
the race which eliminates the sew
age from the second ward, although,
one of our leading physicians still
maintains that there is danger from
sewage as the intake pipe is so near
the mouth Of the river containing
the sewage.
1t is doubtful if the water from
the wells in their present location
will ever be very desirable drinking
water. COLONIZATION of the water
can be resorted TO but this often
gives the water an offensive smell
and there is always some danger
that the water will not be properly
chlorinated. At Cheboygan, last
year, failure with their chlorina-
tion caused an epidemic of typhoid
fever. A Chicago man when asked
why he did not boil his drinking
water to kill the bacteria, replied, 81
prefer to drink a menagerie to a
grave yard at any time" Many
people will continue TO use the water
from their own wells rather than 10
take a chance on the water furnished
by the city.
The City Manager has made some
tests on the wells during a fairly wet
season but this does not show what
the wells will do during a drought.
There is also talk about getting
water from lower sub stratum.
Facts and not theory should be the
only basis upon which the taxpay-
ers should be asked to bond for
$4,000. A man well informed in
the matter under discussion says
that there will never be enough wat
er at the present location to proper
ly supply the city and that more
wells cannot increase the supply.
1t would seem reasonable to be-
lieve that the wells should be tested
over longer period, that the facts
regarding what may be secured by
going deeper with the wells should
be determined first and then a stand
pipe erected if there is sufficient
water and it can be kept fit for
drinking without chlorination. 1t is
quite desirable but not absolutely
necessary that we have well water
in the mains this year. Saginaw has
been fairly prosperous and has grown
rapidly and has never had drinking
water pumped through Tvs water
mains. One third OF the people in
Alma now have wells and all have
access to some well. Without doubt
the mistake was made in changing