The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-07-08

faced with a serious water crisis For
several days the water has been mud
dy. The health officer of that city
has issued q warning to all citizens to
boil city water before drinking it. be-
cause of the presence of dangerous
germs in large numbers. He even
warns of danger Of contanif nation in
caroonated drinks at the fountains.
and is, considering requiring all swim
mers in public pools to be fnoculated
against typhoid before entering the
pools.
Across the river on the Kansas side
is vastly different situation. Kansas
City. Kan. with a municipal filtration
plant, reports that there is no .con
tamination in the water and that boil
from the same river at near the same
place. but the Missouri side Is getting
murl1y. gef'm-filled water, while the
Kansas sides supply is clear and free
from an abnormal number of bacilh.
Topeka's Thoro Investigation.
The Topeka water department re-
Gently had q thoro investigation made
of the city's water situation, with a
view to ascertaininE the best perma-
nent solution to the city's water needs.
Some of the best engineering firms in
the country were hired to make an
investigation and report. The major
ity OF them favored a filtration plant.
W. A. Stanfield. city water commits
sioner, and Fred Painter, superinten-
dent, are known to favor this plan.
William Archer, Santa F'e water engf-
neer, who made an investigation, ex-
pressed himself in favor of the settling
basin plan, provided the present deep
we'll supply was found to be made
quate. He urged construction of such
a system with capacity of Is million
gallons at a probable cost of s2fS, $50.
Al De 7fat. y,
today on the situation in the Kansas
Cities, again voiced their favor of the
filtration plant. p
According to Stanfield. cities that
put in filtration plants never go to any
other. while SO per cent of the cities
that Installed settling basins a few
years ago are now turning to the fill
tration system. Kansas City, Mo, has
engineers making an Investigation,
with filtration plant in view, accord
ing to his information. Cities are not
building settling basins now, he said;
they are going out of date.
PLANT Would Cost S35O,OOO.
The city water officials and mem
bers OF the civic water committee hope
to go to Camp Funston to inspect the
government filtration plant there.
which was put in six months after a
settling system had. been installed and
later condemned.
filtration plant would cost Topeka
approximately $350.00O. according to
Stahfield. This would provide eight
one, million gallon filtration tanks. in
addition to the 'airifiers" ands the
coagulating tanks.
Painter explained the filtration sys-
tenn as tollows: The water would be
pumped from the river in the "airi-
fels," where the iron would be taken
out by the. air; from there it would
go to series of coagulating basins
where 1t would be treated with a
small amount of alum to- rid it of
organic matter, and from there to the
filter tanks to be purified and then
into clear wells. from where 1t would
be pumped into the mains. ta
A filtration plant could be operated
at 80 per cent less cost than settling
system, Stanfield says.
It would require ten acres to
operate a settling system, city officials
claim, while a filtration plant could
de built upon the present location.
The water department intends to
operate the present wells in connec-
ton with the filtration plant, IL
adopted, as long as they hold out.