New Ulm review., 1922-05-10
CALL FOR BIDS
FOR new WELL
COUNCIL ADOPTS REPORT OF
EXPERT WHO RECOMMENDS
ANOTHER DEEP WELL.
CONTRACT WILL BE BASED ON
PRICE PER GALLON PER -,
MINUTE FLOW.

At the special meeting of the council
held Thursday evening it was definitely
decided that a new well must be put
down Immediately to supply the needs
of the city and that work must be
rushed because the need is becoming
urgent. The council acted upon the
recommendations made to them by
j. B. Lawlor, representing the firm Of
Layne & Bowler, water supply con-
tractors and builders of deep we'll
pumping machinery. Mr. Lawlor HI d
been here for some time making an ex-
haustive survey of water conditions
and his written report was presented
to the council last week for action.
The Report Analysed.
There are number of very interest
ing matters taken up in the report
which is too lengthy to publish in full.
However, a few of the more important
points may be noted briefly. Mr. Law
lor first tells the council something of
the firm for which he works. They
are water contractors, not merely
we'll diggers. They handle only large
Jobs where the supply of water re-
quired from we'll is not less than 200
gallons per minute and they are e.
quipped not only to drill the we'll, but
they also manufacture the machinery
for lifting the water and put in the
complete pumping apparatus and are
thus in a position to guarantee the
proper working of the pump. In
addition they guarantee the amount
OF water to be delivered and their
contracts are SO made out that the pur-
chaser pays for exactly what he gets
and no more. 1t will be seen that the
bids called for on the letting Of the
deep we'll contract are made out on
this basis and contractors must make
their prices on the cost per minute per
gallon, with guaranteed minimum of
800 gallons per minute, maximum 500
gallons. ....
Present Conditions. ...,v.
Before making his recommendations
to the council, the expert also reviewed
briefly the water supply equipment
already in operation. Wells No.
and 2, located in the old power house,
deliver 210 gallons per minute, working
together. They are something less
than 200 feet deep and the diameters
are and 6 inches respectively. Well
No. at Herman's Heights is 365 feet
deep. 1t was abandoned some years
ago because of the very lowsoutput and
the difficulty of operating a plunger
pump at such depth. Well No. 4
at 7th North and Spring Street was
drilled in 1917. Its depth is 297 feet
and it produces $50 to 180 gallons per
minute. 1t is equipped with a plunger
pump which has given considerable
trouble and, according to the experts
report, might badly cripple the city
should the pump fail to function at
some critical time, for instance, when
fire might be raging. Mr.. Lawlor
says the feathers and valves are con-
stantly cutting and wearing out and
need replacing from two to four times
a year and the connecting rods are like
ly to break at any minute, particularly
after they have been in service year
or two. The mechanical arrangement
of the plunger is declared to be wrong
for heavy pumping because of the con-
slant Jerking and changing of direc-
tion of the stroke. The wear is rapid
and is the cause of much wasted time
in repairing.
Additional Water Supply.
According to present demands made
upon the water system, it is i'm perative
that the amount of water now being
delivered by the pumps be increased
from 800 to 500 gallons per minute OF
nearly double the amount now coming
from the pumps. It thus becomes a
matter of serious consideration to find
a way to do this. It will cost a grea
deal of money for new we'll and it
must be expended so that there is nc
doubt OF getting what is being paid for
The problem then is to so locate the
new we'll that the maximum flow which
it is possible to obtain from one vel
may be secured.
Facts About City's Location.
The report then gives brief but
comprehensive survey Of the location
of New Ulm, showing that the city is
situated on a narrow strip of land in
the Minnesota valley. The strip is
about 900 feet above sea level and is
about 3 3-4 miles long and ga miles
wide. Across the Minnesota river
the elevation of the surface is about
100 feet higher than that Of the city's
location. 55y