Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1922-02-16
CITY WATER
SITl|ATIONFILLOf
HARD PROBLEMS
CONTINUED from last week.

and 80 feet deep, concrete cased, with
the casing resting on the clay sub
stratum; three wells nearly 80 feet
deep tapping an artesian vein of pure
water, which will be used as reserve
supply in dry seasons; 1900 foot la
teral of Is inch tile laid with open
joints; a new pump of $50 gallons per
minute capacity; and the former pump
of 300 gallons per minute capacity,
which was found inadequate last sum
mer The members of the Water Com
mission state that there is no surface
water in this supply, and that none
can get into it. The discoloration of
the water from this station, they say
was due to the fact that the heavy
the lateral collection tile churned up
the clay bottom and the discoloration
of the water was due to this clay.
To do away with this trouble the
bottom of the we'll has been covered
with clean sand to a depth of two feet,
and on Wednesday they finished cover
ing this sand with crushed rock They
will then wash the well and pump it
out to clean it thoroughly, and they
believe the discoloration and the taste
and odor that have been complained of
will thereby be entirely eliminated so
far as the source of the supply is
concerned. They state that if discol-
Grafton appears in the water, partic-
ularly in hot water, it must be due to
rust from old piping in individual
plumbing systems, and the like. and
not from the source. Users of water
can get rid of this to some extent,
they say, by draining their water pipes
and heaters from time to time, to get
rid of the sediment and rust.
Comparative Flow
The figures as to the flow of water
secured at each station will show fur
ther reason why the Oak street plant
is being extended.
measured natural flow, without pump
ing, of 800 gallons per minute, which
is the average total demand of the
city at present. The three deep wells
give an added flow of some rs or
80 gallons per minute each. The to-
tai pump capacity there is now 1850
gallons. 1t was formerly only 800 gal
Ions. which was found inadequate dur
ing the summer, as stated before
At the Third street station the col
lection system has a flow of about 200
gallons per minute. The pumps there
are one 750 gallon centrifugal, and one
500 gallon triplex. These pumps could
have supplied plenty of water, if it
had been available in the reservoirs.
But the advice of the experts employed
was that this source was less certain
to produce satisfactory results, both
from the standpoint of amount and
from that of purity, than the Oak
street plant. The chance of contain
ination from the surface is greater
there it was said, and more extensive
collection system would be necessary
to gather a sufficient amount.
The three deep wells at the Oak
street plant are declared to be valu-
able asset to the city for their supply
is constant through dry seasons and
is pure and free from possibility of
contamination
Another Problem.
An additional problem is found in
the fact that the only connection of the
Oak street station to the standpipe
is a single six-inch pipe which was
laid under Oak street when the plant
was installed. 1t is becoming made
quate. A larger pipe should be laid
in its place to relieve the strain on the
pumps of forcing the large amount OF
water needed through to the tank. Or
there is the alternative of laying q
pipe for this use when water is put in
on Apricot or some other nearby street
thus forming circuit and giving ar
additional connection with the stand.
pipe without going to the expense OF
taking up the old one and laying the
new. One or the other of these tw<
things must be done soon for the mum
Der of water users, which is now 1900
is rapidly increasing. The system nov
includes % miles of mains, and NOR,
must and will be added ever, season
AS To Fire Hydrants
The difficulty with frozen fire by
drants which has been experienced i
a thing common in all cities in thi
part of the country. Here is the caus
of it. The hydrants have valve i
the bottom for draining them down be
low the frost line. But the hydrant
that were installed in the earlier day
OF the system were set on the din
without any provision for allowing th
water from the valves to drain away
The later ones have been set in a be
of crushed rock which allowed the We
ter to drain away fast enough so ths
freezing could not take place. Th
only sure remedy is to take up the hy
drants that freeze and reset them E
they should be. This work would hay