Evening star., 1925-08-02


So per month for water and sewer IA.
cilities and their maintenance.
With this growth and the increased
demand for service and fire protec-
ton, the commission deemed it wise
in fact. 1t found it necessary-to re-
inforce its systems and to expand it's
facilities for service to such a point
that there would always be an ample
supply of properly purified water and
a sanitary disposition Of sewage" Mr..
Duckett said. For instance, in 1919
the commission took over the system
of Hyattsville
Hyattsville had normal daily
water consumption of from $4,000 to
10000 gallons. The commission, with
the comparative size of the nearby
communities to be served in mind,
built filter plant and pumping sta
tion with a maximum capacity of
100000 gallons per day, thinking
there was ample margin for at least
10 years to come. On several days
in the past June, with the filter
working to full capacity, 1t was only
able to maintain a fair pressure
throughout the territory served, and
pumped on June 19 1,IS3 900 gallons.
1t, therefore. became most urgent
that the supply, both for normal serv-
ice and in case of emergency, be aug
hiSLleO- ~ pIOIeCl lH6Se COIllInunl-
ties from water shortage, the COM
mission has just completed a 12.inch
cast iron water main from the filter
plant at Hyattsville to Takoma Park.
where 1t connects with the main line
from the Burnt Mills plant, this line
having a daily capacity of 1900 900
gallons, giving the communities of
Prince Georges County a present sup.
ply of approximately 2,750,000 gal
Ions per day
In order to protect the western end
OF the territory, the commission is
about to construct 16-inch main from
the Seventh street pike to the Rock
vile pike. and new 24-inch main is
to be built from Burnt Mills to Four
Corners, which will strengthen the
service in both Prince Georges and
Montgomery Counties. The commits
sion has recently completed and put
in operation a stand pipe Of 475,000
gallons capacity at Alta Vista for re-
serve purposes to equalize the pres
sure. 1t has made many other con-
nectionS and croSS-connections, in
stalled additional pumps, increased the
size of its pipes under streets about
TO be paved and provided for every
emergency that can be reasonably fore
seen. At an approximate cost of
S250,000. the commission, in addition,
has started in the last 18 months
numerous sewer trunk lines, one of
which in particular, the Sligo trunk
sewer serving Takoma Park and Sill
yer Spring, cost more than $780, 900 in
excess of the usual figure for line its
size and length. on account of the
large quantity of rock encountered.
Puts Cost at S500,000.
In the aggregate. it might fairly
be said that the total cost within the
past Is months, and in immediate
prospect, for bringing the system as
a whole up to a point of safety and
adequacy. and of meeting the re-
quirements of public improvements in
various towns and neighborhoods, has
exceeded half a million dollars. In
asmuch as all of these items went
to make for the improvement of the
system as a whole and in a lesser or
greater degree for all those served
1t became impossible to pro-rate or
proportion the benefit of the service
to any given community or to any
special part of any community, and
1t seemed to the commission. since
the increase was small, in no in
stance exceeding cents per front
foot for water and sewer, except in
the case of business property, it
ought to be fairly pro rated against
every property having the benefit of
the service Since the thing to be
desired is an ample supply of pure
water and safe drainage or sewerage.
1t begs the question to say that any
particular improvement required by
the system is not Immediately bene-
ficial to any particular property.
THE increased benefit charge elm
mated the necessity of a very consid-
cradle addition to the general tax
rate, In which event 1t would have
fallen most heavily on the home
owner and least on the vacant lot,
permitting large areas Of land, in
which the service is available, but
where the development is just starting
to escape virtually tax free.
The Commission thinks 1t can be
asserted safely that the total average
cost to the householder within the
sanitary district is smaller than in any
other suburban district similarly sit.
uated within the State. The last.
!eslslature required the commission to
install water mains and sewers in
Gaithersburg and Washington Grove.
isolated communities away from the
general source of supply,
The commission fixed the front foot
rate for these two services at 35 cents
and requested the towns to determine
whether or not they wanted them at
this rate. We have been urged to
start work Immediately. The Balti-
more County metropolitan district
operating under q law almost Identical
with ours, has levied front foot
benefit charge Of Is cents for both
water and sewer, or a total of 80
cents; the charge for uafer jo oe =
cents per thousand gallons as against
1S cents here; the meter service
charge is So as against 81 here. There
is an additional charge of not less
than s11.23 for each property for
maintenance of the sewer system.
which charge, IT must be borne in
mind. is carried here in the water
charge"
To give small contractors a chance
to bid on the grading, the royernment