New Britain herald., 1927-02-16
STATE CONTROL OF WATER SUPPLIES
Hartford Engineer in Favor Of
 Such a Plan

New Haven, Feb. Is P1Caleb Mills Seville, chief engineer Of the Hartford city board of water con- missioners, is in favor Of placing the water supply resources of Connecti- cut under state regulation and con- trol.
 He expressed his opinions on the future water supplies of Connecti- cut' in an address he delivered at the 43rd annual convention of the Connecticut Society of Civil En- gineers here today. MT. Seville rec commended state commission to take charge of the work.
 Summing up the problems pre- scented for future consideration of the Connecticut outlook for a satis- factory water supply MT. Seville said.
 'The water supply sources of the state are: First, its upland streams draining practically uninhabited country; second, it's underground sources and third it's larger rivers.
 Tn 1902 survey made by the sewerage commission showed IT watersheds in Connecticut covering | 555.65 square miles Of area. Some additions of course have been made since that time and for purpose of discussion, but without pretense of accuracy, I am estimating $50 square miles at present in service or allo- cated and an ultimate reasonable development of about $50 square miles. It is possible that a larger area might be used for water sup ply purposes but the most availa ble storage sites have already been pre- empted and further development will entail costs for construction work far in advance of any similar work of the past.
 Assuming $50 square miles avail able for water gathering ground and an average yield of 100000 gall Ions per day per square mile. it ap- pears that the surface water SUD- plies of Connecticut have possibili- ties for the future of about 950,- 1 00O,00O gallons per day or some thing more than double the esti- mated consumption for 1907. Water in northern New England streams however, does not run off in average amounts. There are low summer flows with their periods of drought and the high spring flows with their freshets and floods.
 The statement has been made that the water resources of the state are abundantly adequate for it's needs. While, however, this is so there is the ever increasing danger 1 of water shortage in all communi- ties. This condition is due to sev- eral causes among which are the spirit of procrastination especially ln municipally run departments and the cost of adequate additional supply work is often too great a burden for a single community to undertake.
 ''One solution at least of this 1 problem, which is a most serious and { immediate one, can be found in the conservation of water resources un- der state control, with community interest in supply works. Under such management there is no fear of | physical shortage from natural water sources of the state and the water supply can be delivered much more economically than under present in i dividual effort.
 "The very cursory study that has been made of the water supply con- ditions in Connecticut as they refer to the future, tends to the following conclusions:
 That there is a sufficient water supply for domestic purposes in Connecticut which can be drawn from comparatively pure upland or underground sources within the state at least for the next 50 years.
 That the endeavor should be made to inagurate methods lead 1 ing to conservation of water re- sources and cooperation among com munities that are within natural phy- sical boundaries.
 That the haphazard methods of allecating the state water supply make it harder for more difficult and expensive for the smaller con- munities to obtain adequate systems Of water supply and that this con- dition is of detriment to the inter- ests of the state as a whole.
 That in order to get best results for the water supply resources of the tion and control.
 That this control should be ex- ercised by commission especially charged with it's administration and not anna gamated with the work of anybody until the works become op- erative.
 "The whole problem to be met and solved is to find the proper plan for supplying water to meet the needs of the increasing concentra- ton of population. The cities, themselves. as might be expected, are not growing as fast as their suburbs, which lie so close together as to be practically continuous. It should be evident that certain municipal func- tions can be more efficiently per formed under single management than under diversified control and it is obvious that water supply and drainage problems do not land them selves readily to protect boundaries, but must be treated as a whole with in the confines of the watershed area. The home rule slogan is usually the cry of some ignorant or ,self-seeking person incapable of broad and clear thinking in public affairs.