Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1927-10-09

two 4s-inch and one 60-inch pumps.
An idea Of the size Of the plant
NAV be cleaned from the fact that
during 1927 the fuel oil used amount
ed to 52.542 barrels and eve 100,-
900 acres were watered. The cost
~ fuel oil was s102, 7os. The average
for five years has been 44,402 bar
rels Of fuel oil per year. and the
punps divert an annual average Of
1Ol, S56 acre feet Of water from the
| Rio Grande at m average cost Of
"a cents per acre foot, a record that
Is pronounced by engineers a Of
the best ever achieved In the his
tory Of irrigation.
The river pumps have n maximum
capacity of 100000 gallons per min
ute. and the relift pumps have a
capacity of 8 1000 gallons. A settl-
ing basin, $50 acres in ,~tent, was
/, constructed by the district near the
river pump, and is kept filled
throughout the year.
Install Gas Burners
When the plant was installed Ii
was equipped with wood burners,
and there was an ample supply of
fuel available mt lost cost during
the first years. Clearing Of tina
tracts and the rapidly diminishing
wood supply made it necessary to
install oil burners, and these are
now being replaced with gas burners.
Lines have been laid by the gas COM
pany to both the river and second
lift plants, and the gas burners will
be installed before the end Of Oc-
tober. According to the district man
ager the cost of operation will be
reduced approximately SIS, 900 per
year by the use Of gas. The present
oil burners will be retained In
place and will be used rs auxiliaries
in the event of any interruption OF
the gas supply. The large oil reser.
voir at the river plant will also be
retained, but the district will not
carry a heavy oil reserve n ut pres
ent.
The pumping plants, which have
been improved materially in every
feature during the seven years they
have been operated by the district,
are now almost fire proof. They
are constructed of brick and con
crete, wherever the use of wood was
necessary fire proof paint has been
applied.
Service Mt Low Cost
Maximum service at the minimum
cost" was the slogan adopted by A.
Van Dresar when he assumed the
management of the district. We try
to leave nothing undone that will
improve the efficiency Of the system
and our service" he stated In reply
to a query relative to how it is pos
J sible for the district to operate on
a So flat rate and 81 watering charge.
We have been very fortunate in Sc.
curing men at the heads Of the va
rious departments who are in accord
with the policy of the district to
eliminate waste and build up eff.
ficiency. The cooperation between
the various departments is almos,
perfect. There are nc overlapping
duties-each department knows whal
it has 10 do, and does il. Ii
THE efficiency of our pumping
plants has been one Of the most i'm,
portant factors in reducing operation
costs. Notwithstanding the fact tha'
we have a combined lift Of 81 feet, W,
are delivering water to the canals a
an extremely low cost, and the heas
4 Of that department deserves credi
for the record the district has estab
lished in this respect. Similar ef
ficiency has been sought in all otheI
departments, and the department
heads let no opportunity pass to elm
mate waste Of energy or money. Tn,
district is n large one, the engineer
who laid 1t out were thorough,
practical, and in every respect tn,
district was designed to deliver ir
rigation water at the lowest possibl,
cost. This fact, combined with tn,
organization that has been perfected
is the foundation for the low rates."
Supplies Four Cities
Four cities. McAllen, Pharr, Sal
Juan and Alamo, also secure thei
water supplies from the district
which by reason Of the fact that I
has pumping plants OF sufficient ca
pacity 10 meet any reasonable de
mand is enabled to supply the waite,
at every reasonable cost, and effec
a material saving for the water user,
in those cities. The district ais,
supplies the water for the MeAlle,
irrigation district. and had a con
tract with the latter district sewers
years. The McAlleh district Is nov