Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-19
BY DONALD ?. CRAIG.

While other cities have experienced
O Shortage of water during the recent
drought and have operated under a
restricted use of water on that account,
the City Of Washington has had an
ES.s.c1e supply.
Army engineers assigned to this area
point out that the minimum fiow of the
Potomac River at Great Falls, where
Washington's water is withdrawn In
two conduits, has been 422 100000 gall
Ions per day, which is more than twice
the capacity of the present eonduits.
81 During the drought this Summer that
minimum was never reached.
Washingtons fortunate condition in
this respect has been called to the at
tention of President Hoover, who, as an
engineer, took a special interest in the
subject.
Army engineers say that credit for
the provision that gave Washington a
water system to meet the situation this
Summer belongs to Lieut. Col. Max Z.
Tyler, now chief engineer OF the Fed
eral Power Commission. The neces-
sity of increasing the capacity Of the
old system, which oates back to the
time of the Civil War, was foreseen by
Lieut. Col. Tyler as early as 1920. 1t
was he who drew up the general plans
for the new system, and he and his
successors. Mai. J. A. O'Connor and
Mai. Brellon Somervell, district engi-
neers in charge of the Washington
area. carried the work to completion.
100000 Ultimate Population.
1t is estimated by the National Capt.
tai Park and Planning Commission, of
which Lieut.. Col. U. S. Grant, Sd, is
executive officer, that what is now
DESIGNATED as the Washington metro
politan area, comprising this city and
surrounding portions of Maryland and
Virginia, with present population of
100000, will have an ultimate popula-
ton of some 100000.
AS it has taken more than 100 years
since the seat of Government was es-
tablished in Washington for the popu-
lation of this area to reach its present
figure engineers in the office of Maj.
j. d. Arthur jr., district engineer now
in charge of this region estimate that
it would be conservative to say that 200
years more will be required for it to
reach such a predicted total.
BY that far-distant time the existing
filter plants and other parts Of the
local water system would doubtless be
obsolete, and the Army engineers be-
lieve it would be reasonable to base
future plans on the growth of popula-
ton to be expected during the next so
years.
While future population growth is
hard to determine, conservative eSti-
mates made by engineers of the Wash
ington area indicate the possibility that
by 1868 additional water capacity win
have to be provided.
Sufficient for Thirty Years.
Certainly, in the opinion Of the Army
engineers who have studied the subject
the residents of Washington and OF
Arlington County. using the same water
supply, need have no fears of water
shortage for the next 80 years. After
that however, an ample supply of water
cannot be relied upon, and it is for
thai reason that the Joint Committee
on Water Supply Problems, organized
at the suggestion of National Capital
Park and Planning Commission, has
been making a preliminary study OF
additional sources of water supply.
The engineers of the district engi-
neer's Office for the Washington area
have made already a rather detailed
study of this problem. They have come
to the conclusion that in meeting the