28 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES — HISTORICAL. 



wearisome to the man in the street, ran he well illustrated hy 

 quoting the case of London, Ontario. As far back as 1900, London 

 began to realize that her water supply was inadequate. One 

 expert after another was called in, each advising a different 

 scheme which usually represented his particular leaning. The 

 spring-water man said, go miles into the country and gather up 

 all the spring water ; the filtration man said, you must build a 

 filtration plant, while the artesian well expert said, filtered 

 water is like rain water. You must dig wells. Then the aver- 

 age man stopped and scratched his head saying, how am I to de- 

 cide. Each proposed system represented nearly a million dollars, 

 with the exception of artesian wells and experiments along that 

 line had always yielded sulphur water. One scheme after another 

 was brought up and the people asked to vote upon it. This they 

 refused to do because they knew nothing about it and the vote 

 polled was always too small to warrant action. When everyone 

 was disgusted with experts and their advice a private individual, 

 at his own expense, sunk one after another, some fifteen artesian 

 wells. Some gave sulphur water, as had been previously the case 

 with similar wells, but others gave an abundance of good water. 

 The total expenditure for digging the wells was not more than 

 ten thousand dollars. The point we wish to make in this is, 

 that in London's case, it paid to wait a few years and save seven 

 or eight hundred thousand dollars. 



Again reverting to the matter of the small town's water supply. 

 If she has not suflBcient funds at present to build expensive fresh 

 water lines, or an expensive filtration plant, there are still a few 

 courses which she may follow. For two or three thousand dollars 

 she may be able to build a filter-crib in the bed of the river and 

 pump the water from it. A filter-crib is built as follows : A hole 

 some forty feet square is dug in the bed of the river, to a depth of 

 eight or ten feet. In this is built a wooden crib, which is roughly 

 boarded over. Upon the top of the crib is now placed two or 

 three feet of broken stone, then two or three feet of sand and 

 gravel. This brings it level with the bed of the river. The water 

 filters down through the gravel and sand and is taken from inside 

 the crib by the suction pipe which leads to the power house. This 

 method was successfully used by Kensington, Pa. , who obtained 

 three niillion gallons per day and the filter-crib only cost about 



