12 
EIGHTH REPORT. 
IDEALS CONCERNING MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIES. 
ISRAEL C. RUSSELL. 
The requisite conditions in reference to the water supply of a city 
may be tersely stated by saying that it should be abundant and whole¬ 
some. The first of these postulates must be understood as being suf¬ 
ficiently elastic to meet a wide range of conditions, but the second 
is rigid, as the same high standard of purity should be maintained in 
the case of all water used for domestic purposes. 
In reference to the amount of water to be supplied to a city, two 
leading considerations need to be kept in mind; one-is the quantity of 
water desirable for domestic uses, and the other the necessary provi¬ 
sion that should be made for fire protection. 
Water for Domestic Uses: The quantity of water that should be 
provided for the domestic use of the inhabitants of a city, has been con¬ 
sidered by numerous municipalities, and the conclusion reached al¬ 
though varying between wide limits, is expressed perhaps with suf¬ 
ficient accuracy in a report on the water supply of Philadelphia, pub¬ 
lished in 1899. In preparing this report a large amount of evidence 
was carefully considered, and the conclusion reached that the minimum 
amount should be 150' gallons (681 liters) per individual per day. 
„ Although this at first glance may. seem an excessive quantity, yet it is 
to be borne in mind that domestic use of water in a city cannot be 
strictly separated from its commercial use, and for fire protection. 
With these considerations in mind the estimate given above may be 
assumed as a basis for estimating the volume of water required for a 
municipal supply. This volume should be continuously available for 
the use of every inhabitant of a city, and to meet this end a suitable 
distribution system must of necessity be provided. 
Water for Fire Protection: In making plans for the protection of a 
city against fire, the conditions to be considered vary much more widely 
than they do when domestic use is alone considered. Cities in ivhich 
tall buildings exist or are likely to be built, of necessity require greater 
water pressure, than when the buildings are low. An adjustment in 
these and analogous respects can be provided by augmenting the 
hydrant pressure by means of fire engines and of private pumps, but 
where the pressure in water mains is the chief reliance, a desirable 
standard as experience seems to dictate, is that a sufficient volume of 
water should be available to maintain at least four fire streams with a 
diameter of one inch at the hose nozzle, for five -hours, through hose 
pipes fifty feet long, with a pressure of at least ninety pounds to the 
square inch. Here again the distribution system needs to be properly 
adjusted to a variety of conditions; and as an ideal standard each 
building in the city is within reach of at least four efficient fire 
streams. 
