THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER SUPPLY IN THE SELECTION OF RURAL PROPERTY—THE VARIOUS SOURCES 
OF SUPPLY AND THE MEANS WITH WHICH THEY MAY BE UTILIZED—THE MODERN SYSTEMS IN USE, THE 
SPECIAL ADVANTAGES OF EACH AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE BEST ARE OPERATED 
by Charles E. White, Jr., M. A. I. A. 
ATER supply means so little to some in¬ 
different house owners before the house 
is built that it is not surprising that many 
mistakes are made in providing a water 
supply which proves inadequate after the 
house is completed. Most mistakes be¬ 
come apparent when it is too late to cor¬ 
rect them, for many house owners are so 
anxious to begin actual building opera¬ 
tions, and they spend so much time over 
house plans and so little over that more 
prosaic side of the problem, the water 
supply, that the latter is often neglected. 
Nothing is more necessary for the successful operation cf the 
various departments of the house than pure water and plenty of it. 
At the beginning of planning — yes, even before the building site 
Is purchased — consideration should be given this all important 
branch of work and the owner should ask himself these ques¬ 
tions: “Where will the supply of water come from? Is it pure? 
Will it prove abundant? Can it be economically piped to the 
house?” 
Those who live in town will not find it necessary to consider 
the problem quite so minutely as those who live in the country, 
but town dwellers should understand something about the source 
of their drinking water and the proper way to pipe it to the 
house for connecting with the various plumbing fixtures. 
When one is contemplating purchasing a lot in a town where 
one has never lived, it will be well to investigate the water sup¬ 
ply proposition before buying a lot. Procure a sample of the 
water and have it tested. This can be done by any chemist and 
the charge for such service is so slight that it is well worth while. 
It is also well to ascertain what the local water pressure is, to 
make sure that it is sufficient to provide for a copious supply of 
water to the house at all times when brought through a Y inch 
service pipe (the standard size for services allowed by most 
municipal water works). 
Although a Y inch pipe is usually the largest tap that will be 
allowed by the water company on its mains, it is frequently pos¬ 
sible to take more than one Yt inch tap for large houses where 
a Y inch flow of water might be insufficient. Thus two or three 
inch or inch taps can sometimes be taken from the main, 
bringing them by means of bends into a single inch service 
line to the house. On large places where there is to be a house 
of good size as well as a garage this is a good way to do. 
All water pipes inside the house should drain back to the main 
shut-off just inside the cellar wall so that in the event of closing 
up a house in winter during the absence of the owner, water can 
be shut off and the entire contents of the pipes drained to prevent 
freezing. It is also an advantage to have every subsidiary line 
of pipe fitted with a 
valve so that one 
line can be shut off 
and drained without 
interfering with the 
operation of any 
other. In making 
repairs this will be 
found a great con¬ 
venience and it is 
surprising that more 
owners do not insist 
upon this method of 
piping when it costs 
so little more than 
For small houses the hand pump instead of 
a power-driven one may be used for se¬ 
curing compression 
(U) 
