WATER RESOURCES. 131 
Geologically the streams of the quadrangle represent a mature type 
of drainage, in which the larger streams have attained a very uniform 
and gentle slope, and it is only at their heads and on the small feeders 
scattered over the area that the gradient even approximates to steep- 
ness. Few of the streams are likely, therefore, ever to be of much value 
for power. All except the largest generally run dry or nearly dry in 
the summer months, and even those which contain water the year 
round consist of mudholes during the summer. It is probable that 
with the growth of the communities it will become more and more 
necessary to construct reservoirs for the storage of water. 
USE OF CREEK WATER. 
One instance of the use of creek water for mill power is at the 
Chambers dam, on Bane Creek, If miles above the village of Sunset. 
At this point the creek water is stored in a pond about a quarter 
of a mile in length. There is also a small reservoir on a tributary 
to South Branch of Pigeon Creek, just above the mining town of 
Three and Four, and one on Center Branch a sho't distance above 
the confluence. The construction of many such reservoirs in the 
region would make it possible to store much of the water that is 
wasted during the spring and in storms and use it in various ways 
throughout the year. It is probable that when mining and other 
operations become more important in the region more such reser- 
voirs will be constructed. 
The creeks are now the principal source of water supply of the 
larger towns. 
WATER SUPPLY OF WASHINGTON. 
The Washington system of water supply is operated by the Citi- 
zens' Water Company, which has four reservoirs in the upper valley 
of Chartiers Creek, just beyond the quadrangle boundary. It is 
reported that the company has bought up the watershed, including 
the Pittsburg coal, with the exception of two or three farms, which 
are still occupied by their original owners. In all, the company 
owns 380 acres of land. During the summer months the inhab- 
itants generally complain of a disagreeable "fishy" odor in the 
water drawn from the faucets, and some have wished to abandon it 
for this reason. If this odor has the same cause as similar odors 
which are frequent in surface drinking waters of many towns in 
the summer, as seems probable, it is due to algae, and similar organ- 
isms in the water of the reservoirs. In many towns these have been 
killed and the water restored to its former pleasant taste by treat- 
ment with sulphate of copper. Several years ago a number of 
cases of typhoid fever broke out in town and were thought by some 
to have been due to use of city water, but they were more probably 
due to polluted well water. 
