WATERWORKS REPORT OF READING, PA. - Fire Engineering: Firefighter Training and Fire Service News, Rescue

2022-07-30 17:01:00 By : Mr. Ian Sun

WATERWORKS REPORT OF READING, PA.

Last year in Vol. XLVI, No. 15, of this journal important data relating to the construction of the filtration system of Reading, Pa., was given. Emil Neubling, engineer and superintendent of the plant, has issued further particulars of the work showing that its completion will only occupy a short time longer. Filters for the supplies from the Antietam, Bernhart, Fugleman and Maiden creek sources are described and how their construction has been carried out in a most successful manner. The Antietam supply has a storage capacity of 101,000,000 gallons and three filterbeds 108x144 feet each. The Bernhart supply is taken from Maiden creek. It has a capacity of 42,000.000 gallons provided with six covered slow-sand filters 71x138.5 feet each. The Egleman supply has a storage reservoir of 6,990,000 gallons with two open sand filterbeds 40x55 feet each. The Maiden creek supply has a drainage area of 210 square miles and a pumping plant of 30,000,000 gallons per day. Filtration consists of ten slow-sand covered filters 98x206 feet each. Mr. Nuebling reports that there was an increased expenditure of $669.88 in the operation of the Antietam filters, $407 of which was caused by increased cost of removing ice and sand-washing. Of the Bernhart filters, under construction, the report says that the construction work on these filters is not progressing as rapidly as it should, and that a great amount of work still remains to he done before the water can he turned on. The total amount expended on them to the end of the year was $103,429.04. Mr. Neubling states, with reference to the Egelman supply, that owing to the drought in 1908 and 1909 there was a deficiency from this source. Temporary pumping had to be employed, which cost $4,713.75. The Egelman filters have been in use since June 11, 1903. They were operated during the year at an expnese of $322.95, which did not include washing sand and refilling the beds. The unit cost of ice removal was reduced from 37 cents to 11 cents per cubic yard, due to the great quantity removed this year. An important improvement was made by the installation of two complete pumping units, each consisting of a 75-horsepower suction gas producer, 50-horsepower producer gas engine and an 8x10 double acting vertical triplex pump. They will be used for pumping to high service from the intermediate service. The pumps have a capacity of 1,500,000 gallons per day. The Maiden creek supply has a pumping plant of 30,000.000 gallons capacity. A new 30-inch pumping main was laid at a cost of $23,386.89 and the total expense of running the plant for the twelve months was $16,254.90. or $613.24 more than last year The total number of gallons pumped was 2,905,448,577. The water pumped from Maiden creek was treated throughout the year with a solution of copper sulphate, in the proportion of one pari sulphate to 3,600,000 parts of water, up to October 21, when the amount was increased lo one part in 2,340,000. at which rate it was continued to the close of the fiscal year. Construction work on the filters progressed rather slowly throughout the year. At the close of the year the foundations for the filter house were completed, also all concrete work in one filterbed. The excavation for the remaining beds is well under and some work has been done the walls and columns of other beds. All the castiron piping about the filters, the 36-inch pipe line to the pump well, and all the connections between the pump well and the suction pipes of the several pumps were completed during the year by the employes of the department; $93,382.62 was expended on the above work during the year.

In the distribution system 6,702 feet of new mains were laid during the year, and 1,508 feet of old mains were abandoned; 12 new fire hydrants were placed, 5 of which were set to replace old lire hydrants; 90 lire hydrants were repaired during the year. The average daily consumption of water during the fiscal year was 12.755,307 gallons, or 497.667 gallons per day more than last year. The average percapita consumption was 126 gallons, or 1.7 gallons more than last year. The increase in the per-capita consumption is undoubtedly due to the revival of business activity. The cost of furnishing water was at an average of $0.0221 per 1,000 gallons, a slight increase over last year.

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