Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 155, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1916 — WATER SUPPLY IS AN IMPORTANT MATTER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WATER SUPPLY IS AN IMPORTANT MATTER

Farm water supplies may be divided into three classes, which in the order of their liability to pollution are surface supplies, shallow underground supplies, and deep underground supplies. The surface supplies are obtained from streams, ponds, reservoirs and cisterns; both shallow and deep underground supplies are obtained from dug, bored, driven or drilled wells, and from springs. Surface water supplies should not be used for household purposes or for washing milk cans. They should not even be used for laundry purposes unless no other supply is available. Rain water from the roof Is often polluted by dust, leaves and the droppings from birds. Any person who drinks water from surface supplies endangers his health if such supplies are not adequately protected and then purified'. Where underground waters are hard to obtain, cisterns may be used where the store of rain water and surface supplies will be filtered .and partially purified. The cistern should be of watertight construction, to prevent leakage and to prevent pollution from the neighboring soil. It should have an overflow drain and a tight cover. There should also be suitable provision for straining or filtering the water previous to its entrance to the cistern.

Unpolluted springs are, as a rule, good sources of water supply, since the water usually comes from great depths within the rock or is filtered through many layers of sand and gravel. However, springs are subject to pollution from the same sources as wells, and should be closely watchedin this respect. Farm spring supplies are often polluted by the drainage from buildings and stock pens. Spring water supplies from limestone are also subject to pollution from distant garbage and sewage dumped in sink holes. The same precautions should be taken for safeguarding spring supplies as in the case of wells, and in addition the spring should always be fenced to keep out stock. After a pure-water supply has been made available for the farm home the quantity of water needed must be considered. A suitable pumping equipment must be chosen and then a satisfactory means tor, distributing and storing the water must be provided. There are three general systems of storage and distribution which may be readily applied to farm conditions: the gravity, pneumatic, and autopneumatic systems. In the gravity system water is forced into the elevated tank placed higher .Jhan the highest discharge cock. A storage tank may be placed in the attic, on the roof, or oh a tower outside. The agricultural experiment station at Ames, la., has designed a silo with a storage tank placed on fop. Since there is considerable frictional resistance to the flow of water through the distribution pipes, the tank should be placed at least ten feet higher than the highest discharge cock to insure a flow under pressure. ./ Water weighs 62.5 pounds per cubic foot or about 8.4 pounds per gallon, so that in placing a tank in the attic or on the roof the supports

should be made sufficiently strong to uphold this weight Either wooden or galvanized metal tanks may be used. Wooden tanks may be obtained of almost any size, either circular or rectangular in shape. They are generally built of cedar or cypress, and are slightly conical. They are usually knocked down when shipped, and should be set up and filled with water as soon as received. The foundation should be good and solid and the weight of the tank should rest on the tank bottom and not on that part of the stave which projects below.

The capacities of circular tanks may be found in the following: Capacity in gallons equals diameter in feet, squared, multiplied by 0.7854, multiplied by the depth in feet, multiplied by 7.48. One cubic foot equals 7.8 gallons. When located in buildings wooden tanks are commonly made rectangular. They may be lined with tinned copper, but never with lead. To obviate the use of heavy planking, rods are used to rigidly tie together the end and side braces. The pneumatic tank sjAftem consists of a force pump, an air-tight steel tank, necessary pipe, valves, fittings, etc., and power for operating the pump. The system may be a small one, operated by hand, windmill or small engine; or it may consist of a large pump operated by a powerful engine with two or more tanks of large capacity.

The tank may be placed in the basement or underground, thus keeping the water cool and preventing freezing. In the operation of the pneumatic system water is forced into the airtight tank, thus compressing the air into a smaller space and creating an air pressure which forces the water to the discharge cocks. In determining the capacity of the tank, it is necessary that about onethird of the computed storage capacity be added to provide space for the compressed air. In the auto-pneumatic system the water is delivered fresh from the well to the faucets. This system consists essentially of an air compressor driven by a small gas engine or electric motor, an air-tight steel air-pressure tank, and one or more auto-pneumatic pumps. No water tank is required, since nothing is stored, but compressed air. The pump consists of two small metallic chambers submerged in the water, and when a faucet is opened they automatically fill and discharge, owing to the air pressure from the storage tank, thus giving a continuous flow of fresh water. The auto-pneumatic pump can be used in wells, springs or lakes where the water is free from sand and mud and does not have to be lifted more than 100 feet or where the working pressure does not exceed 65 pounds.

Gravity Supply System With Storage Tank on Windmill Supply System With Tank in Attic—Pneumatic Tank Supply With Tank in Basement Supplied by Windmill Deep-Well Pumping Outfit.