Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 August 1895 — About Water Works. [ARTICLE]

About Water Works.

The Town Council of the Rensselaer, Indiana, orders an election to be held on the 3rd day of September, 1895, for the purpose of voting or~against Water Works for the said town of Rensselaer, Indiana. Up to this time there has been very little said for or against-the enterprise, and to the inquiry has been, “What will be the probable cost of installing a plant for Water Works, and about what capacity will it be. and to what points in the town will it be distributed?” These, of course, are the three principal questions of interest in this matter, and

we shall try in this article to state to the voters of the town of Rensselaer the facts concerning these three important questions; the cost, of course, will depend largely upon the system that is decided upon to be installed in the town, that is whether it shall be direct pressure or a stand pipe and in the supplies which will be furBlshed for the capacity, and it will there be shown to the voters that the probable cost will not be more than $22,000 direct pressure, and say $25,000 with elevated tank, and of course this may be varied more or less in accordance with the plans and specifications that may afterwards be made.

Now in regard to the capacity of the plant, we want to say that the town is desirous of installing a plant that will be of 'sufficient capacity to supply the town with water, say any where from one and a half to two million gallons per day. This of course will require two large steam pumps of seven hundred and fifty thousand or one million gallons each, per day, and these will be installed so as to run in alternation in the ordinary supply of water, but in time of a fire they may both be put to work "and will be connected to the same main. The boilers will of course be of sufficient size to admit of additional machinery, if required in the future. As to the question of distribution, we would say that it is the purpose to have these mains extend out to the various limits of the town that are at present occupied and improved, and it will be left in such Shape that vhen the improvements extend further out into the new additions that these mains can be extended so as to accommodate the entire town, when required.

The erroneous idea that some have understood that these Water Works would be simply located in the business part of town should be dismissed from your minds at once. There has never been any intention of that kind, but if Water Works are installed in this town they will be put in with a view of benefittirig every property holder, and of affording protection from fire to every resident property and every business property in the town of Rensselaer.

It does not seem practicable for us to allow this opportunity to go by without casting our vote for water .works, for the reason that we are daily exposed to fire, and in c ;se we should have an extensive one we sin uld te entirely at the mercy of the flames.

The fact that we need the water works for individual supply is not the question of so much importance as a fire protection. Nevertheless, if we tad had water this year to use our gardens and lawns would have been in much better condition and more profitable than they have been to us, and when we consider the benefits to be derived from this system of water works and then compare that with the nominal cost it will h* to tacn in-, dividual we can but decide that it is impoitant, ana ot mutual benefit to each and every citizen of the town of Rensselaer, and that we will vote to have water works established in our town.

The question as to our ability is of course a matter to be considered, but when we take into consideration that there are people who will take our bonds and cwy them fo.* five, ten, fifteen and twenty ; .years, and when this plant is once established the rentals from the water will doubtless pay more than the interest and the expense of running the plant, and at the rapid rate’of increase in our town both in valuation of property and population, the taxes necessarily assessed to meet these expenses will be but a trifle, and daring all this time we will be enjoying the adva .tages of water works. The rental for water from the water works will, in a very short time pay for the entire plai.i This f act has been demonstrated time and again in other town#, and some of these towns whieh hareji aid for their water works are no* as large as this Fowler, Montieello and Kent*, land ha ve all ynted on water works and it has carried there, and there is no reason why Rensselaer sho’d not keep pace with her sister to wns and we are fully as able to have these necessaries as any toun in tha State. The item of taxation should not

be considered as a reason for voting against water works, as the exierience has been in all places that they are self-sustaining, and there is no question but what this one will be Issfore the expiration of five ysars. Again, our town is now rated for insurance in the tourth class, and as soon as we have a good system of water works operating in the town the insurance companies will give us a new rating ana place us in the seond class, which will make a material difference in the cost of insurance, not only to btu* siuess people but to the resident owners as well. I find that it will require about five miles, or 28,000 foet of mains, ranging in size from 4 to 10 inches, to supply the town, about 30 fire pings and a pumping station.

B. F. FERGUSON.