What may be a change of policy of the Electric Light Company of Elizabeth City and its associated companies and a resolve upon the part of these public utility companies to give Elizabeth City better service is indicated by J.C. Parker, superintendent of the companies in an interview with this newspaper this week.
Mr. Parker says that many needed improvements in the electric light, water and sewerage plants have been delayed for the past several years because the owners hesitated to put out the money for such improvements in view of the possibility of the city taking over the properties. Mr. Parker says the owners have finally despaired of making any deal with the city and that the life of the companies is dependent upon giving the city better service.
And there are indications that better service is to be expected. The company has finally completed the rebuilding of two of its old boilers and these boilers are now in commission again, along with the new marine type of boiler installed last summer. There is hardly a possibility of the electric light plant again shitting down for want of steam any time soon as the plant can be operated on any one of the three boilers.
Mr. Parker insists that improvements will not stop there, but that the water company has placed orders for two electric driven pumps and that these pumps, now in transit, will be installed immediately to take the place of the two antiquated old steam pumps that have been serving the water company for 20 years. The old steam pumps, put in two years ago, are just abut worn out and the new pumps are to be installed not too soon. The old pumps have wasted enough power to have paid for new and more powerful pumps several times over.
The new electric driven pumps will be connected direct to the water lines, stepping the pressure up from the present stand-pipe pressure of 70 feet to something over 100 feet.
Mr. Parker also promises certain improvements in the treatment of water. He says he is negotiating for automatic chemical feeders to take the place of the uncertain hand feeding devices now in use. A large amount of chemicals are necessary in the treatment of the raw water taken from Knobbs Creek. A certain amount of soda ash is necessary to soften the water. Alum must then be added to coagulate the vegetable and other foreign matter in the water. And finally, as an added precaution, after the water has passed thru the first sedimentation tank, thru the coagulating basin and thru the sand filters, chlorine is injected into the water to kill any germ life that may remain in it. At present the addition of these chemicals to the water is controlled by hand and there is just as much certainty about it as there is certainty that common labor will go to sleep on almost any job. Mr. Parker says that the uncertain human factor in the chemical treatment of the water is to be overcome by the installation of automatic devices that will supply the chemicals to the water in correct proportions to the volume of water to be treated at any time, the volume of water controlling the supply of chemicals.
The water consumption of Elizabeth City from the Elizabeth City Water Company is around 400,000 gallons a day. The capacity of the plant is said to be 1,000,000 gallons a day.
As to the possibility of any improvement in the sewerage situation, Mr. Parker sayeth not.
From the front page of The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., June 2, 1922
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