Conserve Water to Prevent Crisis in Concord, Sept. 5, 1925

People Ordered to Conserve Water Supply of Concord. . . Water Shortage Is Feared and Drastic Steps Are Being Started to Conserve the Present Supply. . . New Regulations in Effect Now. . . General Public Warned to Aid Officials in Efforts to Prevent a Water Crisis in the City Now

The water situation in the city is hourly becoming more serious.

In a notice to consumers this morning, the order was made that the use of water be curtailed. The text of the water and light department’s message was as follows:

To the general public: You are hereby notified not to use any water for the watering of lawns and the washing of cars and any other unnecessary use of water until further notice on account of the scarcity of water, as the situation is serious.

Signed, Board of Light and Water Commissioners

It had been hoped that the cut of last week when several of the larger consumers were stopped would be sufficient to tide the city over until rain should fall.

During the past two or three days, however, there has been a gradual decrease in the flow of Cold Water Creek, making necessary this new curtailment.

At the present time, the creek is a tiny stream in which a thread of water about three feet wide and bout three inches deep is flowing. A rough estimate by Superintendent L.A. Fisher of the water and light department gave the flow as 300 gallons per minute.

Under ordinary circumstances two pumps are kept busy during the entire day and are shut off at night. Only one pump is now running and it is found necessary to keep it shut off 20 or 30 minutes while the dam fills sufficiently for about 20 minutes of pumping.

Speculation has been made as to how long it will be until further curtailment in the use will have to be made if rain does not soon fall. No rain has fallen since August 5th, exactly a month ago, and during the two months previous, there had been practically no rain at all.

Water officials have been busy connecting the two artesian wells which formerly supplied the city with water so that they may be pressed into service should there be a continuation of the unprecedented drought. It is possible that these two would give sufficient water for the curtailed use.

One of the wells is on the Central Graded School grounds and the other is at the city pumping station. One is over 7009 feet in depth and the other is approximately 1,300 feet deep. Owing to the hardness of the water from this supply they will not be used until it is absolutely necessary.

Efforts are being made to conserve every drop of water at the pumping station at Cold Water Creek. A dam about four feet has been thrown so that none of the stream will escape. Dove-tailed planking has been driven in the sand to eliminate any seepage in the sand.

Above the dam is the tiny creek winding down the ordinarily 40-foot bed into the dam, which fills partly during the time the pump is shut off and draining when it is working. Below the dam, there is no flow of water in the creek, pools of water standing in scattered places.

The visit to the creek was made during the morning and it was stated by workmen there that the creek would be even lower during the late afternoon. There is generally a slight replenishing during the night.

Both the reservoirs in the city station are practically full at the present time, but it would take only a short while to dispose of this water should there be no water to pump in.

From the front page of The Concord Daily Tribune, Saturday, Sept. 5, 1925

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