Chicago Civilian Defense Plans for Water Safety Control

Abstract

in the spring of 1941 it became evident, because of the nation's lend-lease activities, that the large manufacturing, food supply and transportation centers of the United States were likely to receive the attention of Nazi sabotage agents, Chicago engineers began to give serious consideration to the potential hazards to the city's water supply system and to evaluate the relationship of this supply to the national defense effort. Careful studies and investigations established the poignant fact that Chicago's water supply system was vulnerable to sabotage and to damage by aerial bombing to a greater degree than had generally been realized. Since that time, however, this vulnerability has been reduced progressively, for Chicago has developed a comprehensive program for safeguarding its water supply system against possible enemy attack. This program is a co-operative one between various divisions of the Bureau of Engineering of the Department of Public Works. This bureau is charged with the responsibility for operation and maintenance of the Chicago water system. In considering possible defense measures to safeguard the water supply, much was gained by studying reports of the effect and extent of damage in the bombed cities of Europe, but it is the author's opinion that, in making comparisons between European and American water works, care must be taken to place values on a sound relative basis. The problems and hydraulic considerations which exist in connection with the operations of European and American water works under both war and peace conditions are not strictly comparable. For example, in the European cities, buildings are not so high nor so large as those in American cities, per capita consumption of water is from 50 to 80 per cent less and treatment, storage and distribution systems and methods often vary widely. With an enemy less than fifty miles away, expecting some day to occupy an