Reservoir Covering Pays Dividends

Abstract

The Edwardsville Water Company, which furnishes the public water supply for Edwardsville, recently covered an open storage reservoir at the suggestion of the Division of Engineering of the State Department of Public Health and thereby made a net annual saving of $61.50. This is a small saving, but it is a saving and the cleaner, safer and otherwise improved quality of the supply and resulting satisfaction among consumers, represents a value to the company far exceeding the cash saving. The Edwardsville supply is pumped from wells into a concrete collecting or storage reservoir. The reservoir, 70 feet square at the top, has hopper sloped sides, is 40 feet square at the bottom, 10 feet deep and has a capacity of 250,000 gallons. A wall through the center permits cleaning of one half at a time. Before the reservoir was covered, a luxuriant growth of algae necessitated cleaning it twice monthly. Copper sulphate treatment suggested by us was partially successful, but the algae growth was still sufficient to impart objectionable tastes which were often complained of by the consumers. The treatment too was somewhat of a nuisance. The uncovered reservoir also subjected the entire public supply to contamination by dust, dirt, insects, animal pollution, etc., and contamination introduced by workmen during the frequent cleanings. The cleaning operations not only introduced contamination, but also caused inconvenience and interruptions of operation and, because of reduced storage, a fire hazard. Figures covering several years operation with the open reservoir show that approximately $175.00 were spent annually trying to keep the reservoir clear and free from algae growths. This figure includes the labor and copper sulphate treatment.