An Abundant Water Supply

Aun Arbor's water supply is assured, md the big well of the Anu Arbor Water ;onrpany has been coinpleted. A nuniaer of the city officials, representatives jf all the newspapers and members of the Water company visited the well pesterday, and were given every f acility to see with their own eyes just what was being done. To those who had sxamined the works before, the vast Lniprovenient was at once noticeable aud the difference in the water supply was at once apparent. The big well is twenty feet in dianieter and twenty-six feet deep. It filis to within two feet of the top with water. Under this well is i strata of water gravel twenty-seven feet in thickness. From the bottom of the well there are three driven wells, one six-inch well being driven down eighteen feet, the other six-inch going down twelve or flfteen feet and a twoinch pipe is driven down twenty feet. The heaviest flowing of the six-inch pipes discharges about a million and a half of gallons per day, while the other six-inch pipe discharges between seven and eight imudred thoosand gallons. Tho bottom of the well is also a spring from which the water oontümally oozes iip from the gravel. For the benefit of the visii.ir.s, ihc basin into which the water flows had been drawu lo thar when sluice gates which shnt - g well off from the basm was opened, the immense volumii ii' water could be seeu flowing into the big reoeiving basin which it rapidly i ; Alter the big well had been drawn down so that the immense wieght of water was removed from the driven wells in the bottom, the gates iuto the basin were shut aud the pump applied to draw the water from the big well into the well from which the water is pnmped to the reservoir. The pumps were fixed at the rate of 1,800,000 gallons per day and the visitors saw a big volumn of pure water flowing from the pipes into the receiving well. Visiting the big well again, the water could be seen bubbling up from the hottom at a great rate and, although the pumps were taking out at the rate of 1,800,000 gallons a day from the well, the water raised in the well quite rapidly. The importance of the big well may uow be appreoiated. It has strnck an entirely different strata of water from the other wells and has not, in the leasr. lessened the preyious supply of the other wells. Excepting the months of July aud August, the average eousumption of water is a little less than a miïliou gallons of water per day. The highesi consumption of water in the history of the water works was last August, when each day from the 9th to the 20th, there was pnmped 1,800,000 gallons of water. During the entire month of August, the consumption of water was 50,883,678 gallons, and in the month of July last year, the consumpcion of water Was 46,890,640 gallons. It will be wen t haf the new well has a capacityof over 65,000,000 gallons a month. whicfa is in addition to the old supply of water. The ptunping machinery is in mnch better order thau it luis boen. ;ml thi' company is to be congratulated ou having si) good au engineer as Regiuald Spokes to look after the machinery. Everything about the works has vastly improved nuder the new management of the water works ooinpany, and otir citizens can congratúlate themselves on being in better condition to weather a dry sammer than ever before.