Salt Lake Tribune | 1901-12-10 | Page 3 | Water Pressure Strong

r WATER PRESSURE STRONG SUPERINTENDENT HINES SAYS CITY CAN MEET EMERGENCY Could Burst Every Pipe in the System Sys-tem if All the Water Available WerTurned Into the Mains To those who think that Salt Lake City is not provided with sufficient water pressure to meet the emergency that Is likely 1 to arise rom fire Superintendent Superin-tendent Frank HInes says Be not afraid The average pressure In the business district of this city Is SO The average pressure in thirtyeight representative repre-sentative American QUles lbul 62 I pounds Salt Lakey high line Called the upper system furnishes a pressure of from 110 to 220 pounds the middle system from SO to 160 pounds and the lower system from 35 to 145 pounds Compare these figures with New York where the pressure Is from I I 10 to 75 or Chicago where it is from 23 to 25 pounds Among the smaller places Baltimore has 60 Detroit from 1C to 15 Rochester 25 Richmond from 10 to 60 Lowell GO and New Bedford 5 to G5 pounds There is practically no danger of n great fire in Salt Lake outide of the business district which Is supplied with water by the lower sjstem with its pressure of SO pounds That pressure gives a head or In other words throws a perpendicular stream 1S5 feet If this is Insufficient it is a simple I matter to turn In the middle system which will raise the pressure to 106 I pounds at the corner of Main and First South and to 115 pounds at the corner I of Main and Second South Mr Hines I says that he could also turn in tho high line but the consequence might be worse than the fire for it would be I very likely to burst every pipe in the s tern I the underwriters think it necessary neces-sary to raise the pressure some more Mr Hines suggests that the city have a whistle or other alarm that will warn householders and sprinkling wagons to quit drawing water during the progress of a fire If an effort to raise insurancc rates shpuld be made says the superin tendent the only excuse that can be offered Is that the companies want more money The water pressure offers no excuse because this city has the highest high-est average pressure In the country I