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Show Extension Director Outlines Ways . To Improve Rural Water Supply I j Utah has many rural homes where ' the water supply is as far as 100 yards away, says Director William Peterson, U. S. A. C. extension ser-! ser-! vice. If water is carried uch a distance dis-tance and there are from five to seven sev-en persons in the family, it will require re-quire at least six trips per day to supply the family with the necessary water supply. This means 1200 yards for the six trips and if the process ' goes on for 30 years, and there are actual cases where this has been the daily procedure during that length of t'me, the travel would have amounted to 7,465 miles. Often this situation could have been eliminated with the expenditure of less than $50. Miles Saved at Small Cost. One lady reports that for 20 years during the time she was rearing her family, water was carried from an outside hydrant 150 feet away from the house. When the younger children child-ren grew up they deqided the mother should be relieved from this task by placing the water in the house. The actual cost of the installation was $72. This mother had walked 2,500 miles and carried water to save an investment in-vestment of $72. Many of the rural homes in Utah do not have adequate culinary water supply. In many cases the water is obtained from springs which need piping and a little attention to make them satisfactory and convenient. Surface wells which can be made satisfactory still play an important part in culinary water supply. They should be dug deep into the water table during the low water period of March and February; completely curbed with either rock, cement or tile, and a second top should be placed plac-ed over the wells to keep out rodents, snakes and frogs. Also, the top of1 each well should be banked above the level of the ground to prevent surface water from running in. ; If electricity is available, a pump- , ing system can be installed which will give to the house and farmstead an automatic water supply. This costs a little money but saves a tremendous t amount of labor. ( Artesian Wells Utilized. A large number of rural homes obtain ob-tain their culinary water supply from artestian wells. In most cases the source of water is some distance from the house. At little expense this water wa-ter can be placed into the house in the same convenience as the city water wa-ter system. Installation of hot, and cold running i water with bath and laundry fixtures may easily be installed with an artesian ar-tesian well as the source of the supply. sup-ply. Often the installation of a new artesian well will be cheaper and more satisfactory when the water supply and well records are known than to attempt a series of pipings from old wells. Cisterns Prove Satisfactory. There are areas in the state where neither spring water, artesian well or well water is available. In these areas cisterns should be built. The cistern should be constructed of such a capacity ca-pacity that will give the family water for a period of at least three to six months. Thousands of records have been taken to indicate normal consumption con-sumption of water. These records show that if water is carried 100 feet cr more the consumption will only be j 2 to 4 gallons per person a day. A pump in the kitchen sink w;ll raise the consumption from 4 to 8 gallons a day. A faucet of running water instead in-stead of a pump raises the consumption consump-tion to 7 to 15 gallons per day. Full equipment with hot and cold running I (Continued on last page) Waterlmprovement Urged by Director (Continued from page 1) water, Lath, laundry, toik-t, etc., ' raises the consumpt'on to 20 to 25 gallons a day. The records indicata that where water Is convenient, much more is consumed. One author has gone so far as to state that measurement of living ' standards and culture might be measured meas-ured in the amount of water used. !A cistern 10 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep will hold 5,800 gallons; 12 feet in diameter and 12 feet deep, 10,-000 10,-000 gallons, or ample water for a family of five for three months. Financial Aid Available. Under schedule 1 of the federal housing act, money can be obtained for the improvement or installation of a sat'sfactory water system. Technical Tech-nical advice pertaining to the construction con-struction of a cistern is given in Farmers Bulletin, No. 1418, U. S. Department De-partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The water bucket on a bench in the corner of the k'tchen should be replaced re-placed by a sink and a faucet, and the housing act affords the opportunity. It will be easier to make the small necessary payments than to continue this task of carrying the family water wa-ter supply |