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Show WATER FOR UTAH DOMESTIC AND COMMUNITY WATER REQUIREMENTS . . . Modem Living Demands Much Water . . . Adequate water supplies are basic to the comfort and well- being of any community. With the passing of time, the cities and communities of the United States have steadily increased their use of water for all purposes and consequently have been obliged to undertake major water- supply projects. Today there are few, if any, communities of importance which do not own and operate extensive water and sewage systems. Many of them reach many miles into the adjacent countryside to tap large watersheds which will furnish abundant and pure water. Most of them provide their population with sizeable sewerage and sewage- treatment systems and plants. Because of these facilities, the modern average community dweller is a large consumer of water - for culinary purposes, for personal hygiene, for the washing of clothes, for sprinkling of lawns and for a multitude of other uses to which the average citizen gives little or no thought. In addition, commercial establishments are lavish consumers of water - for air- conditioning, for cooking and for washing. Industrial plants of every variety add considerably to the burden upon a community's water supplies and sewage disposal systems. As a result, the days of individual water supplies and sewage disposal - wells, the use of nearby streams -- are now becoming a matter of the past. Water supply and sewage disposal is now generally considered a normal concern of municipal, State and Federal agencies, which must safeguard not only the health and safety of the community but which also must make sure supplies are secured well in advance of growing demands brought about by population and economic expansion. The requirements and standards of water supply to satisfy community demands vary in accordance with use. For domestic purposes - drinking, cooking, washing and other related uses - purity is obviously all- important. For commercial and industrial utilization, where culinary consumption is not involved, quantity may be of greater importance than purity, although hardness and amount of suspended matter are always given important consideration. Therefore, each community must gauge the extent to which its over- all water supplies can be employed for all purposes. There is a tendency to meet all demands with equal standards of purity; where extensive industrial development is involved, this may tend to strain supplies which otherwise would be primarily used for domestic purposes. This is particularly true in communities the water supplies of which are limited in extent. Thus quite frequently industrial establishments located within a community must seek their own water supplies in a manner noncompetitive in relation to other uses. In other instances, there are opportunities for re- location water supplies so that the purer water is utilized solely for domestic consumption. Quite obviously, most communities are eager to furnish necessary water service to industry so as to facilitate and stimulate the establishment of a growing number of payroll- producing plants and industrial establishments. In addition to the use of community water supplies for industrial, residential and commercial consumption, there are other demands of major community importance which must be included. These are such as supplies for fire- protection, for street- cleaning, for recreation and park purposes. Municipal swimming pools, ornamental and drinking fountains provided for public comfort and enjoyment may not individually consume large quantities of water, but they are substantial in the aggregate and must be envisaged in over- all community water requirements. ... More Water Per Person ... Steadily, though perhaps in small annual amounts, per capita community and domestic water requirements have a tendency to increase. More families than ever before in the United States have bathrooms, showers and re- [ 84] |