Brackett, 1905

Public opinion has always favored the free use of water.

Brackett, Dexter. “Consumption and Waste of Water.” Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers 34, no. 2 (1895): 185-203.

In 1848, the designers of Boston’s water works assumed a need of 28 gallons per capita per day (GPCD). By 1872, while searching for and building the infrastructure to handle a new supply, they upped the number to 60 GPCD. By the mid-1890s, use had risen to 100 GPCD.

At the time of Brackett’s writing, there seems to have been no distinction between diversions and consumptive use.

(Note new blog category: “Value of Water.”)