The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-01-18
PURE WATER COMING
Street and Water Board Will
Adopt Specifications
Monday.
OUR PLANS FOR A SUPPLY
Bids Will Be Opened March and
the Contract Will Be Awarded
Twenty Days Thereafter.

The new water specifications will. be-
yond doubt, be adopted by the Street
and Water Board next Monday morning
at its regular meeting. This was decid-
ed up at a long conference which was
held in Mayor Wansers private Office
yesterday The Mayor was present and
SO We're all the Street and Water COM
missioners, and Corporation Counsel
Blair and City Attorney Weart His
Honor listened to all the discussions but
took no part in the debate.
When asked to give expression to his
views on three or four occasions he is
reported as having said to the Street and
Water Commissioners:-'You are the
gentlemen to prepare specifications. You
are to do what you believe is right, and
what will best protect the city's in
terest in the acquisition of new supply
of water"
THE MAYOR SAID TO APPROVE.
It is known that His Honor has read
the specifications carefully and to in
innate friends has. it is said, expressed
his entire satisfaction with them. They
are so comprehensive that everyone who
has plan of any character will be
able to bid.
One of the main objections to the orig
inal specification was that they had been
narrowed down to such anextent that
certain class of bidders had been practi-
cally shut out. 1t was asserted that they
had been drawn in the interests of a
certain water company, viz, the East
Jersey Company. The assertion was en-
phatically denied by all the Street and
Water Commissioners. 1t is to avoid a
similar objection that the specifications
have been made so comprebN 7sive this
time. The specifications weI in rough
shape yesterday afternoon bat they were
sent to a typewriter and it is expected
that everything will be in apple pie order
Monday morning.
FOUR DIFFERENT PLANS
There are four plans under which cons
tractors may bid. The first and most
favored is a supply by gravitation from
the intake to High Service. 1t is be-
lieved that a sufficient head can be OBJ
tanned at High Service to send a stream
of water as high as any house on the
Hill through an ordinary sized fire hose
attached to any fire hydrant.
At Belleville there will be obtained, it
| Is believed, a much heavier pressure,
which will send the water across the
meadows faster than the big pumps at
| Belleville do now. The second set of
| specifications call for a gravity supply
| to Belleville only. This will necessitate
| the continuance of the pumping station
at Belleville. This plan does not meet
with much favor. as the pumping plant
! in question costs the city about s550,000
a year.
| The third plan is pumping all the way
| down. 1t is not seriously considered.
| The last is the filtration scheme, which
has few admirers in the city and a
| hungry horde of interested schemers be-
| hind it. Filtration is not likely to be
| tried. After considerable debate it has
| been decided to compel every bidder to
| accompany his bid with certified check
| for $1,000
| THE REQUIRED DEPOSIT.
| This sum was at first deemed exor-
| bitant. 1t was argued that it would
| shut out competition, as it would be a
| difficult matter for a contractor to raise
such a sum. 1t IS known that almost
any contractor who receives the contract
will sell to someone who is in a position
to raise the necessary money to prose-
! cute the work.
| This will be done probably by some
banking house floating bonds ON the
|
| roughly estimated that a banking house
would give a contractor $9,0O0,O00 for $10-
900 900 of bonds, or 80 cents on the dol
lar, reserving the ten cents as commis-
sion for floating the. issue.
| The demand for a certified check of
| 100000 was under consideration for a
| long time. The last time bids were re-
| ceived check for that amount was tied
| up for several months, involving a great
] loss to the bidder. 1t was decided to
keep the check up to 100000 only after
| It had been agreed that bids should be
| received on March 4. 1t is proposed to
lose no time in disposing of the bid
ders, and the officials interested expect
4 to pass upon the question of which Is
| the best plan within twenty days after
| the reception of the bids.
| The checks of all the bidders will at
| once be returned to all but the success
| full man. His check will be returned to
| him as soon as the contract is awarded
| him and he has furnished q bond in $780,
| oGO for the faithful performance of his
duty The water question is in better
! shane than it has ever been before. II
begins to look as though a contract is
going to go through with rush.