The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-06-06

The East Jersey Water company has
on four different occasions presented bids
TO Jersey City for a permanent water sup
ply, and desired and expected once more
TO present several alternate bids under
the specifications recently adopted by the
city; but after mature consideration Is
compelled to refrain from doing so.
The specifications are in several par
ticulars so needlessly onerous and involve
risks 80 unnecessarily great, that we
cannot sign a contract based upon them.
AS we We're invited to examine the
specifications before their adoption and
offer suggestions, and did so, We assume
that the CITY expected us to bid, and we,
therefore. think It proper that we should
state the reasons for our defamation at
this time, which are the following:
Ffrst-The specifications provide that
storage reservoirs must be cleared of
vegetation.
A large reservoir properly and thor
oughly constructed In the ordinary man
ner, without removing the sod, roots, etc.,
being the method followed by New York
City and other cities, would cost in the
Passaic Valley 500 to 5000 per million gall
voirs of 5000 million gallons would cost,
say $500, 600 to $500, 900. But If it is in
tended to strictly enforce the above spec
ification, and require the vegetation to be
entirely removed, as has been lone in
exceptional cases, the entire surface of
the ground must be removed to the depth
of a foot or more, which would raise the
cost to about 5000 per million gallons,
or S., 400, 600, for the above Single item Of
storage reservoirs. Some reservoirs thus
built have cost from $500 to $500 per mill
ion gallons.
Your specifications strictly interpreted
involve all vegetation, and might be so
enforced to the ruin of any contractor.
Second-It is specified that the con-
tractor must agree to prevent during the
twenty-five years of the contract the ming
ling with the water of vegetable or
chemical wastes, decaying animal or veg
etable matter. sewage the teachings Of
any kinds; and if an examination of the
water, or of the collecting grounds, shows
that from any of the causes above mum
Grated and claimed to be within the con-
polluted to an extent which renders 1t I'M
healthful, or which produces odor, color
or taste, the city shall not be required to
pay the contract prices therefor during
the period in which the quality of the
water is disputed; but the price to be
paid during such period Of dispute shall
ana such additional part of the contract
price as shall be determined by arbitra-
ton, etc.
This clause will in our Judgment so i'm
pair the value of any bond issued on the
basis Of such a contract as to render it
inaccessible for n corporation or CON
construction of the works.
From seven to nine millions in cash
VIII DC REQUIRED TO DullQ a gravity plant.
This must for the most part be raised by
the issue of bonds, secured by mortgage
on the plant. and revenues. For several
s sears eae en cam P Pagmeh be Dy ex sne a,sy e e dc dc
more than pay the interest on these bonds
and the operating expenses Of the plant;
bonds, wit With, ss say, s4 iosooo per IN year ssi0v Operating ug
expenses, will require $440, 600 per year, or
81. 2o5 per day. 1t will be seen that the
city's consumption of say 26 million gal
lOrS nor 6qv &c AStirnotod far fha xrao
1923, at $40 per million, would produce
Now If the city is to be in position,
where by merely making an examination
of the water shed, 1t can declare the
quality of the water to be in dispute"
and so be allowed to cut the revenues
down one-half, leaving the rest in liti-
cation, the bonds would soon be in de-
fault. Bonds based on such precarious
revenues cannot be sold in the market,
and the contractor would be unable to
perform his undertaking. Moreover, the
proposition is vicious. 1t enables the city
to take advantage of its oWn wrong at
any time by merely declaring that the
quality of water is disputed" The re-
qulrement Is also impossible of fulfill
ment. No contractor can honestly guar
antee that in a vast area of from sixty
to one hundred square miles of mountain
and farm land, decaying vegetable matter
shall not fer twenty-five years mingle
With the water. 1t is certain that 1t will.
The requirement that no artificial impuri-
ties of any kind shall mingle with the
water could never be fulfilled unless the
contractor owned the entire water shed.
These requirements are unusual and now
Ell; they throw police duty on the con-
tractor, who has no police power.
That the source of supply offered shall
be naturally pure and satisfactory to the
city is proper; and that watchfulness
shall be constantly exercised, both by the
city and the contractor, and offenders
who pollute the stream be prosecuted. is
also proper and an-suficient.
The contractor should agree to Coop
crates with the city in every reasonable
manner to prevent pollution But it must
be understood that its successful proven
ton depends on the action of the city.
and other public authorities; a contract
ing corporation has no legal standing or
power in the premises.
Third-We feel unwilling to contract
to give an option to buy our works, which
Will remain open so long as twenty-five
years. No trustworthy calculation can be
made of conditions which will exist after
so long a time. The bonds issued on the
security of the plant would have to be
redeem. which would greatly lessen their
desirability and add to the difficulty of
floating them. All this would hamper the
contractor, add to the cost of the works.
and result ultimately in greater cost for
the city.
We suggest a fixed time within which
the option shall be exercised, say at any
time within five years from the compile
ton of the plant; the transfer to be made
at the end of the fifth year. This would
give the city ample time to prove the
works, and to consider and exercise the
tor to arrange definitely for the needed
funds by issuing $40 or lbs bonds.
Fourth-The requirement that the con-
tractor shall agree to furnish no water
from the plant to any consumer except
Jersey. City, would require this company
to make a considerably higher price for
the water. As is well known, this COM
could as well as not be supplied by the use
of the. extra carrying capacity, which the
pipes built fer Jersey City's use will af-
ford; the city of course, to lave the first
right to the water; and we see no reason
why Jersey City should not, in the price
1t pays, have the benefit of this until it
shall buy the works, or require their full
capacity for its own use. If this clause
Is to stand, It would compel US to build
an additional and unnecessary separate
main to supply these other customers
and to provide a separate source of sup
ply. The modification of this clause
might save Jersey City a thousands
of dollars yearly for many years to
come. while costing them nothing.
be a clear space of 60 feet in width around
all reservoirs makes 1t impracticable to
use Lake Hopatcong and Greenwood
Lake, the two largest and best natural
storage reservoirs in the State, and other
lakes for reservoirs, which would other
Wise afford economical and desirable
storage.
shall be completed within two years
should. we think has ahanoad tn thraa