The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-06-02
WATER COMMITTEE
MAKES IT'S REPORT
Recommends Great Reductions Be Made IN
Rates, To Be Considered at Special
Meeting Monday Night Next.

After many delays the special water COM
mittee of the city council made its report
last night at the meeting of the mayor
and board of aldermen. The report was
read by L. w. Friedman, In the absence
of Clerk Camp who was excused from the
meeting and on motion of Alderman Nc
Knight was laid over until the special
meeting of the council Monday night.
Mayor Evans stated that he had met
vice-President Earle of the Waterworks
company during the day and had been told
that the report would not be acceptable to
the Water company.
The report is a volumnous one and shows
that while the committee have consumed
much time in it's preparation, 1t has not
been idle. The report is as follows;
To the Mayor and Aldermen;
The undersigned special committee APP
pointed December, 1897, to which was re-
ferred the reports of the former commit
tees on water for further investigation anu
report, beg to report as follows:
Under the authority delegated to the COM
mittee 1t notified all persons having any
charges complaints against the water
works company to appear and hie same
with the committee
In response to said notice, Mr. I. IL. Mol
ton, representing himself and other prop
erty owners of the city, appeared IN per-
son, and by his counsel, Messrs benson
& Tanner, and requested to be heard IN
support of the charges against the water
company.
The Birmingham WaterworlSs company,
by its superintendent, Major Miner, and its
attorney, Mr.. London, also appeared anu
filed an answer denying the charges con-
tained in said report.
The evidence produced before the COM
mttee is voluminous, and copy of same
is filed with this report, but the committee
does not deem it necessary or advisable
to refer to the evidence in detail
The questions raised by the minority re-
port referred to, and which were considered
by the committee, may be briefly stated as
follows:
/. That the Waterworks company falls
at times to maintain sufficient pressure Tor
efficient fire service.
g. That the company has violated Its
contract by charging arbitrary and ex-
cessive rates to consumers.
8. That 1t has violated its contract by
failing to supply, at all times, pure ana
wholesome water to the consumers.
Section OF, the contract stipuates that
the pumping station on Cahaba river shall
be provided with pumping machinery capa-
BILE of delivering not less than 100000 gal
Ions daily into the city of birmingham,
under static pressure due to not less than
200 feet head. We find that the company Is
fully capable of carrying out this section
of its contract, both as. to pressure ana
capacity. We further find that the pres
sure has been greatly reduced in diterent
parts of the city as result of various
causes one of which was the use OF the
cutoff valve. The effect of the use of this
hos 1aofa IN
points north of its location, from about
eighty-fve pounds to about fifty pounds.
This pressure regulator was not in opera
ton from about September Z. 1894. till about
about February, 1897, when the subject was
considered by this board and PERMISSION
granted to the water company to use the
cutoff valve, subject to daily inspection by
the chief of the fire department. Since this
investigation has been in progress the
board has ordered the same removed, and
it Is not now in use. There has been no
evidence bfore the committee that it's use
since such permission was given has re-
suited In any damage to any interest, put
the committee is of the opinion that III
view of the irreparable damage that might
result from any failure of the device to
work. in an emergency, 1t Is advisable TO
prohibit the further use of the said cut
off or pressure regulator
The lack of pressure shown to exist at
the Birmingham rolling mill appears from
the evidence to have been due to the fact
that the pipes extending from the main to
the mill were not of a size sufficient to
maintain the necessary pressure while
being constantly depleted from the numer-
Gus openings in the mill, all of which tended
to reduce the pressure This, we under
stand has been remeded by using larger
pipe from the main and which is the only
remedy for any lack of pressure at that
point Lack of pressure at other polnts
is referable to similar causes
Referring to tn lack of sufficient pressure
during a fire recently at Twenty-third
street and Seventh avenue, the committee
fnds that the pressure was insufficient Tor
Ere nurposes at the hydrant used at that
time The Watehworks company states IN
explanation of this that the Migrant was
one in use under the old system OF wafer
works and was attached to a 3-inch MAN,
and that lack of pressure was due to the
small size of the main. Such main for nre
nurposes is inadequate and does not give
sufficient fire protection to the premises
adjacent thereto. The Waterworks COM
= Many iustifies itself from the charge OF 1all-
ing to furnish water in sufficient quant-
~ and with pressure sufficient for fire pur-
noses in that instance, by stating that
there is a 16-inch main directly under the
3-inch MAN, and that the hydrant was
not connected to the larger main was the
fault of the city. In that connection, the
committee recommends that an nvestiga-
tion be made by the city engineer, and II
any of the fire plugs in use by the city are
not supplied by mains of sufficient size to
secure adequate pressure that the same DC
remedied without delay
On the subject of rates, much testimony
has been brought before the committee,
and there seems to be general feehns
of dissatisfaction on this subject
The contract specifies that the Water
works company shall be allowed to charge
for water for domestic purposes according
10 n schedule of rates, which are nxeo py
section sos of the city CODE section
of the contract.
The Waterworks company has the {
under its contract to charge for measured
water according 10 sliding scale Oh pr-ces
renging from 80 cents per 1000 gallons 10
5 cents per 1,ooo-galions
It is charged that the company has liked
arbitrary rates IN violation of the con-
tract. number of instances are cited IN
support of this charge. viz The First Ma
tional bank page 10 of testimony and
others. Also see the testimony of Major