The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-08-11
Report Made by Labor Commits
SiOner Johnson
On WaterWOrks Under Private
and Municipal Ownership,
DECIDES THEPROBLEM
Of Which is the Most Advan-
tageOus to the People.
Public Ownership Saves ThOus-
ands of Dollars.

Does it pay for cities to operate their
own waterworzs system? That is a
question which is just now absorbing
considerable attention in Topeka ana
an election will soon be held when the
people will be given an opportunity OF
saying whether they want to try the
experiment or not.
Labor Commissioner Lee Johnson has
just completed the compilation of data
on the waterworks plants in Kansas.
both private and municipal These fig
ures are taken from the reports of the
operators of the various plants in the
state and are consequently authentic.
They prove concIusiveIy that city own
ership does pay. It saves the cities
thousands of dollars every year here in
Kansas where it has been tried only to
a limited extent.
Reports were received from 80 water
plants owned by private corpora tiOus
and from 26 owned by municipalities.
The following comparisons tell their
own story:
Average rate for five room house.
private plant, S6.16.
Average rate for five room house.
public plant, $500.
Average rate for ten room house,
private plant, $9.46.
Average rate for ten room house.
public plant IS.
Average rate per lot for sprinkling,
private plant, $3.50.
Average rate per lot for sprinkling,
public plant, $4.31.
Average rate for sprinkling per front
foot, private plant, Il cents.
Average rate for sprinkling per front
foot, public plant, 10 cents.
Meter rate per 1000 gallons, private
plant 1873 cents.
Meter rate per 1000 gallons. public
plant, 27.S cents.
All the public plants supply water for
fire hydrants without cost to the city
while the city pays the private cOrpOr-
atiOns for that water privilege. The av-
erage rate per hydrant paid is S46.19
and the cities of Kansas which own
water plants save $44 S24.24 per annum
in hydrant rentals alone
Commissioner Johnson selected six
plants owned by private corporations
and six owned by municipalities with
the conditions as nearly equal as pOssi-
bic upon which to base a series OF
comparisons.
On this basis the average rate charg-
ed by the private plants for five room
house was $3.50 while the rate charged
by the municipal plants for the same
kind Of dwelling was $500. The meter
rates charged by the private corpora
tions are 29.5 cents per 1000 gallons,
while the average meter rate of the
public plants is but q. cents. The aV-
era ge. cost of the six private plants was
founZ to be $69, SIG while the average
cost of the public plants was SOL 532.
The greatest difference comes IN the
amount of water delivered during a
period of "A hours. The private plants
delivered an average of 1,340, 600 gallons
while the public plants averaged 4.84l,-
600. The average cost of construction
per 1000 gallons for the private plants
is S5.2 cents while the average for the
public plants is 208 cents.
The report is the first authentic one
made on the waterWOrks plants with
reference to the feasibility Of municipal
ownership. They are decisive in their
proof that the people save thousands of
dollars yearly when the plants are own
ed and operated by the city.