The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-07-30
CITY WON'T PAY ITS BILL
WATER COMPANY WON'T MAKE
A REDUCTION.
CITY WANTS AUTOMATIC FLUSH TANKS
The Water Company DOESN'T Want Them.
The City 70 sn't Get Them The Water
Company viii be Made
TO Paw Tax.


Relations between the City Govern
ment and the City Water Works are
somewhat strained.
The water works has bill for S2,240
against the city and the city refuses to
pay it.
Two joint meetings of the Finance
committee Of the board of aldermen and
the water works officials have been held
this week fols the purpose of trying to
come TO some agreement, but no COM
promise has been reached.
These meetings were held Wednesday
and Friday At the Wednesday meet
ing the general situation was discussed.
and Friday the Finance committee de-
livered its ultimatum.
It's now ''up to- the water company.
The city's ultimatum is this: That it
be, allowed to put in without extra
charge, for flushing sewers, sixty-hve
automatic flush tanks with a daily ca
pacity not exceeding 800 gallons.
If this is done the city agrees to pay
the water works claim. Ii it is not
done it proposes to consume in future all
the water it is permitted to use by the
terms Of contract with the water com
pnay.
Also the property of the water COM
pany, which has heretofore escaped tax
alton, will be put on the tax books. This
will mean IA neat little sum added to
the citys revenue.
These are the penalties that the Fl
nance committee taeks on TO its~ulti-
matum.
The city has long felt that its con
tract with the water company was Il
hardship on the oity-that the water
company had the long end OF the rope
and was using its advantage for all it
was worth.
The opportunity for forcing it to terms
came last winter when the water com
pany for more than two months freely
dispensed sulphuric acid in its water
1t is provided in the contract that
the water furnished by the company
shall be clear i'll appearance. and. by
analysis, show a water at all times
suitable for ali domestic purposes and
free from any injurious substance" Dur
ing the months of January, February
and March the water contained iniu-
rious substances and was not suitable
for domestic purposes. and because of
this the city demands a material reduc-
ton in its bill. or, in lieu of that. permis-
sion to put in the sixty-fve automatic
flush tanks for sewers.
The use Of these sixty-five automatic
flush tanks would save the city Il neat
sum each year for the contract provides
that sewers shall be flushed through
a hose and fire nozzle" To do this costs
the city some $1,000 Il year, which is
paid men to do the flushing. Since this
contract was made the automatic flush
4tank has been invented
u Now a fire-nozzle may be any size. but
We water company says in this instance
can be only one-inch nozzle. as the
Contract, in another section, prescribing
&st for the water works on their COM
pleNon, says six simultaneous fire
streams" shall be thrown Through ii
fifty feet section of ~, inch rubber hose
and one-inch nozzle &c
This definition the city denies. assert
ing that "fre-nozzie' may he any size
and IN case the water company refuses
to permit the installation of flush tanks
II Is proposed to flush sewers hereafter
with two-ineh fire nozzle. a one-incb
nozzle discharges about $50 gallons Of
water a minute and two-inch nozzle
discharges 600 gallons.
Now under the contract every fire
hydrant in the cty-there are 125rcan
be used ten minutes each day for this
purpose 1t will thus be seen that with
two-inch nozzle the city can. If il
50 desires. use 100000 gallons of water
day, whereas the fiush-tanks wonld
take only 227, 800 gallons.
As matter Of fact the city now uses
only about 10000 gallons OF water
daily for flushing purposes.
For water to sprinkle the streets the
city has been giving the water company
its taxes. The Finance committee find,
however, that only about ST. worth of
water is used year for this purpose,
While the company's taxes would
amount to several hundred dollars.
And it is around these points thar the
city and the water company fight now
RACES, with odds on the result in favor
of the city.