Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-08
WATER WORGS FOR OMAHA
History Of the System from Inception to
Present Time
LOCAL CAPITAL BUILDS ORIGINAL PLANT
Many Turns and Changes from the
T1oie the Agitation Began to the
Magnificent works that
Now Exist

Supplying the city Of Omaha with water
e1s been subject before the public mind
one form or another for nearly a quarter
OF a century. At times Il has inyolved
herce public controversy, at other times
the battle was OF a private nature carried
on behind the ground glass doors of direct
ors rooms, while on still other occasions
the United States courts have delibera. .ed
upon various phases Of the matter con-
corning which numerous attorneys had hled
lengthy briefs. At the present time the
water works plant and system holds a
prominent place in the public eye because
the legislature has attempted to arrange
that the property shall become part and
parcel Of the municipality and be governed
and operated by a water board Of six mem
bers. To some who have followed the
question Of the municipal ownership Of the
water works closely for years the people
are on the eve of taking possession.
To others who have been as deeply inter
ested in the problem the acquisition looks
doubtful, for a multiplicity OF subtle rea-
sons.
Involves Some Millions.
For the requirement Of the plant the city
voted S3,OOO,000 worth OF bonds three years
ago certain calculators had figured this
amount TO be one that nearly represents the
value OF the works. These mathematicians
stand for one extreme OF public thought.
The matbematlcians who represent the pri-
Vate opinion Of capital invested are much
mere optimistic and cipher out a very
plausible value of more than twice as
much> Whoever may be right and what
ever value the appraisers settle upon, It is
certain that Omaha at the present time is
equipped with one Of the finest and most
adequate water works systems in the United
States. This is the verdict Of both the
technical and the untechnical mind and is
proven by the service. Public agitation.
evincing Itself in many ways, Is largely re-
sponslble for this condition of affairs. Nat
ural conditions have rendered much undue
construction and expenditures Imperative.
while, as was recognized before a spadefui
or earth had been dug for the first settling
basin, the immense area of the city and
Tire ratio OF population to area has been
mother cause for extensive pipe lines and
additional pumping stations. Also, the fact
should not be overlooked that South
Omaha, with approximately $4,000 people
and It's thirsty big packing industries, are
furnished with water by the same works
chat water Omaha, To supply the fud TO
10000 souls scattered over the territory
4hat the boundaries Of Omaha and South
Omaha embrace is no mean task, and one
that is bound to cause the estimates OF the
engineer to take surprising jumps.
Back to the Beginning.
But beginning before the beginning of
water works In Omaha, there was a time,
OF course. when there were no such things
ns hydrants, or faucets, stopoocks or water
rents. II was the period OF wells and
cisterns and disastrous lres which ste Up
wooden buildings. In the year 1880 Omaha
found Itself with a population OF 10000
and with very rosy outlook upon tho
future. There was every reason to believe
That the frontier town had become a city
that was bound to live forever and TO grow
TO what size no one even. hazarded a guess
Every family had its own we'll In it's own
rack yard and Its own oistern and barrels
under the rain water spouts. At most OF
the street Intersections, at least down
town, deep cisterns to store water for fire
oHtinguishment purposes had been sunk
When the fremen had little to do and felt
like working they pumped water, by hand
or by steam engine from adjacent wells
that had been dug to supply the cisterns.
To be BRIEF the leading citizens came to
believe that this system was too slew for
such, swift town as Omaha was growing
10 be, so certain ones of them, among whom
are specified Nathan Shelton, Sidney z.
Locke, Samuel r. Johnson, Mllten Rogers,
j. IT, Clarke, Charles II. Dewey and John
A. Creighton, began to agitate the subject.
They did not need to push very hard to get
the agitation under way, and the cry for
water works, beginning along in 1875 was
boemed In the newspapers and echoed In
public gatherings and re-echoed In the
homes until eventually talk resolved itself
into the action and renewed "Wltoh Hazel"
Hammond, the Illinois water wizard, and
others of Ais ilk frem their sphere OF USE
tulness,
Coming of the Honys.
About the first definite act that has i'm
printed itself strongly upon local history
was the Immediate interest that the Holly
Manufacturing company of Lockport, N Y,
showed in the water works agitation. This
concern, which was represented for the
time being In Omaha by two gentlemen
Celonel Flagler and Mr.. Lenine-elaimed
that Il possessed, protected for its own
Individual and exclusive use, a vague system
Of supplying water by direct pumping from