Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-01-06
Adopts Report of Water
Committee on Company's
Proposition.
SEVERAL OBJECTIONS
Committee Finds Much it Dislikes
in Offer.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST ACCEPTING IT
Council Insists That Intake Above
Harrows Branch Is Necessary for
the Health of the City Must Have
That Provision.

Inc report OIL Ine water committee
of the city council to the council with
regardto propositions made
by the City Water Supply Co. to the
city, offering to make improvements
and engagements about the present
water plant if given new franchise
for twenty-five years is printed in full
herewith. The water committee of
the council viewed the proposition
with little favor, and after picking it
made report recommending that for
several reasons, given in the report,
the proposition of the company be re-
jected. Last evening at the special
meeting of the city council, this report
was presented by the water committee
and adopted by the council by vote
of all of the seven aldermen present,
Aldermen Myers and Barnes being alb
sent. The report follows:
To the Honorable Mayor and City
Council of the City of Ottumwa Iowa:
Gentlemen:-You water committee
beg leave to make the following re-
port in regard to the proposition for
new franchise made to you by w. A.
Underwood president of the City Wa.
ter Supply company:
In the letter from Mr.. Underwood in
Producing the proposition, we find sew
eral errors that we desire the council
to take notice of:
First, Mr.. Underwood states that he
now has twenty-seven miles of water
mains. In reply to this we will state
that from careful measurements by
the city engineer and the chairman of
this committee, we find that the wat
er company has now only 2265 miles;
of this amount 037 are double pipes
1.-TWO pipes laid parallel on the same
street,. In this measurement the
pipes laid at the Morrell packing
house and on other private grounds
are included. In regard to the state.
ment that the company has expended
$1S0,000 on the waterworks in the
past fifteen years, we will say, that we
have no knowledge of how much has
been expended in that time. But ew
will say in regard to this expense that
If the company has spent that much.
there has been gross mismanagement
or dishonesty in the homogeneous OF
the improvements of the company.
For at the present cost of labor and
material, (pipes and specials being
now from $500 to $500 ton higher
than they have been during the past
fifteen years. the whole of the COM
pany's present pipe lines with gates
and hydrants, their filtering plant in
GLIDING the building that contains the
filters, their pumps and their boilers,
car be duplicated now with all new
material for less than $1S0,000. Out
of this amount ($180,000) the only
things not duplicated out of their
whole present plant would be the
pump house and reservoir on Court
hill.
Second, In regard to the statement
that all the pipe in Ottumwa are cast
iron pipe except piece on Court
street that is Calamine pipe, we will
say for your information that the 12-
inch pipe laid across the Des Moines
river is not cast iron but a cheap
wrought iron or steel pipe of about
the same quality as the one on Court
street.
Third In regard to the statement
that cast iron water pipe has not been
& its life is we will say that the chair
man of your committee has taken up
several miles of cast iron pipe of the
same weight and quality as that used
in Ottumwa which had been in the
ground for over twenty-five years and
found that from ten to twenty per
cent was not fit for use gain
Fourth, In Mr.. Underwood's propo-
sition he states that he will lay twelve
and one-half miles of new mains In
regard to this we will say that from
the plans furnished, the pipe to be
laid is only 10 14-100ths miles, of this
96-100ths miles are double pipe so
that it will only make an addition of
1S-100ths miles to the present pipe
lines, or a total of 20 46-100ths miles
of pipe lines new and old instead of
thirty-nine miles as stated by Mr.. I'm
derwood. There is no benefit to the
people of Ottumwa to have two or
more pipes laid parallel on the same
streets and should not be considered
except as a menace to the city. The
proposition to add two new tanks to
the filtering plant will not make the
hltering capacity sufficient for the pre-
sent, and not near enough when the