Gunnison news-champion and tribune., 1905-03-17
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Aontrose. Colo. March l3

constructing a aa1n,cip@l light and
wsser plant | shall not sttesaps 70
d,scsss esther the wlsd,,m or folly e4
sotine boads 10 establish such .
plans, bot shall conhne mysef TO
Rviag few facts relative to the
subjeet Of municipal ownership in
the city Il Nontrose, in the hope
that they may be of some beae6t 10
ny friends in reaching q righteous
verdict April 4th.
In 1sss Montrose voted t3o.sD
in eight per cent bonds to bald q
mmn,cipal water plant securing its
supply from the Cneompahgve, by
psmping At that time there WAS
laid about one and three quarter
miles of eight, six and four inch
mains of kalamine. The alkali soil
soon destroyed this light pipe and
it has nearly all been replaced with
heavy cast iron pipes Originally
these were II FIRE plugs.
No extensions we're undertaken by
the town until last year when $500
was spent in extending mains, but
private parties have frequently
dubbed together to extend them
Normal pressure on the mains is 80
pounds, but during fire this is in
creased to from 75 to 100 which some
times forces leak. The water
supply was verv short last fall and
the character of it extremely danger
Gus TO health
There are about 400 service water
connections from which the town
has received during the last eleven
months 81. 800 Its other sources
of revenue are: sewers Sl35, six sa-
looms S5.395, taxes mine mills ON a
valuation of s52oOpOl S5,os3, mis-
cellaneous S25l. which together
with the surplus last April of : 1906
makes the municipal revenue about
$4,000 year.
The expense OF operating | have
not learned definitely, but revenues
from the water pant are ust about
equal to the cost Of operation, possl-
bly, slightly in excess. The super
intendent receives monthly salary
of sI25 from which amount he
must pay an assistant engineer, a
superintendent of pipe lines, bitches
and streets at $50 a month and a
city engineer who gets $ a day for
time actually spent.
The charges here for water are:
domestic use, ordinary sized house,
s per month; grocery and bakery
50; drugstores. 80; livery barn, 50;
saloons, 80; barbar shop and bath
tub, 50; lawns, 81 per month for
first lot and - for each additional
lot, one fourth inch nozzle only per
mitted. Compare these figures with
the prices you are paying in Gunni-
son. The largest number of gallons
pumped in one day was last summer
$4,000 gallons Not long since the
100000 in eight per cent bonds
were funded for term Of 80 years
at FIVE per cent. The entire munich
pal debt includes an additional S34,
GOO in four per cent bonds. This
makes S64, 500 debt with popula-
ton of 240O The towns lighting
plant is in the hands of a private
corporation to which our trustees
recently gave a ten year contract to
furnish II arc lights all night at
80 per month Business and me-
ter rates are about the same as Gun
nison with 10 per cent reduction
if bills are paid before the tenth of
the month.
The town has the right to pur-
chase the lighting plant five years
after contract began.
Keenly feeling the need of more
and better water, a constant aglta-
ton has been going ON for the past
year for Cimarron or Gunnison river
water. The latter cannot of course
be secured until the Gunnison tun-
mel is finished four years hence and
so Clmarron water was decided
upon. Accordingly. early in Febru-
ary the taxpayers voted 100000 to
bring over this pure mountain water
To do this. water is taken from the
Big Cimarron and conveyed in an
open ditch (the present Cimarron
ditch. one twentieth Of which has
been owned by the town for some
wears, the water being utilized in
irrigating bitches along the streets
to Cerro summit. a distance of %
miles. where it will flow into a res
ervoir that covers 90 acres From
this point to Montrose is II miles.
Eight inch pipe will convey the wa
ter to a smaller emergency reservoir
or tank four miles above the city,
from whence ten inch pipe will