The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-10-12
FIGURES SHOW
CITY WATER
LOSSES

That the taxable property of the
city and not the consumers of city
water should bear the burden of
furnishing the water that now
brings no revenue to the water
plant. is the opinion inspired by
inquiry into the operation of the
municipal water plant.
1t is a question of whether this
burden belongs to the people who
patronize the water plant or should
be paid by the general taxpayers
of the city. At the present time
the benefit derived from the i'm
mense quantity of nonproductive
water passing through the city's
mains is received by the city at
large, while the expense falls on
the $4,000 people who pay for city
water.
Thus the large taxpayer pays
nothing toward pumping water for
fire protection for his building, out
side of his payment for such water
as he may use himself. The non
resident taxpayer, who buys no
City WdtCi, pay MULLINS ~ "a
this or other purposes for which
the city donates One-siXth of its
water supply, yet his holdings
share equally with the man who
pays for water in the general ad-
vantages to be derived from fire
protection, sewer cleansing, parks,
schools, etc, which go toward max
ing first class city.
Those who see the need for a
change believe that all the free
water used in the city should be
charged to the various depart
ments using it the same as if the
water plant were owned by a pri-
vate company. If the park board
uses so much water every year, let
them pay the water department for
It. The same with the school
board, the fire department and all
other branches of the city's activi-
ties. If the city council were in
clined to make donation of water
for any purpose let it order that
the same be paid from the general
fund.
Under this system of compen-
sating the water plant for all water
used, which is followed in Portland
and other cities, the water system
of Spokane would make great
showing 1t is estimated that I'M
der a system of compensation of
this kind, the water works would
wipe out it's debt and pay for all
extensions in the next ten or
eleven years.
Figures compiled in the city
water department place an esti-
mate of the total amount of water
used in the city from which no
revenue is derived at the enormous
total of 72S,210,60S gallons during
1907. This is about one sixth of
the whole amount pumped during
the year, the total being 1850, 323,-
904 gallons.
An estimate made of the amount
of water consumed in ways that
produce no revenue shows that for
sewer flushing alone there were
557,000,000 gallons used; for street
sprinkling by the city wagons and
ctICSL ldil way COil pdHItS, 10, w.
900 gallons; Fort George Wright,
33.000,000 gallons: city parks, 81
221,312 gallons: city schools and
lawns, 1856, 1896 gallons: fire sta
tons, 100000 gallons; hospitals,
4,S34,0 gallons; orphanages,
homes and charitable institutions,
4.166, 900 gallons; cleaning side
walks and watering troughs, 4,410,-
900 gallons; clrematory, city yards,
library and isolation hospital,
1,435.000 gallons A special rate
of cents per 1000 gallons as
against the regular rate of Is cents
is made the Spokane Athletic club
on It's water consumption, which
amounted to 2.925,000 gallons in
1907. The Country club also Sc
cured charity" rate.
1t Is estimated that the fire plugs
in use in the city in 1907 should
have paid the water department
$58, 900, and that the sewer depart
ment owed the department over
$21 900.