The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1909-09-02
WATER SUPPLY INADEQUATE
Many Unanswerable Reasons Sc
Forth For The City Install
ing a Water Plant.

agent, ana MAJOR Dunlay, city COM
missioner, in arriving at the offer it
makes. How much and how we'll it
has considered these reports we desire
to call attention.
Mr.. Blevins in his reports say the
cost of duplicating the Company's
plant, as it exists today, is $50, Ill. 70.
This amount is exclusive of ''the value
of the water and water rights. In
this amount he includes the following
items:
For supplies, fixtures, pipe, tools and
many other items, called 'tstocll on
hand" 100000.
Pumping station and Jennys, hill
reservoir $12, 000.00
Reservoir at springs $20,000.00.
Engineering and other incidental ex-
penses installing plant $17010.15
These items aggregate the sum OF
S52,Ol0.15. They should be taken from
the cost of the system for the following
reasons:
The $4,000 90 is no part Of the system
and can be disposed of at any time by
the Company and used at other places
as well as here, and should not be con
sidered in the purchase of the system
The Sl20OO.O0 for pumping station
and JenDy's hill reservoir because
Johnson City does not want and viii
not have water by the expensive way
of pumping when it can get it by
gravity. 1t is worse than waste O.
money to buy this at any price. We
want and must have complete gray
ity system. Why not, when we car
get it?
The 100000 for reservoir, because
it is not at a height sufficient to afforC
pressure necessary to supply very
large portion of the city, and is wholly
inadequate for a supply of water fol
domestic purposes, to say nothing o.
fire and manufacturing purposes at the
points of greater altitude. To spenC
the city's money in making such {
purchase would be like throwing it ir
the mud.
The $l7,0l0.15 for engineering anC
other expenses of installation, because
this item should be more than equaliz
ed in the benefits which will accrue
from the installation of new plant al
the present, in locating pipe lines, fire
hydrants and other fixtures with refer
ence to the present and future needs O.
the city and its inhabitants.
These sums should, for the reason
given, be deducted from Mr.. BleviDs
estimate, which would leave as tn,
present value of the Watauga Waite
Companys plant, S138, 10l.55. Bu'
this does not take into consideration
its use by the present owners for TWEEN
ty years, or make any deduction fo
depreciation on this account. This
should be done. The lowest sum a
which such depreciation should b'
placed is one per cent per annum Of
$27, 62031. This deduction leaves tn,
sum of $40. 4S1 "a as the value of tn,
plant,
We will now examine for momen
the report on the subject by Majo
Dunlap. He does not include in hi
report the items of pumping station
and jennys hill reservoir, and the re
servoir at the springs He show tn,
cost of duplicating the distributing
system and the plant to be $l37, 449 o.
He makes no deduction for use or wear
He says, Sin order to properly valu,
the plant we should know the charac
ter of the water and minium flow a
the sources; the cost to construct tn
the plant atipreSent prices, deductin,
for yearly depreciation. There is un
questionably depreciation with tn
lapse of time and the best sources o
information obtainable leads us to be
lieve that it is not less than one pc
cent. as stated above, and this per cen
of the cost of duplicating should be de
Quoted in order to arrive at the presen
actual value of the Company's distri
buting system. When this is done i
shows the actual value of the plant t,
be S110, 1924. "But these estimate
are exclusive of the water and waite
rights"
Mr.. Blevins says ''it is a somewha
difficult matter to determine the valu
of the water and water rights Thi
question must depend in alarge supply
from above the old reservoir. Mr.
Blevins says from all the information
he can get from all available sources
we can safely reckon on minimum o
100, 900 gallons daily above the old res
ervoir. In addition TO this we car
raal0ra Innr, a vaas,,;,,,,,,,, IF e 60n Onl