The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1912-03-19
METER SYSTEM
MUCH FAVORED
Territory Must Cut Price Of
Water to Shipping or Lose
All the Business.
(From Saturdays Advertiser.)

the chamber of commerce, publicly ex-
pressed.
Unless the waterworks department
finds some way of cutting down the
charges made to shipping for water,
the port will get black eye. Already,
the Matson Navigation Company is
talking over plan of getting water
from Pearl Harbor, and the Inter-Isl-
and company is scheming to stop buy.
ing city water and to put in a water
system of its own.
The chamber is wholly in accord with
the plan of the superintendent of pub
lie works to install water meters all
over the city in order to make water
consumers pay for what they get and to
equalize the prices charged to local and
visiting consumers. A special report
on the question was read at meeting
of the chamber trustees yesterday, pre-
pared by the committee on harbors,
shipping and transportation and sign
ed by e. E. Paxton, E. d. Tenney and
E. H. Wodehouse.
"Intolerable,' Says Tenney.
Mr.. Tenney, speaking on the report,
said that the situation in regard to
supplying water to ships was almost in
tolerable, being more serious than even
the report indicated. The expense to
which vessels are put is enormous, and
the prime reason why the Pacific Com
mercial Gable Company's steamship
Restorer was transferred from Honolulu
to Vancouver.
"Vessels Of the Matson Navigation
Company take as little water on here
as possible" he said, "but notwith-
standing this the charges run from $3.50
to $500 for each vessel. The rate
ought to be one-sixteenth, or at least
one-eighth of that, and should not be
more than fifty or sixty cents per thou
sand gallons.
Pearl Harbor for Water.
'The Matson Navigation Company
for some time past have had under con-
sideration the construction of a special
water barge to bring fresh water from
springs near Pearl Harbor to furnish
, its vessels. 1t has been shown that this
would be source of profit to the COM
pany.
"I have also heard that the Inter
Island company are going to put down
an artesian well on their Kakaako
= property, and when this is done that
will eliminate the Inter Island company
as a customer of the Honolulu water.
works. If that is done there is moth.
ing to prevent other steamers from pur.
chasing water from that company. Con
sequently, it behooves the territorial
government to get q move on toward
reducing this charge. Otherwise, they
will lose large portion of the revenue
they now enjoy. In that event the
waterworks will face a deficit, large
one, portion of which could be avoid
ed if the government had taken care OF
:. the business in a reasonable way. II
i will be suicidal policy to continue
), with the present rates.
"The last legislature put the water
u works department on self-sustainine
Q basis and at the same time reduced the
rate ON sewers until there is materia
deficit in that department and the
waterworks system has to make good
a the deficit for the sewers''
/ In the opinion of President Spald
a ing the government stands to lose &
8 large amount of revenue.
e Shipping Rate Is Unjust.
d The report of the committee Sc
u forth that the present rate for waite
to vessels is $3.50 per thousand gallons
y which is considered exorbitant, whel
. -
st city consumers. The committee CAV
rates existing in other ports along tn
V Pacific Coast, the rate bein 43 cent
a per thousand gallons at San Francisco
1t as compared to the Honolulu $2.5
n rate, making the local rate to vessel
te exceedingly unjust. Figures obtaine
Id from the superintendent of publ
n works showed that $l50,000 was re
n ceived for water consumption up
In December 81, 1911, of which $4,000
came from shipping, although the toti
Of amount supplied ships would nc
n amount to more than a days suppl
e, to the city in general.
'ee Stop the Waste.
m In climate such as this the commi
NJ tee believes that water should be flu
m nished at the lowest possible rates, an
m would be strongly opposed to any il
he crease in the existing rate to consumer
ie even for the purpose of lowering ii
no charge to shipping. The remedy
~ the opinion of the committee is:
To check the large waste in the ul
. of water which is known to exist und,
~ the present system; and
a To get the actual cost of deliverir
n water down to the lowest possible fi
~ ure and make such actual cost the bas
'n' of rates to consumers.
ir' "We are informed says the repol
ey "that recent Investigations by the d
OF partment of public works, and also {
10 extensive study by the sanitary col
IN mission, show conclusively that an enc
ms nous amount of water is actual
on wasted after the Territory has paid f
,as its delivery. Furthermore, the Ter
In tory is again called upon to pump Il
rd- greater part of this same water out
d. the sewers. While we have no defni
i've estimates or figures on the subject, Y
'or believe that if the expense of suppl
m ing and getting rid of the large amou
of water actually wasted could be eli
mated, the rate to vessels could
placed on a reasonable basis withO
Increasing the cost of water to the &c
PIE eral consumer. This can only be 1