The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-07-10
The QUESTION OF
The WATER Meter
PUBLIC SERVICE, CHICAGO TECH
NICAL PERIODICAL, ABLY DIS
CUSSES THE WATER METER
QUESTION CONCERNING THE
HOUSEHOLDER.

Public Service, in it's July issue,
says: .- s..
The average householder is against
the use of meters. He would rather
pay a fiat rate and use water as he,
pleases, regardless, than be on a meter
and use only so much as he needs.
That is to say this is his attitude until
he has once been on a meter. After
that it is different. He finds it is a
money saver. You couldn't put him
back on the old fiat rate. Strange,
isn't it? The fact that the city and
the taxpayers are losing 1,00O,0 900 gal
Ions of water a day does not appeal to
him-if he thinks he is getting his
share of the 1,000, 600. Let him see that
he can cut his rate and have all of the
water he wants to use and he is con
verted.
While, under the fiat rate water
rental system, everyone is more or less
careless in the amount of water con-
sumed, the act is hat the great bulk
of waste is caused by a few. The whole
city is taxed for it. There is nc way
to stop it except by meters. When
water is paid for on the basis of
quantity, the loss through carelessness
reVerts entirely to the ~onesusing wat
er and paying for it, n there is thus
created a sentiment to have better fix
lures and to use more care in closing
them after use.
In an investigation some time ago in
Philadelphia, where a district was TAX
ing about 222 gallons of water per per-
son per day, only 80 gallons were actu-
ally used; and out of 7S0 appliances
inspected, % leaked slightly and 80
were turned IN continually. Thus, 54
appliances, or about z per cent, were
causing this excessive waste, amount
ing to 1872 gallons per. capital. per day.
In the cities where waste investiga-
lions have been carried on, this fact.
that the domestic waste is caused by
less than ona-quarter of the users, has
been positively established and great
| savings have been temporarily realfz-
| ed by a house-to-house inspection and
the putting of all fixtures in good re-
pair. ,,
This careless loss, due to leaky fix
lures and to permitting spigots to run,
is of great Importance to the
ity at large, especially if water is paid
| for on a fiat rate basis, for then the
careful users must Dear some part of
the cost due to their careless neigh
bors. Its prevention will, to a certain
degree, cut down the supply necessary,
and thus the expense of operation.
That some of the better informed
water users nave awakened to this
fact is Illustrated by a recent investi-
cation of the records of $50 water
/ = - III q LCiii - III - VI
these were on a meter-pay basis and
were supplying residences varying in
size from three to twenty rooms, and
representing all the, districts of the
city. 1t was found that 1881 persons
used 25,3 900 gallons of water per
year, or about IS gallons per person
per day, while the average per capita
draft for the METRE city was 236 gal
Ions per capital per day. These 29C
services paid $4,554.7 for the water
used, as recorded by meter; had they
been assessed on the fiat rate basis
then prevailing. they would have paid
$7,375.07. Thus, by installing meters
these users reduced their water rent
SO per cent, The cost of water on the
meter basis was is cents per 1000 gal
Ions; had they used the same quaint
ty of water, but paid for it the sun
then being assessed on the fiat rate
basis, 1T would have cost them at the
rae of 29.1 cents per 1000 gallons Of
water.