Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-06-04
June |. 1915.


Gentlemen:
Your Committee ON County and Nh
nicipal Affairs promptly took up on
Saturday last the subject OF the pro
posed new water rates recently Gre
ated by the Board OF Supervisors of
the City and County Of Honolulu.
which matter was referred to its at
tention on the 9th.
experimenting the meeting OF the
Committee on Saturday. your Chair
man today passed on by informal con-
ference with members of the Commit
tee the result Of conversation with
Mr.. Murray, Superintendent of the
Water Works.
Your Committee now reports as fol-
lows:
We find that the minimum charge
effective July l. 1915, is $500, which
is the same as before, and that the
found to be necessary to bring in suf-
ficient revenue to make the water de-
partment self-sustaining.
Replying to the contention Of many,
your chairman among them, that be-
fore any advance in rates is made, all
arbitrary rates now in vogue In many
Instances should be abolished and
tuted, the Superintendent assured
us that he already had in effect done
exactly that thing, l. e., he had already
applied the old (present) area rates to
all water privileges and had found
thereby that the total income would
not be sufficient 1t was only after
so doing that he proposed the ad-
vanced rates since adopted by the Su
peryisors. He, therefore, feels that
unless we can ourselves, as a Com
mittee, go over all the data relative
ito possible income to be derived from
all privileges, and after so doing be
able to point out that an increase is
not necessary, that we should not OPP
pose the new rates adopted by those
who have so investigated the matter.
The Superintendent also points out
that the individual increases will be
very slight, /. e.. $4.S4 more per acre
Of irrigated land, which will be only
1922 per year more than the present
rate on the average residence lot 100x
200 feet While the individual in.
creases will be slight, 1t is pointed out
that the aggregate increase in income
for the department will put it on a
self-supporting basis. It is further
pointed out that should the new rates
accomplish an income more than nee
essary, that the rate may readily be
reduced before the next water paying
period falls due, so that~if the new
rates are actually found to be too high,
only one such slightly unnecessarily
high payment will have been made by
consumers.
Regarding meter installations, your
Committee recommends that meters
be installed for all water privileges
coming under Section of the Ordi-
nance entitled Resolution No. 1877
SO that there will de no more arbitrary
ratings, which at best are very unsat,
isfactory. In other words, your Com
riittee recommends that the holders
of all water privileges other than for
private residences, be metered, and
that the present rates be allowed to
be In force until such meters are in
stalled, which should be done as soon
as possible. In other words, that on
July 1st, Section Z of the new ordi.
nance be held in allegiance, or changed
to read that those privileges be put on
meters as fast as possible and that
they must pay by meter thereafter
OF course, meters should be install,
ed land the Water Department is glad
so to dol whenever asked for by any
consumer.
There has been considerable con,
troversy over the inaccuracy land in
some cases total faflure) of the me,
tiers already installed. They have
been frankly admitted by almost every
official, and most consumers paying
by them, to be failure. Some Off
Gals claim the fault is because of in
jury to the meters by the composition
of our water. Others claim the fault
is in having installed small meters
to do the work of larger. with the con
sequent overload" and rapid wearing
out of the smaller meters. But what
ever is the cause-Whether Ii be i'm
proper size of meters, or meters OIL
-pOOi HtdISTIdl dN0 "OTNIHdHSUiPy vi
meters constructed on poor design
your Committee does not profess tc
know. but the matter of determining
definitely this point should receive ex
haustive study before more are bought
by our taxpayers, only to be scrap
ped year hence.
To sum up the whole matter there
fore, and as the recommendations O.
your Committee, we suggest the fol
lowing: -:..
First. That we should not oppose
as the Chamber, the increase in watel
rates as adopted by Resolution No
49," excepting as applied in Section Z
b Second. That we recommend the
Chamber to endeayor to secure tn,
schange of Section so that the watet
privileges mentioned therein, and al
privileges other than residences. b,
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