Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-13
The Cost of Water.

Negotiations over the price of water
that the District will supply to nearby
Maryland communities are drawing to
a close. The time is near when the
residents Of adjacent sections of Mary
land, like Slose in Arlington County, Va,
will be able to tap the Districts water
supply and share in the consumption
Of pure and plentiful water. That is
wholly desirable, for the City Of Wash
tngton is rapidly extending beyond its
geographical boundaries, and the resi-
dents of this greater city should be
able to take advantage Of the surplus
water that now exists, with the COM
pletion of the new conduit, and the
residents of Greater Washington, like
those of the District, furnished pure
water at minimum cost.
The District Commissioners have set
the price Of water, delivered at the
District line, at SOS million gallons.
This cost is computed on the basis
Of expense to the United States and to
the District Of supplying, pumping and
piping the water to the District line
plus per cent interest on invest
ment, plus per cent for deprecia-
ton. The Maryland Sanitary Com
mission has been endeavoring to lower
this rate and points out that the charge
for water to Maryland consumers will
be higher than sos million gallons, as
the cost Of distributing the water in
Maryland must be added to the cost of
the water itself at the District line.
But the rate proposed by the District
Commissioners is even lower than the
rate paid by consumers in the District.
The Water Department estimates that
the small consumer in the District, who
keeps his consumption to the minimum
allowed under the water tax, pays for
water at the rate of $106.64 a million
gallons, while the wholesale consumer
pays $S2.44 a million gallons.
This comparison, however, does Tot
indicate so much that Maryland is to
be undercharged for it's water as it
does that the District consumer is
grossly overcharged for his water. The
District water consumer and TAXPAYER
has invested approximately LOCO, 900
in system that now is to furnish
water to the Maryland Sanitary Com
mission, which has contributed virtually
nothing to the system, at lower rate
than he pays himself. In addition, the
District Building is now feverishIv
working on a proposed five-year pro-
gram of extensions to the local distribu-
ton system. the expenses for which
will be paid by the District water con-
sumner through higher water tax.
The fault does not lie in the fact
that the local distribution system must
be increased, and that such increases
cost money. That is natural and to be
expected. The fault rests with a finan-
c1al system that places on the water
consumer the burden of paying. not
only for the cost Of the water he re-
ceives, but for the water supplied free
of charge to the United States and to
the municipal agencies of the District
government; for the maintenance of
both the supply and distribution systems
and for the major part of improvements
and extensions made in the distribution
system. The cost of water is rising
steadily, when, as matter of fact and
fairness, 1t should be going down.
The greater the Districts investment
In plant, either as a realty and person.
atty tax payer or as water tax payer,
the smaller should be its charge to it
self as water user. The wider the dis
tribution of the water and the greater
the number of water tax payers, the
smaller the individual charge for water
should be. Plant extension should thus
reduce the water tax rate for mainte-
nance, instead Of increasing it. The ideal
condition is where the municipality
owns the water plant and supplies it
self with free water-that is, free from
any charge except those for mainte-
nance Of the plant and distribution of
the water. Strangely enough, the Mary
land Sanitary Commission, in buying
Its water from the District, comes near
er reaching this ideal than the chief
owner of the plant, the District.
King George has fully recovered. He
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