Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
WATER DEPARTMENT: Difference between revisions
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In October, 1870, the water company was disbanded — had made a failure. Almost immediately afterward another water company was organized. Of the water company John Thompson was president; the company had a capital of $300,000. (4) | In October, 1870, the water company was disbanded — had made a failure. Almost immediately afterward another water company was organized. Of the water company John Thompson was president; the company had a capital of $300,000. (4) | ||
During 1871 cast-iron mains were laid in the north-south alleys by the waterworks company. A party was held on August 22, 1871, at which many of Dubuque's prominent businessmen journeyed through the tunnel inspecting the water supply. At this time the tunnel ran back under the present [[BUNKER HILL GOLF COURSE]] at a depth of one hundred eighty feet. | On July 31, 1871 the first water pipe in Iowa was laid between Main and Iowa | ||
on Seventh. (5) During 1871 cast-iron mains were laid in the north-south alleys by the waterworks company. A party was held on August 22, 1871, at which many of Dubuque's prominent businessmen journeyed through the tunnel inspecting the water supply. At this time the tunnel ran back under the present [[BUNKER HILL GOLF COURSE]] at a depth of one hundred eighty feet. | |||
Demand for water in the hill districts, where gravity pressure failed to reach, expanded by 1880. In an agreement with the Lorimer Hotel at Eighth and Bluff [[STREETS]], a small pump was placed in their basement. A wooden water tank was also constructed at Julien and Wilson avenues. When filled, this served the hill district and the homes below that level with adequate water. In 1891 city officials insisted on direct water pressure and better service from the water company. ( | Demand for water in the hill districts, where gravity pressure failed to reach, expanded by 1880. In an agreement with the Lorimer Hotel at Eighth and Bluff [[STREETS]], a small pump was placed in their basement. A wooden water tank was also constructed at Julien and Wilson avenues. When filled, this served the hill district and the homes below that level with adequate water. In 1891 city officials insisted on direct water pressure and better service from the water company. (6) | ||
The source of water became an underground lake estimated as having a length of 7,600 feet and a depth ranging from four to six feet. Lying in part beneath Bunker Hill Golf Course, the lake lies approximately 125 feet above the [[MISSISSIPPI RIVER]]. Reports were occasionally made that courageous explorers had canoed its length. | The source of water became an underground lake estimated as having a length of 7,600 feet and a depth ranging from four to six feet. Lying in part beneath Bunker Hill Golf Course, the lake lies approximately 125 feet above the [[MISSISSIPPI RIVER]]. Reports were occasionally made that courageous explorers had canoed its length. | ||
In 1898 the original stockholders sold the water works to another group of investors. ( | In 1898 the original stockholders sold the water works to another group of investors. (7) The same year the City Council decided it was time for municipal ownership of the water works and exercised its right granted by the franchise. The council originally proposed $150,000, an offer rejected by the water company which placed the value of their property at $815.00 (8) Believing their offer was justified, the council threatened to enforce the transfer and called in experts to make estimates of the plant. One expert quoted a value of $664,076 while another estimated the value at $799,767.75. (9) The city's experts averaged a price of $475,000. The matter was left to Judge [[SHIRAS, Oliver Perry|Oliver Perry SHIRAS]] to settle, but he was unable to arbitrate the issue. | ||
The final price was fixed at $545,000. ( | The final price was fixed at $545,000. (10) Since the city was already in debt over one million dollars, both men and women in the city were asked to vote whether this additional debt should be incurred. Women voted 275-33 for the purchase while the men voted 3,133 to 459 in favor. This was the first election in the city of Dubuque in which women were allowed to vote. (11) The plant was purchased, trustees were given charge of the work, and bonds were prepared. The question of the legality of the issue resulted in no bids for the bonds. Finally local banks and individuals purchased the bonds, but were allowed a mortgage on the plant, a definite funding tax, and payment of 4.5 percent. | ||
In 1905 an investigation of the water works management revealed that the books were in poor condition. ( | In 1905 an investigation of the water works management revealed that the books were in poor condition. (12) There was also a large debt approaching $49,000 for the purchase of all types of supplies. Charges were lodged against the trustees who resigned. The deficit was added to the city's regular bonded debt. This incident has been considered one of Dubuque's worst incidents of official malfeasance. (13) | ||
Starting in 1905, Dubuque began depending less and less on the springs located above [[LANGWORTHY HOLLOW]]. Wells were dug, new equipment was installed, and users were compelled to pay according to meter rates. ( | Starting in 1905, Dubuque began depending less and less on the springs located above [[LANGWORTHY HOLLOW]]. Wells were dug, new equipment was installed, and users were compelled to pay according to meter rates. (14) The [[EAGLE POINT]] water station became the focus of the water delivery system. There were two wells--1,308 feet and 1,310. (15) | ||
Use of spring water was finally discontinued completely in 1950 when the purity of the water began to vary considerably. Reservoirs off Kaufmann Avenue were maintained for emergency use only. Water continued to gush at a daily rate of approximately 400,000 gallons with excess flowing off through storm sewers. | Use of spring water was finally discontinued completely in 1950 when the purity of the water began to vary considerably. Reservoirs off Kaufmann Avenue were maintained for emergency use only. Water continued to gush at a daily rate of approximately 400,000 gallons with excess flowing off through storm sewers. | ||
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Dubuque later joined Muscatine as Iowa's only two Mississippi River cities with a population over ten thousand to use well, rather than river, water. Water has been collected from four shallow wells located between the Marina and the Mississippi. Deep-water wells, ranging from 1,500 to 1,800 feet in depth within a 1,500-foot radius of the Eagle Point treatment plant, are capable of supplying millions of gallons daily. [[Image:waterwell.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Well #6 June 30, 1935 dug near Eagle Point Park. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding]] | Dubuque later joined Muscatine as Iowa's only two Mississippi River cities with a population over ten thousand to use well, rather than river, water. Water has been collected from four shallow wells located between the Marina and the Mississippi. Deep-water wells, ranging from 1,500 to 1,800 feet in depth within a 1,500-foot radius of the Eagle Point treatment plant, are capable of supplying millions of gallons daily. [[Image:waterwell.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Well #6 June 30, 1935 dug near Eagle Point Park. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding]] | ||
In the 1920s the water department was again behind other civic developments. With the beginning of the city-manager form of government, a total of $650,000 was spent to improve water service. ( | In the 1920s the water department was again behind other civic developments. With the beginning of the city-manager form of government, a total of $650,000 was spent to improve water service. (16) Along with the reorganization of the fire department, the improved water department reduced the city's insurance rates by $675,000 annually. (17) The indebtedness of the water department was almost entirely eliminated by 1933 due to its own profits. (18) | ||
[[Image:imp391.jpg|right|thumb|450px|Eagle Point Treatment Plant and Pumping Station. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding]]Water from the pumping station was sent into storage tanks through more than 233 miles of mains as of January 1990. A "high" system supplied water to the hill areas, while a "low" system served downtown. In the 1950s an "intermediate" system was built to supply water to Eagle Point and the Windsor Avenue areas. The largest reservoir in Dubuque, with a capacity of over seven million gallons of water, is located at West Third and Birch. Dubuque's wells have been estimated to have the capacity of supplying enough water to supply a population of over one million people. | [[Image:imp391.jpg|right|thumb|450px|Eagle Point Treatment Plant and Pumping Station. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding]]Water from the pumping station was sent into storage tanks through more than 233 miles of mains as of January 1990. A "high" system supplied water to the hill areas, while a "low" system served downtown. In the 1950s an "intermediate" system was built to supply water to Eagle Point and the Windsor Avenue areas. The largest reservoir in Dubuque, with a capacity of over seven million gallons of water, is located at West Third and Birch. Dubuque's wells have been estimated to have the capacity of supplying enough water to supply a population of over one million people. | ||
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4. Ibid., p. 19 | 4. Ibid., p. 19 | ||
5. | 5. Ibid. | ||
6. " | 6. "History of Dubuque and Dubuque County," Telegraph Herald, Jan. 15. 1939, p. 5. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dtdBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BaoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5766,3140247&dq=dubuque+electric+company&hl=en | ||
7. | 7. "The Water Company Has Changed Hands," Nov. 24, 1898, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NzlBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0qgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1107,5454371&dq=dubuque+water+company&hl=en | ||
8. | 8. Oldt, p. 22 | ||
9. | 9. Ibid. | ||
10. " | 10. "Now It Is Up to the People," Dubuque Daily Herald, June 30, 1900, p. 7. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TxhBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cKgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3529,7930140&dq=dubuque+water+company&hl=en | ||
11. | 11. "History of Dubuque and Dubuque County." | ||
12. Ibid. | 12. Ibid. | ||
13. Ibid | 13. Ibid. | ||
14. Ibid | 14. Ibid | ||
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15. Ibid | 15. Ibid | ||
16. Ibid | 16. Ibid | ||
17. Ibid. | 17. Ibid. | ||
18. Ibid. | |||
Revision as of 17:53, 15 September 2013
WATER DEPARTMENT. Early residents of the city depended on private wells or cisterns. The first recorded effort to supply water came in 1838 when city officials ordered the digging of three wells for fire protection. In January, 1855, H. L. Stout and sixteen others, upon petition, were granted the exclusive privilege of supplying the city with water by water works. (1)
One of the things to which we wish to call the
attention of the city fathers is the fact that
most of the water which is supplied by the water
carriers of Dubuque to their customers is obtained
along the inner levee and at other most improper
places. (Express and Herald, May 31, 1856.) (2)
Prior to the CIVIL WAR, two barrels of water cost twenty cents delivered in town and thirty-five cents on the bluffs. A plan to pump river water into the city was stopped when its quality was unfavorably compared to the quality of local beer.
In 1864 a stock company called the Level and Lead Mining Company, was formed by Selah Chamberlain, Newton W. Kimball, Henry W.Clark, Randall J. Giggs, and J. W. Parker to blast a tunnel beneath a hill located between what is now Kaufmann Avenue and an area known as West Dubuque. The tunnel was planned to lower the water level of the region enough to allow increased MINING. The company was to be rewarded with 10 percent of the profits from all mines drained of water. A second company interested in tunneling was also established at this time with such local backers as Peter KIENE, Julius K. GRAVES, William Boyd ALLISON, Joseph A. RHOMBERG, D. N. COOLEY, and Richard A. BABBAGE. This company, however, gave up the project and disbanded on October 29, 1870.
In their unsuccessful attempt to construct the tunnel, the Chamberlain- Kimball company tapped a vein of water that flowed at an estimated daily rate of 500,000 gallons. Since the tunnel was approximately eighty feet above the level of downtown Dubuque the idea developed of operating a water company. Two years passed before the company finalized the idea of halting the waste of water by converting the torrent into a water works.
The city council gave the company the franchise to operate under the name of the Dubuque Water Company. The council retained a right to purchase the plant in twenty years at the expiration of the franchise. In August, 1866 the company was authorized by the council to lay pipes in the city. (3) The company was required to provide water by gravity pressure until increased consumption required pumping equipment.
In October, 1870, the water company was disbanded — had made a failure. Almost immediately afterward another water company was organized. Of the water company John Thompson was president; the company had a capital of $300,000. (4)
On July 31, 1871 the first water pipe in Iowa was laid between Main and Iowa on Seventh. (5) During 1871 cast-iron mains were laid in the north-south alleys by the waterworks company. A party was held on August 22, 1871, at which many of Dubuque's prominent businessmen journeyed through the tunnel inspecting the water supply. At this time the tunnel ran back under the present BUNKER HILL GOLF COURSE at a depth of one hundred eighty feet.
Demand for water in the hill districts, where gravity pressure failed to reach, expanded by 1880. In an agreement with the Lorimer Hotel at Eighth and Bluff STREETS, a small pump was placed in their basement. A wooden water tank was also constructed at Julien and Wilson avenues. When filled, this served the hill district and the homes below that level with adequate water. In 1891 city officials insisted on direct water pressure and better service from the water company. (6)
The source of water became an underground lake estimated as having a length of 7,600 feet and a depth ranging from four to six feet. Lying in part beneath Bunker Hill Golf Course, the lake lies approximately 125 feet above the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Reports were occasionally made that courageous explorers had canoed its length.
In 1898 the original stockholders sold the water works to another group of investors. (7) The same year the City Council decided it was time for municipal ownership of the water works and exercised its right granted by the franchise. The council originally proposed $150,000, an offer rejected by the water company which placed the value of their property at $815.00 (8) Believing their offer was justified, the council threatened to enforce the transfer and called in experts to make estimates of the plant. One expert quoted a value of $664,076 while another estimated the value at $799,767.75. (9) The city's experts averaged a price of $475,000. The matter was left to Judge Oliver Perry SHIRAS to settle, but he was unable to arbitrate the issue.
The final price was fixed at $545,000. (10) Since the city was already in debt over one million dollars, both men and women in the city were asked to vote whether this additional debt should be incurred. Women voted 275-33 for the purchase while the men voted 3,133 to 459 in favor. This was the first election in the city of Dubuque in which women were allowed to vote. (11) The plant was purchased, trustees were given charge of the work, and bonds were prepared. The question of the legality of the issue resulted in no bids for the bonds. Finally local banks and individuals purchased the bonds, but were allowed a mortgage on the plant, a definite funding tax, and payment of 4.5 percent.
In 1905 an investigation of the water works management revealed that the books were in poor condition. (12) There was also a large debt approaching $49,000 for the purchase of all types of supplies. Charges were lodged against the trustees who resigned. The deficit was added to the city's regular bonded debt. This incident has been considered one of Dubuque's worst incidents of official malfeasance. (13)
Starting in 1905, Dubuque began depending less and less on the springs located above LANGWORTHY HOLLOW. Wells were dug, new equipment was installed, and users were compelled to pay according to meter rates. (14) The EAGLE POINT water station became the focus of the water delivery system. There were two wells--1,308 feet and 1,310. (15)
Use of spring water was finally discontinued completely in 1950 when the purity of the water began to vary considerably. Reservoirs off Kaufmann Avenue were maintained for emergency use only. Water continued to gush at a daily rate of approximately 400,000 gallons with excess flowing off through storm sewers.
Dubuque later joined Muscatine as Iowa's only two Mississippi River cities with a population over ten thousand to use well, rather than river, water. Water has been collected from four shallow wells located between the Marina and the Mississippi. Deep-water wells, ranging from 1,500 to 1,800 feet in depth within a 1,500-foot radius of the Eagle Point treatment plant, are capable of supplying millions of gallons daily.
In the 1920s the water department was again behind other civic developments. With the beginning of the city-manager form of government, a total of $650,000 was spent to improve water service. (16) Along with the reorganization of the fire department, the improved water department reduced the city's insurance rates by $675,000 annually. (17) The indebtedness of the water department was almost entirely eliminated by 1933 due to its own profits. (18)
Water from the pumping station was sent into storage tanks through more than 233 miles of mains as of January 1990. A "high" system supplied water to the hill areas, while a "low" system served downtown. In the 1950s an "intermediate" system was built to supply water to Eagle Point and the Windsor Avenue areas. The largest reservoir in Dubuque, with a capacity of over seven million gallons of water, is located at West Third and Birch. Dubuque's wells have been estimated to have the capacity of supplying enough water to supply a population of over one million people.
During fiscal year 1989 the average daily water demand in Dubuque was 7.9 million gallons or approximately 132 gallons per person per day. During the drought of July 1989, demand averaged 11.8 million gallons for a six-day period. The highest monthly average 10.05 million gallons and the maximum daily demand both occurred in June 1958. Residential use accounted, during 1989, for 54 percent of the water pumped in Dubuque. Industrial use equaled 38 percent.
---
Source:
1. Oldt, Franklin T., History of Dubuque County Iowa. Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1880. http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/franklin-t-oldt/history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl/page-12-history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl.shtml
2. Ibid. p. 13
3. Ibid., p. 17
4. Ibid., p. 19
5. Ibid.
6. "History of Dubuque and Dubuque County," Telegraph Herald, Jan. 15. 1939, p. 5. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dtdBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BaoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5766,3140247&dq=dubuque+electric+company&hl=en
7. "The Water Company Has Changed Hands," Nov. 24, 1898, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NzlBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0qgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1107,5454371&dq=dubuque+water+company&hl=en
8. Oldt, p. 22
9. Ibid.
10. "Now It Is Up to the People," Dubuque Daily Herald, June 30, 1900, p. 7. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TxhBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cKgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3529,7930140&dq=dubuque+water+company&hl=en
11. "History of Dubuque and Dubuque County."
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid
15. Ibid
16. Ibid
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
