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CITY OF DUBOIS Page 177
section of the Borough was reached by water mains. The Borough
immediately commenced a system of expansion and continued to extend
the mains until every house in the city had water. In addition to
this, extensions were made in Sandy Township by which a very large
number of inhabitants of the adjoining sections of the City are
supplied with water.
It is interesting to note the progress in the water
system. In the report made by the City about the first of January,
1931, it is shown that the number of fire hydrants in the City are
210. At $15.00 per hydrant this would mean an annual outlay of
$7150.00. If we took the average between 46 hydrants in 1897 and 210
in 1931, a period of 14 years, the Borough has saved its taxpayers
$128,450.00. In addition to that there has been no limit to the
quantity of water used for public purposes. It must be kept in mind
that with a liberal Public Service Commission in the State of
Pennsylvania, the water rates would now be very materially increased
and it is very likely that the hydrants for which the Borough
contracted at $15.00 each would have been increased to at least
$50.00 by 1931.
The records show that on the 31st. of January, 1931,
the total investment in the water plant is $560,724.14; deducting
the $61,500 which the Borough paid in the original investment, it
leaves the investment made since that date of $499,224.14. The sum
of $61,500.00 can be counted as lost. Every foot of wood pipe had to
be replaced by cast iron pipe. It was found that the leakage from
the wood pipe had become so great that nearly half the water between
the reservoir and the consumer was lost. The boasted reservoir,
holding a million and a half gallons would have been of very little
use. The facts are that a few years ago the city put in a storage
reservoir within the limits of the City, holding four millions of
gallons. The reservoir on Anderson Creek has been raised and more
than doubled the volume of water at the completion of the original
reservoir.
The number of consumers in January, 1931, were 3,027,
of which 2755 are residences, 233 commercial, public 6 and 33
manufacturing. The total amount of water consumed in 1930 was
223,584,300 or over 600,000 gallons per day.
In addition to the above, there were used by the Fire
Department, public schools, swimming pool, for flushing streets and
sewers and other donations, approximately 24,000,000 gallons in
1930. Had this Water Company continued, the city would have had to
pay for the furnishing of the public schools and its own consumption
and probably would have been limited as to the flushing of sewers
and cleaning of streets.
The gross revenues for the year 1930 was $44,809.68. If
we were to add to this revenue $7350.00 for hydrant rental, as well
as a large amount of revenue annually for the water to the schools
and consumed by the City, it would have probably run over
$60,000.00.
The water rate has been consistently maintained at a
minimum
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