on waterworks. Allen moved to sustain the veto of the mayor and a lively discussion followed. Eventually the council unanimously voted to support the mayor. But not for the same reasons. Some hoped to kill the new works while others wanted to pass a new ordinance. No sooner was the question decided than various members spoke in favor of taking up the second proposition immediately. Allen jumped to his feet and pronounced his views on the waterworks system. He lambasted the council for not taking the issue a step at a time but instead hearing bids from Tiernan before deciding what it really wanted. If a new waterworks was desired, Allen stated, the council should either decide for the city to own its own works, or advertise for new bids. Instead, Allen claimed, certain members were trying to railroad something that had not been systematically studied.
This prompted Tiernan to request a chance to speak. And upon being given the chance he turned on Allen. Tiernan exclaimed that he had not rushed matters, but had taken his proposition to some members of the council before submitting it. He did not go to Allen, he protested, because Allen "was a sort of a crank and would oppose anything in the council." (City Council Minutes).
Allen retorted that he would want to examine any proposition such a man as Tiernan would submit before voting for it. The Eagle described this occasion, "About this time things were assuming interest and it was noticed that some faces displayed all the colors of the rainbow and the perspiration took a new spurt and made one think of a summer shower." (Eagle, 7/17/1886).
Once things cooled off a bit the motion was made by Richey, prompted by Tiernan, to submit the proposition to the Judiciary Committee. Despite Allen's protest that the Waterworks Committee should get it, which was not kindly received, the motion passed 7 to 2, Allen and Charles Hoff voting no. Once again, a final decision had been delayed.
The next week saw continued debate throughout the city over the proposed waterworks. Many businessmen supported it, while others opposed it. An editorial in the Eagle supported Allen's position and the mayor's veto, while endorsing the concept of the city owning its own works. Finally, on July 26, 1886, the issue came up for a final vote. In what the Daily Beacon termed "undoubtedly one of the most exciting meetings ever held by the City Council," the chambers were packed with standing room only crowds. (Beacon, 7/27/1886). After a period of routine business passed, Carey, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, rose to address the body. All conversation stopped to allow them to hear what he had to say. He asked that a vote be taken at once on the ordinance, although the other two members, Stone and C.C. Chivington, felt more time was needed. Healy seconded Carey's motion, which passed, and an immediate vote was taken on the ordinance, section by section. The first section, 4 to 4, a tie vote: Ayes; Carey, Richey, Charles Kenyon and Brown; Nays; Healy, Hoff, Chivington and Stone. The second section received the same results, 4 to 4. The new waterworks proposal lost, after all that time, on a tie vote in the council.
The issue of whether the city should own its own works would not be acted upon fully until over 70 years later.
With all of the fireworks concerning the capabilities and inefficiencies of the waterworks company, its time was limited. A few months later, city officials agreed with the owners that the old pumping station and wells located at Riverview and Elm streets near the Little Arkansas were inadequate. Subsequently, the stockholders of the Wichita Water Company sold the entire plant to the American Water Works and Guarantee Company, Ltd., of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. The new company purchased a majority of the capital stock for $34,500 and assumed all outstanding liabilities, closing the deal on November 18, 1886.
With the growing demands of the expanding midwest city, the old company just had not been able to meet its needs. The new owners promised to fulfill these needs.
The American Waterworks Company owned and operated waterworks in 19 cities, and at the time was purchasing and constructing works at the rate of two or three per month. It was a large, systematic organization with subsidiaries sending weekly reports to the parent office. With millions of capital in backing, all improvements were made with its own capital rather than bonds.
The company promised to overhaul and reconstruct the entire plant, building a new engine and pump house, installing new pumping machinery, covering the walls and redoing parking and ornamenting of the grounds.
In addition, the company assured the city it would begin laying iron mains in the spring to replace the old wooden ones. The National Tube Works was a large stockholder of the company and therefore furnished its orders without delay.
W.S. Kuhn, secretary of the American Water Works Company, acted as the agent in purchasing the Wichita waterworks. He informed the city that four miles of additional iron mains would be ordered, heavier pumps and machinery would replace the old plant, and that the entire system would be rearranged in two directions to safeguard against accidents. The Eagle claimed the original businessmen had fully met the obligations and extraordinary demands made upon them, even though they "were more or less embarrassed." And they felt assured that "Wichita will now and speedily have the best and most effective system of water works of any city in the state -- a system worthy of the foremost city of Kansas." (Eagle, 11/18/1886).
Throughout 1887, the company worked on improvements in the system. Along with 12 miles of pipe already ordered, the management bought a complete system of Hyatt filters which would, according to the Beacon on February 1, 1887, "render the quality of the water supplied as clear and sweet as the brightest spring water, thus removing all cause for complaint such as our city experienced last year." Although with hindsight, the water would seem of poor quality and taste, a significant service was being provided to the 25,000 inhabitants of the "Queen City of the Arkansas Valley." On April 18, 1887, the company was given the right to build a bridge across the river to the island at Central Avenue, the location of the new water plant. Part of the island, owned by Tim and Mary Lane, had been sold to the company on March 29 in order to construct the new works. Originally called Lane Island, it was later referred to as Waterworks Island. The remainder of the land was conveyed to the company on July 24, 1896. Eventually, the north side of the channel was filled in by accretion and joined to the mainland in the early 1900's. Today the Water Department, Cowtown, and the Mid- America All-Indian Center stand where the island used to be. (Ellington Report, 5/21/1980).
On January 23, 1888, Ordinance 509 required the use of power pumps instead of standpipes to propel the water through the mains. By April of 1888, the new system’s major improvements had been completed and on April 11, Superintendent Frank C. Amsbary led the City Council’s tour of the new station. The day was pouring rain as the councilmen were taken in hacks from the company's office on North Market Street to the site.
Located near the center of the island, the new waterworks station was a one-story brick building, fifty feet square, with a smoke stack 40 feet high. On the west side of the building were seventy-two four-inch diameter drive wells, each 35 feet deep. At a depth of 22 feet, the wells pierced a vein of impervious clay eight feet thick under which lay gravel saturated with water. The main suction line connected with the drive wells produced 5,000,000 gallons per day.
Two duplex water pumps with a capacity of 3,000,000 gallons and a Dean pump capable of 1,000,000 gallons supplied the station. In the building, two electric bells were connected to the telephone, which rang until disconnected when an alarm sounded. This alarm signaled the need for an increase in water pressure. Unfortunately, the ordinary telephone wire of the time was frequently unable to carry the signal to the station.
The company had over 22 miles of mains in place with 151 fire plugs in the city. An average of a half million gallons of water was pumped each day, and during warm weather one million gallons a day were used.
The Hyatt filters, about which the paper had raved, were actually never used. It was intended to take water from the river and run it through the filters, as the drive wells were not expected to provide sufficient supply. As it turned out, that was not the case. Over $150,000 was spent on continued improvements to meet the growing needs of the city, including the addition of two more boilers and two pumps with three million gallons per day capacity. Mayor Allen proclaimed his delight with the water, saying it was much better than that received from the old station, and believed it the finest found in any city.
The new enterprise achieved the desires of the city to a significant extent by utilizing the resources of an experienced and large company. However, problems occurred as the company expanded. With the continued growth of the city, conflict arose between desire for water in the new areas and the company's reluctance to expand too rapidly. This culminated in the formation of a rival water company and the beginning of another major controversy.
On June 25, 1888, councilman Joseph Stover introduced Ordinance 558, establishing the Fairmount Waterworks Company in the territory east of Chisholm Creek and north of 13th Street, and in the city's Fairmount Addition. It was a 20-year franchise, outlining changes in hydrant fees, and a provision for the city to purchase the company any time after five years. The purchase aspect brought an objection from Mayor Allen. To buy the works, he wanted independent appraisers to determine the price and believed that, since the franchise was being given to the company, the city should not be compelled to pay a large fee for its return later.
Supporters included a Mr. Douglas, representing the company, who told the council that residents in the Fairmount Addition and in the northeast part of the city had failed to get the Wichita Water Company to