Until 1887 there was no central source of water for the people in the village of Lyons. Water for drinking purposes was obtained from private wells and cistern water was used for washing clothes and bathing. In August 1884, a franchise was granted Barton, Morgan & Reynolds to lay water mains through the streets of Lyons and establish a water system. However the company failed to comply with the regulations. So, in June 1886, a similar franchise was granted the Lyons Water Works Company, of which Cornelius J. Ryan was president. Other officers were John H. Camp, vice-president; DeWitt P. Foster, secretary; Alexander H. Towar, treasurer; and W. S. Parker, chief engineer. This private corporation was the first company to offer the village Lyons water from a central source, at a flat rate. In July of that year (1886), as reported in the Wayne Democratic Press, Mr. C. J. Ryan, president of the Lyons Water works company was in town for several days for the purpose of finding an unfailing supply of pure and wholesome water for Lyons’ citizens. Engineer Tubbs of the Rochester Water Company helped Ryan collect water samples from Mud Creek, Canandaigua Outlet, Clyde River, the springs on the Leach farm, the pond east of Cuddeback’s and other streams, for chemical analysis. The eight jars of water that were collected were sent to Prof. Lattimore, the celebrated chemist of Rochester, for testing. Professor Lattimore’s report indicated that the ponds in Junius (Seneca County), six miles south of Lyons, contained water that was as pure as water it could possibly be……..free from lime, vegetable matter and all harmful substances. Pond Brook, as the Junius ponds were called, consisted of five lakes that covered an area of 70 acres. The lakes were fed by innumerable soft water springs, and were 250 feet above the level of William Street, providing greater pressure than was actually needed. The water could be fed to Lyons by gravity, eliminating the need for pumping—and eliminating the cost that would go with it. However, the down side was that using Junius Pond as a water source would mean laying six miles of pipe. This would add an additional expense of $25,000 to the project. In the end, the lakes at Junius were not chosen as the water source. Instead, the Water Works maintained a pump station and filter bed off Layton Street, on the north branch of the Ganargua River--which served as the source of the water. The river water was led from a basin into a clearing-well, passed through a charcoal filter. Then Davidson pumps pumped the water up to the 50-feet high by 25-feet in diameter, uncovered cylindrical standpipe on nearby “Standpipe Hill” (also known as Sturges Hill). These pumps had the capacity to pump 2,000,000 gallons per day. The water next flowed by gravity into the village water mains that were 9.5 miles in length. The water pressure was 80 pounds and there was a fire pressure of 100 pounds that fed into the 50 fire hydrants. (FYI--There were 50 fire hydrants in 1904. This number would increase to 95 by 1912 and to 102 by 1916.) Grips, 1904; Engineers, 1912 From the beginning, this water was very hard, cloudy, contained much sediment and was considered unsatisfactory. Dr. Veeder, Lyons physician and former village and/or town health officer, declared that not only the town of Lyons, but also Newark, Palmyra, Macedon and even as far away as Bristol Hills, were all draining their pastures and outhouses into the Ganargua River. (Conditions, 1908) He claimed that cases of typhoid and dysentery were carried to the citizens of Lyons by the filth that was seeping into Ganargua Creek. (Conditions, 1908) Dr. Veeder strongly recommended that the people boil all drinking water for 10-15 minutes and let it stand in a stone jar until the lime and filth all settled out. To make the water taste a bit better, Dr. Veeder suggested that the citizens put the clear water into fruit jars, aerate it by shaking, and then cool the jarred water in ice chest or in the cellar before drinking it. Ironically, the Water Works Company joined Dr. Veeder in warning people to boil their drinking water. They took out ads in the local newspapers, telling people to boil their water for a full 20 minutes before drinking. Most people, to avoid the task of boiling the murky liquid that came to them from Ganargua Creek, just used their private well water for drinking purposes. In 1911, the editor of Lyons Republican, Charles Betts, was going full bore in his campaign to convince the Lyons readers that they needed a wholesome pure drinking water instead of the “wretched water supply” they had. (More, 1911) Betts wrote, “We have got to have decent, clean, civilized conditions in order to make Lyons a place to attract people here from other towns, and we have got to have pure water to drink in order to live here ourselves with any degree of safety or comfort.” (More, 1911) The Board contracted with Engineer William Hill, of Albany, to investigate the question of a new, pure water supply. Mr. Hill looked at a map or Lyons and the surrounding county and came to the conclusion that the most natural and available water supply for the village could be had just north of the village where two hills create a natural water-shed seven-tenths of a mile in size. He said that location was in close proximity to a hill that was 590 feet high and upon which could be constructed a reservoir ample for the supply of the inhabitants of this village. The watershed and reservoir would supply Lyons with 1,300,000 gallons of water per day, an amount that would serve a village twice the size of Lyons. The village would need to have a survey conducted to get an estimate of the cost of the construction of the dam and reservoir, etc. (State Expert, 1911) As if the water coming out of Ganargua Creek wasn’t bad enough, the construction of the new Barge Canal had lowered the level of the water in the river by several feet, which caused the intake pipe to project above the surface. When the pipe was hastily lowered, the pumps began to suck mud. The capacity was also deficient in quantity, providing only 200,000 gallons a day at the utmost. Others offered to help in the search to find pure and wholesome water. At a 1911 village board meeting, B. F. Lockwood said he could find water for the Village. He said that he would secure a sufficient supply of pure water for the needs of the village, and he would to it at his own expense. He submitted a proposition to the Board to that effect, which was accepted and then submitted to the people. The proposition contained a provision that Mr. Lockwood, if he found a sufficient quantity of good quality water to supply the needs of the village, was to be paid $4,000 for us trouble and expense. If he failed to secure the needed quantity of pure and, wholesome water, he was not to receive one single cent. The proposal was submitted to the taxpayers who promptly rejected it. (The Pure, 1913). After the people turned down Mr. Lockwood’s proposition, the Village Board was once again under pressure to do something about the intolerable water situation. In May 1912, a representative from the Buffalo firm, Witmer and Brown, presented this proposition to the Board. The firm was willing to find a supply of pure water for the village of Lyons at their own expense. However, there would charges for digging, wiring, pumping, and for any labor that needed to be hired. (In the end that would total about $2,000.) They would also give the Board an estimate of the cost of building a new water works system and also appraise the old water works plant. (Investigation, 1912) If the village decided to buy and improve the existing plant or build a new water works, a percentage of the purchase price would also go to the Buffalo firm. In an attempt to secure pure water, the first test wells were sunk in June 1912. Even though the well was more than 70 feet deep, the water was so small in quantity that digging was discontinued and the apparatus was moved to the western part of the village near Hemingway canning factory. (Untitled, 1912) With all this commotion and bad press going on, the folks at the Water Works were getting a tad nervous about losing their business. In an effort to placate their customers, the Water Works contracted W. S. Westfall of Rochester to sink their own wells. An additional nine wells would provide water that could be pumped from the wells in the reservoir instead of taking water from the creek. (Water, 1912) The Water Works also quickly rebuilt and repaired their pumps and then advertised that fact. The Engineers were done by November 1912, and reported back to the Village Board with their findings. First of all, they said that after drilling several wells in different areas, that they did find plenty of water. However……….it was all salt water. The engineers said the best water source was a stream of clear water in Junius, named Pond Brook. The water there flowed at a good rate and was of excellent quality. The engineers also shared two options regarding the water plant. If the Village decided to build a new water plant and pipe the water in from Pond Brook, they estimated it would cost $121,000. It would actually cost $7,000 more, for a total of $128,000 to take over and upgrade the existing water plant, extend the street mains and use Pond Brook as the supply. The engineers also submitted their appraisal of the water company’s property at $48,000. They stated that $8,000 could be saved on both plans by using iron banded wood stave pipe for the ten-inch force main from the pumping station on Pond Brook to the corporation line of the village instead of cast iron pipe. The good news was that the net revenue from the plant would be $7,285.00 a year after the interest on the bonds had been paid and after a fund was created sufficient to pay the whole cost of the plant in thirty years. The municipal water works and a sewerage system could be built and operated without any increase in taxes—something that surely would please the taxpayers. (Engineers, 1912) At the January 1913 Village Board meeting, a representative from the Water Company offered to sell the water plant to the Village for $50,000—just $2,000 more than the engineers’ appraisal. By February, Dr. Veeder had received from the State Department of Health at Albany the analysis of a sample of water taken from a tap of the Lyons Waterworks Company on January 29, 1913. In the remarks, the report said that “the water was very turbid (clouded with sediment), that it contained a moderate amount of undecomposed organic matter, the decomposition process was moderately active, the bacterial count high and fecal organism prevalent.” (State, 1913) Lyons Republican editor Charles Betts went nuts. By the end of the month Betts was behind a movement for all political parties to unite to make a patriotic fight to improve conditions in the village and run a slate of candidates in that November’s election on the “Citizen’s ticket.” The platform was acquiring “Pure water and decent sanitary conditions for the citizens of Lyons.” The party list was comprised of “men of character and ability, men with business training, men of sound judgment who will use their efforts to solve the problems which now confront the village.” The supporters? In Betts’ view, and in his words, it would be “every intelligent, honest, patriotic citizen of the community.” (The Battle, 1913) By May there was still no decision and they were still looking for water. Samples were taken and analyzed from the spring at Barge canal lock 28A, from a stream leading from Newton Pond, a third at some distance downstream and the last from the trout pond at Marbletown. The two locations in the running were Newton Pond and the lock, both rated “not bad.” (Village, 1913) The State Commissioner of Public Health made another analysis of the Lyons water on July 17, 1913 and compared with the bacteria levels in other towns. The results were published in the December 26, 1913 edition of the Lyons Republican. The amount of bacteria per c.c. was as follows: Glens Falls 350 Kingston 350 White Hall 450 East Worchester 1,300 Fonda 1,500 Junius Lakes 100 Lyons (present supply) 33,500 (Taxpayers’, 1913) In August 1913 the Board hired Professor Seerey of Cornell to inspect and test the local system, pipes, hydrants, and all equipment. (Important, 1913) As the date of the vote grew closer, rumors circulated that Junius pond water was impure, contaminated by Seneca Lake, which was condemned at the time. Proponents of a new water system argued that Seneca Lake was 56 feet lower than Junius Ponds and the dirty Seneca Lake water could hardly be flowing uphill to empty into the ponds. In consequence, the municipality finally paid the water company $48,000 for their old pipelines, and constructed the system of water supply, using Junius Ponds as a source. The public vote was held in December 1913. The four propositions were broken down as follows: 1—Shall - the village of Lyons, N. Y., purchase all of the property of the Lyons Water Works Company at a price not exceeding $45,000 and install extensions and a filtration system, using the present source of supply at an additional cost of not exceeding $50,000? 2—Shall the village of Lyons, N. Y., install a new water works system and filtration plant taking the supply from the Clyde River at a cost not exceeding $102,000? 3—Shall the village of Lyons, N. Y., purchase all of the property of the Lyons Water Works Company at a price not exceeding $45,000 and install extensions thereto, taking the supply from the Bostwick pond in Junius, N. Y., at an additional cost of not exceeding $95,000? 4—Shall the village of Lyons, N. Y., install a new water works system, taking the supply from the Bostwick ponds in the town of Junius, N. Y., at a cost of not exceeding $142,000? (Choose, 1913). The results of the voting was as follows: Proposition number 1 received 10 votes Proposition number 2 received 3 votes Proposition number 3 received 13 votes Proposition number 4 received 247 votes (about 10-1 in favor) Those who voted against all propositions numbered 25 After the vote, the Board submitted the number 4 proposition for final action. When talk began that the Village of Lyons might vote for a new water plant and a new supply of water, the Lyons Water Works Company threatened to sue. In response to that, editor Betts composed a lengthy article. Leaving no question as to his stand, the headline read, “Taxpayers’ Vote Tuesday Will Settle Water Question. Shall Lyons Have a Supply of Pure and Wholesome Water to Drink or Shall the Supply of Sewage be Continued—That’s the Question.” Of the pending litigation, he wrote in part, “This threat may fool and frighten some people, but it does not frighten us. The present water company was given its present franchise is with the distinct understanding and agreement that it was to furnish the people of Lyons with pure and wholesome water to drink…[The Water Company] has not kept its agreement with the people. We hold that the franchise is not worth the paper it is written on…” (The Threatened, 1913) On December 30, 1913, the taxpayers voted to appropriate the necessary money to construct a new water plant and secure a pure and wholesome supply of water from the Junius Lakes. (Taxpayers Vote, 1913) The final vote was as follows: Yes-35O; No-49; Blank-5. (Lyons, 1914) In February 1914, The Lyons Water Works Company offered to sell its plant and all its physical property and its franchise to the Village of Lyons for the sum of $25,000. (To, 1914) The proposition to purchase the Water Works for $25,000 was voted on in March 1914 and carried in a vote of 202 for to 62 against. The vote for districts was as follows: District #1 14 for, 8 against; District #2 116 for, 12 against; District #3 72 for, 42 against; Total: 202 for, 62 against (Taxpayers Vote to Buy, 1914) In 1918, the Municipal Water System was completed.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 16:04:34 +0000
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