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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1904 | 13 |
| 1909 | 9 |
22 stories matching pump
- South Tacoma’s Water Crisis
A broken pumping station leaves local residents drinking from Clover Creek instead of the city's new wells.
- The Crumbling Pump House
A report to the City Council reveals the city's water infrastructure is near total mechanical collapse.
- Tacoma’s Water Infrastructure on the Brink
A surprise inspection reveals crumbling pumping stations and a mounting $1,000 repair bill just to keep the city's water flowing.
- The Dispute Over the Pumping Station Trees
A landowner battles the city's light department after linemen clear-cut trees for a new high-tension line.
- The Political Price of Water
A South Tacoma pumping station breakdown exposes how patronage hiring led to an industrial disaster.
- Turning the Chain-Gang Toward Thrift
A city commissioner rejects expensive wood bids for the pumping station, proposing to employ the chain-gang instead.
- Tacoma Refuses to Pay Water Contractors—and Keeps Building
The city council rejects more than $22,000 in damages from contractors cut out of the Maplewood Springs project, then votes for a new South Tacoma-to-West End pipeline, reservoir and pumping station.
- City's Broken Promises Over Water Infrastructure
Contractors are suing Tacoma for thousands after the city abandoned plans for the Maplewood Springs pumping station in favor of new, less efficient well projects.
- Tacoma’s Water Crisis: Livestock and Ducks Contaminating the City's Supply
While citizens face water shortages and lawn sprinkling bans, city officials grapple with a public health dilemma where contaminated surface water is routinely mixed with pure well water.
- City Leaders Hike the South Tacoma Woods to Scout New Wells
After a soaking walk through the forest, city officials and contractors consider a new strategy for Tacoma’s water future.
- The Dredger Pacific Resurfaces
A industrial mishap in the Sound leads to a dramatic recovery of a sunken dredger.
- The Expansion on the Waterfront
A major industrial investment signals the growth of Tacoma’s industrial waterfront in 1904.
- City Declares War on Drip-Happy Residents Amid Water Famine
Facing record low pressure, the water department threatens fines for citizens who let faucets run to prevent freezing pipes.
- The Unfiltered Reality of Tacoma’s Water
An exposé reveals that the city's water supply flume runs through backyards and cesspools, gathering filth before reaching the tap.
- Disaster in the City Waterway
A massive $179,000 dredger sinks overnight, blocking the main channel after a pipe failure.
- Tacoma’s Growing Pains: A City Parched
Citizens demand answers as reservoir delays and equipment failures leave South End neighborhoods with dwindling water pressure.
- Industrial Tragedy at the Far West Lumber Camp
A young laborer is crushed to death by a falling boiler at an Electron construction site.
- The Fight for Tacoma’s Taps
As the city council hunts for a reliable water source, aggressive machinery lobbyists swarm City Hall, complicating the push for clean, deep-well water.
- The False Solution to Homelessness
A radical critique of the 1909 railroad industry's plan to solve unemployment by mass imprisonment.
- The Cabin Shootout: A Violent Encounter in the Woods
A standoff between a local traveler, a 10-year-old boy, and law enforcement leaves one man dead and another wounded in a remote cabin near Puyallup.
- Tacoma Votes to Take the Power Back
Mayor Linck urges a city-owned plant as Tacoma goes to the polls against the private power monopoly.
- Tacoma's Water War Ends in a $22,000 Bill
Contractors say the city's political turnaround on Maplewood Springs left them unable to build—and now they want damages.