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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 9 |
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| 1895 | 6 |
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53 stories matching waterwork
- The City Council’s Late-Night Ordeal over Waterworks
A stormy session of the Seattle City Council lasted until after midnight as members wrestled with the city waterworks contract and debated the appointment of a new sanitary officer.
- The City Lights and Waterworks Are Complete
North Yakima unveils a $176,000 infrastructure project intended to serve the city of the future.
- The Great Tacoma Water Grift
How a corrupt water monopoly swindled the city out of nearly $1.5 million for a tainted water supply, leaving residents with a decade of filth.
- The City Waterworks Scandal
Tacoma citizens call out a grand jury for failing to investigate alleged bribery in the million-dollar city waterworks purchase.
- Aberdeen’s $65,000 Waterworks Gamble
City fathers approve a bond election for a municipal water system—but only registered voters get a say.
- State Governor Rescues Tacoma Water Infrastructure
A last-minute bill from Governor Hay saves the city's waterworks project from financial collapse.
- Tacoma’s Poisoned Water
A local newspaper argues that the city's reliance on the polluted Clover Creek for drinking water is driving typhoid fever and threatening the lives of its residents.
- The Young Man Who Gave Port Townsend Water
While town officials debated for years, one enterprising citizen took matters into his own hands and built the city’s first private waterworks system.
- The Waterworks War: Engineering the Future of West Seattle
While the rest of the city struggled with water, West Seattle turned to subterranean springs to build a booming suburban dream.
- The Argument for a Public Pleasure Ground
Walla Walla's growing population needs a designated space for leisure and outdoor entertainment, and the paper proposes using water works revenue to fund it.
- Aberdeen’s Waterworks Funding Secured
A successful bond sale in Chicago saves the city $1,600 and moves the long-awaited municipal water project forward.
- Tacoma’s Public Works Board Accused of Coercing City Employees
Depositions before the city council allege that public works bosses used their power to make employees campaign for the waterworks purchase—and that the board paid too much for sewer pipe.
- Who Gets to Vote in the Primaries?
Seattle's corporation counsel says registration is not optional—even for party primaries—and that election judges cannot waive it.
- The Day Ellensburg Burned
A devastating fire leaves 12 city blocks in ruins, highlighting the catastrophic failure of the local water system.
- Firefighters Save Montesano from Total Destruction
A catastrophic fire nearly leveled the town's business district before new water mains were put to the ultimate test.
- The Suicide of H. A. Ray: A Seattle Man’s Tragic End Amidst Scandal and Debt
Prominent waterworks official takes his own life in Chicago after financial ruin and a complex romantic entanglement with a woman he claimed was his sister.
- The Battle for the Capital: Yakima vs. The Railroads
A fiery local editorial argues that Yakima, not Olympia, should be the state capital to break the corrupt influence of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The People’s Franchise: Seattle Votes Down Municipal Ownership of Streetcars
In a pivotal moment for the city's infrastructure, voters reject the Navin resolution to take control of street railways, cementing private corporate dominance over public transit.
- The Tacoma Waterworks Scandal
Citizens and the City Council expose a massive financial swindle involving a failing water plant purchase.
- Leavenworth's Flaming Cycle
For the third time in seven years, a massive fire tears through Leavenworth's business district, leaving town leaders to grapple with a lack of water, no fire department, and the question of how to rebuild from nothing.
- The Deadly Water at Clover Creek
For years, the city has ignored the dangerous, contaminated state of the municipal water supply, preferring half-measures over a permanent solution.
- Buy Our Waterworks, or We'll Sell You to a Syndicate
Tacoma's Light and Water Company files its inventory for a $1.75 million city buyout — and a critic notes that the company has always known how to win a Tacoma election.
- The Engineer Who Had the City by the Throat
In a bitter 1909 standoff over Seattle’s waterworks, engineer Benezet Williams accused city officials of squeezing him into submission after they canceled his contract. The advisory board’s final offer left him with little choice but to walk away.
- The 1892 Race for Seattle: A City in Construction
As Seattle geared up for the 1892 mayoral election, local candidates debated debt, expansion, and the 'moral' cleanup of the city while the railroad industry reshaped the landscape.
- 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.
Also about this, in other words
- The Water Wars of South Bend
A dispute over local water infrastructure ends with the arrest of a city contractor.
- The Pioneer of Seattle's Water Infrastructure
A small-scale windmill-powered pump has evolved into a sophisticated city-wide water works system, setting the stage for future cable cars.
- The Waterworks Breakdown
A comedy of errors at the Spring Hill pumping station leaves Seattle thirsty after engineers fall ill.
- City Moves to Solve Long-Standing Water Crisis
Walla Walla's City Council hires a Spokane engineer to secure the city’s future water supply, bypassing local land speculators.
- A Monument to Pullman Ingenuity
Washington State College students transform a massive boulder into a public water fountain at the Northern Pacific depot, marking a new chapter in town-gown cooperation.
- The Water Works Scandal
Ex-superintendent W. E. Wilson fights back against corruption allegations and his former board.
- Seattle’s Water Gamble: A Public Utility Success Story
While critics argued over bond debt and construction costs in 1891, the city's new water system proved to be an instant and lucrative revenue stream for the young municipality.
- The Machine Behind the Water Bonds
Tacoma laborers are being fired for speaking out against a water plant sale, while reformers fear an election rigged by saloon-bought votes.