The Water Works Water-Pump Fiasco
Public officials scrambled to hide that the new city water pump was 'pounding' and breaking down, just as citizens were losing faith in the entire system.
The frequent denials that anything was wrong with the Holly pump at the Lake Washington station have been met with grim irony by the bursting of a 'cap' on the gate at the lake end of the main. The accident in itself was not serious, but it led to the discovery that one part of the compound pump is in such bad condition that an expert engineer from Lockport, N.Y., may be required. Even when committee members reported 'all's well,' the pump was pounding, a fact known to officials. Mr. J.M. Colman, who has been examining the pump, refused to comment, and the public has largely lost confidence in the management of the water system. Commissioner Van Brocklin claimed the bursting was due to strain while using only one pump for examination, but admitted, 'It is a puzzle what causes the pounding.' The Pacific Insurance Union has wired agents to appoint a committee to examine the water works, citing the urgent need for a reserve pump.
“The result is that the public has entirely lost confidence in the management of the water system.”
Public infrastructure projects in Seattle have long been fraught with technical challenges and political cover-ups. The struggle to maintain reliable water service for a growing population in 1893 mirrors the modern-day anxieties surrounding major civic projects and the public's growing mistrust of municipal mismanagement.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.