The Water Famine on Kenton Hill
Residents get water only about three hours a day while Seattle’s two council houses argue over pumps, sprinkling schedules and fire hose.
The story, cleaned up
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Seattle’s two council houses met late into the night over the water famine on Kenton Hill and Pontius Addition. A petition signed by Maurice McMicken and twenty other residents complained that for about a month the service had been so poor they could hardly get enough water for cooking and table use. They asked for enough water for closets and bath tubs to prevent disease, and said that if relief could not be given they wanted to know so they could move to better-watered neighborhoods.
Superintendent Andrew Jackson told the aldermen that the Broadway station pumped twenty-four hours a day and that the district had given trouble every year. He blamed inadequate mains and wasteful residents who left sprinkling hydrants running all night, saying more than 1,000,000 gallons left the tank daily and he could not tell where it went. In the House of Delegates, Attorney Powell of Chestnut Street said Kenton Hill residents could depend on water only about three hours a day. Delegate Voigt urged limiting lawn sprinkling to set hours and alternating districts; a committee recommended a new high-pressure service from Lake Washington and abandoning the Broadway station.
The aldermen passed a resolution restricting irrigation in the Broadway district on alternate days. The House amended it to cover the entire city; the aldermen rejected the amendment, and the water famine was no nearer an end. The council also tangled over fire hose, ultimately rejecting Paragon hose from the order after complaints about prices and a letter from Butte, Montana, showing Paragon had been offered there for less than Seattle was asked to pay.
“The residents can only depend upon the water supply about three hours out of a day. If relief is not given sickness will follow.”
In 1894 Seattle’s growth was outrunning its water mains, and residents on the high ground were told to cut back sprinkling while the city argued over pumps and pipes. The same pattern—fast growth, unequal infrastructure, and neighbors threatening to move—still shapes Seattle’s debates over water, density and public services.
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