Documentary History of American Water-works

Ansonia

Ansonia, Connecticut

Ansonia was incorporated as a borough in 1864 and as a city in 1893.

The Ansonia Water Company was incorporated in 1864 by J. H. Bartholomew, George P. Cowles, D. W. Plumb, Thomas Wallace, Jr., Charles Durand, Robert Hoadley, Abm. Hubbell, Willet Bradley, William B. Bristol, and E. Peck "for the purpose of supplying the village of Ansonia, and vicinity, with an abundant supply of pure water, for public and domestic use." This company built a gravity system that began operating in 1869 using cement-lined wrought-iron pipe.

The Fountain Water Company was formed in 1872 to serve West Ansonia and built a gravity system that began operating that same year. The Fountain Water Company was incorporated in 1879 by Josiah M. Colburn, Lewis Hotchkiss, H. M. Jackson, Frederick Holbrook, Charles C. Jackson, Jacob A. Fisk, and Nathan S. Johnson "for the purpose of furnishing the inhabitants of that portion of said town of Derby lying west of the Naugatuck river with an abundant supply of water and ice for public and domestic use." This company built a gravity system that began operation on December 6, 1872 using cement-lined wrought-iron pipe.

The stock of the Fountain Water Company was acquired by the Ansonia Water Company in February, 1925, on a share for share basis and was merged with the Ansonia Water Company on December 31, 1926.

The Birmingham Water Company merged into the Ansonia Water Company on January 1, 1972, which was renamed the Ansonia Derby Water Company. This company was renamed Birmingham Utilities, Inc. on July 16, 1993. The Ansonia Division of Birmingham Utilities was sold to the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority on January 16, 2008.

Water is provided by the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority,

References
1864 Incorporating the Ansonia Water Company. July 9, 1864.

1869 Providence Evening Press, November 26, 1869, Page 4.
The Ansonia Water Company seems to have trouble with the bursting of their main pipe, so that frequent annoyance is occasioned among the families in town. It is thought that the pipes are not heavy enough for the great pressure of 370 feet, said to be the heaviest north of Louisville, Ky.

1879 Incorporating the Fountain Water Company. March 11, 1879.

1880 The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880: With Biographies and Genealogies, by Samuel Orcutt and Ambrose Beardsley
Page 433: Ansonia borough. The borough is well supplied with water from a distance with sufficient fall to extinguish fires. It was procured at great expense by the Ansonia Water Company, whose officers are: president, Thomas Wallace; secretary and treasurer, Dana Bartholomew ; directors, J. H. Bartholomew, Thomas Wallace, Geo. P. Cowles, Wm. R. Slade, Robert Hoadley, A. Hubbell, E. Bartlett, D. Bartholomew, Wm. Wallace.
Ansonia is well protected from fire, having a good supply of water.

1882 Ansonia, from "The Water-Supply of Certain Cities and Towns of the United States," by Walter G. Elliot, C. E., Ph. D.

1884 "Ansonia's Ruinous Flood," New Haven Register, March 27, 1884, Page 2.

1886 Ansonia, from Engineering News 15:252 (April 17, 1886)

1888 "Ansonia," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 1.

1890 "Ansonia," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 2.

1891 "Ansonia," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 3.

1897 "Ansonia," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 4.

1909 Amending the charter of the Ansonia Water Company. July 26, 1909.

1925 "Two Ansonia Water Companies May Join," Hartford Courant, March 10, 1925, Page 2.
Ansonia Water Company to buy Fountain Water Company for $75,000.

1999 Ansonia, by Derby Historical Society
Page 54: The Fountain Water Company was organized in 1872 to provide water to West Ansonia. It merged with the Ansonia Water Company in 1926.