| Introduction | Historical Background | Chronology | Geography | Biography | Technology | Ownership and Financing | General Bibliography |
| New England States | Maine | Saco |
Biddeford was incorporated as a city in 1855.
The city was supplied with water by the Pepperell Mills and/or Saco Water Power Company by 1873 for fire protection and perhaps other purposes.
The Biddeford and Saco Water Company was incorporated in 1881 and built a system that began service in 1885 by pumping water from the Saco River into a reservoir using water power.
The Biddeford and Saco Water Company was acquired by the Maine Water Company on December 10, 2012.
Water in Saco is
currently supplied by Maine Water,
which is a subsidiary of Connecticut Water Services, Inc.
References
1836 An act creating the Saco and
Biddeford Village Corporation, March 15, 1836.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That said Corporation is hereby invested
with the power ... for the construction of Reservoirs and Aqueducts for
the procuring of water.
1873 City
Documents, Inaugural Address of Hon. J.H. McMullan, Mayor of
Biddeford, and Municipal Register for the Year 1873
Page 20: There are now sixteen reservoirs and eleven hydrants from
which water can be procured in case of fire.
1881 An act to incorporate the Biddeford and Saco Water Company, March 12, 1881.
1882 Biddeford, from "The Water-Supply of Certain Cities and Towns of the United States," by Walter G. Elliot, C. E., Ph. D.
1883 An Act to amend chapter one hundred and twenty-four of the Private and Special Laws of the year eighteen hundred and eighty-one, entitled "An Act to incorporate the Biddeford and Saco Water Company." February 3, 1883.
1884 Engineering
News 11:177 (April 12, 1884)
Biddeford and Saco, Me., Water Power Company, has completed arrangements
with the Councils of those cities for the exclusive right to furnish water
for domestic, fire and general purposes. The works, which will be
completed by January 1, 1886, will consist of a pumping station. reservoir
capable of containing 12,000,000, and a distributing system throughout the
two cities. The water will be taken from the Saco River at a point about
two miles above the city of Biddeford. It is expected that the company
will expend about $175,000 upon the works this year. and that they will be
rapidly pushed to completion.
1885 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Biddeford, York County, Maine, March, 1885.
1887 Thirty-Second
Annual Reports of the City of Biddeford, for the Year Ending January
30, 1887.
Page 64-65: The old reservoir, on Birch street, owned and operated
so many years by the Saco Water Power Co., was, after notice, emptied,
cleansed and repaired, and it is believed that the water now furnished
therefrom is much purer for this work.
Pages 67-69: Contract between the City of Biddeford and Biddeford &
Saco Water Company, January 3, 1884.
1887 An act relating to the Biddeford and Saco Water Company, March 11, 1887.
1888 "Biddeford and Saco," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 1.
1890 "Biddeford and Saco," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 2.
1891 "Biddeford and Saco," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 3.
1894 Map of Saco and Biddeford. Shows reservoir on Birch street.
1897 "Biddeford and Saco," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 4.
1898 "Memorandum of Agreement between City of Biddford and Biddeford & Saco Water Co." December 20, 1898, includes copy of January 3, 1884 agreement. From Annual Reports of the City of Biddeford for the Fiscal Year ending January 31, 1910.
1916 Annual
Report of the Maine Public Utilities Commission
Page 341: Re Biddeford & Saco Water Co., and Pepperell
Manufacturing Co. Contracts for service at reduced rates. Denied.
1917 Percy R. Rich, et als, vs. Biddeford and Saco Water Company, F. C. No. 28, April 10, 1917, Maine Public Utilities Commission Report Includes a good history of the company and system.
1920 Re Complaint of Biddeford and Saco Water Company Against itself, F. C. 265, January 26, 1920. Report of the Public Utilities Commission of Maine.
1929 Pepperell Manufacturing fire insurance map
1946 Pepperell Manufacturing Company, Biddeford, Me. [insurance map]
Digital Commons @ UMaine, many annual reports for Saco and Biddeford
© 2016 Morris A. Pierce