Documentary History of American Water-works

Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids was founded in 1826.

The first water system in Grand Rapids was built in 1848 by Canton Smith and Joseph J. Baxter, who installed pump logs bored by Lucius A. Thayer to distribute water from a spring. They petitioned the legislature for incorporation, and the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company was incorporated in 1849 by George Coggershall, Thomas Sinclair, Charles Shepard, Canton Smith and James M. Nelson "for the purpose of conducting a plentiful supply of pure, wholesome water to the said village, for the use of the inhabitants of said village, and to supply reservoirs for extinguishing of fires." The company expanded and rebuilt the system over time, but it was primarily for domestic use and competition from the city forced it into receivership in 1893, although the company survived.

After several serious fires, the city proposed to build its own water works, and on July 30, 1873 people voted 1,540 to 183 in favor of the proposal. The first part of the system was operating by the end of 1873, but was not fully operational until 1875. The city and the Hydraulic Company made several attempts to buy each others system. The state legislature revoked the charter of the Hydraulic Company in 1905, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1910. The city bought the system in March, 1919, but had failed to secure a favorable vote and the purchase was overturned. On April 5, 1920, a vote of 14,596 to 4,389 authorized the city to purchase the Hydraulic company's property for $30,000, which was its original capital.

Water is provided by the City of Grand Rapids.

References and Timeline
1849 An act to incorporate the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company. April 2, 1849.

1850 An act to amend an act to incorporate the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company. March 5, 1850.

1873 An act to authorize a board of Public Works in and for the city of Grand Rapids. March 22, 1873.
Sec. 13. Said board of public works is hereby authorized and empowered to cause the city of Grand Rapids and its inhabitants to be supplied with water.

1875 Report of the City Engineer, Grand Rapids, Mich. May 1st, 1875
Pages 26-74: Water Works
Pages 75-76: Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company, by Joseph Penney.

1881 Grand Rapids, Engineering News, 8:294 (July 23, 1881)

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

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

1889 An act to authorize the city of Grand Rapids to borrow money and issue its bonds to an amount not exceeding the sum of eighty thousand dollars, for the purpose of substituting iron for wooden pipe, erecting a standpipe, connecting the same with the pumping works, and otherwise improving the water works system of said city. March 22, 1889.

1889 An act to authorize the township board of the township of Grand Rapids. in the county of Kent, to establish and maintain a fire district within the limits of section twenty-nine, of said township, and to provide fire protection within the same. May 23, 1889.

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

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

1891 History of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, by Albert Baxter
Page 161: 1872. In June the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company made an offer to the city of its franchises and properties for $65,000, and in addition to put down a well to yeld 2,000,000 gallons of water daily. This proposition was referred to the Committee on Water Works, but the city did not buy.
1873. The Common Council, February 1, passed a resolution that a system of water works embodying the reservoir plan, with Grand River as a source of supply, be adopted as suitable and most reliable for supplying the city.
Peter Hogan, an engineer from Albany, N. Y., employed to investigate our water sources here, made a report to the Council, April 5, recommending the use of Carrier and Coldbrook Creeks, and accompanied his report with an elaborate plan for distributive pipes through the city, and an estimate of their cost.
July 30 the electors of the city adopted the proposed system of water supply and with it the proposition to raise the necessary funds by the issue of bonds to the amount of $250,000. The vote stood 1,540 in its favor to 183 opposed. In October and November the water mains were laid in Canal, Monroe and Bridge streets.
Page 162: 1864. The water system was tested on November 10, and proved efficient and satisfactory.
Page 165: 1886. October 11 the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company made a second offer to purchase the water works of the city, and to pay therefore $465,066.39; or to lease and perfect them at an annual rent of $25,000 for thirty years. The proposal was referred to a committee who reported it adversely to the Council.
Pages 206-213: Chapter XXIV. The Water Supply.

1895 Callahan v. Crow, Case on Appeal, New York Supreme Court, General Term - First Department. Briefs and exhibits for case involving bonds of the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company

1895 Callahan v. Crow, 91 Hun. 346, 36 NY Supp. 225, New York Supreme Court, General Term - First Department

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

1906 "The City Water Supply," from History of Grand Rapids and Its Industries, Volume 1, by Dwight Goss

1910 Calder v. Michigan, 218 U.S. 591, December 12, 1910

1915 "Hydraulic Co. Will Sell to City," Michigan Manufacturers and Financial Record, 15(13):28 (March 27, 1915)

1918 "Public Works, Buildings, etc.," Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First Settlement to the Present Time, Volume 1, by Ernest B. Fisher

1919 Schurtz v. City of Grand Rapids, 208 Mich. 510, 176 N. W. 421, December 23, 1919, Supreme Court of Michigan

1926 "Water Supply," from A Citizens' History of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Compiled and Edited by William J. Etten

2010 Public Health Reports 125(5):625 (September-October 2010)
A Message from the Editor, Laurence D. Reed, Captain, U.S. Public Health Service (Retired)
This year is a landmark for public health—the 65th anniversary of drinking-water fluoridation in the United States. On January 25, 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, added fluoride to its municipal water system, marking the beginning of community water fluoridation. Since then, Americans have benefited from this important public health intervention with its well-known effectiveness in preventing and controlling tooth decay and tooth loss, with each successive generation experiencing better dental health than the previous one. The benefits of fluoridation now reach more than 70% of the U.S. population served by community water systems.