| Introduction | Historical Background | Chronology | Geography | Biography | Technology | Ownership and Financing | General Bibliography |
| North
Central States |
Ohio | Toledo |
Toledo was incorporated as a city in 1836.
The city council originally chose a Holly water system, but the engineer hired by the water commissioners recommended that a standpipe system be used. After some heated discussion, a special commission appointed to investigate the various water works systems. The commission traveled over 3,000 miles in 13 states over 23 days, and recommended a standpipe system with Worthington pumps, which was adopted and delivered water on December 19, 1873. A standpipe was added the following year and the system was demonstrated in June, 1875.
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| Toledo Water Works and Standpipe, built 1873/4 |
The original system included a filter, which was not satisfactory and abandoned after about a year. The city built a new filtration plant that began service in February, 1910.
Water is supplied by the city of Toledo, which has a history page.
References
1872 "Water Works," The
Evening Gazette (Terre Haute, Indiana), March 28, 1872, Pages
2 & 3.
The Holly Water Works. Valuable statistics and reports from cities
that have them in use. From the Toledo Blade.
1872 "Toledo
Water-Works," North American and United States Gazette
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), December 16, 1872, Page 3.
Proposals for engines and cast-iron water pipes
1873 Toledo Water Works : report of Moses Lane, January 13, 1873
1873 Water works reports from special committee of citizens and water works trustees to the city council of Toledo : submitted March 31st, 1873.
1873 Reports of the Toledo trustees of water works and opinions by hydraulic engineers as to the merits of various systems of water supply., includes Water works reports from special committee of citizens and water works trustees to the city council of Toledo : submitted March 31st, 1873.
1873 "Toledo's
Water Works," The Minneapolis Tribune, April 2, 1873, page
1.
The long contest in this city between the friends of the holly water works
and the standard pipe system has been ended by the city council repealing
its order for the former and adopting the latter, the pipe to be 250 feet
high, and the entire works to cost $685,000.
1873 The
Elyria Democrat (Elyria, Ohio), May 28, 1873, Page 2.
H.R. Worthington, of New York, was on Wednesday awarded a contract by the
Toledo Water Works Trustees, for furnishing the water works with two
Worthington duplex engines with boilers and other appurtenances.
Also for boiler capacity sufficient to drive an engine for pumping into
the filtering beds. The engines will have a pumping capacity of
5,000,000 gal. per day, (24 hours) and the price is $105,000.
1873 "Wanted
- 500 Laborers," Chicago
Daily Tribune, September 1, 1873, Page 7.
on Toledo Water Works; steady employment at $2 per day; pay every Monday;
board cheap.
1874 "A
Titanic Task," Detroit Free Press, October 9, 1874, Page 4.
The Immense Standpipe for the Toledo Water Works Successfully Elevated.
The pipe has a perpendicular height of 205 feet, and is twenty-four feet
in diameter. Its weight is 64,000 pounds, and when full will exert a
pressure all over the city of 103 pounds per square foot.
1874 "Tallest
in the World," Weekly Toledo Blade, October 15, 1874, Page
2.
Which Means our Stand-Pipe, of Course.
1875 The
Star (Cincinnati, Ohio), June 1, 1875, Page 1.
A satisfactory test of the Toledo water-works took place yesterday
afternoon, witnessed by a large crowd.
1877 "The
Water Question," Daily Free Press and Times (Burlington,
Vermont), August 11, 1877, Page 3.
Description of Toledo water filter.
1881 "A
Defaulter Heard From," Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1881, Page
2.
C. A. Reimensnyder, defaulting Secretary of the Toledo Water Works.
1881 Toledo, from Engineering News 8:305 (July 30, 1881)
1881 Ninth Annual Report of the Water Works Board, including Secretary and Superintendent's Reports to the Toledo Common Council, for the year ending December 31, 1881. | another copy |
1882 Toledo
from "The Water-Supply of Certain Cities and Towns of the United States,"
by Walter G. Elliot, C. E., Ph. D.
1885 The
Municipal Code of the City of Toledo: Comprising the General
Ordinances and Special Ordinances of General Interest, Together with
an Appendix, Containing the Rules and Regulations of the Board of
Aldermen, the Board of Councilmen, and the Board of Water Works, and
Other Matters of Public Interest
Pages 260-261: Chapter XLIV. Water Works.
Pages 563-577: By-Laws and Regulations for the Management and
Protction of the Toledo Water Works.
Pages 577-581: Tariff of Water Rates.
1888 History
of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, by Clark
Waggoner
Pages 566-571: Water Supply
1888 "Toledo,"
from Manual of American Water Works,
Volume 1.
1890 "Toledo," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 2.
1891 "Toledo," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 3.
1895 Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Trustees of the Toledo Water Works for the period extending from December 31, 1893 to March 31, 1895 | also here |
1897 "Toledo," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 4.
1902 The Report of the Engineering Commission, Appointed by Water Works Trustees of the City of Toledo, Ohio: To Report Upon Improved Water Supply, December 20, 1902.
1910 Memoirs
of Lucas County and the City of Toledo: From the Earliest Historical
Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical
Record of Representative Families, Volume 1, by Harvey
Scribner
Pages 243-246: Water Works
1918 "Toledo's City-Owned Public Utility," The Toledo City Journal 3(22):282-283 (June 1, 1918)
1937 Toledo, Ohio: Report on Water Works Improvements, by Burns & McDonnell
1941 "Cement Lining of Water Mains at Toledo, Ohio," by George N. Schoonmaker, Journal of the American Water Works Association 33(10):1682-1692 (October, 1941)
1962 "Toledo," from Public Water Supplies of the 100 Largest Cities in the United States, 1962, US Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 1812, by Charles Norman Durfor and Edith Becker
© 2018 Morris A. Pierce