Research


Scope and Content Note

This series consists of two questionnaires compiled by the State Water Supply Commission in accordance with Chapter 723 of the Laws of 1905. The first questionnaire describes in detail the water supply and distribution for each respondent community while, the second covers questions concerning sewage disposal systems. The statute specifically directed the Water Supply Commission to conduct an investigation and report to the legislature "the respective purity and quantity" of the state's water supply as well as "the present dispositions of sewage of each municipal corporation." In order to carry out its mandate, the commission formulated a series of questions that were distributed to forty-five cities, 438 incorporated villages, 215 private water companies, and approximately 1,000 towns statewide.

The first questionnaire contains sixty questions regarding water supply and distribution and the second questionnaire forty-two questions regarding sewage disposal systems. Detailed information pertaining to water quantity, quality, and municipal construction and operating costs as well as demographic information can be found. Some of the types of questions found in the questionnaire include: what is the source of the water supply; is the water subjected to a purification process; if so, what type of process and how much did it cost; what is the capacity of the reservoirs; what population is included in the municipality for 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1905; and what is the annual death rate from typhoid fever per 1000 inhabitants?

The commission received detailed replies from the majority of cities and larger towns and villages. In most cases, the rate of response drops in proportion to the size of the community. A summary of the survey results is available in the "First Annual Report of the State Water Supply Commission," published in 1906.

In addition to the completed questionnaires, approximately one third of the files contain supplementary materials which include some but, not necessarily all of the following items: correspondence between municipalities or municipal water companies and the Water Supply Commission regarding completion of the questionnaires; maps, submitted along with the questionnaires, indicating the location and type of water source employed by each municipality; plans depicting sewage disposal systems; and pamphlets describing municipal rules, regulations, and rates for water usage.