Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 9 · column 3 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
and maintenance of the water works.
Ra p'pa h a n n oc k Count v ’s only municipal water works is the Washington Water Works. It came into being in 1935. According to “Blue Ridge Guide" news items, in mid-February 1935, county citizens were in a bitter contest, tinged with politics, on whether the county should execute a bond issue to secure a Depression-era Public Works Administration <PWA) allocation of $25,000 to install a water system in the town of Washington.
By late March, the town ‘ voted for the water system. It began obtaining rights-of-way and readying construction bids. A water flow of 95,000 gallons per day was tested in May, and by July, over 30 local men had laid two miles of pipe from springs west of town to the reservoir located about a mile from the town.
By December 1930. the system was up and running after almost insurmountable obstacles.
Unfortunately, on Aug. 22, 1936, the new reservoir ran dry due to drought conditions. A time of troubles followed. Water works revenues could not meet the principle and interest payments on the bonds and the works went into receivership. By the 1950s, the bondholders were ignoring Town requests for
59.9%