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City Water and Light history
City Water and Light company history timeline
On the same day, the clerk of the committee was instructed to notify Morris Brothers and Christensen “the committee (would) deliver $20,000 worth of bonds on June 1, 1906,” making a total issue (up to that time) of $30,000.
On 4 November, 1907, an election was held in which voters adopted an amendment in section 71 of McMinnville’s charter, allowing for the creation of a Water Commission.
Approval regarding the issuance of 1908 series Water and Light Bonds was given in early April of 1908 and the Mayor was authorized to execute and countersign them.
During 1908, the old electric plant, located near the North Yamhill River, was still generating electricity through steam power and using wood as fuel.
An estimate of probable expenses in the sum of $35,389.51, and probable income in the same amount were recorded during the Commission’s last meeting of 1908.
A warrant was issued to the Pelton Water Wheel Company towards the purchase of a water wheel with a 220 foot head, for the new hydro-electric plant on March 1, 1909.
In mid-June an advertisement, calling for bids on $30,000 worth of 1909 series Water and Lights Bonds, was ordered to be placed in the local papers.
Taylor, T.U., The Austin Dam, UT Austin, 1910.
In January of 1911 the Commission consisted of Commissioners Wortman, Hodson, Converse and Perry with Leroy Lewis presiding as chairman.
The Commission, seeking to explore every avenue, agreed in late January 1911 to go to Oregon City and investigate the filtering plant there.
Getting Here: Building CWLP In 1911, Springfield residents voted to change the city's form of government.
After several attempts to start this process, a partner was finally chosen for this project in 1912, and the company began construction almost immediately.
Early in 1912, the Commission accepted the $13,220.10 bid of Dennis and Christensen for completion of the new water main from the Yamhill River according to plans and specifications.
By January of 1914, more electrical service was needed for additions to the city and the Commission received several requests for extending service outward from the current service area.
While the structure itself was completed, it was again damaged by a flood in 1915, this time because of defective floodgates.
In 1915 the Commission, still searching for a better water source, became convinced that Haskins Creek could provide McMinnville with a clean and dependable water supply.
Mead, Daniel Webster, Report on the dam and water power development at Austin, Texas, Madison, WI, Mead & Seastone, Consulting Engineers, November 1917.
The contact for the 1917 series Water and Light Bonds was awarded to Security Savings and Trust Company, of Portland, at an interest rate of five percent per annum, payable semi-annually.
After becoming superintendent, he “supervised the laying of (a) major portion of the pipe lines” that now connect city water mains with the Haskins Creek impounding dam, which was built in the mid-1920s.
Since Miller Dam, completed in 1940, is built at the site of the original dam, the challenges the fault line posed were not insurmountable.
The dam’s power was shared by Austin and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) until 1980. It was not until Tom Miller Dam was completed in 1940 that Austin’s dream of reliable hydroelectric power was realized.
A water tower was built on Walnut Street in 1945, enabling storage of one million gallons of water.
A Unified Power System is Formed within the City of SeattleIn 1951, Seattle voters approved buy-out of the privately owned competitors' Seattle territory.
Brewer, Anita, “Joseph Nalle: Man of Controversy,” Austin American Statesman, June 21, 1960.
In 1960, a new wastewater treatment plant was constructed in Jonesboro.
In 1961, CWL constructed a 161,000-volt line to Water Valley near Pocahontas, which is approximately 38 miles from Jonesboro, and made a tie to the Southwestern Power Administration system.
All CWLP coal fired plants have modern pollution control technologies and CWLP was one of the first utilities in the country to employ flue gas desulfurization technology with construction of its Dallman 3 scrubber in 1980.
In 1984 after Marion Ulmer's retirement, James A. Reed, an electrical engineer was promoted to Manager.
So, the City of Columbia stepped in and bought the railroad in October 1987.
The CWL Board of Directors authorized the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in southeast Jonesboro that was funded entirely by reserve funds of CWL's and placed in service in the fall of 1987.
In 1989, a major annexation to Jonesboro occurred and approximately 3,600 new electric customers were acquired from Craighead Electric Cooperative Corporation.
In July of 1990, CWL purchased approximately 1,800 water customers from the Shady Park system located along the north half of Jonesboro.
Major additions and renovations to the general office building were completed in 1992.
Jones, James T., Nalle, July 1994.
He has worked for the utility since 1994, beginning as an Electrical Engineer, and has worked his way up through the utility in project management in various environmental compliance, expansion and upgrade projects.
Upon Jim Reed's retirement, Ronald L. Bowen also an engineer was promoted to Manager of CWL on December 31, 1995.
He has worked for the utility since December of 1995, beginning as an Engineer.
In 1996, CWL purchased an additional 84 MW of generating capacity in the Independence coal plant for 38 million dollars.
The water system could not meet a peak demand of even 1 million gallons a day (less than half of 1% of Austin’s all-time historic high in 2001). Water was frequently unfit for consumption because of mud caused by river rises.
On March 3, 2003, City Water and Light merged with Rural Water Service, Inc. (RWS). The merger allowed CWL to serve 3,800 RWS customers in the areas to the north, east and west of the Jonesboro city limits.
Number of commercial computers – Estimate of commercial computers, 64.8 million, from United States Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, ” Office Buildings, End-Use Equipment,” Commercial Energy Consumption Survey, 2003.
2 Residential Toilets – Estimate of 223 million in United States in 2007 from United States Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense program X percentage of United States population in Austin service area.
Clothes washers – Total number of 93.2 million from United States Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Appliances in United States Homes, By Housing Unit Type, 2009, Table HC3.1. (Hereafter referred to as RECS.)
CWLP's newest coal-fired plant, Dallman 4—completed in 2009—has some of the most advanced air pollution controls of any plant in the United States and has won accolades from engineering and environmental groups alike.
In July 2010, CWL laboratory personnel moved into a newly remodeled and expanded laboratory facility at the Eastside Wastewater Treatment Plant located at 5205 Ingels Road.
Peak electric load: 277 MW (August 2, 2011)
Peak water use day: 25.3 million gallons (July 25, 2012)
State property from State of Texas and University of Texas property documented in Robbins, Paul, Public Profit for the Public Good, Austin, TX: Public Citizen, 2012.
Construction of the Farville Substation began in spring of 2013.
The project was completed in September 2014.
In 2014, CWLP won top honors in the Source Water Protection–Large System Category from the Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association for developing and implementing exemplary source water protection programs for Lake Springfield.
Renewable energy for 2015: Renewable energy total was 80,796 megawatt hours or 6.82% of the electric portfolio.
Deborah Williams joined CWLP as Regulatory Affairs Director in December 2016.
City Water and Light’s Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Survey (SSES) Committee was formed in 2016 to provide oversight of CWL’s collection system basin studies and to further the development of the overall sewer system.
Average daily pumping rate: 12.7 million gallons (2016)
Upgrades to the East Side Wastewater Treatment Plant began in July 2018.
Design of the Chapel Substation and transmission power line began in January 2019.
CWL began construction in March 2020 to replace this lift station in order to increase its capacity and to address electrical and piping equipment that are well over 40 years old and approaching the end of their useful life.
The project was completed in April 2020.
Land was purchased in September 2020 which will serve as the site for the solar generating facility.
The project is expected to be completed mid-2021.
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