96 MINIMUM RATE BASED ON FRONTAGE 



been directly adopted, the underlying principle of a service 

 charge substantial in amount and independent of the amount 

 of water drawn, as set forth in this report, is sound and has 

 received increasing recognition. 



In a large measure this report was the beginning of a rational 

 system of meter rates for water in America. 



Application of the Method. In a water-works system the 

 number of services ordinarily ranges from 50 to 200 per mile, 

 according to the size and density of population. Jordan, 

 Gray & Ulrich,* in collecting statistics from 108 American 

 systems in 1913, found 93 per mile. The last collection of 

 statistics by the New England Water Works Association, f 

 representing 44 systems, in the year 1914 shows 98 per mile. 

 The records of some fourteen systems that have been appraised 

 by the writer, and for which full statistics are available, show 

 an average of 108 services per mile. 



Taking into account that these reports represent systems all 

 over the country, the closeness with which the figures agree is 

 rather striking and indicates a normal figure of about 95 to 100 

 services per mile, or about 55 feet of main pipe for each service. 



The average size of pipe in the streets is seldom less than 

 6 inches and rarely more than 8 inches, and the cost of the dis- 

 tribution system to each service will lie somewhere between the 

 cost of 55 feet of 6-inch pipe and 55 feet of 8-inch pipe, with a 

 proportionate part for gates and all other auxiliary and special 

 costs of the system. 



In a general way the cost to the distribution system per 

 service at prices that prevailed up to 1916, may be taken as in 

 the neighborhood of $100. The annual cost, including interest, 

 depreciation and the maintenance of the distribution system, 

 depending upon many local conditions, would ordinarily be 

 between $6 and $10 per service, but with many figures outside 

 these limits. 



A part of the cost of this annual cost of distribution is ordi- 

 narily assigned to fire service, and the money representing 



* Proc. Am. W.W. Assn., 1914, p. 231. 



f Jour. N.E.W.W. Assn., Vol. XXIV, 1910, p. 440. 



