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17 <br /> INTRODUCTION <br /> "January 5, 1778 —Br. Triebel and Strehle went today to the English settlement to <br /> cut logs suitable for water pipes". (Neilson, 35) In December of the same year the <br /> Village of Salem installed 332 wooden rods of water pipes, costing over $2,000.00. The <br /> average citizen of Salem was expected to help with the upkeep of this system by paying 9 <br /> pence per 4 weeks, regardless of how much water they used. As the town grew, so did <br /> the demand on water, which resulted in the need for better pipes. <br /> In the book, A Historical Account of the Water Supply Systems of Salem and <br /> Winston 1752 to 1913, these are numerous diary entries that illustrate the quality of pipes <br /> during that time. One entry reads, "May 31, 1791... President Washington visited out <br /> water works and gave his approval of them and the service it gives". (Phillips, 7) <br /> Although the water system worked, there were problems. The major problem was the <br /> short ground life the wooden logs had, which resulted in leaks and the lack of water <br /> pressure or the delivery of water at all. By 1806, Br. Crist suggested that clay pipes <br /> should be used to replace the wooden ones. There is evidence that clay pipes were used <br /> but an extensive replacement program did not occur at that time. (Phillips, 8) <br /> In 1828, a Committee was established to examine the water shortage and how <br /> water could be distributed more effectively. The committee's report, "proposed to use <br /> the free spring at Br. Theodore Shulz water-works leading the water to his line and Br. <br /> Benzion's bottom garden and there the water can be taken in a direct line to a point in <br /> front of the house of Theod. Shulz, the highest place in town, and can from there be <br /> distributed. Iron pipes to be used from the wheel to the cistern" (Note: a cistern is an <br /> artificial reservoir for storing liquids, especially water). (Phillips 9) <br /> This brief look into the earliest form of public utilities management for the local <br /> community gives some insight into what officials of the City of Winston-Salem and <br /> Forsyth County faced in the 1970's when considering consolidation of the County's and <br /> City's Water System. Like the early citizens of Salem, City and County officials both <br /> wanted to serve their communities well in service and in cost, and so the seed of a <br /> consolidated system was sown in Forsyth County in the late 1960's. <br /> 3 <br />