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Uvas overflowed its banks, sweeping
through the west side of town. Between
Sixth and Seventh Streets, a foot or
more of water stood in spots, seeping
into homes and stores at the south end
of town. Railroad tracks buckled and
fences washed away. The new flume
under construction at the Uvas Dam
was destroyed.
Construction was back on target
by March, 1872. That month, the
Common Council (later renamed the
City Council) enacted City Ordinance
Number 5, giving the Gilroy Water
Company a 25-year contract to supply
“good and pure” water to the towns-
people. The new reservoir was finished
by the end of summer. Plans included
shade trees around its perimeter and a
boat for locals to enjoy paddling about
or fishing in its waters.
The Gilroy Water Company sup-
plied the community, the cemetery, and
farms with an adequate water supply
for about twelve years. Then in August,
1882, testing revealed that the water was
unfit for consumption. The company
was served notice and ordered to either
correct the situation, or the city would
assume control over the operation.
Initially it had been assumed that
Gilroy’s average use of 76 gallons per
person per day was adequate and that
there was more than ample supply for
the 2,000 residents. A drought in 1881-
82 exacerbated the unsanitary water
problems. The Uvas Creek dried up and
despite the installation of additional city
cisterns, the town’s fire hydrants were
made useless. Accordingly, the City
stepped in, pumped in water to refill the
reservoir, and negotiated to purchase the
operation from the water company.
Nearly fifteen years later, an 1896
Santa Clara promotional book called the
purchase “a grand system,” and lauded
Gilroy’s purchase of the public water-
works as “a wise stroke of policy.”
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