Municipal water’s humble beginnings started 134 years ago
It’s easy to take clean water for granted. Today in Waterloo Region, we simply open a tap and get what we need. But the roots of this reliable water system we enjoy started way back in the late 1800s. It’s been 134 years since municipalities here in our community first supplied water for residents. Back then, a public water system was an innovative idea!
Before the idea of a “public waterworks system,” water in this area was managed and protected for centuries by local indigenous peoples. Traditional knowledge and teachings helped preserve drinking water and healthy rivers and lakes for future generations. Local indigenous people still honour water’s vital importance and work to protect it; one example is the Grand River Water Walk.
You can read these histories of municipal water in more detail, along with historical photos on the I Am Groundwater blog:
- The story of Cambridge’s first water system
- The story of Kitchener’s first water system
- The story of Waterloo’s first water system
1890: Galt leads the way
The town of Galt (now part of Cambridge) was the first to create a public waterworks in 1890. One important reason was to make firefighting easier. The town of about 7,000 people built its water pumping station on Middleton Street. Although next to the Grand River, it wasn’t river water being pumped; the Grand’s flow wasn’t reliable enough and was also polluted at the time from nearby garment factories. Instead water came from nearby springs.
In 1895, the source switched to groundwater from newly-drilled wells. The Middleton Pumping Station has changed and grown, but is still in operation today, 134 years later!
1899: Berlin moves from pondwater to groundwater
Back in the 19th century, Kitchener was known as Berlin. It was a booming community that needed a water solution. Like Galt, fire protection was a top motivation. That first water supply plant was built near Shoemaker Pond to deliver water to the residents of Berlin. The site is now Lakeside Park in Kitchener, at Homer Watson and Stirling Ave. But back then this was countryside, without a home in sight!
For about a year, a private company ran the plant. Water quality from the pond wasn’t very good, though, and the citizens of Berlin weren’t happy. They soon voted for a new municipally-owned water works, and the Berlin Water Commission was created in 1898 and to take charge.
In 1899, the new commission drilled 10 new wells to provide about 4.5 million litres of groundwater each day. New facilities were added over the decades, evolving this site into the Greenbrook Treatment Plant that still operates today. Look closely and you can spot remnants of the old water supply plant foundation near the pond.
1899: Waterloo builds on William Street
Meanwhile, the town of Waterloo – with a population of less than 3,000 – also decided to go with a private company at first rather than create their own waterworks. From 1889 to 1899, the town bought its water from their neighbours at the Berlin Waterworks company.
The poor water coming from the Berlin pond prompted Waterloo to take a new approach, and in 1899 the town spent $40,000 to build its own William Street Pumping Station and drill three drinking water wells. During those early days, the chief operator lived in a home behind the pumping station so they could quickly fix problems and keep the station running.
The William Street Pumping Station is still in Uptown Waterloo, near King and William Streets. Learn more about this historic landmark in this video:
In 1973, water supply and treatment became the responsibility of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Today, we operate over 120 wells that supply roughly 75 per cent of our community’s water supply. The rest comes from the Grand River, through the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant. The Middleton Water Pumping Station, Greenbrook Water Treatment Plant, and the William Street Pumping Station are just a few of the sites the Region operates to ensure we all have clean water.
