Downtown Johnstown

Greater Johnstown Water Authority History Johnstown, Pennsylvania

The Greater Johnstown Water Authority was incorporated under the Pennsylvania Municipality Authorities Act in 1964 by the City of Johnstown and Boroughs of Westmont and Southmont as a joint Municipal Authority. The Greater Johnstown Water Authority acquired all of the assets of the Johnstown Water Company and the Saltlick Water Company.

The Johnstown Water Company had provided water to the inhabitants of the Johnstown area since its creation by a special Act of Assembly in 1866. The water company had since its inception, a strong link with the growing steel industry. The principal organizer of the Johnstown Water Company was Charles Morell, founder of the Cambria Iron Company.  In 1929 the Bethlehem Steel Co. acquired most of the shares in the water company turning it into a subsidiary for all practical intents and purposes. The 1964 acquisition culminated 52 years of bargaining by public officials to put ownership of this most valuable local resource into the hands of the public.

Historical documents provided by Charles Kunkle Jr.

• Review of the Johnstown Water Company system in 1900 by a Philadelphia consultant for the Cambria Steel Company.;
• Brief Facts relative to the water supply of the Cambria Steel Company (estimated date - 1920);
• Historical data of the Johnstown Water Company and the Manufacturers Water Company (1941). Prepared for the Bethlehem Steel Company in anticipation of a possible sale of the Company;
• Water Supply of Johnstown (condensation prepared in 1956 for a speech);
• Officers of the Johnstown Water Company;
• History of the Johnstown Water Company, 1963 - was prepared by Ann Wolfe, daughter of Cambria County Judge David Wolfe, shortly before the sale of the assets of the Johnstown Water Company to the Greater Johnstown Water Authority. Ann Wolfe was a college student hired in the summer of 1963 for the express purpose of preparing this history. It is by far the most detailed of the historical collections, although not complete in itself.

The booklet was set up in 10 parts: History of the Johnstown Water Company
• Charter and Organization
• Sources of Supply
• Acquisition of other Water Companies by JWCo
• Management (1928 Bethlehem Steel Takeover)
• Water Quality, Treatment and Service
• Rate Cases
• Pumping System of JWCo
• Other Physical Property of JWCo
• Johnstown Water Company Today (1963)
• Proposed Acquisition of the Johnstown Water Company by the Greater Johnstown Water Authority