The first Board of Directors were Daniel J. Morrell, President; Judge James Potts, Secretary; Howard T. Roberts, Treasurer; Jacob M. Campbell, Jacob Fend, John P. Pringle, Dr. John Lowman and George W. Osborne.

     Due to the flood of 1889, all records of the Johnstown Water company were lost except the General Ledger which limits the early history of the company. The year ending 1869 the capital stock issued was $122,848. The bonded indebtedness amounted to $63,000. Since that time the capital stock issued was increased to $375,000. Bonds were issued at different times but at the present all have been retired.

     The source of supply first selected to furnish water to the original five boroughs and vicinity was Laurel Run and Wild Cat Creeks. A pipe line was laid from the above sources consisting of 16-inch, 12- inch and 10-inch pipe, a distance of 18,000 feet to the intersection of Main and Market Street at which point a fire plug was installed. On July 4, 1868 the fire hydrant was opened and, surprisingly to many citizens, water flowed very freely from the same. Many citizens were under the impression that water from Wild Cat and Laurel Run would not flow uphill even though the elevation of the sources of supply were considerably higher than the elevation of the fire plug at the intersection of Main and Market Streets. This was the inauguration of the first public water supply for Johnstown. The impounding reservoir on Laurel Run was completed in 1869, the capacity of which was 9,000,000 gallons. It might be well to mention at this time that General Jacob M. Campbell, a member of the Board of Directors, was the first consumer of water from the Johnstown Water Company. His residence was located where the Presbyterian Church now stands at the intersection of Walnut and Lincoln Streets.

     Within a very few years the supply of water from Laurel Run Dam and Wild Cat Intake proved inadequate and it was necessary to augment this supply from another source. In 1877 a dam was constructed on the Little Conemaugh River a short distance above what is now known as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's No. 6 bridge. A 20-inch pipe line, 25,550 feet long was laid from this source to the Cambria Blast Furnaces. This source of supply was used mostly for industrial purposes.

     As the requirements increased for industrial purposes it was necessary to increase the supply for domestic purposes about the same time due to the expansion of the mills and the increase in the population. A site to augment the domestic supply was selected on St. Clair Run formerly called Mill Run. In 1879 the St. Clair Reservoir was constructed with a capacity of 15,000,000 gallons. A 12-inch supply main, 17,800 feet long, was laid from this source to Main and Walnut Streets. The water from St. Clair Reservoir was turned into the general system in October 1879.

     The Borough of Prospect which adjoins the Cambria Plant was considerable higher in elevation than could be supplied from the gravity system. In order to furnish water service to the Cambria Iron Company houses, the necessary distribution system, a pumping station and tank, was installed during the year 1880. In 1892 it was necessary to construct a tank on a higher elevation to serve consumers above the elevation of the first tank constructed.

     The increase in population continued and during the dry seasons the existing supplies were not sufficient. To offset this increase in demand for water, Millcreek Reservoir No. 1 with a capacity of 32,000,000 gallons was completed in 1884 and during the year 1887-1888 an intake was constructed on the Stonycreek River at Border and a 36- inch pipe line laid to that territory now known as Ferndale Borough where it connected with the 20-inch Millcreek pipe line. The supply from the Border Intake was more than sufficient than the amount of water required to supply the consumers but due to the size of the Millcreek line which extended into Johnstown, the 36-inch pipe line was constructed from Ferndale into Johnstown in order to obtain more water from the Border Intake which was available. The total length of the 36-inch pipe line laid from the intake to the Cambria Works was 41,334 feet.

     Due to the pollution of the Little Conemaugh River and the Stonycreek River these sources of supply and the pipe lines were leased to the Manufacturers Water Company in 1900 for industrial purposes.

    In order to augment the domestic supply due to the loss of the waters of the Little Conemaugh River and the Stonycreek River it was necessary to increase the supply for several different sources. The first additional supply was the construction of the Millcreek Reservoir No. 2 in 1898-1900 with a capacity of 96,000,000 gallons. Water from this source was first supplied in 1899. The population of Johnstown in 1890 was 21,805.

     The Cambria Iron Company, during the year 1890, began the development of Westmont Borough. Due to the elevation of this territory it was necessary to construct a pumping station and tank with the necessary pipe lines in order to serve this section. On account of the inaccessibility of Westmont an incline was built about the same year for the convenience of the people who were building homes in the new residential section.

     The next source of supply was developed on Dalton Run. A dam was constructed with a capacity of 132,000,000 gallons during the period of 1901-1905 and a 16-inch and 20-inch pipe line laid a distance of 17,110 feet from this source and connected with the 20-inch Millcreek pipe line at Benscreek.

     Even with these two additional supplies there was not sufficient water stored in order to furnish the necessary supply during the summer months. In the year 1908 all reservoirs of the Johnstown Water were empty by October 31st. It was during this year that the Roxbury pumping system was installed. The population of the city of Johnstown and vicinity increased from 35,936 to 55,482 in 1910.

     Due to the great increase in population it was necessary to increase the supply from Saltlick Creek. The construction of the dam was started in 1909 and completed in 1914. The capacity of this reservoir is 813,000,000 gallons.

     During this period it was necessary to abandon the original Laurel Run Dam in 1910 and extend a 24-inch pipe line and construct an intake at a point farther up Laurel Run Creek.

     In 1912 an intake was constructed on the North Fork of Benscreek, and a 24-inch pipe line laid from this source to the intersection with Dalton Run pipe line.

     Although the Johnstown Water Company had increased its sources of supply as the population increased, it was very apparent that meters should be installed on all consumers in order to reduce the waste of water. This resolution was passed by the Board of Directors during the year 1912.

     The following year an intake was constructed on Red Run, a tributary to Laurel Run Creek which flowed into Laurel Run reservoir No.1. In 1914 the original intake of Wild Cat was abandoned and an intake constructed at a higher elevation due to the elevation of the new intake constructed on Laurel Run Creek.

     After the Saltlick Reservoir was placed in service the construction of Laurel Run Reservoir No. 2 was started. This dam was completed during the year 1918 with a capacity of 101,000,000 gallons.

     In the meantime the city and vicinity continued to expand and many people built on higher levels which could not be supplied directly from the gravity system. In order to furnish service the Dale pumping system was built in 1915 and the Morrellville pumping system during the year 1919.

     In 1917 the Johnstown Water Company purchased the Conemaugh & Franklin Water Company. Due to the population of the Conemaugh & Franklin's water supply, their dams were abandoned and arrangements were made to purchase water from the parent company. The purchase of this company made an additional demand on the amount of water to be supplied from our reservoirs.

     During the decade from 1910 to 1920 additional supplies had been acquired and the system was extended considerably. The population of the city of Johnstown during this period increased from 55,482 to 67,327.

     In the year 1922 the severest drought on record occurred. It was necessary to restrict the use of water from July 16th to January 2, 1923. In addition to restricting the use of water, the supply was augmented from the Manufacturers Water Company Hinckston Run and Quemahoning Reservoirs.

     Immediately after the drought of 1922 the Company considered the construction of a reservoir on the North Fork of Benscreek. During the year 1924 a survey was made in order to construct new roads above the elevation of the proposed reservoir. It was necessary to acquire permits to change the location of the roads and after doing so the construction of the same was started the same year. Also test pits were excavated to inspect the underlying ground in order to determine the depth it was necessary to excavate below the valley floor to construct the core wall. The construction of the reservoir was delayed several years until the new roads had been completed.

     The first water flowed over the North Fork spillway on January 23, 1933. The construction of this reservoir augmented the storage supply 1,110,000,000 gallons which practically doubled the amount of storage of all other reservoirs belonging to the Johnstown Water Company.

     The installation of meters for all consumers was completed during the year 1930 which reduced the amount of waste water by flat rate consumers. This reduction of water wasted and the construction of the North Fork Reservoir has placed the Company in a position that it can furnish an adequate supply of water to its consumers at all times. According to the records which we have on hand, it is the first time in the history of the company that the supply is greater than the demand.

     The Johnstown Water company supplies the city of Johnstown, all adjacent boroughs except Daisytown and numerous consumers in the various townships. The population of Johnstown, according to the 1940 census, is 66,610. The total population served, including consumers served by the Conemaugh & Franklin but excluding the consumers in the different townships is 88,583. The total number of consumers served is 20,548. The average amount of water delivered a day is about 10,000,000 gallons.

     The supplies from our reservoirs were first treated with chloride of lime in the fall of 1910. Today the water from each source of supply is treated with the most modern automatic chlorinating machines. Bacteriological tests are made daily of the raw water and also the treated water. At the beginning of the year there were 182 miles of pipe lines. The company owns 9,400 acres of watershed lands, part of which over a period of years, has been reforested by planting 922,000 seedling pine trees.