Chapter CIX. amendatory of an Act entitled “An Act to provide for the Care and Preservation of the Works constructed by the United States for bringing the Potomac Water into the Cities of Washington and Georgetown, for the Supply of said Water for all Gover[n]mental Purposes, and for the Uses and Benefit of the
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Chap. CIX.— An Act amendatory of an Act entitled “An Act to provide for the Care and Preservation of the Works constructed by the United States for bringing the Potomac Water into the Cities of Washington and Georgetown, for the Supply of said Water for all Gover[n]mental Purposes, and for the Uses and Benefit of the Inhabitants of the said Cities."March 3, 1863. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That,1859, ch. 84.Vol. xi. p. 435.Corporation of Washington may levy, &c., water-tax. in addition to the powers conferred upon the corporation of Washington by the second and third sections of the act of Congress, approved March three, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, [entitled] “An act to provide for the care and preservation of the works constructed by the United States for bringing the Potomac water into the cities of Washington and Georgetown, for the supply of said water for all governmental purposes, and for the uses and benefit of the inhabitants of the said cities,” full power and authority are hereby given to the said corporation to levy and collect a water-tax on all real property within the corporate limits of the city of Washington which binds on or touches on any avenue, street, or alley in which a main water-pipe has been laid or hereafter may be laid by the United States or by the corporationTax to be uniform. of Washington, which water-tax shall be as nearly as possible equal and uniform; may be levied on lots in proportion to their frontage or their area, as the said corporation may determine; and may be collected in not lessHow levied and collected. than three nor more than five annual instalments, of which instalments all after the first shall bear interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, commencing from the date *of* [at] which the first instalment becomes due, but may, at the option of the owner of the property taxed, be paid and discharged in full at any time after it shall have been levied.
And the said corporation of Washington is further authorized and empowered, on petition of the owners of the majority of the real estate on any squareWater-pipes, fire-plugs, and public hydrants. or line of squares, to lay down water-pipes and erect fire-plugs and public hydrants wherever the same may be requisite and necessary for public convenience, security from fire, or for health. Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That,Fire-plug tax. to aid in the erection, maintenance, and efficiency of fire-plugs throughout the city, the said corporation of Washington is hereby authorized and empowered to levy and collect a special annual tax on all buildings within five hundred feet of any main water-pipe into which, or the premises connected therewith, the water has not been introduced, and the owners or occupants of which do not pay an annual water-rate or rent in accordance with the ordinances of the corporation, which tax shall be levied with reference to the value of the building so taxed, and shall be not more than five dollars nor less thanTHIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS.
Sess. III. Ch. 109, 110. 1863.805 one dollar per year; but whenever the water shall be introduced, in conformity with the corporation laws, into any building or premises, the fire-plugFire-plug tax. tax thereon shall cease; and whenever the water shall be discontinued from any building or premises into which it has been introduced, the said building shall be subject to the Fire-plug tax from the date of the discontinuance of the water. Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* ThatWater-tax, &c., to constitute a fund to defray cost of distribution of water. the water-tax hereby authorized to be levied and collected shall constitute a fund to be used exclusively to defray the cost of distribution of the water, including all necessary fixtures and machines connected with said distribution; and the annual water rates or rents authorized to be collected by the act of which this act is amendatory shall constitute a fund exclusively for the maintenance, management, and repair of the system of water distribution.
Approved, March 3, 1863.