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Gene Owen figures he's doing his job as long as everybody takes him for granted.
"We cannot fail to give service," said the president of Utility Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary Baton Rouge Water Company. "There can never be any question in the minds of our customers that when they turn their faucets, their water will be there."
Two entrepreneurs from Iowa formed Baton Rouge Water Works' predecessor company in 1888 and contracted with the city to build its first water system. Six miles of six-inch pipe were laid through downtown Baton Rouge, 75 fire hydrants were installed and a 100,000-gallon, wrought-iron storage tank was built near present-day Lafayette Park. The tank is still standing (although it is not used), and at least portions of the original pipeline are still in the system.
Water was initially drawn from the Mississippi River, but when that quickly proved unpopular the company began tapping Baton Rouge's abundant supply of ground water.
These days the Baton Rouge Water Works and its sister company, Parish Water Works, still rely on a series of six aquifers lying underneath the city for its water supply. Sixty-five wells throughout the northern portions of the parish pump the more than...