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DOI 10.60531/INSIGHTOUT.2024.2.10| DENK: LIGHTS AND SHADOWS_ INSIGHTOUT 2(2024) 73 the care of its fountains and wells, and an argument was also made that the planned construction of the district hospital was contingent on a modern water supply. In the end, a majority of councillors approved the continuation of the work. 20 Major discussions on this project then ceased for some time and were resumed only after the coun­cil meeting in January 1935, when, on the recom­mendation of the State Construction Authority in Brno, a competition was announced for the imple­mentation of the intended project. 21 The best bid was submitted by the Emil Káš company from Brno for CSK1,127,691.80. After a lengthy discussion, the company was also awarded the contract for carry­ing out the water supply connections for houses for CSK208.250. 22 Construction work finally began on 20 June 1935. 23 At the same time, the entrepreneur undertook to employ local craftsmen and labourers and to obser­ve the forty-hour working week. 24 A large part of the project had already been com­pleted by the end of 1935, by which time most of the buildings in the town were connected to the water supply. Rules regarding tap fees were also approved. It was decided to levy a general water charge, whe­reby everyone had to pay a certain amount whether they were connected to the water supply or not. The price was also based on the number of rooms that could be connected to the water supply. The price was determined according to the actual consumpti­on where water meters had already been installed. 25 However, the main construction was not completed until August 1936, when the water supply was han­ded over for temporary use. 26 Work on it continued in the following years, for example in connection with the construction of the hospital or the growth of the town – the building of new housing developments. 27 The aqueduct was officially approved as late as 19 April 1940. 28 However, the capacity of the water supply system was already showing a deficit around 1939, espe­cially after its connection to the newly established district hospital, when austerity measures had to be taken. The crisis was then exacerbated by the severe drought of 1942, when the yield of the springs from which the water supply was drawn dropped signifi­cantly. The population hoped for autumn and winter rainfall, but it did not come at the expected inten­sity and there were great fears of a catastrophe or even a natural disaster in the town. Drinking water was then again drawn from the town’s wells, and the operation of the hospital was also threatened. It was not until December 1943 that the water supply was reinforced with water from the spring in Vávra Mea­dow near Pohledka. 29 20 SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto, 218/211, Book of minutes of the meetings of the municipal council 1931–1933. Session of 28 July 1933. 21 SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto, 218/211, Book of minutes of the meetings of the municipal council 1931–1933 . Session of 18 January 1835. 22 SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto,218/211, Book of minutes of the meetings of the municipal council 1931–1933. Session of 6 September 1935. 23 Chronicle of New Town in Moravia(1919) 1922–1938, 109. 24 Chronicle of New Town in Moravia(1919) 1922–1938, 108. He also kept a proper construction diary of the whole project, which has been preserved in the State District Archive in Ž ď ár nad Sázavou. For more details, see SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto, 789/386, Hygienic conditions: watercourse modifications. 25 SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto, 219/212, Book of minutes of meetings of the municipal council 1934–1937. Session of 6 December 1935. 26 SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto, 789/386, Hygienic conditions: watercourse modifications. 27 SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto, 220/213, Book of minutes of meetings of the municipal council 1937–1940. Session of 8 October 1937. 28 SOkA Ž ď ár, AM Nové M ě sto, 789/386 , Hygienic conditions: watercourse modifications. 29 Kladiwa, Pokludová and Kafková, Lesk a bída, 170(see n. 3).