Smyrna times., 1865-08-30
Croton AQueduct.

A correspondent of the New York Times af-
ter stating how, twenty-one years ago New
York had to depend on pumps, gives the fol- !
lowing interesting account of how the city is /
supplied with water
On the I'd of May, 1884 an act was passed |
by the Legislature authorizing the city to |
supply itself with pure and wholesome water,
and to issue its stock to defray the cost. The |
Governor, with the concurrence of the Senate,
appointed a commission, comprising Stephen
Allen, Il. NJ Brown, Chas. Dusenberry, Saul
Alley, T. L. Woodruff and VIM. w. Fox, who,
after due dehberation and examination, rec
commended that the water of the Croton River
be taken near its mouth, and brought III an
auueduct to a reservoir on Murray Hill, la
feet above tide water This plan was approved
by the Mayor in March, 1895, and the people
ratified it soon afterward by a vote Of II, 367 to
| 5, ,963 Mr. David B. Douglas was appointed
chief engineer, but was soon attCrward supcrse
ded, and Mr. John B. Jervis appointed to fill
the vacancy Mr.. JerviS commenced opera
ti0ns in the Spring Of 1887, and on the 4th OF
July, 1912, water was admitted into the dis
tributing reservoir on Murray Hill. The com
! pletiOn of the work was cOmmemOratCd by a
grand civic celebration in October of the same
| year The cost Of the work was $S.515, 900,
| including water rights and lands, besides ST.
| SOO, 900 for distributing pipes. Strange to say
the expense exceeded the engineers estimates
by only five per cent.
THE CROTON VALLEY
is the source whence our supply Of Croton wa
ter is derived The total area of the valley is
352 square miles, and within it are 81 natural
lakes and ponds, Tany of which are available
as reservoirs. = 1t has been estimated that the
average amount of water falling daily in the
valley allowing for evaporation, &c, is 33S 1872,
lGrrin no hOUavpr
extending from the middle of June to the lst
of September, the total yield of the valley is
only about 35, 000, 900 gallons. This is conside-
. rably less than the daily consumption, which,
by accurate observation, has been found to be
81, 600, 900 gallons.
, THE CROTON RIVER, DAM AND LAKE.
r The Croton River is 80 miles in length and
its tributaries l36 miles. The water is beauti-
fully clear, flowing over q bed of gneiss and
limestone, and its banks are fringed with soft
3 green turf and outrageous trees, rendering 1t
one of the lovcliest streams In the country,
Six miles from it's mouth, and on the south
shore, is the dam, which raises the water 40
+ feet, or l66 feet above tide level. The dam,
4 which is constructed on bed of gneiss rock,
is built with great care and shows considerable
/. engineering skill. The water thrown back by
I the dam forms the CrOton Lake; beautiful
: body of water, ofirregular form, having an area
e of four hundred acres Its average depth Is
d six feet and it contains 500 600, 900 gallons o
n water 1t is situated five miles below the con
luence of the Muscoot River with the Croton
ii THE AoUEDUCT
y is covered canal of solid stone and brick ma
y n sonry arched above and below: 1t Is tee
= Al inches in height, I feet FIVE inches in width
d at the widest part, and 403 miles in length; :
d It has descent of l3 inches to mile, and ;
rs capacity for supplying 60,00OOOO gallons o
water per day, but the flow is seldom more thai
n q, 100000 gallons per day AT intervals %
r about one mile are small towers Whlch t''Io" y
n the nurpose of ventilators., Inc aqueduc
10 ,asses through sixteen tunnels pierced IN the
'e rocI VARYING from leo to l 1868 feet in length
their aggregate length being 6,S4l feet. Ii
s. Westchester County it crosses twenty-five
d streams, besides numerous brooks. Harlem
ID River is crossed by the High Bridge, stupen
= dous granite structure. On this bridge are
rs laid two 48-inch mains, and i'll 1867 an addition
y al nine of wrought-iron, feet 6s inches IN oil
AZ ameter was placed in position. Through thes
he the water from the aqueduct passes
ng Those who have visited the bridge, the bes
OF view of which is obtained from the river, ar
~ y, struck with its appearance of sodty yet II
n. hv no means devoid of elegance, and harmonl
he zes we'll with the surrounding scenery. In
~ anneduct is continued from the bridge to tn
c- Manhattan Valley, depression 4, II feet wild
nd and luz IeeI uCOP' ="
We Uerted siphon of iron pipes, six in number, an
ay d $50 feet in length. The masonry is then re
IN snmed and the aqueduct is carried to the re
all "e;v;ng reservoirs in Central Park, crossing
10, ID Sefnre reaching the Park the Clendenning Va
do lev which is 900 feet across and SO feet deer
lc IN the last report Of the commissioners it
stated that six miles of the aqueduct is in sue
all cOnd;t;on that it would be unsafe to fill it
ire ;ts ST utmost capacity. This is certainly yer
70. Se,;ons matter, for the full capacity of the aquC
Or. Snct ;s said to be only 60,000,O00 gallons pc
be dsv while the present daily consumption {
tbs ctv is over So 600, 900 gallons and is amt
ys ally increasing 1t would certainly appear
h Dh he necessary that some action should be take
10 in the matter Immediately.
ia, THE RESERVOIRS.
ne The first reservoir constructed was that G
ely Murray Hill 1t has water surface of abol
or four acres, and can contain 20, ,00O,000 gallon
re. It is generally known as the distributing rese
o ,ns voir The lower reservoir in the Central Pa
was next constructed, to answer the increasiT
aid demands caused by the growth of populatio
any 1t may be said to consist of two reservoirs.
as, II has water surface of thirty-one acres, al
sc ,s contains when full 100 900 gallons. A f.
,Sn. years ago il became evident that the supp