Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-10-28
THE WASHINGTON AauEDUcT.
REPORT or THs ENGINssR.


as were absolutely necessary for the safety and
preser alton of the works.
pIsrRIBUrIne RHsBnyoIR.
In November an examinatioa was made OF
| the embahkments of the distributing reser voir;
h was appsren. ,nas they were very much
projected slopes, and II was deemed necessary,
for the safety of the reservoir, to empty out the
water. The 2-ineh main leading from the
pipe vault TO Foundry branch was used for q
drain, and the reservoir gradually empued. Ii
had been IN use in its unfinished condrIoa for
siorase and settling purposes over four years,
Georgetown and Washington wa generally
clear and pure. Since then, being brought d.
| reetly from the Potomac, II has often been
reservoir In" ~as e Suspended in June. 1854; og-
| fng TO the failure OF Congress TO MAKE
any appropriation for It's completion, no
In form il 10 nearly q rectangle, 1850 feet long
and about $50 feet wide, with an area at tue
| flow line OF Al acres The level ofits bottom Is
TWO feet above the bottom OF the conduit q. the
m fluent gate house, anu fifteen feet above the
centre OF the iron name that lead from nj the
effinent gate. house. With the water nine feet
deep in the conduit. IL Is only seven feet deep
| IN me reservoir, making its capacity at that
depth equal to 81 0.0O0 gallons The work re-
naming 10 be done consists In excavating the
bottom 20 an additional depth Of thirteen feet,
raising the dividing bank TO the full heighth
OF The exterior banks. building q central ate
house in the dividing bank, building fences of
hubble masonry on the Interior slopes, com.
pletng the mnueDt and efiiuent gate houses
and the effiueni screen well and pipe vault
BY excavating the bottom to the depth contem.
plated. which u the lowest at which water
can he drawn through the mains, IL would oe
twenty feet below the How line, and the clpa-
city would be 24355J, 600 eallons, which would
be sufficient at the present rate OF consumption
for twenty Gays supply, and would allow OF
ample time for making any repairs to the con.
duit above that might be necessary.
The conduit leading from Great Falls to the
uistri outing reservoir Is apparently In good
condition. The roadway over II has been kept
IN good order, but during wet weather the
travel has necessarily been restricted to light
travel. lie has become the principal highway
Of Montgomery county, and should be Mac
adamiZed. The slopes Of The embankments OF
the connecting conduit should b. faced with
ripraps to protect them from the wave of tn.
RECEIVING reservoir, and as this reservoir will
always he used for storing water, a substantial
fence should De built around IT TO keep out the
large Groves OF cattle tina. are driven 10 the
pastures on the Government lands inits vlcin-
Ity.
This structure was completed TO its present
neleDt, from Inc Maryland shore 10 Conns
Island, IN December, 1861. Since then 1t mas
sen subjected to the heaviest freshets of tn.
Potomac, and the fact that Ii has sustained no
na msSe from the large masses OF ice and flood.
wood that accompany the spring freshets
proves that 1t rs impreguable. The past sea-
son has been remarkable for the long nued
middle Of July, and the water in the river has
been at Its lowest stage. lUhas become evident
that IN order to have So fieient water in the
MaryIan channel at all times, IL will be neces.
sary either 10 extend the dam entirely across
the river, or build dam from the heao OF
COINS Island. up the rIver to a point thar will
give sufficient head.
BRIDGES.
Bridges (stone) N os. \, 2, 3 and I for many
years have renamed unfinished. Nos. l and
require coping; Nos. and require parapeis
aud pnnin No rx na naarn A<,po A
PleuDg either of them since 1s63 Bridge (iron)
No. 5. over College Pond, has been painted
and Is in good order. Bridge No. 6, ever Rock
creek, has been painted and the floor repaired.
The plank are Very much worn, but PROBABLY
can be made to last until next spring. The
present floor was put down in 1865: it lie not
of ira eel consta nuy passing over it. The noor
beams have been IN use over ten years, and
are very much decsyed, they must soon be re-
newed.
HIGH SERVICE.
The water pressure engine that supplies
Georgetown Heights is in thorough repair.
the motive cylinders and new rings pa IN the be-
pumping cylinders. On the 2Ist OF February
one OF the piston rods was broken, and Q new
creased consumption Of water in the two cities
the pressure on the motive pistons Las become
reduced, and the engine does not supply as
erIy. In order to afford full supply permis-
sion has been granted to the authorities Of
GEORGETOWN to furnish and erect steam pamp
N the engine-room, and 10 connect it vito
the mains of the hish and low service The
high Sci vice reservoir now contains half a mil.
lion gallons. which is kept a reserve i'm the
event of fires. The reservoir has been LETT for
maLy years in an incomplete state, and its uu.
finished dome presents q very unsightly APP
p, arsIce. II should be cut down 70 the level
# he gravel walk surrounding il and be in-
closed by a substantial iron railing.
CONSUMPTION OF WATER.
Experiments made during the summer
on he now Of water in the conduit leading
from the receiving to the distributing reservoir.
Stunning an average daily supply OF about H..
OOoOc0 gallons. Assuming thatthe population
of the two cities is l30,O0O il makes the average
daily consumption Of water per head over %
ed at the Government departments, especially
ut the Navy Yard, where the aqueduct pres
sure Is used TO prove boilers, and at the Treas
urv, where two large fountains are constantly
piayiIc. The water that is wasted from them
might be conveyed in pipe to the vacant
space at the intersection of Pennsylvania with
used again for a similar purpose. On Capitol
hill and other nigh points the supply is not
equal 20 the demand, because ON the low
points, where it is abundant, It Is recklessly
nations are issued by the city authorities
forbiddipg the waste OF Potomac water to
which not the slightest attention is paid.
Some additional Legislation is necessary in re-
ference 10 the proper control OF the distribu-
ton Of the water in both cities. In my opinion
/; should be entirely under the control OF this
office. On the Cochituate, Croton aud Fair
mount weter-worse the meter system is being
gradually introduced, in order to prevent a.
necessary waste. II should be adopted in
Georgetown and Washington, especially at
hotels livery stables, factories and otaer es-
Establishments where large quantities OF water
are cons iantlv used. If. however, IL is deemed
desirable that tee tive cities shall have a sup.
ply sufficiently aoundaut tor ali purposes, It
can be had only by con pIeting the DISTRIBUTING
reservoir and laying an additional maLs OF
.huty or thrty-six inches IN diameter from tue
eiiutnt pipe-vauit 10 Capitol Hill. No estl-
mate OF the cost OF laying a new main
IT tilted, as by act OF Congress, whenever 10 be-
comes necessary 10 lay additIonaI mans, the
expense thereof shall be borne by the corpora
lions OF Georgetown and Washington.
FIRE PLUGS.
On Pennsylvania avenue, between the Capt.
toll and Treasury Department, there are fifteen
IRE plugs. Two of them are IN good order,
and connected with the twelve-ineh man; the
Others are old and out Of repair, and are con
nected with pipe designated as the four-Inch
or spring pipe. This pipe IL In a leaky condi-
ticn and nearly worn out. II Is located paral-
connected only at Third street west and
small diameter and the distance between lis
connections, only two plugs can be supplied
by II at q time 1t Is respectfully suggested
that The plugs which are worn out should ne
replaced BY new ones, and that new sIx-inch
pipe should be laid IN place of the four-inch.
IL could be connected with the twelve-inch
main Third SiYfh Tweiffh. Thirrpep. nd.