The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-31
TEE WATER SUPPLY OF NEW YORK,
The smithsonian Institution Interested Records
for Twelve Years-Curious Developments
Valuable Statistics Meteorological
Statist;os-Why is There So
Much Rain at Sing EinHl

The question Of the water supply Of the city Of
New York Is one OF universal ana ever-mcreasDg
interest and Importance, ana therefore any infor-
nation bearing upon the subject Cannot but prove
acceptable TO the general public Us well as To the
scientist and pOliIca economist Now the relation
existing between the rainfall and the permanent
supply, as furnished from the
CROTON BASIN
was one which years since engaged the attention Of
the Cr0t0n BOaru, and series OF careful Observa-
lions were at once instituted, by means OF ac-
Curatc ram gauges, established at different points
along the line OF the CrOtOn Aqueduct. IL was
thought when these stations were established that
the average fall along the length Of the aqueducG
would be about the same, and that they would he
perfectly satisfactory indces Of the fall throughout
,he whole section, from which the immense supply
OF water required by city Of over million Of in.
habitants must come. The result, however, has
shown tnis to be erroneous and has developed sucn
EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA
that an accomplished engineer was recently de.
tailed by the Smithsonian Institution to colate the
results OF the observations made during the past
twelve years for the bene6t OF meteOr0lOgists
throughout the world. lie has nearly completed
his work, having visited the different stations,
Of which there are Six, and from The
records condensed, classified and averaged ali
existing data Of the rainfall during the specified
time. He has prepared chart showing at glance
the relative fall, by months. at the different sta
tons, and az will be seen below, has discovered
that nearly double the amount Of ram falls at Sing
Sing than at any other point on the line OF the
aqueduct
IN NEW YORK CITY
the gauge is 115 feet above the sea, and the record
Is without q break since January $780, the tune
from which the engineer was instructed to compile
his report. 1t shows that there was more ram in
1871 tnan In any OF the previous eleven years, the
total amount being 67.96 inches. The wettest
month was OCTOBER when the gauge registered 500
mcnes, and The dryest, December. when the record
was 2lO inches, though September was
incae,. The least ''' rain a." fell St''S during Inc
32.51 inches. The highest register Tor any month
IN that year was SOC incnes III september, and the
twelve years the most ram that fell in any one
mouth Was III August, 1865, when 1t was 500 Inches,
while the least was IN March OF the same year.
when II was but 0.6l iDcnes. The average for tue
Twelve years was4i.U inches.
FORDHAN, wEsrCHEsTER COUNTY,
IL the next starion and here the gaul IS 142 feet
above the sea, ana here the heaviest rainfall was
1865 wnen the Total was IA inches. september
was the weteSt month"; registering $40 Inches, and
October the dryest, the fall beng l.30 inches. 1he
least rain iell during 1850. wnen the total amount
was 41.0l inches. The highest register Tor any
month IN that year was 7.43 incnes IN August, and
the lowest 0.7S inches IN June. During the whole
twelve years the most rain that fell in any one
month was In August, 1857, when 1t was ll.04
inchcs while the least was in SEPTEMBER Of The
same year. when 1t as06o inches. The average Tor
Twelve years was 50.44 inches.
TARRYTOwN, WESTMINSTER COUNTY,
has also complete record, the gauge being 152
feet above the sea. The heaviest rainfall was 90. 30
inches In 1871. During that year the highest
monthly record was 1875 inches in October and the
lowest 2. 02 incnes In september. The least rain fell
during 1864, when the total amount was $3.50
Inches. The highest register Tor any month In that
year was 1855 inches In August, and the lowest
l.26 inches In February. During the whole twelve
years the most rain that fell IN any one month was
1919 inches In SEPTEMBER 1868, while the least was
02 Inches III september, 1867 The average for the
twelve years was 47.6S inches. The registry at
SING SING, wESTCHESTER COUNTY,
only goes as far back as 1853, and thus only nine
years are accOuted FOR The gauge here Is 15o Ieet
above the sea- The heaviest rainfall was 9l.35
inches In 1871. During That year the highest
monthly record was 1888 inches In June, and the
lowest 0.06 inches In July. The least rain fell IN
1870 when the total amount was 10 "a inches. The
highest register Tor any month In that year was 11s
incnes IN January and the lowest IN july, when not
Onc-nundredth OF an inch OF water fell. During the
whole nine years tho most rain That Tell In any one
month was 2I97 inches IN september, 1865, while
the only month In which there was no rain was
July. 1870 me annual average for the nine years
was S3.O6 inches. At
CRoT0N DAM, wEsrCHEsTER COUNTY,
there are NO complete records for 1862 lSas 1871