New-York tribune., 1873-03-04
tracts Of the Board Of city works srd continued IN scs
sion at midnight
up-TowN WATER FAMINE.


UPTOWN WATER FAMINE.
CAUSE OF THE OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES AS
suMED To BE THE ONLY REmEDi'
For some time past persons residing IN inc
vicinity of Fftv-nnthstr Fifthave.. ana brosaway'
and the whole region OF sse northern dechViy OF NUT
rav Him. have ex perienced the serious effects On wafer
famine being unable 20 obtain Croton IN many casos
above the frst floor OF +heir residences An"Ncsuk"o
has been made by Commissioner Van Mort ana Engineers
Tracey and serrer 1t appears that ~ no previous
time sas such large quantity OF ~a'er pa'evu
thro,rrb the aureduct as at present INTO tne Ieee
vo,rs which are FULLY supplied With wTer Ihe largo
ress ryoir ia thu Central Park has NJ no time wln ~
rsst ak months had less water chan was su'no'o"
brer IL filed within five feet q the Vop' a'noos n
owners OF dtclnngs In the vicinity are cohu"u"'S W. W.
planing of q want OF water in then houses peiew "o
level NJ l water in the reservoir. Tho invesuee"oh
has shown that during this Winter @here has poen Nv
traorljna-y waste resulting fren the excessive eo"
weather and that this waste IS carried on princPy III
the lowest leye OF the street,Hpes. in the downoWh
streets At steamboat wbarves and on the river frohts
This has caused Of water to rush with such
spcet toward these outlet, that the supply IN the
uptown district has become very limited
Mr. sere says that no spply of water that could he
otsaiued will alter this result so long the eiuence is
soarge where the pressdfs greatest and the Level OF
ozAow lowest lie illustrates the fact by aludng 10
che circumstance familiar to every houseReeper, that
when tho faucets the lower part Of house are eft
Open the supply In the upper stories Is At once dmn
shed He says that increase In the size OF the sup
plyppes might perhaps remedy the matter TO certain
extent but that the waste will have to be stopped
before an adequate supply can be obtained in
all parts of the city The ordinary size OF the supply
pipes is only Gyeeghths of inch in diameter while the
faucets which draw from them discharge half an inch OF
sohd water He states also that the mains are generally
small to be insufficient for the demand made upon
them He alludes to the Broadway main which was
laid many and is only 80 inches in diameter
and sufficient TO supply only 3.ao faucets OF the orai-
nary size With the water running toward the river ana
the lower end city the rate OF four miles an
hour il viii be understood why in the upper part OF
dwellings in the most elevated portion Of Broadway no
water can be obtained.
The engineers recommend, in order to prevent the
increasing waste that meters be placed in factories on
steamboat wbarves, and other places where sueh waste
is common They that the histery OF the water
troubles in Boston and the in which they were
remeded affords an apt illustration OF what may be
doue In this city, In 1855 the consumption OF water ID
Boston averaged 1O363Oo gallons day, and increased
so rapidly that in 1861 it had reached 1slS9 gallons
or an average Of l02 gallons for each resident The
Commissioners became alarmed, and, convinced
that great wastage was occurring caused meters TO
he placed in their own dwellings, and found that %
gallons day more than ample for each person
Meters gradually introduced in factories, ana
placed where large wasage had occurred and the dram
gallons day, or 5s gallons for each inhabitant There
was falling off Of SO per cent In the consumption, and
gain lS per cent in the pressure. In 1870, Win
large increase population the consumption had only
reached 700 gallons daily or less than 60 gallons
per head The following the increase In revenue;
In 1861 with daily consumption of 1sls9Se4 gallons
the t36S23 9O; 1870 after meters had been
introduced the daily consumption was 15OO7co gallons,
and the income s70s7S3 g. The decrease IN the daily
consumption was 1s per cent and the increase IN re-
cepts "a per cent The gain in the head or pressure was
d Der cent while the population had increased Al per
cent This result attained by the introduction OF
only Il0s water-meters, at an expense OF SiSe6 49,
Nearly 20 years ago Myndert Van Schaick, when Pres
dent of the Croton Board OF this city, recommended the
use OF meters in a communication TO the Common Coun
c and Mr. Craven Chief Engineer OF the Croton Board
in 1868 declared that he had exhausted every means TO
preyent ,nordnae waste without avail and that he
felt convinced that the only possible way IN which u
could be accomplished was by attaching meters wnere
Tracy the present Chief Engineer reports that the daily
consumption of water Is IS 100000 gallons, showing that
only II per cent the drain the waterworks has in
creased 1893 per cent while there considerable loss ol
head The income from the water tax In 1870 was
SI7ssn 81 II the CrotOn Department should receive
for water IN the same proportion a.
the annual revenue would at present be Al66lO4 with
the water rates about the same az In Boston. -,
population Of ssSseC2 the water supply was 77,e7Oss4
gallons % 950o per head daily and there has never
Industrial public purposes The engineers state that
meters might be paid for by the consumer cOud
select any be liked but II they were purchased by
the city from the increased receipts they would pay Tor
themselves invariably the first year, generally in SIX
mouths, and probably in three months Commissioner
Van Mort that the water tax were reduced from
three 100 gaons-the present priee-to
penny, aud meters were placed ON steamboat piers
in factories where great waste OCCURS the revenue
would be more than double what it is at present He
states that NewY0rk has sufficient supply OF water for
about millions OF people, and yet with barely one
fourth of that number from nordnate waste many per
compelled TO without Croton, whereas II the
supply regulated by meters every one would have
enough These views in favor OF the introduction Of
meters into the city given for what they are worth