The New York herald., 1876-11-05
THE WATER FAMINE.
New York's Supply Of CrOtOn Steadily
Diminishing.
WHERE THE ERROR LIES
More Storage Reservoirs Inper-
atively Needed.


unpleasant to presume that water famine Is at band
Up TO within few days ago the side OF town sui
fered most, bat tho east side begins to iee the
widespread Inconvenience, and ''honors are easy'
between the sections The HgEALp is In daily re-
ccpt Of letters from parts OF the CITY, all with
the cry Of "no water" Tho Croton Department
or full share Of animadv versiou, whether 1t
Is fairly subject 10 IL There greater dis
position nnd fault with the depart the
in which the water s th rough the pipes than
account Of It's inability to hold full supply the
reservoirs IL Is Of bitter complaint with many
householders that they furnished with notice of
the occasions wi hen the department cudes shut
OH or turn the water, and they point TO the dan
gers that attend this neglect OF DUTY As viii be OBJ
served in the suboined interview the Croton Depar.
ment officials profess 10 give notice to housekcepcrs
when they shut or or shove the water In one
stance. lately, where the flowing mains stopped
to permit OF the testing Of some engines
notice given the citizens many OF whom in the
upper part OF the city positively aver that they
without water for forty eight hours, and when it did
come II was without warning and wit h a vengeance
ovcrnowiLg cistcrns aud exploding waterbacks and
boilers Chief Engineer Campbell said yesterday, IN
TO tho HERALD reporters question bearing
this point
NOTICE GIVEN.
.'Whenevcr have occasion to repair, replace
Alter pipe In any dstrlct o. CITY We senu
around to notify the householders "
REpoRrkE-Thcrs people who insist their water
has been of without any notification and rushed
the same way. How is thatg
Mr. CAArBKLI.-That is our rule anyhow, and 1t is
supposed TO DO carried out.
REpoRrER-But why is 1t the notice cannot bo pub
lshed in the papers, 50 that everybody may read n9
Mr.. .CAnpBELL-That in not necessary. The water is
cut OF from comparatively few houses ard are
near to where the workmen are, and It is quite an
easy thing to let each one concerned know of the
fact
REroRrKR-But do you not cut or the supply some
times at tho mans SO that large Of territory
deprived OF water
Mr.. CAxrBELL-No, never. Recently, however, in
testing engines at High Bridge did SO,
but that was unusual and only tor bricf time.
RErORTER-What remedy would you suggest to pre-
ven. explosions when, II frequently happens, the
water is suddenly turned and rushed into heated
XII CAMrBELL-Iett tho hot water cock be kept turned
the floor above where the boiler is and the
| will rise and escape that way.
RErokrEK-ro avoid the necessity for that, however,
q notice the time the water supply might be
| newed would be better TOR the householder.
MI CAMPBxLL-Certainy; and that is what tho do
| partment always socks 10 do
This closed the interview.
SOURCE
families living IN Rnmo o. IN. build up town
is called waterback--a square iron box-containing
coil OF p,po, end OF which connects with tho
| supply pipe leading under the sidewalk
with an upright cylindrical boiler situated
water running freely and a,ry flows in through
coil the water back and, becoming heated, flows
out again ana discharges into the upright copper
boiler From thence Il passes by one pipe over 10
faucet above the sink, and upward by another 10 the
canger because il is heated gradually In the water.
back and the boiler Is kept constantly full but the
peril comes when all unconscious OF the Croton
hav1 NO hut tnn fho Tho
keeper or servant girl proceeds light a nre in
tho morning and when the he, waterbsek ha.
water t,he pressure having been put on up at High
Bridge without regard to consequcncesl Steam is
/ presently waIerbsck and range are blown to pieces
II the latter event 40 not happen the raging steam
way into the vertical boiler and discovering
| no means oi escape whizz bang, goes the boiler.
SOURCE
Is in the OF cistern Ia common mode OF providing
against scarcity Of water in dwellings up town.,
which is situated at the top OF the house below
root. The householder can regulate his supply to
SUIT himself seasons Of drought by pumping
from tho basement. He fila his cistern almost
fun and goes TO bed satisfied that he
necessar,es ' Of ife Some time in the morning 10 ing
II occurs to tho man who Is In charge OF such business
at Hgn Bridge 10 put on pressure in the pipes with
out single word Of warning, and the water goes
charging up TO csterns Already full, with rush
great that tho escape holes overpowcrcd and
is the cisterns ovcrfowed and great damage done
TO walls, floors, carpets furniture, &c.
The resul, Of the incompetent method by which
flow OF Croton is managed is make housek pers
greatest possible domestic convenences, such
backs and hot water boilers IL Is not surprising
hear y stated that plumbers are engaged in many
houses taking these useful appliances
Why there should be much scarcity and
regard TO watcr one locality OF the city and such
abundance IN another just adjoining, needs expIana
ton, very little engineering skill would
remedy such state OF affairs
o
county therc need be little apprehension for a
long time 10 come that under wise manage ment tho
city Will lack Tor abundance of water. Croton
water was introduced into Now York In 1912. and
to 1s4s Ii, ,ooo 900 gallons day gave abundant
450, 900 Inhabitants, and now, with popula-
ton OF over one million the quantity required
yearly increase the daily consumption OF about
5000 900 gallons. The sources Of supply OF all rivers
springs occur from sources which are outside OF tho
watershed 10 which they are located, aud II is highly
probable that many large springs situated in The Croton
BASIN receive their supply from lands situated outside
OF II. Oi the rain which falls portion OF IL runs d.
recty into the rivers and portion is absorbed by the
ground O that absorbed By the ground part Ia
again returned springs and the remainder IL used up
by evaporation and vegetation. From the result OF cx
pcrmcnts made by engineers OF the Croton Board a
pears that least OF the which falls
during whole year on watershed VIII ind lis way
into The stream. rain gauge which formerly kept
for several years in the OF the Croton basin
showed average annual TALL OF over iorty
inches which would give an amount oil over eighteen
inches In depth the whole surface draining tho
for the yearly supply the area OF land, which
drains into the Croton RIVER above the Crolon dam
about 339 square miles which should give average
daily supply o water from alone throughout Tho
OF about 800 0O0 600 gallons Somet hing must bo
wrong somew here when place Of receiving this royal
abundance only get about ~ 0OO, 900 gallons daily
at this present writing As many large springs within
the Coton basin evidently receive their supply from
sources outside OF the watershed DOUBT a much
larger quantity than the foregoing calculation shows
might De relied on.
| STORAGE RESERVOIRS INDISPENSABLE
Is quite plain that u the rams frequent and
evenly distributed throughout tho year there would be
large and constant surplus Of wafer, but
subject TO long droughts during the summer and
tumn frequently happens that the quantity OF water
running the Croton River inuGcq uate the
daily needs Of the city. and tho only way to insure q
steady aud unfailipg supply is by means OF storage
reservoirs, which are hed during the wet and drawn
from the dry season OF the year. The neglect OF the
proper authorizes In making provision for this
gency years ago was criminal and incxcusable