National Republican., 1876-06-01
WASHINGTON AQuKpUcr.

The Water Supply and Means Of Distribution.
The consumption Of water In the cities of WASH
ington and Georgetown is rapidly increasing. It
is now about twenty-three millions Of gallons
daily.
while the capacity of the man conduit which
brings the water Of the Potomac from the Great
Falls to the distributing reservoir has not yet
been taxed, and is not less than seventy millions
Of gallons that Of the iron mains from this reser
yOir to the city has become insufficient to insure
constant supply in the higher portions Of the city
Of washington. On N street north, between Yer
mont avenue and Twelfth street west, the water
will not rise generally to supply baths and wash
stands in the second story. The ground there is
about ninety feet above tide.
As the level of water in the reservoir is 145 feet
above tide, It appears that the DRAFT upon the
mains is sufficient to reduce the hydrostatic effect
i've head from las feet to 100 feet loss Of head Of
As feet in the present condition Of supply and de-
mand.
1t is but four years since Tin 1872 the District
incurred an expenditure Of nearly s40o,0)O TO
remedy similar condition. A S6-inch cast-iron
the reservoir to Capitol Hin, at o cost Of s3ls-
727.57. Until the winter of 1875 this main, with
the two laid at the time the Aqueduct was intro
piled all the water needed. But now complaints
are again rife from those who pay an annual
supply of water which is enjoyed by those who live
on the lower grounds Of the city.
Aremedy for this state of things is to be sought,
and must soon be applied. The ordinary resource
is another and larger main. There are now
three mains-one of three feet, one of two and
half feet and one Of one foot in diameter. They
follow nearly the same route to Capitol HILL and
are therefore, TO that poiut ~ miles in length.
New York has laid down four-foot mains;
The use Of meters TO restrict consumption,
costly and troublesome is not to be thought Of II
any other remedy can be found. s=H
After consideration, we are Of opinion that the
true remedy is to construct q conduit by the
straightest route, from the nearest corner Of the
distributing reservoir to some point on the bluffs
second distrihuting-reseryoir Of moderate size,
which shall be kept filled by the constant iow by
day and by night, of the conduit.
Such a conduit should be ten feet in diameter,
where lined with masonry; twelve feet in hard
rock not lined, but left rough. The best route is
as nearly as possible straight line. which will be
tunnel. Such tunnel would, for the greater
part Of its length, be located in gness rock-much
more cheaply excavated now, by means of dia-
mond and power-drills and dynamite and giant
powder than at the time the tunnels of the Wash
ington aqueduct were constructed.
Judging from the contracts lately let by the
city of Baltimore, which has, after building one
aqueduct upon an insufficient scale, Just COM
menced the construction Of another, which is a
direct tunnel, seven miles long and twelve feet
in diameter. at an estimated cost, as shown by
contracts, Of s.5 per lineal foot. An aqueduct
der ground can be built from the distributing
reservoir to the high lands at the north end Of
Fourteenth street for s425,OOo The length of
such an aqueduct tunnel will be 1900 feet.
a lour-loOt cast-lron pipe, lald as an additional
main from the distributing reservoir to Capitol
Hill, would be = 900 feet long, and at sI5 per foot
the estimated cost of a four-foot pipe, laid deep
CROUCH below the surface of the ground to pro-
tect it from frost or from injury by heavily
loaded wagons, would be s550, 600. A ten-foot
tunnel and fOur-iOOt main cost about the same
sum per lncal foot. The tunnel costing Sl25,UO0
less would have the full capacity Of the Washing
ton aqueduct, which is three or four times as
great as that Ofthe mains now in use, and more
over would continue to run during the night when
the water in the mains is generally not in mo-
tiOn, and thus the distributing reservoir to the
north of the city would I'LL during the night and
tion during the day.
From this reservoir thirty-sIx inch pipe should
connect with the one already laid. 1t might be
better when his project is undertaken to extend
the conduit TO the north end of New Jersey ave
nue, and there locate the new reservoir This |
would require a tunnel Of 10000 feet in length, |
S 10 miles, which would cost s5Oo,O0O
Were this additional work constructed a large
portion of the thirty-siy-inch main already in |
place would become superfiuous and all that lies
to the west OF the city of Georgetown, and indeed
all that lies TO the west Of Rock creek might be
taken up and laid down to make the connection |
between the new distributing reservoir and the |
three-foOt main where 1t crosses Fourteenth |;
street, or New Jersey avenue. Enough thirty |
six-inch pipe would be thus obtained to make this
connection. |
With n full head of water brought by a conduit |
)i tie city, the distributing pipes and mains |
already In the District would be ample to meet |
he increasing consumption and to give to those
no live even on the highest ground within the |
'tiy the full advantages Of the bounteous supply
brought by the Rqueduct to the distributing res
,TvOir.
No further increase of pipes would be necessary,
'IGept the gradual extension of the smaller dis
ributiDg pipes 10 new streets they are built up
y the Increasing population of the Capital.
MAY 80, l6Ie. n. Q. MEIGs.