The New York herald., 1877-10-21
..Look Before You Leap"

4
dollars, will induce the city officials con-
nected with public improvements TO ask the
coming Legislature for authority aud means
to reorganize the water supply system OF
New York. We cannot discuss the pro-
priety OF such a measure in presence OF the
danger that hourly threatens this city aris-
ing from an insufficient supply Of water.
But we apprehend that efforts at securing
relief may be so misdirected rs to leave us
worse off than ever by the waste Of great
sum Of money. An intelligent stranger
visiting New York is at once struck by the
want Of foresight displayed in the location,
construction and character Of many OF the
principal works erected at public expense.
He will see the Harlem River, which should
| form n natural line of water communication
between the Sound and the Hudson, barred
| at one end by railroad bridge and crossed
at several places southwark from Spuyten
Duyvil by other bridges which destroy 1t as
| channel. The connection between the
Croton Aqueduct in Westchester county
| and the city of New York, or Manhattan
Island, is structure that impedes naviga-
tion without in any degree compensating
for such an effect by atfording accommoda-
tion for mains sufficiently large for the
water supply of the city. As piece OF ex-
cellent engineering construction High
Bridge Aqueduct is admirable in its way,
but in itself betrays want of foresight on
the part Of those who put it there that will
yet prove costly to New York.
The Fifth Avenue Reservoir, another
costly work, is now abandoned as useless,
because the men who designed it did not
look far enough ahead to see that in the not
distant future both itself and the aqueduct
that supplied it would be unequal to the
work expected of them. BY an ill-consid-
cred system of legislation many other diff
culties have been thrown in the way of the
growth and prosperity of New York, and it
behooves our Legislators to avoid similar mis-
takes in the future. It will be asked how
such blunders occur in a community noted
for it's intelligence in all other respects. We
can only account for them on the grounds
of overhaste. People do not look before
they leap, as the saying goes, and jump over
small difficulties only to plunge into
greater. The situation at present demands
a complete re-examination of the wants Of
New York. We have been working on the
plans laid down twenty-five years ago, when
street car travelling was called rapid transit
and people had to wait for the arrival of the
weekly mail from Europe to get any infor-
nation about the Old World. Now it is
i
necessities.
| Turning to the vital question of sufi-
cient water supply for New York, we are
impressed with doubt rs to the ability Of
the engineers Of the Department of Public
Works to deal with it by following out ex-
to criticise the efforts Of men who are pre-
sumably doing their best for the interests Of
the city. Harsh words alone will do no
good but truth boldly expressed must in
tiuence the conduct Of affairs benefcially.
We have before now informed the public in
these columns that the Croton Valley as q
source Of adequate water supply for New
York has failed, and that any reliance placed
on it as such must prove disastrous to the
interests of the community. We have no
| idea Of advising the abandonment of the
| Croton Valley source with its expensive
works, but we protest most emphatically
| against the expenditure of millions Of dollars
| for new reservoirs or raqueducts in connection
with that watershed until the opinions OF
engineers not committed professionally to
such course are obtained In no profession
is the evil Of quackery more general than in
that of engineering. The medical quack may
kill his hundreds, but the engineer quack is
responsible for the destruction Of millions.
New light is being thrown daily on science
which has never and can never be fully mas
tered. Indeed, the leading practitioners are
always prepared to learn more about it, and
only the quacks profess to have perfect
knowledge of its great principles
A perfect source Of water supply other
than o great river must possess the following
characteristics, and without all Of them no
source merits the namc:-The supply must
be abundant, and its site must be located
within zone Of equable precipitation or
rainfall. The soil Of the watershed must be
|
tected if possible from saturation by sewage
Of any kind. Purity being rs much a
requisite as abundance Of supply, the
storage of water. when rendered necessary
bv circumstances, should be carefully
arranged, SO that while the quantity is pre-.
served the quality must not be permitted to
deteriorate by stagnation. Surface impuri.
ties are easily removed by properly con.
structed waste wers, but reservoir into
which every stream brings its load Of mud
dead leaves and weeds cannot be said to con.
tain pure water, no matter how perfect the
other conditions its supply may be. An ex
animation Of the present source Of Crotor
water supply reveals the facts that tho water
is not abundant and that the site of the
source is not within the zone of uniform and