Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-09-06
Our Water Supply.
THE SITUATION AT THE AQuEDUCr DRAW AM
THE DISTRIBUTING REsERvOIR-NO DANGER o.
A RAA

THE SITUATION AT THE AQUEDUCr DRAW AND
THE DISTRIBUTING REsERvOIR-NO DANGER OF
FAMINE.
The complaints being made at the present
time about thexater supply win undoubtedly
result IN very active measures this winter, to
secure the earnest attention of Congress tn the
problem offered by the present situation Of
anairs. Any one Of the plans contemplating per-
manent improvement SO far advanced. viii re-
quire TWO OF three years in execution, and as II
ID not expected Congress will perfect and pass
c,osa thara tne .somlng session approaches its
relief for some years Meanwhile the canse
OF complaint Will become more prieyous. as
omcial reports show that the demand for and
GTo . OF. water is yearly increasing
temporary e4pedients have been suggested
such, Ior instance. as charging the capacity of
the main feeding the pump and the stand-nine
oI L9servolr north OF the city, and establishing q
si.nilar pump and reservoir at the intersection
Oh new Jersey avenue and B street northwest.
where Inc 5o-lhch New Jersey avenue main
SUMPTION that the supply of water is ADEQUATE
i o an te needsof the city, but the pressure or
lever Is insufficient to force it in sufficient GUAM
Jules 10 the higher parts of the city.
LOW CONDITION OF THE RIVER.
LIE water In the Potomac river, where the
dam OF the Washington Aqueduct is located. is
lower lower now than at any time for MANY wears .
me me wafer Is six inches below the crest of the
GAM According to the recent report of Col
Casey, in order to maintain the flow line Of 146
ieet at the distributing reservoir, the water
I Ilust now TO depth of nine or ten inches over
the crest Of the dam.
AT THE DISTRIBUTING RESERVOIR
to-day, the level of water is Ia feet above tide
on the 24th of August it was at the level of 145,
which is practically the flow line, which the
3 ON IN charge endeavor to maintain. The
IAN OF water during the past twelve days has
averaged about an inch day. At the dam the
water was level with the crest on August ed
and in thirteen days it fell six inches Notwith-
standing this unusually low condition of the
wafer the supply furnished the city is not affected
as the u, OOO, 900 gallons required for daily con-
sumption are still discharged into the MAINS At
the distributing reservoir the conduit is full and
submerged, the top of the conduit being now
10 1eet below the surface of the water. At the
rate OF an inch day, the water would have to
ial 1or % days before it would reach the level of
the c0nduit-a fall which is not regarded by the
engineers as even remotely possible-and until
that time there would be no reason to fear a
water famine. At that level the conduit would
have capacity of 81 ,OOO,O 600 gallons day
more than twice the amount demanded by the
city. AS a matter Of fact, the supply of water
Is much greater than the demand. The trouble
Is that the head" is not great enough to over
come the friction of long lines of mains and
carry the water to the higher parts of the city.
CONTINUING THE TEMPORARY DAMS.
Owing to the constant fall in the level of the
water, the aqueduct engineer is continuing the
construction of the line of temporary dams fur
Their up stream. These temporary dams are
made OF earth. AS the line can be carried up
stream indefinitely, there need never be any
fear OF an actual water famine so long as there
Is water in the Potomac. OF course the higher
up stream this line is taken the greater the
level or head" of water obtained
THE FOUNTAINS.
Since the stoppage of the constant flow of
the government fountains many people on
Capitol Hill think they perceive an increase in
their supply. The fact is, that with the excep-
ton of the fountain in Lincoln Park. the
fountains are fed by entirely different mains
from the one that goes to Capitol Hill. The
stOppage Of the flow of water in the IL and 80
inch mains in the lower part of the city would
hardly have any effect on Capitol Hill. The
government buildings, fountains, &C., it has
been determined by actual measurements, made
by Col. Same Cunder direction Of Col. Casey U.
5. engineers,), use about 100000 gallons of
water daily, or about One-ninth of the entire
amount now consumed. This sum is equivalent
to reservoir 200 by 100 feet and 20 feet deep
full of water. In most of the government
buildings the water is pumped to the upper
f1oOrs-a fact, which, in itself, should induce
the officers in charge to be economical.
District Government Affairs.
Building permits issued by Inspector Entwisle:
Alfred Wallace erect threp.Story dUaJlinr 16th