Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-09-05
Our water supply.

| THE SITUATION AT THE AQUEDucr DRAW ANr
| THE DISTRIBUTING REsERvOR-N0 DANGER Oh
A FAMINE.
| The complaints being made at the presen,
time about the water supply will unidentified,
| result in very active measures tbis uir+or -
| secure the earnest attention of Congress to the
pIoDiem onered by the present situation of
auans. . any one OF the plans contemplating per-
nnre t npresement SO far advanced, viii re-
qulre TWO or three years in execution and as ~
Is not expected Congress will perfect and ness
| piii untll the coming session apnroaches its
cl9st,, Inere seems little prospect of permanent
nf ,r 1oI some years Meanwhile the cause
Vi complaint will become more Cr;nvonc &C
official reports show that the demand for n a.,
ITonsunptlon OF water is yearly increasing.
temporary expedients have been suguestedc
such, Ior instance as charging the canacitv of
or as ,".. ieeolng the pump and the stand-pipe
1870; SseiFoH north Of the city, and establishing a
similar pump and reservoir at the intersaction |"
.,,, NE" Jersey avenue and B street northwest
where the SONlncht New JERSEY avenue main
enus. Ihese suggestions are made on the nra-
for 1i IN tnat the supply of water is adequate
iol an the needs of the city, but the pressnre or
level is insufficient to force it in sufcient nnau
''''e0 ~ TIE hieher parts of the city.
Low CONDITION OF THE RIVER.
Inc wafer III the Potomac river, where the
u"i' VI Tie washington Aqueduct is located. is
iumer now Than at any time for MANY wears.
dn'e, water is SIX inches below the crest of the
Gana. according to the recent report of Col
faa+ -. III oruer 10 maintain the flow line of 14f
III. hust now TO a depth of nine or ten inches over
the crest of the dam ' o'oi
AT THE DISTRIBUTING RESERVOIR
to-day, the level of water is IA feet above tida
vi the S4th OF August it was at the level of 145.
"nich is practically the flow line which tho
clMcers III charge endeavOr to maintain. The
n"n vi water during the past twelve DAYS has
a astiaseu ABOUT an inch day. At the dam the
water was level with the crest on August ODD
anu Ia thirteen days it fell six inches Notwith
e.anuiiig TINS unusually low condition of the
wafer the supply furnished the city is not affected
as tue . ,NO,0OO gallons required for daily con-
sumption are still discharged into the mains A.
the distributing reservoir the conduit is fnI and
. submerged ,a the top of the conduit being now
S.1o leet below the surface of the water AT the
r raI OF an inch day, the water would have to
.a lor % days before it would reach the level of
Ine Cohduit-a tall which is not regarded by the
enSlneefs as even remotely pOssible-and until
'ht tne there would be no reason to fear a
water famine. AT that level the conduit wonld
nave capacity of 100000 gallons a day-
more IMAM twice the amount demanded by the
city. AS matter of fact. the supply of water
is much greater than the demand The tronhle
Is lnat the mead is not great enough to over
come tne 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
ther up stream. These temporary dams are
made OF earth. AS the line can be carried mn
stream indefinitely, there need never be anv
rear 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
eVei or ;" head of water obtained
THE FOUNTAINS
since the stoppage of the constant flow of
me government fountains many people on
capitol Hill think they perceive an increase in
her supply The fact is, that with the excep- |
ion of the fountain in Lincoln Park. the |
ountans are fed by entirely different mains
rom the one that goes to Capitol Hill. The |
'toppage OF the flow Of water in the 12 and 70 |
nch mains in the lower part of the city would |
hardly have any effect on Capitol Hill The |
government buildings. fountains. &c. it has |
'een determined by actual measurements. made |
y Col. Same (under direction of Col Casey. II.
). enSlneers.), use about 100000 gallons of
water daily, or about One-nintf of the entire
mount now consumed. This sum is equivalent
o a reservoir 200 by 100 feet and 20 feet deem
uii or water. In most of the government
buildings the water is pumped to the uDper
,oors.a fact which, in itself. should induce
ne officers in charge to be economical.