Morning journal and courier., 1882-03-29
Wednesday Morning, March 29. 1882.

4 PLAN TO GIVE NEW YORK WATER.
 It has become painfully apparent that the
 present arrangements kfor Bupplying New
 York city with the vast quantity of water
 used there are insufficient, and the question
 what it is best to do to increase the supply
 is receiving the attention of engineers and
 others The most adequate plan appears to
 be to draw from Lake George, whose water
 is we'll adapted for commercial and domestic purposes.
 Colonel J. T. Tanning, the well known en- gineer, has made a report concerning the feasibility and desirability of drawing the future water supply of New York from Lake George, ard his report contains much that is interesting, It appears that the altitude of low water in the lake is 322 feet above mean tide at New York. The distance from the proposed outlet of Lake George to the liar lem river @ feasible aqueduct line is about 225 miles. The lake is about 34 miles long, and averages from E to l I miles in width, and has an area of about 50 square miles. By a short turn at the head of Dunham's Bay, the report says, new outlet can be made toward the south. The lake has little more than 5000 square miles of watershed. It is assumed that by short canal the surplus waters of the upper Hudson tributaries may be conducted into Lake George to reinforce the reservoir. Allowing for the requirements of the manufacturing and canal interests at Glens Falls and below on the Hudson river, Colonel Tanning estimates that total of12 ? inches of rain may be collected annually for storage. Computing the minimum amount es- timated for storage upon 5000 square miles of the upper Hudson watershed, it gives l. 391, ,672, ,43O gallons for daily average, which with the surplus flow from the Lake George watershed, would make daily average of 1,5OO, GOO, 900 gallons available for the pur- pose of city water supplies.
 Colonel Fannings plan is to first construct an open canal with capacity of 800, O,OOO,OOO gallons day. The plan anticipates that the entire canal will be covered in time, and it's capacity thus increased in midsummer by the consequent reduction of evaporation, and in winter by reduction of thickness of ice. It will be paved it's entire length and the smoothness of its sides improved and thus the rapidity of flow and capacity of the canal l enhanced Short tunnels will be required in l several instances along the route to reduce | the length of line that would be required to | pass around prominent spurs, as, for in- | stance, at Fishkill Mountain and An l thony's Nose. Siphons will be required in l several instances, and where the pressure | exceeds twenty feet they will be of boiler | iron in Q series of seyenty-two inch diameter | riveted tubes, in number according to the l required delivery of water. These tubes will | be placed side by side, and the number will 1 be increased as the demand for water in | creases From the terminus of the canal, | near High bridge, the water will be conveyed | into the city by iron pipes. The report says 1 that main pipes be extended to Brooklyn | and Jersey City, and also Newark if called l for, and distributions can in like manner be | made to all the towns and cities along the | line of the canal.
 All this will cost "a pile of money" The approximate estimate of the cost for 21O l miles of canal is $26 25O, GOO; seven miles of tunnel, $49OO, GOO; ten miles of sphoR, $1O, 900, 900; and the Hudson dam and canal, engineering land and water rights, and roof | Ing and paving ten miles Of the canal Will | bring the whole cost to $49, ,475, 900. It is l estimated that three years would be required 1 for the construction of the entire works.
 New York city has already bonded debt | exceeding $l35 GOO, ,O0O, and it is hardly | probable that enterprise like this, requir- ing $50, ,0OO,O GOO, will now be entered upon | by the city. Colonel Earnings report was made to the Associated proposed incorpora- tors'' of the New York and Hudson Valley Aqueduct company It would be a tremen- dous work for a private company to take hold of, but it would probably pay well in time