Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-12-14
HOP BROOK BECOMES pRY.

X Heavy Taxpayer says the stream Is Foul and Unreliab1e-Anothe Plan for Supplying Water That Should be Investigated. The more one thinks of the gigantic scheme recommended by the board of water commissioners, involving an esti- mated expense of S230, 900, for the build ing of the proposed new reservoir, the more serious the matter appears. Before placing such an enormous burden upon the taxpayers the keenest possible inves- tigation should be made. It should be remembered that special act of the gen. eral assembly must be passed before Waterbury could draw upon Quassapaug lake for water being in the town of Middlebury. The passage of such an act should be secured before any actual steps are taken towards building the pro- posed Hop brook reservoir. It Is possible that some day the supply of water at Hop brook will fall short and then the WIS dom of such a course as we recommend would be apparent
 Again the experts who look with so much favor upon the proposed plan may be mistaken. Below we print letter re- ceived by Mayor Boughton from gen. tleman residing in Middlebury, who owns considerable real estate in this city and is directly interested in this matter. His letter shows him to be a keen-Sighted man and one whose ideas should have some weight:
 MIDDLEBURY, Dec 13, 1888. H. I. Boughton, Mayor:
 Dear Sir-I see by the papers there is being made a move to add to the water supply of Waterbury, and the immense demand and consumption makes 1t i'm perative. Now I am not a voter in your os+x et1ll I faal inforact o oS I cOntrIbf1tp about Sf50 every year for water. Now suppose the important question before the board is. where can we get the most and purest water for the least expense to the taxpayers? have seen but one location prominently brought before the public, that is the Hop brook, which 1 think is full of objections. The greatest perhaps is that it will afford so little water for the outlay. It is, as all know out this way, nearly dry three or four months of the year and there is little | water shed. And again 1t will receive | the wash of so many barnyards to render the water impure There is one other place 1 have not seen mentioned where they can draw a supply of three or four 1 times the amount that the Hop swamp brook would furnish, and I think at a less cost, and the water is far purer; that | is the Hancock brook taken out above the old Hoadley factory. It seems to me l that dam twenty feet high would make 1 a reservoir one and one-half miles long and of an average width of one hundred rods or more, an average depth Of about twelve feet, with a sandy bottom. There could be another one built at the Tolles station with little expense that would hold back a vast amount of water, and if you desire to have third reservoir on the same stream it might be built by repairing the old dam on the farm that George Hoadley used to own. Silas Hoadley used to flood about forty acres that he used to draw off in 2 dry season for the use of his factory. What the depth of the water was 1 cannot say. only 1t was famous spot for fish and great resort for wild ducks in the fall of the year. Now that will include a watershed of at least four miles square. It would take all the water east Of tbe road over Mount Toby ; till you come to Plymouth center, ther east to Terryyille and within one-hal1 ; mile of Pequabuck station, and would in clude all the northwest part Ot Wolcott
 l don't think there is another place II l the state where you could get the same amount of water where there would b' 5 so little foreign matter draining into it l There are but very few barnyards in th' whole territory and ne sEampS of an, mention. I do at least think it Is worth, , of some thought. I think it would sup
 ply the city for the next fifty years. A
 l have stated fl would take in more tha, four miles of watershed and all fille' with living springs. Is it worth locking after?
 Respectfully yours.
 R. B. WHEATON,