Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-07-17
CR0TON WATER
Now Pouring into New York
Through the New Aqueduct.
The Great Engineering Work a
Decided Success.


Over Thirty Three Miles iii Length and
VIII Cost, When Completed, $4,000,
OOO-Its Flowing Capacity 31s, 900, 600
Gallons Per Day-Five Yeers In Course
Of lDescrip tiOn.
NEW YoRK, July tat O'Clock
Tuesday morning the new $25, ZOO, 900
aqueduct began to pour Croton water
into the Central Park reservoir. The
successful accomplishment Of a great
engineering work was marked by no
demonstration.
The new aqueduct is somewhat over
thirty three miles long. In round figures
it will cost $25, 0OO,OOO before entirely
completed. About 63,000000 bricks
have been used in its construction. The
flowing capacity of the new aqueduct is
318 100000 gallons day. The area of
the Croton water shed is about 339
square miles. The area of the Quaker
bridge dam, when completed, will be
almost 382 square miles. When all is
completed the total storage capacity will
be about SO, zoo, 000, 600 gallons.
1t has taken about five years to com
plete the aqucduct. Originally it was
intended to have it finished and in oper-
alton inside of two years. The correc-
ton of improper sort OF work took time.
Then the contractors were behind in
their work and asked for extensions.
This kept stringing out the time. In
addition, there We're other delays, so
that the original time granted to COM
plete the work was more than doubled.
The work Is not entirely completed as
yet, but what remains to be done on the
aqueduct proper is no more than the
finishing touches. There will be moth
ing to interfere with its operation after
the repairs are made in Section 8. The
aqueduct proper runs into Jerome park,
and IL about fourteen feet in diameter
From that point the water will be dis
tributed through eight iron pipes, each
four feet In diameter.
In Westminster county, under what is
known rs Gould's swamp, is an inverted
syphon fourteen feet three inches in
diameter. Underneath the Harlem
river the aaueduct takes big dip. AT
this point 1t is S07 feet below mean high
water. Here is also an immense engine,
used to operate buckets with which the
syphon is to be cleaned whenever neces-
sary. These buckets are made of iron,
are fifteen feet high and four feet in
diameter. When full they weigh seven
and one-half tons and hold 400 gal
Ions. The syphon holds 5000, 200, gal
Ions of water. In less than two minutes
bucket can be filed, hoisted to the
blow off" and emptied.
The Central park reservoir holds
l,OOO, OOO, 900 gallons Of water. The di-
viding wall OF masonry which separates
the east basin from the west is three
feet under the surface when this ire
mendous capacity is achieved. That
partition has not been out of sight since
1877, but if all goes well it will be sub
merged about a r,%Sxht hence. The
reservoir Tuesday morning was only half
filled, containing about 500, 600, 900 gal
Ions. When the gates at One Hundred
and Thirty fifth street were first raised
to the full run" the pressure Of the fall
from the water shed drove the water
laundering along the four-foot pipes
that feed the reservoir at a rate that
would have added from $4,000, 900 to
0O, 900, 900 day to the water reserve had
il been maintained.
But much of the tremendous energy
of the first wild drive of the freed flood
was spent in the course of an hour or
TWO, and it settled down to STEADY
flow of about Il, 00e, 200 day. OF this
the equivalent of 1O,O0O,OOO will he
allowed to escape to the city. Only one
of the six supply gates at the distribu-
ting house at the foot of the reservoir
We're opened wider. Its water escape
ment, TO adopt term, was increased
from an inch and half to four feet.
The additional 5000, 600 gallons a day
thus released should take the water up
Ten feet in those parts of the city which
it visits AT the rate of 100000 gal
Ions day. the new aqueduct will feed
the reservoir until its deficit of SOC, 0OO.-
300 gallons is made up. When this is
done the water will be shut off for
several weeks till some necessary re-
pairs are made.