The sun., 1890-07-15
WATER BY THE NEW ROUTE.
1T STAR7S DOWN FROM ORoToN LAKE
10 FILL UP OUR RESERVOIR.

II o'clock this morning tho Aqueduct Commits
sioners will order tho gate at the Central parE
gate house. which opens from the now apue
duct pipe line into the Central Park reservoir
to bo raised, in order to I'll up The reservoir
the daily draught on whose contents has of late
been surphssinR the daily supply which the old
aQueduct could bring.
Early yesterday morning the main cato al
Croton Lake, 80 milos away was opened and
the water started on It's way to Central Park
AT AZ L. M 1t made it's appearance In the vel
OF tho gate house at 135th street and Tenth
avenue rs slow but increasing drbble. At Z
p. NJ. 1t had risen to the level of the nipes that
run TO the Central Park reservoir. There was
quite crowd looking on. Lanterns wore 10;
down tue shaft to enable the visitors to see the
wet. AS soon as tho water reached tho pipes
leading 10 the Central Park gateway four Of the
gates were raised seven inches out OF DOS
sible four feet, allowing the water to trickle
down town. The gates ut the Central Park
gateway We're kept closed. SO rs 10 al
low the water to fiji the pipes. There was no
ceremony yesterday when the big gate was
opened, and 1t is not likely that there will be
any to-day whom the water flow into the res
ervoir. Nobody Interested in the work would
be SURPRISED II tho Commissioners permit ed
Chief Engineer fteley to open the gate with
out lending to the proceeding their distin-
Ruished presc nee. The aqueduct is not yet
completed. for 30 many rerairs are still neces-
sary that 4 will iqko at least six weeks to
complete them Already the work is q year
behind. ior it was the original intention when
the work was begun. about five years ago, to
reservoir Is iul the supply will be shut of. and
final inspection OF the aqueduct will be made
=, The new aqueduct will tnke its supply from
the same watershed from which the old Ruue-
duct has been bringing water to Manhattan
Island Tor n generation or 40, but it will COM
mand the entire area drained by the Croton
River instead OF the comparatively small Soc
tion heretofore u, ailable. This nj ea comprises
nearly S39 suunre miles above Croton dam
which will rom ain, under the now arrnnRem emsnt,
the western limit OF the supply as at present.
1t is proposed eventually TO increase the per-
ing one OF the Rtcatest dams over known, and
ndiinc system Of reservoirs that will make
silie water famine. All that, however. is in
the distant future.
e DO you know" exclaimed one OF the en-
York has drinking water to-day UuIy by acci-
dentf"
This sensational proposition he explained
upon the same plan hy which a man won
money at the races by not betting. The accl-
dent had not happen1d that would have cut OF
the supply, but he went on to show that the
old auucduct was built TO carry water without
pressure. and that as the citys needs Increased
capacity OF tho tunnel wa long since taxed
The Manhattan Island part OF he city consumes
ali that the aIueIuct can possibly bring to the
Central lark ieseryoir. Ii hnprenrd once that
a leak need cd repairing and workmen shovelled
off the layer OF earth which covers the brick
work AS soon n the earth was removed the
pressure Of the wnTer burst the arch. and
luckily there was lust enough wnt"r at the
Park to euilice until the breah WAS reuared.
This showed that the anueduct wns held intact
under pressure solely by the weight OF earth
on its ton An accident IA BIT more serious Mt
psoss soaES We n6,hSe afIs 10
drink, so be they were total abstaIners.
All that danger is now hAppiiy past The
new aIueduct viii bring to central IL" Tark iH
every twent, -four hours l25 OoO.UlO gallons Of
lz5. .0UUO0O gallons throughout Harlem. There
is capacity for more than this. and some day,
when n jrojuctei reservoir has been built, tho
annexed district also viii he sIlnnliei irom tho
same source.
The new auueduct Is 33lo miles I'm length
from Croton AXE 70 Sen,ral i'i Tark. :" or IEis
29.G3 miles IS tunnel through slid rock or in
some places loose soil which is worse; 2.3i
is an onen trencm. n The WorE has inyoived
some cX Extraordinary fents In ouCiucerng and
CONSTRUCTION. ,AmonG these the 'Host ,slrlking
viii be conveyed @ ID under the iiariem River In
the original plans il was intended 10 90 he-
was lound necessary when the work was under
way. Tit in the rock vas disco,ered
which would have tur cd the Whole Harem
shnft was sunk 10 a depth Of ;j17 feet below
mean high water marx, then a level tunnel
other vertical shaft on the island side to ,oin
Ihe contIn nation Of tie general tunnel From
that DOint, oddly enough, to the Both street
gate house where the pipe line begin, The
grade OF the tunnel is upward Instead Of down.
ward The pressure OF water at tns bacK will
TOrce q continuation Of the fiow and the grade
was made upward in order to allow Of "blow
1f " IRON the gate house into the Harlem BIZ
grade. Generally an apueduct has to be blown
IN that is, cmpifed, once year to allow Of in
apection and cleaning In many cases, as OF
,ourso in the siphon. The blow oil has to be ac-
mplished by pumping for which immense
,ngines have been provided.
The most difficult part Of the uqueduct 10
build was near shaft 1917, at Ardsley, where,
away under the surface. the solid rock gave
place TO loose soil and stones. II took u year
% gain seven feet at that place. and during the
work there the most serious accident occurred !
If all those which marked the operations on
he aqueduct. Several men were buried under /
fall OF earth.
remarkable feature OF the work Il the gate !
louse at Croton dam. 1t is the largest struc- |
ure OF the kind In America A turbine whoel. !
worked by the pressure oil water will raise or /
over the gates at the will OF the operator an !
improvement over the method .usnally en-
,loyed Of operating them by hand. The foun-
latlons OF this gaze house are laid In big
,haft l75 feet below the surface.
In making THIS great tunnel one river has /
iei On ,i i'i IL ~, anu @ d e., s
,ver the aqueduct and down q series OF steps
70 20 tnnt M n1 1ear DS are now lroViaeu