The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-09-13
NEW ARK'S DEAR WATER
Progress Of Work on the
Dams and the Pipe
Line.
CLEAR FLUID A CERTAINTY
Smiths Mills Reservoir Full
PhotOgraphing the
Works.
epecta1 70 tie Jerseg city ye,s,.

Special 10 the jersey CITY NeiHs.
NEWARK. Sept II. 1891. In three weeks
more the big dam ut the Oak Ridge reser-
voir viii be completed. There remains
only four feet more of concrete core and
twice as much dirt to finish the work,
and as it pears the top it constantly grows
narrower The dam will be eighteen feet
wide on top, aud when completed
it will be carefully sodded to with
in few inches of the slopes
where the cobhle facings begin. There
will be no road across the top, but
one will be constructed along the face of
the dam on one Of the bermes or terraces,
though it will not be open to the general
public. The dam Is SO narrow now that
every days WORK makes showing. The
force at Oak Ridge has been greatly re-
duced, aud now less than $50 men are seen
at work there on the dam. others are
opening the spillway or overflow just be-
yond the gatehouse, and others, still,
are clearing out stumps from the basin,
while a line of men with picks and
shovels are getting down dirt from the
nillsides to be carried to the dam and
there spread out and rolled compactly.
Then there are men at the crusher, con
crete mixers and core makers, all busy,
besides the masons on the gatehou5e
work. the water carriers, timakeeper,
foreman, engineers and inspectors.
POOR DRIVERS.
They had taste OF wet weather at Oak
Ridge few days ago, and nobody who
had TO go on the dam seemed TO enjoy the
experience. The soil which is being used
for building the dam makes particularly
disagreeabie mud when wet. It is at once
sticky and slippery. Il sticks TO the
-
hold. Men got along we'll enough, but the
poor cart horses were constantly
falling, and at times two or three horses
would be down at ouee. with the Italians
excitedly cnattering and scolding over
them. These Italians are the poorest
drivers Imaginable aud at The same time
they are cruel They do not seem to thin K
that horse has any feeling or that there
is any limit TO his power and endurance.
There are some fine horses working at
Oak Ridge, but the owners do not trust
them TO Italian drivers.
The intake reservoir at Smiths Mills Is
| full and tina river Is flowing over the
| broad dam in pretty cascade. It was
/ not intended TO I'LL the reservoir, it is
said, but the screens at the gate house
became choked IN by weeds ana brusn-
| There Is more cleaning 10 be done. and
/ the water will have to be drawn of
! through the gates. Tue intake reser voir
| looks much smaller than the casual OBJ
| server supposed it would be when filed
/ It does not cover all Of the ground which
has been cleared OF trees aud stnmps, and
this clearing was naturally regarded by
/ those who had not taken levels as the site
of the future pond The reservoir IL a
small affair, anyhow, and is not intended
/ for storage. IL will not hold much mora
| than days supply for Newark. and an
| effort will be made to keep water con-
stantly flowing over the big dam for the
use OF the mills on the stream below.
CLEAR WATER.
An engineer remarked last week that
tie reservoir sites should certainly be
well cleaned out and that the muck at
/ Clinton Falls, particularly, should be
hauled out and carried off, but he thought
that any remissness on the part of the
\ water company in this respect would be
/ IN a great measure repaired by nature in
the long and rapid flow to the Intake. It
/ is over six miles by river from Clinton
Falls dam to the intake. aud from Oak
Ridge dam il is eight and half miles
Through the greater part of this distance
| the How is rapid and there is little to pol
lutte it on the way. At Charlottesburr
the river flows through a big millpond,
| but even there this current is quite rapid
Ia Newfoundland there is stretch OF
| sluggish WAFER, but everywhere else the
| sti eam PUSHES over stony bottom on "a
| sharp incline, and is thoroughly aerared
as 1t goes. Minute algae, known as
''purging" in fresa water lakes, Is bound
to appear In all large reservoirs, but. like
the particles of decayed vegetation, it all
disappears after a mile of Il run or Two in
a swift brook or river When Greenwood
Lake was as thick as Cruel last mouth
with floating plant life, there was none to
be seen in the brook two miles below til Q
dam, although millions of gallons of
water were running through the gate.
The engineers in the Paterson office of
| tie Water Company are making collec-
tion OF photographs Of the works. They
| and Mr.. Shirreffs has become quite ex-
pert as an amateur photographer. He is
assisted by Clerk Hoxsey, who has been
using camera for several years.
The bridge which is TO carry the pipe
line over the canal and Pompuon river,