The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-07-30
PHQUANNOCK INSPECTED
The East Jersey Water Com
panY Has Fixed Things
Up With Newark.
FOUR MILLIONS TO BE PAID.
Shallow Flowage and Vegetable
Pollution Unremedied-Status
Of the Contract.
FOUR MILLIONS TO BE PAID.
Special to the Jersey oTtu Ne,es.

NeWdrk Guy OIuclHlS ana ClClZo0S LOOK
trip to the Pequannock water shed yes
terday and examined the new reservoirs
and their surroundings. The day was an
excellent one for the purpose, and after
an inspection of the construction of the
spillways, gates, gatehouses and masonry,
and drive around portion of the Oak
Ridge and Clinton reservoirs, they re-
turned to Newark satisfied with what
they had seen.
The party consisted OF Mayor Haynes,
his secretary. G. D. Haynes. Mr.. Harlan
and Superintendent Charles Marsh, of
the Board of Works, Aldermen A. h.
johnson. Lyman E. Kane and John
Hausman, City CLERK W. E. O'Connor
Tax Receiver Martin Issler, Colonel
A. Judson Clark, A. J. CLARK,
Jr.. Tax Commissioner Mark S.
Richards, County Collector t. J. Regan,
Riley w. Bond. Jacob Peters. W. H.
Gerhart, Jesse Kane, James NJ. Doremus.
George Rabenstein, John L. Carroll,
Bernard Cahill, E. c. Faitoute, Gustave
Voelcker, Adam Groel, William LOTUS,
n. Drake, L. A. Allen, G. Brueckner,
William Halsey and Messrs. Dannenberg
and Sawyer.
A JERsEx CITY NEWS reporter accom-
panied the party with view of noting
the present condition of the reservoirs
and of finding out whether the East Jer-
sey Water Company had done anything
to rectify the breaches of contract COM
planned of by Newark, and. to certain
extent, admitted by the company. After
an early morning ride on special of the
New York. sSusquehanna and Western
Railroad. the party found itself at II A.
M. at the little hamlet of Newfoundland.
Here vehicles were provided. and the trip
TO Oak Ridge reservoir, the smaller of
the two dams to be purchased by the
city. was made.
IAN OAK RIDGE RESERVOIR.
This splendid sheet of water was beau
tiful in the bright sunshine. Everything
at the gatehouse and spillway was found
in first class condition. the reservoir WAS
full and has been full for the last six
weeks. The gates were tightly closed,
the reservoir full to the water line and
the water flowing over the spillway. The
gltehouse keeper said that the amount of
water flowing over the spillway and find
ing it's way to the intake was about
$4,000, 600 to Is 600, 600 gallons daily. There
had been no visible diminution OF this
quantity during the drought of the past
three weeks. This would show that the
daily average supply of water to this res
ervoir from the drainage area OF about
twenty-seyen square miles had been from
$4,000, 900 to Is, ,0o0.o geo gallons. This, of
course, may be taken as a fair average
daily supply for this time of year. al
though the supply would probably be re-
duced by a drought OF few weeks
longer. The massive masonry and the
general character of the construction
were generally admired. Mayor Haynes
explained the details of the works to
those who were paying their first visit to
the place.
VEGETATION NOT REMOVED.
A drive along the shore of the Oak
Ridge reservoir showed that nothing had
been done by the company to remove the
vegetation complained of as likely to
destroy the excellence of the water, or to
remedy the defects of shallow flowage in
the part of the reservoir furthest from
the gatehouse.
AS the water was at its highest level
the vegetation did not show above the
surface co any great extent, but closer
observation showed that all along the
upper shores, near the inlet. there was
much vegetation in the water that could
not fail to be exposed and decomposed
when the water fell. There were also
one or two islands that should be re-
moved, according to the opinion Of those
in the party who We're conVersant with
such things, and according to the con-
tract. A considerable quantity of drift
wood and other matter that had evidently
risen from the bed of the reservoir since
it's completion, fioated on the surface of
the water A workman could easily
place all this above high watermark.
BIG DAILY REDUCTION OF THE SUPPLY
The condition of affairs aJ Clinton reser-
voir, the largest dam. although it only
has drainage area OF eleven aud one
half square miles, was very different.
The water was being drained off at the
rate OF about 85,000,000 gallons daily
through one of the massive gates. and
was tumbling picturesquely down to-
wards the intake. Some idea of the
capacity Of these gates can De had when
it is stated that to leG out this large vol
ume of water one gale only had to be
opened and that only to the height of
nine teen inches.
Inv estigation revealed the fact that the
water has been delivered at this rate for
the past six weeks to the intake and that
to do this the surface of the water of the
reservoir was lowered two-dfths of foot
daily.
Yesterday the surface of the water was
about twenty feet below the level of the
subway. A mark on the sDillway
showed that the top of the spillway OF
this reservoir is just 99l11a feet above the
sea level.
1t is interesting to note that at present
about $4,000. 600 gallons of water are being
daily discharged from the two reservoirs
to the 1ntake-l5. O00. 700 gallons from
Oak Ridge and 81. 900, 900 from the Clinton.
| TO do this exn nausts the entire daily drain
| age of Oak Ridge and reduces the body of
water in Clinton two-dfths of q foot q
| day, besides exhansting it's daily drain
age or these so 900. 600 gallons OF water
| the city takes about 23000,000 gallons a
day through the pine line, and the re-
| mainder runs to Butler to be used in the
| BuGler Hard Rubber Works and by other
| factories there.
A LEAK AT CLINTON DAM.
| 1t was stated that it was the intention
of the East Jersey Water Company to
| take out all the water from the reservoir
| aud that this would be accomplished at
| the present rate OF dischar9e by about the
| third week in August
There WIS much conjecture among
| the visitors as to the object of the COM
| pany in emptying the Clinton reservoir
Mr.. Harlan, Of the Board of Works,
gave it as his opinion that it was done in
order to try to stop the leakage in the
| dam at the gatehouse. This is the leak
about which so mueh has been written
| and which up TO the present it has been
found impossible to stop. The water
could be seen trickling from it slowly
| into the body of water that was rushing
to the intake. The leak is unimportant
| In itself, as the water is not lost. The
serious feature in the leak is the possibil-
| ity of it's eniarging and the future
damage to the works thereby. So far it
has been found Impossible to locate the
situation of this leak. Mr.. Harlan be-
| lieved itwould be found in the gatehouse.
Mayor Haynes thinks 1t oozes through
the bed of the dam through a cleft in
the rcck and winds about till it finds an