Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-04
LYDECKER'S TUNNEL.
Capt. Powell Thinks the District
May Get Some Benefit From It.
MONEY TO Be ASKED TO TEST IT.
An Increased Water Supply is
Greatly Needed.
NO ROOM FOR MORE MAINS.

There is still ground for hope that the
money expended in the construction of the
Lydecker tunnel and reservoir may not
have been spent in vain but that the Dis
trict may derive some practical benefit
from the enormous outlay. expended Their
on.
For some time past Capt. Powell the en-
gineer commissioner of the District, has
been giving the subject his earnest consid-
GRAFTON. and he now believes that some
practical good can be realized therefrom.
With this in mind 1t is his purpose to
bring before the board of Commissioners
at an early day a proposition to ask Con-
gress for an appropriation of $4,000 for
the purpose of testing the tunnel
Today in conversation with a reporter of
The Star he said 1t would require at least
year to complete the test That would
bring 1t into the year 1886, and at the pres
ent ratio of increase in the demand for wa
ter there would be great need for additional
water service by that time. The 4S-inch
main which was recently laid to increase
the water supply had been tapped at a
number OF points, and the result was that
the supply had been greatly depleted.
Something Must BE Done.
With the constntly increasing demands it
was apparent that something should be
done. 1t was impracticable to lay any
them. with no room for any more. The
natural solution then was to use the aQue-
duct tunnel and in that way bring about
the desired increase in the water supply
careful computation showed that If the
tunnel could be put in use, and the reser-
Voir hiled( the daily supply to the city
would be about equal from the two rese--
voirs, and until the consumption surpassed
$1,000, 900 gallons per day no Inconvenience
would arise from the disuse of the new
reservoir for a few weeks at a time. When
the consumption of the water in the city
reaches the 6O0J0,0O0 gallon mark per day.
30OOO.0O gallons per day would pass from
the distributing to the new reservoir at the
silted, so that the cross-section of the con-
duit was reduced to one-half the present
size.
The story Of the Tunnel.
There are few people in Washington who
are not familiar with the history Of the
famous Lydecker tunnel. On the 18th of
July, 1852. Congress passed an act ito in
crease the supply Of water for the District
of Columbia by extending the Washington
aqueduct from the distributing reservoir
to the high ground north of Washington,
near the northern terminus of 9Th street
and to establish reservoir with a capacity
or not less than 300 1900 gallons at the
latter point; also to heighten the dam at
Great Falls to give a greater head to the
water supply. An appropriation of $2,2l5,-
80 was made for the work, one-half Of
which sum, exclusive of the cost of the
fishway to be constructed at the dam, was
made chargeable to the revenues derived
from water rents and made payable in
twenty-five equal annual installments with
interest at the rate of per cent per an
mum, computed annually on the principal
sum remaining unpaid The amount now
due the United States by the District is
500. III. sc. payable in sixteen annual in
stallments. The interest for the current
year Is $2l.O0.5. After the investigation.
which demonstrated the faulty construc-
ton Of the work, Congress authorized the
use of as much of the unexpended balance
of the appropria ton for the work as might
be necessary to protect and preserve the
work already done on the tunnel.