Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-13
Annual Report of Captain Derby
Submitted to the Commissioners.
EXTENSION In BOTH RECOMMENDED
The Question of an Issue of Sewer
Bonds Discussed.
LIGHTING OF THE ST EETs


Derby was submitted to the Commission
ers this afternoon. Capt. Derby's depart
ment includes water distribution water
| rates, sewers, street lighting, permits. in
spection of plumbing and inspec ton of gas
| and meters
| The total lengths of water mains laid
| during the year, says the report, was 142,-
| OiI feet, the largest years work ever done
| by the water department.
| High Service.
The distributing reservoir OF the low
| service system has water level of 148
| feet above mean high water, ard gives a
| fair service when the mains are not over
| taxed to localities situated at level OF
| 100 feet or less above datum. Much of
| Georgetown, small portion OF Washing
ton and the greater part of the remainder
! of the District of Columbia lie above the
! level of 100 feet above datum, and for
these areas the water supply has &c be
| pumped.
Until recently two pumping stations have
| been maintained; one in Georgetown,
| pumping to level of 2ls5 feet in res
| erVoir at l. and sd streets, ard one at u
| street between 10th and 18th streets north
| west. pumping to a level of 1856 feet in a
| stand-pipe at 10th and Morris streets. To-
| ward the close of the last fiscal year these
| two systems were connected by short
| length OF l2-inch main, and all the pump
| ing mas since been done at TIRE u street
| station, with a saving of about 5000 per
| annum in wages and fuel. The 10th street
| stand-pipe has been dispensed with and re-
| moved, and the average pressure in the
mains has teen increased two feet in
| Georgetown and fourteen feet In the WASH
| ington high service.
An act of March g. lS93, appropriates for
! extending the high-service system of water
| distribution so much as may he available
! in the water fund after providing for the
| other expenditures authorized by Congress
| in the same act. The first controller has
reported to the Commissioners that this
available balance amounted to s305.545.09
on June 80, lSt}. BY the books of the water
department this balance should be s2I!,-
ASH; the apparent discrepancy is be-
| lieved to be due to difference in methods
of keeping the books. Several attempts
have been made during the year to get this
apparent discrepancy adjusted, but 30 far
without success.
Reservoir at Fort Reno.
Under this appropriation. and in pursu-
ance of project approved September II, 1893,
site for a reservoir has been purchased at
Fort Reno and contract has been made for
the excavation and embankment to be COM
pleted December To- 1884; contract has been
made for 5000. GOO- gallon pumping engine
to be erected at the L street pumping sta
ton, to be completed January :. 1895; a IT,
inch main has been laid from the pump
house to the Tenleytown road by way Of
w OOuley lane, ana on tne L tllleA TOWN. TodU
from Georgetown to the Reno reservoir;
another l2-inch main has been laid in part
from the reservoir to Takoma by way OF
Brightwood The completion of this main
has been delayed, the works Of the con-
tractor for the pipe having been destroyed
by the fire. These works have now been re-
built and the contractor has resumed de-
liveries.
Pending the completion OF the reservoir
and pumping engine, tank was constructed
at Fort Reno with a capacity Of 10000 gal
Ions and small Knowles pump having a
capacity of about 1tU,sW gallons per diem,
which was kindly loaned to the water de-
partment by the architect of the Capitol,
put in operation July, 1894, supplying
all the water necessary at present-about
10000 gallons per demon the line of
Woodley lane and Tenleytown road. In the
early spring the concrete lining will be put
in the Fort Reno reservoir, and IL will be
available for use by June, 1895; the 12-inch
main from Reno to Takoma will also have
been completed by that date. when the whole
upper service system can be put in opera
tion. Forty-seven thousand six hundred and
twenty-five feet of mains have been laid for
this system during the year.
Division of the Distribution.
on account of the great variation in the
elevation of the different parts OF the
District Of Columbia the high-service sys.
TEN of water distribution has been di.
vided into an upper and middle service
The upper service embraces those areas
of the District which lie above the level of
200 feet above datum: for this service
which covers a wide area which is now,
and probably will be for many years, but
sparsely settled, the supply is pumped to
a level of 40 feet above datum; the Fort
Reno reservoir. with a capacity of 4,2W,-
coo gallons. and the 5OOO.UO-gallon pump
ing engine now under construction, will
probably meet all the requirements Of this
service for many years to come. The
middle service includes the area lying be-
tween the levels of 100 feet and 200 feet
above datum, which is probably destined
in the near future to he closely built up
ard occupied 10y very dense population.
This area is now served by two 2,tOO.OOO-
gallon pumps, pumping into the George-
town high service reservoir. This service
IL now rapidly expanding, and has been
extended TO include lexington and Brook
land.
at present are the construction OF dis
tributing reservoir, the laying of a twenty
four-inch supply main from the pump
house to the reservoir. and the completion
Of the line of twelve-inch pipe from 18th
street northwest to Brookland The reser-
voir should be located at some point on
the ridge behind the Soldiers Home at an
elevation of about 2Go feet, where IL can
feed to equal advantage toward Mount
Pleasant and Georgetown on one side and
Brookland. lexington and remCter sub
urbs on the other.
The 24-inch main can be laid this year
from the pump house out 18th street
as far as Spring road, but it can go no
further at present, as the streets have rot
yet been opened and IT Is not urgently
needed as to justify paying for the right of
way along the proposed extension OF 18th
street and Kansas avenue to the Blair
read, particularly, as under existing law,
no assessment could be levied to pay for IL
If laid a right of way. For the same
reason the l2-inC h main. to supply Brook
land, cannot advantageouSly he finished
now. The exact location OF the reservoir
has not been determined upon either for
the same reason. Negotiations have been
in progress throughout the year looking to
the purchase of suitable site, but no
proposition has been received that was be-
lieved to be advantageous, and il has not
been thought advisable to begin cond emma
ton proceedings until the street extension
plans have been finally adopted. In the
meantime work can proceed at once on the
construction of the pump house, on laying
the 2i-inch main where the streets are al
ready opened, and in laying the G-inch dis
tributing mains applied for by residents
With the rapid increase in the develop
ment of the distributing system during the
last few years the duty demanded OF tho
IS, So 30 ard Finch mains, which bring
the water from the distributing reservoir
to the city, has greatly increased. Many
complaints Of insufficient supply have