The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-11

| plant for Newark, it so constructed the
main that it believed it would safely car
/ ry 50,000,000 gallons day. 1t was to our
| interest to build pipe of that capacity.
/ We wanted to fulfill all our contracts.
| The pipe line could not be built of cast
iron because that metal would not stand
| the pressure or the extreme velocity.
The pipe had a slope of IL feet to the
thousand. Cast iron could not be used
| for the further reason that the nature
of the ground would not permit. We
were forced to build our line of rivetted
| steel pipe and this pipe had only been
tested on the Pacific slope and in Roch-
ester. N. Y. When we began the con-
struction of the main we engaged a man
| well verse,F in water works building
who had experience in handling rivetted
steel pipe.
An expert named Hamilton had writ
ten book on the virtue of rivetted steel
| pipe and its great carrying capacity.
We examined reports on the action of
the pipe In Rochester and we came to
| the conclusion that we had proof posi-
tive that our sized pipe would do all we
required"
The officials were getting interested
and slowly they began to draw nearer
to the speaker. who seemed agitated.
1T now appears said the engineer
| slowly and distinctly that the facts
and figures on which we based our esti-
mates were all wrong-utterly unrela-
ble''
Not yet did the officials appear to an
ticipate what was to follow.
I'VE believed continued Mr. Hirschel,
| that riyetted steel had the same carry
4 ing capacity as cast iron. Another
thing I wish to call your attention to is
| that heretofore the measurement of water
has been practically farcical. No one
| knew what was going on inside a water
pipe. But our line is now equipped with
a newly patented meter Uhe venturi
meter, and it is one that does not lie.
1t tells to the dot what a pipe is carry
/ ing, Here tofore the ideas of the carrying
capacity of pipes have been meagre.
I'VE have now been over our lines
carefully We have taken careful meas
urements for the past three or four days.
and last Saturday we found that there
was no reason to hope that the Newark
Peouennock pipe can carry a gallon
more than S5,O0O.oe0 gallons day. 1t is
rather late to make this announcement,
1 but it is true
Had bombshell dropped into the as
semblage, the officials would, perhaps,
| have been no more surprised. President
! Van Duyne of the Newark Street and
Water Board was staggered. The Jersey
| City officials had to prop their jaws up
| with their left hands and keep their
eyes from leaving their sockets with the
| right. Not man spoke
This is a grievous thing for me to
say continued Mr.. Hirschel, in a broken
voice. "It is a sad admission for me to
have to make and sad one for the East
Jersey Water Company; but it is true
just the same. The carrying capacity of
our Newark main is only 35,0oo00O gallons
a day.
Newark under our agreement, is en-
! titled to draw 27,50000O gallons day,
| and we have contracts with Bloomfield,
/ Montclair and West Orange which take
another million. What is left belongs to
| Jersey City and she shall have it. Jer-i
sey City will have to pump from the
Passaic and Newark will have to start
/ its Passaic River plant again unless it
cuts down it's consumption. Newark,
under our contract is entitled to 27,50O,-
600 gallons a day. She will get it and no
! more The Newark officials have forced
| US to live up to our contract and now we
will force them to live up to theirs
"All the water we have over our con-
! tract agreements will go to Jersey City,
/ but think if we could be given one year
| we could build a plant that would give
/ Jersey City all she wants; but of course
we would ask a longer term contract than
| from year to year. We realize that Jer-
sey City cannot keep two plants going,
! but by our building another 4S-inch con-
! dut we would be able to bring 10000, 900
gallons daily from the Pequannock Val
ley by enlarging our reservoir area and
impounded shed and then Jersey City
/ could get sufficient. That would also re-
lieve Newark in her predicame1t. cam
| didly regret, and deeply, that the people
| of Newark will have to return to the
Passaic for water, after having good,
pure water for number of years. New
| ark could reduce her consumption by
! putting metres in the houses, but to
| bring about economy in the use of water
/ is the work of years, not days.
with Newark we have exceeded our
contract agreements, and it must be re-
membered we have five years yet in
| which to provide for Newark a plant
that will carry 5O,OO0,O0O gallons daily.
1--WE have at frequent intervals given
Newark as high as 34,0Oo,000 gallons
| daily, and I imagine that city is now
using about 30,OOO,000 gallons e day. 1t
was all right then to give Newark all
| she wanted 1t was more charitable
| than to turn the good water into the
river, but then we owned the water.
Now it is sold to Jersey City. Conse-
quently there is only one thing left for
US to do. We will give Newark 27,50O,-
600 gallons, what she is entitled to and no
more, and then the surplus will go to
Jersey City. Newark may have to pump,
but that will be no fault Of ours. We
ask no favors of anyone and we will
keep every contract we make We are
not in business to grind cities.
'"rhis is not pleasant thing for me
or my people to say
| At this juncture Mr.. Hirschel broke
down completely. Tears were in his
eyes and his throat choked up when
he said
THAT is the situation today. 1t is
dilemma. and an unfortunate one. and
! we must all meet it manfully''
President Van Duyne waited to hear no
more. He made a break for Newark to
report the astonishing revelation that had
been made The idea of Newark having
to pump Passaic and mix it with the
Pequannock that they are paving e,0Oo,-
nno -