The Anaconda standard., 1896-03-24
LEAKY RESERVOIRS.
Engineering Experience In the Use of
Asphalt ns "A Remedy.

III tne Sst "
Asphalt ~ IA Remedy.
From the Providence Journal
The construction of a water-tight re-
servoir on the soft soil near the wey-
bosset mills is accepted as proof by
some engineers that there is hope of
stopping the crevices in the Fruit Hill
reservoir, which, when last heard from,
was leaking at the rate of half mill
lion gallons day. Fruit Hill has cost
the city a great deal of money. After
its completion by ex-City Engineer
Gray, II was torn to pieces and rebuilt
at a cost of nearly 100000, and IL kept
on leaking. IT is known that the con-
ditions for a water-tight basin are not
the most favorable. Fruit Hill is like a
pile of loose ledge rock, the spaces be-
tween which are hard to stop. Instead
of trying to fill these openings with
clay, ETC., it has been suggested that a
coating of some impervious material
should have been used. The foundation
is strong enough to carry the weight of
the water, and, unlike the soil at the
Weybosset mills the rocks at Fruit Hill
will not be displaced by a load placed
on them. 1t is not probable that as
phalt can be forced through the crew.
ces of the rock. If this fact can be es-
tablished, however, there is no doubt as
to the desirability of the material used
for street paving.
Asphalt as lining for reservoirs was
discussed four years ago at a meeting
of the American Society of Civil Engi-
neers. 1t has been used for this pur-
pose in California, where asphalt Is
found in a variety of forms. OF course,
there is a difference between climatic
conditions in California and Rhode ISL
and, but asphalt mixtures can be varied
to conform to the temperatures of diff
ferent parts of the country. 1t is elas-
tic, does not crack, imparts no taste to
water and is kept in repair easily. Its
adaptability for a reservoir like Fruit
Hill is indicated by the experiments In
California, where a settlement of two
feet in light soil caused no break in an
asphalt lining an eighth OF an inch
/ thick. In another reservoir having a
half-inch sheet of asphalt vertical
cracks appeared a year after water was
pumped in, these cracks being caused
by failure to paint the raw edges of the
previously laid sections. One man
worked three days and used half bar
rel of asphalt on repairs, and there was
no further trouble.
In Denver, Col, asphalt was used in
two large distributing reservoirs, each
26 feet deep to the flow line. For one
reservoir a mixture consisting OF 20 per
cent of Trinidad asphalt and so per cent
of sand was adopted. II was laid at a
temperature of $50 degrees or over and
was held on the slopes by rows of an
chor spikes. The thickness was an inch
and three-quarters, and the sheet was
finished by soomthing irons heated to a
cherry red. The surface was very
glossy. The other reservoir was lined
with California asphalt-20 parts of as
phalt to so of sand. In this case the
mixture was compressed by a roller
made of cast iron pipe, kept hot by a
hanging fire basket inside. Both reser-
voirs, the American Society of Civil
Engineers was informed, were satisfac-
tory.
Philadelphia has leaking reservoirs.
and engineers have recommended as
phalt Innings. A report on these reser-
voirs will be made soon by Rudolph
Herring. a prominent civil engineer
and If Philadelphia can secure water
tight basins by the use of asphalt,
| there seems to be no reason why Fruit
Hill and the other leaking reservoirs
of Providence can't be made to hold
/ water