The Republican journal., 1896-06-11
The Boston Water Works.
Latter Fr,m a Belfast Boy who is Employed In
Their Construction.


Their CONSTRUCTION.
The following interesting description
is taken from a letter received by Mr.. and
Mrs. J. W. Wallace from their son, Chester
J. Wallace, who is employed in the en-
oineer's department in the construction
of the new Boston Water Works:
The Metropolitan Water board was Or
ganized July 10, 1895, and the act pro-
Vides that they shall construct, maintain
and operate system OF water works,
and shall provide thereby sufficient sup
DIV of pure water for the cities OF Boston,
Chelsea. Everett, Maiden, Medford, New
ton and Somerville, and the towns Of
Belmont, Hyde Park, Melrose, Revere,
Waterfowl and Winthrop, which cities
and towns shall constitute the Metropoli-
tan Water District. 1t was further direct
ed that other cities and towns within a
radius of ten miles of the State House
should. on application, be admitted into
the district. The district contains at the
present time a population of 994, 300, and
as it is proposed to construct a system
of water works sufficiently large to meet
all requirements until the year 1915, at
which time the estimated population will
be /. $50. 600, and as the average daily con-
sumption is estimated to be 100 gallons
per dav per inhabitant, making an aver
age daily consumption of 173, 600, 900 gal
Ions for the entire district, it will be
necessary to construct system capable
of supplying that amount.
The plans provide for the additional
requirements by taking the water of the
| South Branch of the Nashua River in the
town of Clinton. These waters are to be
combined with the supply now obtained
from the Sudbury and Cochituate system
and conveyed to the various cities and
towns of the Metropolitan District 1t
was calculated that the Nashua water
shed will yield in dry year 105, 900, 600
gallons of water daily, so that with the
IS, 600. 900 gallons now obtained from the
Sudbury and Cochituate system, the
Metropolitan District will have under
ordinary circumstances daily supply of
! 113, 900. 600 gallons. In order to make
available the yield of the Nashua water
shed it will be necessary to construct a
| large storage reservoir, and after making
| careful surveys Of the banks Of the river it
was calculated that by building large
masonry dam across the river short dis
lance above the Lancaster Mills, having
| total length of l, 250 feet and a maximum
| height of 129 feet above the bed of the
river it will flood an area of six and one
| half square miles to an average depth of
| forty-six feet. The foundation of the dam
| is to rest on solid rock, which is found in
the deepest part of the valley at or about
sixty feet below the surface Of the water
in the river. Upon the land that will be
/ flooded when the dam is built there is at
| the present time 224 dwelling houses, with
a population of |, III, four churches and
l.
torn down or removed in building this
reservoir. 1t was thought that by removing
all the loan and vegetable matter to an
average depth Of about nine inches for
the entire area, that the quality Of water
would be improved enough 70 offset the
| extra expense. The water is to be convey
| ed from this reservoir to Basin No. ) of
| the Sudbury system through an aqueduct
| twelve miles long, with carrying capacity
of 800, 900, 600 gallons of water daily. This
! aqueduct embraces a tunnel through
| rock of about two miles long, a masonry
aqueduct about seven miles long, with a
bridge across the Assabet River, and an
open channel about three miles long.
| From Basin No. 5, the combined waters
of the Nashua and Sudbury system wilt
| be employed through the present aque-
ducts to the Chestnut Hill reservoir.
AT Chestnut Hill reservoir it is propos-
ed to build new pumping station large
enough for the low service pumps and the
extra high service pumps. Provision has
been made for three high duty low ser
vice pumps; each capable of lifting 49,
0O0 600 gallons of water per day to
height of forty feet. The two extra high
service pumps will be very small in com
parison with the others; as they would
| 70 1,ox, "a o.. D
Ions per day. Large main pipes are to be
laid from this pumping station to Spot
Pond, a natural basin in Stoneham, which
is to be improved and used as distribut-
ing reservoir and connected with the local
water system now in use by the different
cities and towns in the Metropolitan
District. In the later part Of July, 1895,
the engineering staff was organized to
carry out this work, and in view of the
large amount of work to be done the staff
was organized into departments, such as
the distribution department, which in
cludes the pumping stations, the pipe
systems and the distributing reservoirs,
with headquarters at 3 Mt. Vernon street,
Boston, and the Aqueduct Department,
which includes the aqueduct and all work
connected with it. This department
has it's headquarters at Clinton, Mass.
1t is the intention to create addition
al departments when necessary. Work
was started Immediately on surveys of
different routes to Spot Pond. These
surveys consisted of the location of street
lines and fences, and few of the princi-
pal buildings, the street railway track,
and all the existing sewers, gas and water
pipes and electric conduts and a profile
of the street. Then this is all plotted on
plans in the office and the proposed pipe
lines are sketched on, and after being
approved by the Chief Engineer, tracings
are made from which blue prints are
taken to be used as working plans in the
field for stalking out these different lines
Of pipe. The work of laying the pipe is
to be done by contractors, the lowest bid
der securing the contract Contracts
have already been let for building the
greater part of the aqueduct, for furnish
ing all of the pipe, and for laying about
five miles of forty-eight- inch pipe, mostly
in the town of Brookline.
The entire length of pipe to be laid will
be about ninety-three miles, ranging from
sixteen inch pipe to forty eight-inch pipe.
The Metropolitan Water Board hopes to
get enough of the work done 50 as to