New-York tribune., 1896-12-07

HAVE TO CONSlDER-EEStITS OF SCh ElS
ALREADY MADE IN THE UPPER HUDSON
VALLEY. THE SOURCE OF SUPPLY.
frp-uTHE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBuNE.l
,lhanv. Dec Cone Of the most important
srhiects which the Legislature will have TO con-
,der when It meets in January Will ba the adop-
,on Of measures to bring about larger supply
- wafer for Greater New-York. The city of
proo,lvn is already distressed for lack Of water.
rs sources Of supply upon Long Island having
.heoon1e exhausted. and New-York City although
we'll supplied from the Croton Valley at present.
has reason 90 fear that its own sources OF water
supplv aye nearing an end.
rOna of the chief bills which the Legislature
rin have under consideration" said John Boyd
Thacber. Mayor Of Albany. a few days ago. will
Ia ONO establishing a commission to consider the
49,. .ar eunulv of the cities in the Hudson River
vallav. and 70 discover new sources to supply
,har, with water In my opinion, NewYork
,,rootlvu Yonkers Poughkeepsie Hudson. AL
han, Troy and Cohoes will eventually be sup
,,,ad with water from Lake ontario. The Adj
rondack supply fear would be too little For
so 600 600 an aquoduct could he constructed
from Lake Ontario to Greater New-York."
xo WEED TO DRAW FROM LAKE ONTARIO
told Yesterday Of Mr. Thaclrer's suggestion about
sunplving Greater New-York and the cities along
tho Hudson River from Lake Ontario. said II
hardly think that practicable. or. II practicable.
q iudjcous scheme Lake Ontario it is true. is
o47 feet above tide level. but then there is an In
+orvening highland al Rome i31 feet above tide
wafer In order. therefore. to get Lake ontario
water over the Rome highland into the Hudson
Valley you would either have to pump it over or
tunnel the highland"
where should Greater New-York seek in
creased water supply. in your opinion, Mr..
Adams"
IN the upper Hudson Valley" replied the
State Engineer decisively; and Greater New
York can obtain the water II needs there much
less extensively than she could from Lake on
tario Moreover water stored in the upper Hud-
son River will flow downhill all the way to New
York Harbor. Schroon Lake. for instance. is SOI
feet above tidewater An investigation we made
there the present year shows that we can store
water there for about SD a million gallons
whereas water storage often runs over 500
million gallons. The upper Hudson Valley GER
tainy offers an enormous source of water sup
ply for the cities along the Hudson. Why. the
city Of Troy has 5000 square drainage miles. in
cludng in that estimate the valleys OF Hudson.
That 5000 square drainage miles is one-sixth
the area Of the State
NEW-JERSEY'S NATURAL SUPPLY.
What do you think about the proposition to
take water for Greater New-York from the Ram
apo Riyer and rivers in Sullivan County?"
In my judgment" replied the State Engineer.
"the people of Newark. Paterson. Jersey City
and other places in the State of NewJersey
Will need eventually all the water that Sulli-
van County or the Ramapo Valley can spare.
Legal complications also might arise If we di-
vert water from streams that flow from one
State into another State"
It fortunately happens that State Engineer
Adams has already made what may be con-
sdered a preliminary survey of the upper Hud-
son valley as a source of water supply for the
cities along the Hudson. In 800 he obtained an
appropriation Of 5000 from the Legislature
for the avowed purpose OF making a careful
inspection of the valley OF the upper Hudson.
with the aim Of learning if a larger quantity OF
water could not be procured for the Champlain
Canal. and also for the Hudson River The ap-
preaching enlargement Of the Champlain Canal
under the S9,0OO,000 improvement plan. and the
deepening Of the channel Of the Hudson River
from Troy southwark by the United States Gov
eminent made this investigation by the state
Engineer a highly timely one. Mr.. Adams IN
creased his appropriation by $1,000 by working
in company with the United States engineers
who are engaged in making a Typographical
survey Of the State. the United States paying
half the expense Of the survey Of the upper
Hudson. The present year .he work of sur
veying the upper Hudson Valley has been con-
tinued. and $1,000 has been expended for the
purpose.
UNION OF EFFORTS DESIRABLE
II think il entirely practicable" said State
Engineer Adams yesterday, ''to make united
plan Of the scheme to obtain an Increased sup
ply Of water for Greater New-York and the
scheme to Increase the water supply or the
Champlain Canal and the Hudson River The
storage reservoirs which We desire to nave
built In the upper Hudson Valley can be used
for the double purpose Of storing water for the
cities and for the Champlain Canal, and the
hudson River and It's navigation"
George W. Rafter one Of the engineers OF the
State Engineers Department. has had charge
for two years past of this work of surveying
the valley Of the Hudson River at its northern
extremity. AIr Rafer yesterday, in reply 70 an
inquiry Of The Tribune correspondent as 10 the
relative amount Of water in the Croton Valley |
which is now used, and that which flows In the
Hudson River Valley replied
The city Of New-York may now receive /
through The Cr1tOn aqueduct 1J0OOoUU gallons
In twenty. four hours or go cubic feet sec |
ond Now the Hudson River flowed in 1883 a |
mean OF II 80 cubic feet second; In 1889. |
e33311 cubic feet: in 1890. 1881 cubic feet; in |
1891. 11O2l cubic feet: in 1892 1881 cubic |
'eet: in 1898. 10114 cubic feet; in 1874. SOB |
cubic feet, and in 1885. 77j9 cubic feet. This !
Is the storage period from December to May. |
further there is a considerable flow OF the |
liver in June July ard August. 1t then flows
'Fon 300 TO 00l9 cubic feet second. In the /
period Of September October and November
The how is from 800 cubic feet second to
"a