Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-21
THE WATER SUPPLY
Gen. Wilson's Report Deals With 1t
at Length.
FAVORS TUNNEL RECONSTRUCTION
improvement of the Potomac at
This City.
DEFENSEs OF WASHINGTON

The annual report Of Gen. Wilson, chief
of engineers, n ade public today. contains
a mass Of important information of special
interest to the residents of the District Of
Columbia, as will be seen by the subjoined
extracts:
Improvement of the Potomac MT
Washington.
The present which Is the original, pro-
ject for Improvement of the Potomac at
this city was adopted by the act Of Con-
gress of August 2, 1882. 1t has for its OBJ
ject the Improvement of the navigation of
the river by widening and deepening its
channels. reclamation OF the flats by de-
posting on them the material dredged from
the channels, the freeing the washington
channel, so far as it can be done, of sew
age, and the establishment of harbor lines
beyond which no wharves shall be built.
To effect these the project provided for
twenty feet depth in the channels at low
water, for filling in the flats to height of
three feet above the Hood plane of 1877, and
for a tidal reservoir or basin above Long
bridge, to be provided with inlet and outlet
gates of ample dimensions, to work auro-
matically, and SO arranged as to admit of
the basin being filed from the Virginia
channel on the flood tide and discharged
into the Washington channel on the eb5.
An ample system of drainage for the re-
claimed area was also contemplated.
The project also provides for the rebuild
ing sof Long bridge at an early period dur
ing the progress of the improvement with
wide spans upon piers Offering the least
possible obstruction to the flow of water
and the fnterCeption of all sewage now dis
charged into the Washington channel and
its conveyance to the James Creek sewer
canal, but neither of these works was in
cluded in the estimated cost of the i'm
provement, which was $2,716,365. The esti-
mate. as revised in 1897, is $2,953 ,O2O
The total of appropriations for this i'm
provement from August 2, 1892, to date is
81. 2S5,OO0.
The amount expended to June &c. inclu-
sive. 1896. was 81. Isl .O49 20. The work done
to that date had resulted in the dredging
of a channel - feet deep and $50 feet
wide through the bar above Long bridge
and in restoring the standard 20 feet navi-
CATION by redredging shoals due to fresh
cts; in widening the natural channel Just
below Long bridge from 80 to 800 feet and
deepening 1t to ~ feet: in dredging a chan
net $50 feet wide and ~ feet deep through
the bar in the Virginia channel near Gies-
bore Point; in dredging in the Washington
channel to width of 400 feet and depth of
~ feet; in dredging the junction of the
Washington ard Virginia channels in
dredging the tidal reservoir Oil acres) to
Il depth OF about feet; construction Of
the reservoir outlet, and construction Of
3s.sS5 linear feet of sea wall and o965
linear feet of training dixie.
The work of the past fiscal year has
consisted In laying sea wall on the Vir-
ginia channel front ana in the tidal reser-
voir; also in relayIg a part of the old sea
wall along the Washington channel front
of section III of the fats. A contract was
made March o. 1897, for dredging to be
Gone under the appropriation of S1OD 600 for
the improvement made by the act of June
:. 1896. the work to begin July l.
The benefits 20 commerce and navigation
from the work done have been marked.
Vessels of the draft row engaged in the
coal trade from Georgetown were formerly
unable to cross the bar in the Virginia
channel. Advantage has been taken CT the
increased depth in the Washington channel
by loading vessels for it's wharves more
heavily than formerly could be done
The sum asked for tie fiscal year ending
June ~. 1879. is to be applied to work in
furtherance of the project.
Congress. by act approved March 3. 1897,
set aside the reclaimed flats, together with
the tidal reservoirs, a public park I'M
der the name of Potomac Park TO be for
ever held and rsed as q park for the recre-
alton and pleasure of the people.
Washington Aqueduct.
Gatehouses and other buildings were re
paired. The former were repointed and
covered with a wash of Portland cement;
the latter were reprinted or whitewashed
About 4.5 miles of picket and board fences
were repaired and whitewashed
During the past year, not including the
| occasions when the water level was lowered
| by the supply being shut Off for the pur-
pose of making srepairs of removing de
posits from the conduit, the extreme nuc.
| tuation of water level in the Distributing
| reservoir had range of but one foot, as
against Is feet for the preceding year
| This marked improvement Is due to three
| causes: % Raising the dam at Great Falls
CD removing deposits from the conduit; O.
putting the Dalecarlia reservoir into serv.
ice.
The borders of the Dalecarlia reservoir
have been cleared of underbrush and fallen