The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-08-02
WILL BE NO WATER FAMINE
Lowness Of Reservoirs
Alarms Timid People Of
Newark.

The water in the storage reservoir at
Oak Ridge is down thirteen and half
feet while that in store in the Clinton
reservoir is three and half feet below
high water mark.
This condition of affairs becoming
known. led to a rumor that the Newark's
water department was confronted with
serious danger, and that water famine
would be liable to ensue If the present
extreme hot weather continues much
longer.
Engineer NJ. R. Sherrerd, of the water
department, admitted today that the
water at Oak Ridge is thirteen and
half feet down and that the Clinton stor-
age is also low
II was at the watershed on Saturday
to inspect the place and ascertain the ex-
act condition of affairs said Mr.. Sher-
rerd. 1.-THE low water at Oak Ridge does
not signify that any danger of water
famine exists. The water has been much
lower before. 1t has been as low as
eighteen feet down and no serious con-
sequences resulted.
The East Jersey Water Company is
drawing more than 50,O0o,oO0 gallons a
coming in at the intake at the present
time. That is what the storage reservoirs
are fer-to draw from when the demand
exceeds the natural flow over the intake
There is no reason to fear anything
like a water famine unless we have
real dry fall, and the streams become
dried up, and there are no present indi-
cations that such will be the case. AT
the present time there is nothing extra
ordinary about the supply"
Mr.. Sherrerd said that the daily con-
sumption of water during the present hot
spell has been about Is, 500, 900 gallons, or
a million gallons per day in excess of the
amount supplied under the contract by
the East Jersey Water Company. This
has neeessitated the use of the pumps of
tho auxiliary supply at BelleviIle. The
pumps are worked during the period of
consumption about twice a week,
which has been found sufficient to meet
the demand in excess of the contract
amount.
The low-service reservoir in the Branch
Brook Park, which has been empty for
several weeks, while undergoing repairs,
made necessary by the discovery of Leak
ages Will De Teduy 10 f6celFG Wdlel ny
the end of the present week, after which
it is believed it will not be necessary to
resort to the auxiliary supply, except in
the event of long continued draught.
Some complaint has recently been made
concerning the slight discoloration Of the
water. BY some this discoloration has
been ascribed to the mixing of the Pc
quannock supply with the product of
the belief that Passaic River water was
being sucked up by the pumps, after it
had filtered through the river bed and the
various sub-strata underneath.
Engineer sSherrerd explains the discoior-
alton by saying that it is due to a slight
vegetable growth on the bed of the Oak
Ridge reservoir, caused by natural
process known to the country people as
THE pnrging of the lake" This growth,
Mr. Sherrerd says, is of a temporary ma
ture and soon passes away. II has notn-
ing in common with what is scientifically
known as "stagnation.'' and although It
discoors the water it is in nowise dan
gerous to health Most of the discolora-
ton passes away before it reaches the
city by aeration.
In combating the idea that the water
from the PasSaic River is sucked up by
the pumps at the Belleville auxiliary sup
ply, President Hewson, of the Board of
Works, advances the novel theory thar
the water pumped there is drawn from
an underground stream known by geolo-
gists to exist in this section of the coun-
try.
This stream is said to be of great pur-
ity and considerable volume. The village
Of Chatham obtains its water from this
supposed stream, and Mr.. Hewson be-
lieves that the engineers of this city sent
their drills into the same water.