The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-09-11
NEW WATER SUPPLY.
Patrick Flynn's Engineers at
Work on Serious Prob
lens Of the Work.

Garwood Ferris the engineer employed
to look after the city's interests in the
building of the new water works at Boon
ton, will probably make report TO the
Street and Water Board at it's meeting
tomorrow The report will contain moth
ing new, as nothing official has been
placed before Mr. Ferris since Contractor
Flynn reported that the site originally
agreed upon was not safe and change
would have to be made. Mr.. Ferris has
had verbal reports from Mr.. Flynn's en-
gineers since that time, but has received
no written report that he can act on. If
Mr.. Ferris makes report tomorrow, as
he probably will, it win be that Contrac-
tor Flynn's engineers are at work on diff
cult engineering problems connected with
the establishment of grade and line for
the conduit and are cross-sectioning and
surveying the site on the Bonita property
to establish beyond a doubt their ability
to build a reservoir which will meet all
the requirements of the specifications and
which can be enlarged in years to come
to hold 100000 600 gallons instead of $4,000. 900
gallons. The plan proposed by Contractor
Flynn, when the old site was found de-
fective, was to build a reservoir on the
Bonita property 1000 feet above the old
site and provide for another reservoir.
when needed. in the Longwood Valley,
fifteen miles distant from Boonton. When
the engineers made careful surveys. how
ever, they found to their astonishment
that the Longwood Valley site was even
less desirable, because of the absence Of
rock bottom, than the Boonton Site. while
careful borings and examinations revealed
the fact that they could build reservoir
to hold 10000 600 gallons on the Bonita site.
which they at first thought was only fit
for a 50,O000d0 gallon supply.
These facts were reported verbally to
MIR. Ferris who insisted on having care
full surveys of the whole section, also a
survey Of the line over which it is pro-
posed to lay the conduits made and a
written report of the findings submitted
before he made any official report to the
Board of Street and Water Commission
ers which must approve Of the sight be-
fore the work of building the Reservoir
can begin. The borings and cross-sec-
tioning work on the Boonton property
has been satisfactorily completed The
engineers must now survey the entire
route Of the pipe line from Jersey City
to Boonton. a distance Of nearly twenty
IN 1ihAcSa 1tAio Was DSsuH D$ EulOW
Harrison. Chief Engineer of contractor
Flynn's staff. 1t will take over a week
to complete the survey. and no official
report from Mr.. Harrison can be expect
ed before next week Tuesday. 1t may
not be forthcoming before the end of the
month. The engineers are experiencing
some difficulty because Of the difference
between the bench marks on the State
maps and The City maps according to
which the specifications were drawn. The
State maps are al made from mean sea
level, while the City maps are made from
mean high tide. AS difference of foot
In the grade would mean the loss of d
million gallons of Water in the reservoir,
and the difference between the State
grade and the City grade is two feet
the surveys must be very accurately
made.
In order to insure the delivery of the
water at High Service, according TO speci-
fications, the effluent pipe in the reser-
yoirs must be As $40 feet above High
Service. This grade must be established.
When all these things have been done
a written report will be made by En-
gineer Harrison. and the Street and
Water Board will undoubtedly conflrm
the Boonton site.