Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-16
WATER DEPARTMENT
Report Of Operations for the Past
Fiscal Year.
TOTAL OF new MAINS CONSTRUCTED
Daily Consumption Of Potomac
Fluid in the District.
GENERAL CONDITIONS NOTED

| Capt. D. u. Gaillard, senior assistant to
the Engineer Commissioner OF the District.
today submitted to the last named officer a
report upon the operations of the water de-
partment during the fiscal year ended June
30, 1900
From this report it appears that during
| the year 1909 feet fourteen miles, of new
| mains of different sizes We're laid. The
| south basin of the new Brightwood reser-
| voir was completed and filed on January Z,
| 1900. This basin has been continually in
use ever since. except for a short period
| during the month of May. 1t is built of
| concrete and has a capacity OF 1J,OOO.0Oa
| gallons; the reference of It's water surface,
| when full, is 2I6 above District of Columbia
| datum. Work is now in progress upon the
| north basin. which is to be similar in every
| respect TO that just described. The reser-
vor is connected to the city by a thirty-siX-
| inch cast-iron MAN, on which are placed
four divide valves twenty inches in diane
ter. Preliminary experiments made by the
superintendent of the water department in
Dictated that the loss of head due to con-
traction, by means Of conical reducers,
from the thirty-six-inch main to the
twenty-inch valve would be comparatively
small. and would be more than compen-
stated for by the ease of manipulation and
rapidity with which these valves could be
| closed in case of emergency; in addition,
their cost was much less than that of the
thirty-siX-inch valves.
LOSS Due to COntractfOn.
Under present conditions says Capt. Gall
lard, during the maximum flow from the
reservoir to the city, the total loss of head
due to contraction by these four twenty
inch valves is 1.24 feet. When certain con-
templated changes in the distribution sys
tenn have been made. the maximum rate of
| flow from the reservoir will not exceed
/ ", -PSnr,r h.,,tr ,I
the total loss of head due to the four
twenty-nch valves will then be only about
o. feet. As but little data is available re-
lating to loss of head in like cases, atten-
ton is invited by Capt Gaillard to a report
of the superintendent of the water depart
ment and to an interesting curve showing
the measured loss of head at different We
locites. due to contraction caused by in
sorting a six-inch valve on a line of twelve
inch pipe.
An increase of from six to eight feet of
head during the day in the water service
on Capitol Hill has resulted from the COM
pletion of the south basin of the Bright
wood reservoir, and most OF the pumping
can be done at night the very heavy
draft on the low service mains necessary 70
supply the pumping station being no longer
made during the daytime
Two of the boilers at the L street pump
ing station have been equipped with Rooney
mechanical stokers and two with HaWley
down-draft furnaces
During the year 25n2.9 million gallons of
water were pumped inc average per DAY
being 6s.IG1 gallons. The mean head
pumped against in the middle service was
1862 feet, and in the high service 800 feet
The total cost OF operating the pumping
station during the year was SIS. 74S. 81 The
cost of pumping 1880 gallons Of water I'M
der actual conditions. exclusive of interest
on investment but including 2 per cent de-
probation of plant was us75 cents The
average amount OF coal used per indicated
horse power per hour was Ii pounds.
Consumption of Water Increasing
LAS the consumption of water in the city
Is steadily increasing says Capt. Gaillard
the areas where pressures are defective
are increasing, the trouble being greatest
on that portion of Capitol Hill In proximity
to the main supplying the navy yard OPP
erations are now in progress whereby the
supply for the navy yard will be entirely
separated from the domestic supply I'm
proved pressures should result In the areas
just described. as well as in the navy yard
For some time past 1t has been felt that
q comprehensive project should be prepared
Tor the future extension Of the large distri-
button mains in the District of Columbia
and In accordance with instructions of the
Engineer Commissioner the superintendent
of the water department. early in 1889 pre-
pared project for such an extension for
the details Of which his report
Some time after this report submit
ted II was learned that the officer in charge
OF the Washington aqueduct had prepared
a project for fiterng the entire water sup
ply of the city, the filtering plant to be To-
Gated In the vicinity of the new Howard
reservoir This required a modification of
the original project submitted by the super
lntendent of the water department and ne
cessitated drawing the entire supply for dis
tributtOn from the vicinity of The eastern
extremity Of the new aqueduct tunnel
The principal modification embraced in
/ This report was the change in location of
the pumping station to site adjacent
to the new reservoir. After conference
with the officer in charge Of the Washing
| ton aqueduct this project was adopted
and will be made the basis of the gem
eral plan for future extensions of the dis
tr1bution system of the District of Co.
lumbia"
Permission has been obtained from the
| secretary of War. Capt. Gaillard says, to
use plot of land. containing about a.
acres. situated on Trumbull street. as a
site for new pumping station. General
plans for this station have been prepared
and prominent architects were invited tn
submit competitive designs therefor be-
fore August l. 1900.
HiEh-Duty Pumping Engines.
A contract has been entered info with
the Edward P. Allis Company of MiIwau-
| kee, Wis, for two 10000, 900 gallon high
! duty pumping engines for the sum of
{ Sl4s,oH The contract for these engines
must be completed by December 81, 1902
The balance to the credit of the water
lund at at the beginning of the fiscal year
I
al sources during the year amounted to
S3i9,3t901. The total expenditures less
repayments. were s39001956, leaving a bal
ance to the credit Of the water fund on
/ July !, 1900. of S2S4, 43J11
I An aggregate of 45.2O4 premises in the
! District of Columbia is supplied with Po-
tomac water, and 10S36i inspections were
| made by the inspectors of the water de-
| partment. and leaks were found in IL .452
/ premises The actual number of leaking
| f1xtures is much In excess of this num-
| Der, as several leaking fixtures are fire.
quently found in the same premises
submits a Map.
| With his report Capt. Gaillard submitted
| a map showing the daily consumption of
water in the District of Columbia the in
| crease OF population, the amount Oh water
! pumped and the number OF meters used
/ An inspection of this map he states shows
\ a fairly uniform increase in population, a
/ rapid increase in the daily consumption
| whenever additional distribution mains
! have been provided, and very marked
| increase, in the last few years, in the per-
centage OF water pumped, amounting at
| the present time to about IA per cent of the
| total amount used in the District of Co
| lumbia.