The Washington times., 1901-11-11
A NEW CONDUIT REQUIRED
L Ilargement of Water Service by
the Howard Reservoir.
The Problems Confronting Officials
in Charge of the supply and Dis
tributioD-Causes Leading Tn to
Construction of the Tunnel

AhS fFoDiemS confronting Officials
in Charge of the supply and Dis
tribution-Causes Leading Up to
Construction OF the Tunnel
The tests recently made of the Wash
| ington Aqueduct tunnel. of the pumps at
| the Howard reservoir. and Of the reser-
| voir itself, practically brings to an end
The work begun nineteen years ago These
tests were a trial of the pumps and of
| the tunnel, to ascertain their strength
| and to demonstrate whether they were
| sufficient for the work required of them.
| 1t is stated unotficiallyi that the tests
were satisfactory in nearly every respect,
| and that it is only matter of a few
| days when the Howard reservoir will be
| placed in service as a part of the works
| Of the District water supply.
For several years the officers in charge
! of the Washington Aqueduct and of the
| city distributing system have been con
| fronted with two important problems rel
! ative to the water supply. One of these
| was filtration, which is being provided
| for, and the other the means to Increase
| the pressure of water at certain points In
/ the District Another problem also has
/ presented itself, and that is the increase
/ of the supply. which will have to be met
| at no distant day.
The completion of the tunnel and the
reservoir solves temporarily the question
| Of a larger supply of water on what is
/ known as the middle service of the Dis
| trict Tho Howard reservoir. with its
! large capacity OF 5o0,00OO0O gallons. is
I much nearer the city than the George
! town reservoir, by which the city mains
until now have been fed. Moreover. the
Howard reservoir, when filed, will have
| its surface 144 feet above tide. From il
the District viii be served between 70 and
l4o feet above tide, with an ample supply
for all uses. The lower level below
seventy feet. will be served, as now
through the NJ Street mains from the
Georgetown reservoir
The water supply Of the District is taken
from the Potomac River at Great Falls.
about fourteen miles above Washington.
y stone dam was built across the river
at that point, and by means of conduit
| fitted with necessary gates and appliances
for governing the inlet the water is
( brought down to the D1!ecarlia and
Georgetown reservoirs. Originally the SUP
ply for the city was entirely taken from
/ the latter reservoir. being brought down
Z the line OF NJ Street in four mains and dis
uiputed through the streets by lateral
mains. The friction in these smaller
mains, however, has always interfered
with the pressure, and it became neces-
sary in course Of time, to build other res
erYoirs notably the Fort Reno and the
Brightwood reservoirs, of comparativeIv
small capacity. and to install pumping
stations. ali essential to the high water
service.
To overcome the lack Of pressure and.
at the same time, TO extend the system.
the Aqueduct tunnel and the Howard res
ervoir were projected under an act of Con
gross approved July Is, 1882, the work af
ter various vieissitudes having been now
completed. The works at Great Fails
the conduit leading down to the city. the
Ddiecarha and the Georgetown reser-
Yoirs, the Aqueduct tunnel. and the How
ara reservoir are the property of the
United States Government, and belong to
the system which furnishes the Potomac
water for use to the District Of Columbia
The other reservoirs, the mains. the
pumping stations, and appliances for dis
trlbutng the water are the property of
the District of Columbia. The Aqueduct
property IS under the charge of the Sec
retary OF War and the Corps of Engineers
or the United States Army. The officer
IN charge is Col. a. NJ Miller The Dis
uict property is in charge of the Engi-
neer Depar tment of the District and is |
under the personal cha rgyi of W A Nc
Fariand, Superintendent of the Water |
Department.
:. While the appliances described are suf- |
Hcient Tor present purposes. those In |
charge or the water service already fore |
sec the necessity of enlargement by going |
pack to the starting point and building !
another conduit from Great Falls to the |
city There is daily consumption OF wa
ter In the District of nearly 80 600 900 |
gallons. On the basis of rs rs popu- |
iatlon the consumption averages 1S3 gal /
nc IA Issa.r
mated by the officers in charge of the wa |
ter works as a reckless waste of water |
The public buildings use 2.OS 6s2 gallons /
a day. and the balance is consumed by
the Fire Department in putting out fires. /
by the watering OF lawns. for running ele-
vators, and for domestic purposes. The
oihcIals say that nearly one-half Of the
consumption is waste pure and simple
Leaking spigOts and pipes and other
means OF waste are held by them ac-
countable for the enormous consumption
Ihey nave SAID repeatedly that the waste
must stop. They have inaugurated a sys-
TEN of metres for large establishments,
but still the waste goes on.
The theory in most American cities is
not To curtail the water supply 1t is as
sumed that there should be enough at the !
rates paid for rental to satisfy every do
mestic want. The assumption is that the |
water shall be free after the annual rental |
is paid. This Is believed to be the right |
principle. II is not proper. however, as
the Superintendent Of the Water Depart
ment has repeatedly pointed out. that |
there should be a constant waste of water |
aggregating millions OF gallons daily !
through defective plumbing and the care
lessness of householders and landlords
Mr.. Mcfarland remarked a few days ago |
that If they could get rid Of the leaking
spigots which run away thousands of |
gallons Of water during sleeping hours ,
there would be far less necessity for
building another conduit out to the Falls. !
But after all is done with reference to
waste, the fact remains that a large per
capita consumption Of water viii be the
rule in Washington always. Millions of |
gallons ale daily squirtcd upon the park
ing to keep the grass green and the flow
erS fresh; other millions of gallons are
sDr!nkled on the streets, and are used In
flushing the sidewalks, and the sewers,
and cutters; other millions OF gallons
must be spared in the public buildings,
ana In running elevators, and for use IN
various institutions This is inevitable,
and when there is added an increasing
amount for domestic purposes, due to the
extension of buildings and the additions
to the population, It becomes perfectly
obvious that the consumption of water
cannot be curtailed, bu' must Increase.
The reai problem, then. is not to cut of
n few thousand gallons here and few
Thousand there, but to build another con-
duit, and General Wilson, formerly Chief |
of Engineers has voiced this need in his
reports for several years. In short
speech before the Northwest Suburban
Citizens Association recently, General |
Wilson said that the building of the sec |
Ond conduit from Great Falls was HneVi-
table, and he admonished his hearers that
it was time to be stirring In the matter
before the call ON the water supply be
comes so great as to ovcrrCach present |
facilities
As pointed out by the official reports of
the Washington Aqueduct service. and by |
the distributing service the weak point |
he get 10 in Gin lfFlA