The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-14
BPOOKLYN,S WATER SUPPLY.
Bill Repeating the a Preventing the
city From Entering suffolk County.

ALBANY, Feb. l3.-Assemblyman Morgan
Rep., Kings to-day introduced a bill
TO repeal the Burr law Of 1896 which operates
to prevent the borough Of Brooklyn. OF
rather the city Of New York, from OBJ
tanning any portion OF its water supply
from Suffolk county. The city authorities
are unqualifedly in favor of the Morgan
bill. In discussing the measure to-day,
Assistant Corporation Counsel Charles S.
Whitman said:
AS is well known, Brooklyn needs an
increased water supply Immediately, or as
rapidly as 1t is possible TO obtain IL. Ac-
cording TO COMMISSIONS Dougherty, the
Brooklyn borough will. within a year. suffer
a shortage Of water. A large surplus
is running to waste in Suffolk county, and
the Brooklyn water system could rapidly
and economically be extended into that
county to make use of this surplus.
Between Babylon and East Moriches.
which is the portion Of Suffolk county
through which the proposed extension
Of the Brooklyn water system Is TO be built,
there are between thirty and forty streams
and creeks flowing into Great South Bay.
From careful gauging made during the
unprecedented drought in the summer of
1894 IL was ascertained tina the minimum
daily flow from eleven of those streams
which il is proposed to utilize for the Brook
lyn supply was about 100000 gallons OF
fresh water, of the most Wholesome quality.
"The y atersheds Supplying these streams
are approx mately 2%0Osquarc miles, so that.
assuming the average amount OF water
taken for BROOKLYN to be lO0. 900 ,O0) gallons
a day, the corresponding amount of rain
fall required would b. only ten and a half
inches, whereas the average annual rain
fall in this section Is ~ 3 inches.
The Brooklyn engineers say We
should therefore take only about "a percent
of the total rainfall on these 200 square miles,
leaving the remaining 20 per cent. for evap-
Grafton, vegetable life, oysters and over
flow into the Great South Bay. But the
watershed draining into Great South Bay
is about 800 square miles, and from such an
area only 81 inches of rainfall would be
needed TO yield a daily supply of lo0,0oo,O0O
gallons: that is to say, only about 10
uar cent. of the average yearly rainfall OF
IS inches would be diverted in order TO pro-
vide Brooklyn with the requisite additional
supply Of 100, oOO, 1000 gallons per day
riding toestimates of allthe engineers,
water can be obtained from suffolk and
brought into Brooklyn within less h two
wears, whereas If Brooklyn Is forbidden
10 use Suffolk waters she cannot get relief
In less than eight or ten years. IL will re-
uuire nearly a decade IN bring water from
other sources TO Manhattan and The Bronx,
and 10 tunnel the East River or the Sound
so as TO convey those supplies into Brook
Ign may require even additional time
Il is understood that this bill is intro
duced a. a club to compel acquiescence
on the part OF the Suffolk County Board of
Supervisors, which has the power by a
majority vote to allow New York city 20
take part of its water supply from Suffolk
county. and that Mayor Low soon is 70 con-
fer with the SUFFOLK County Supervisors
regarding this question.