New-York tribune., 1903-03-20
A CUP OF WATER.
That 1t Means to the Cities of the
World.

ANCIENT AND MODERN ENGINEERING. AMP HiT
InE - P5ofsssor Of C1Til Enzineering in Column
bia University. Svo. pp. <Is. John Wieys eonS
UntiI enc has read Professor Burr's preface he
might be puzzled TO know why the scope OF tnls
volume was not made tribe broader OF e1se
more limited. departure from the present
scheme In either direction might POSSIBLY nave
been an Improvement. The arrangement De-
comes Ineligible, however. when 1t In known
that the book is the outcome Of six lectures ce-
l,vered At Cooper Union under the auspices vi
Columbia University, and that their puphc~tioA
was recommended by the president or the i@'t1
institution. These lectures. more or less amp
fed are represented by the pr1nclpei olN1Si
Of the book which deal respectively WIFI 3noi'N'
and modern engineering. modern bridges "a'ei
works for cities some features OF railroad e
xfneer1nE. the Nicaragua route and the Panama
route for an interoceanc canal "hhe hoie
space is devoted to wsterworks than 10 any
other TOPIC and though Professor Burr writes
for the engineer rather than the general puohc'
tba volume contains good deal Of useful infoF-
nation.
One Of the most striking facts presented oy
Professor Burr is the astonishing variety III rio
rate Of consumption in different Clues LUIS
Is fully as marked abroad as IN the Ohi'e0
States although foreigners consume ihuci teeS
than Americans. tOT RcAA0RS
consumption az gallons a day for each IN
&abitano would oe a fair average; bur venice
gets along with IL and Brest with D. "nile
GENEVA uses 81 and Dortmund IS. The figures
far MarseiIIes GOD and Rome 26D are hignfy
excentIonal For the forty-three cities IN 'ie
United States and Canada for which hsure'
are given so gallons day Woulo De 6oout
fair average. ST Paul. requiring o. ana FAN
River, consuming 35. represent one extreme
while Philadelphia, credited with ZZS' ana 6ul-
fsIo using 262 represent the other Ihe Fate
for New-Tork City. 10 gallons per Capita
snnrecIably above the average. So far as Amer
<~sn cities are concerned with few exceptions
.bsrs has been a marked increase IN the con-
s,rnntion within the last ten years. Tnus' bos-
ton used so gallons In 1890 and 14o IN A'oo,
The corresponding figures for New-York are 20
and 11S for PhTadelphie 132 and -. and Tor
Chicago 40 and 1o0
Though no attempt Ia made to account for the
r.narkable growth In the demand for water IN
this country, the greater average consumption
in America as compared with Europe Is at
tributec TO the general spirit OF extravaganza
that prevails on this side OF the Auantic' ~
.orne extent the differences between American
cities themselves may be explained By the fact
that IN some pIaces-Fan River, for instance
where manufacturers formerly drew on tne Guy
supply they now often have their own pumps
and mains and take water from ao1aceht
strearns- There ere three legitimate classes OF
consumption In 8 city-for household and hotei
use for commercial and Industrial purposes. and
for public service. especially for fires fountains
and street eprinkling. The first two are much
9hs largest but they vary greatly in different
Ysrts Of the country. In Yonkers, where meters
were used the household demand averaged 2l4
gallons day per capita and in certain parts OF
London # ranged from Is to 25 gallons. Still,
there are cities in Massachusetts, where only
about gallons a day are required whlie
in some Of the apartment houses in Boston
80 gallons are called for. In many places,
however. the waste largely exceeds the use
Professor Burr thinks that the legitimate con-
sumption in New-York City is 20 gallons. the
incurzbIe waste about 10 and the durable
wa ste s.
Some other information OF local interest Is
furnished by this writer. Although the average
rainfall OF the Croton watershed for thirty-tWo
years (4S.07 inchesl is ample for immediate
needs the precipitation varies more or less. In
1885 It was e fraction over 80 inches, while Il
has thrice been below Il inches since 1858. 1t
has been observed, too that much smaller pro-
portion OF the rainfall is available in dry years
than in wet The percentage in the former may
fall Of to 80 or 55. while in the latter 1t may
exceed 60. In 1880 the precipitation was 1892
4nches and the ''run-oh' only 1858. With the
present consumption Of 115 gallons daily, and
assumed population 90 100000 IN the bor-
oughs Of Manhattan and The Bronx, that situa-
ton represented a deficiency of over 24O00,-
10000 gallons, more than a three months
supply. Thus is Illustrated the necessity Of
ample storage facilities to carry over the sur
plus Of g wet period past dry one AS 1880
was the dryest year represented in Professor
Burrs tables, that may be taken suggesting
the extreme conditions OF drouth likely to be
encountered IN the future It is q consola-
ton 90 know, therefore. that the new Croton
dam will give to Croton Lake a capacity Of 3d.
10G.O00000 gallons without flash Boards" while
the addition Of the latter (four feet high would
increase the storage there to 6.5O0.OO0.OO0.
Elsewhere in that same watershed other
reservoirs and ponds which will raise the total
TO f0.245O00000 gallons; and tbs new jerome
Park reservoir viii add 1.e00OOoO00 more. At
the present rate Of consumption this Is enough
for 2S5 dAyE without drop Of rain although,
OF course, 1t would never be desirable TO draw
Il down to the dregs-