New-York tribune., 1903-05-24
BROOKLYN WATER SUPPLY
No Fear of a Famine, as 1t Is No
Longer -4Ilosced to Go to Waste.

been
raised with even more vehemence than it used to
be raised summer after summer by the Willoughby
Street gang which always wanted another ap-
preparation. whether there really any scarcity
OF water not Notwithstanding the great scarcity
o. rainfall this spring. however. Brooklyn is far
better able than in any previous season to resist
e prctracted drouth. Under the reform admins
tration necessary works to render available large
quantity OF water which heretofore ran TO waste
through the negligence and apathy Of the Nillough-
by Street and Tammany city governments have been
completed Other works which will contribute an
additional supply have been authorized and VIII
soon be begun the facilities for distribution Of
the stored water are 10 be improved and enlarged
without delay
The quantity of water in storage April OF
This year was about four times that in storage at
the same time in 1901. when the last shortage
bordering on a water famine occurred " "hiie 'is
Is partly due 10 the more corious spring rams o1
,b;s year the administration is entitled TO credt
for H.. completion of works which enable the de-
nar+n,ent 10 husband the storage in the great
EIen7pstead reservoir against the time OF greaeSr
need in q way never before possible.
For some years the firemen and fire underwriters
have complained bitterly of the lack OF water sup
,,ly in the irvgoods district. The causes Tor IliS
oron1airt are TO be reTledied by ripping out
the old rust-eaten and inadequate pipes ana put
ting down mains Of sufficient capacity 10 permit
17inetv-xo streams from hose lengths OF less 1hah
six hundred feet TO be concentrated on fire A
fire is to be made at the same time along me river
front arordng better protection TO the warehouses
and shipping
The plans of Chief Engineer I. NJ. de Narona for
taking up all the antiquated rusted, underslzed
and electrolysis affected mains inherited from the
zy5o,,rbbv Street administrations, and for which
no relief could he obtained from Tammany after
consolidation. have been approved. and the appto-
7~iatiors have been authorized. The drygoods dis
,rrt ard waterfront VIII be provided for this year
md within the two o. three years the re-
ls,-s,l.r % the Improvement will be completed
7s.r-ne the Nan Wyck administration every re-
, -: o: The engineer of the Department of Water
,..s fer Brooklyn setting forth the necessity Tor
I'D conduit capacity. the urgency OF fitration
. 80 contents of several polluted ponus, hcIedseo
-,,o ,apacitv and enlarged pumping plants was
GO. until during the summer OF 1901, when
49, famine became imminent. pubic lhdlgnatioh
lls-a SO great further apathy meant polltical
- -.i- fer the party power At last. under the
--ossi.re of this feeling, money was grudglngLy
.,n,iated 10 build three additional pipe lines
--oza the Nilburn pumping station to the MillouFh
-.~,.5r Two from there TO the junction with the
f-7-3, conduit at Rockville Centre and d 4s-lnch
g. in thence 20 the Ridgeweod reservoir, in Brook-
After q DELAY Which seemed almost inter
.:asblo the contract was awarded and the worK
vas begun II dragged along far beyond the eH-
,,j-at:or OF The time limit of the contract ana us
-orapletion was left Commissioner Ropert 0Ilef
Monroe Of the Low administration
This announcement is available this year Tor Inc
FIRST time It's Importance cannot be fuzzy aPpre-
GATED without a statement of the condluohS "Ioii
existed before. The Hampstead reservoir WINCH II
vas for many years almost the only dependence %
F9-oklvn for water is still the only large storage
rasfn OF the system Its contents are the oiiS
large reserve Of the borough; in fact me Only re
serve except the distributing reservoirs Wlthlh
-he ~i1y nroper The daily average water cohsuhp-
,for or Ferootlvn in 1901 vas about ninety million
gallons and on account Of the limited CONDUIT
capacty from. the Mnlburn pumping station 10
Rockville Centre only about forty million gaiioiS
OF this amount could be drawn from the pohuS anu
driven well stations beyond Mburn. even Wleh
,.-.7a- in that region WAS wasting over the dams
and oozing from the ground or gushing iiolu ~"
driven wells only flow into the sea 1hls Io'ce"
,te zenarrnleut even when the most urgent neces-
stv fer busbanGing the storage supply existed 10
z-sz from, if at the of above fifty million ga-
Ions daily. With the new cpnduits IN opeIi'ioi'
sffording capacity tor all the water ootalha"ie oe
,-ond Nillb,irn and for that from the driven wen
stations this side Of Rockville Centre aIoui'iis
It present to Oooe5o gallons from the hrs' I'.,eu
source and to about thousand gallons from ina
last mentioned even with consumption increase 4
70 10000 gallons day o ne e SaIogs day less
han two years ago. With the addition OF loogyy
gallons daly yoed IFS ard ordered 10 be built in the
Vicinity OF Springfield fnis iT dTaugm Snore than half
that Of 1901 and with the new pumps 70 pe lii ~
faec G al of draWines 50 0e0oO0 gallons daily during
vet seasons from be!oiio 'Ia. 1eea1ryoir n9ay
oIaush1b a. s1tb times be redEced TO nothing re.
suIting in the accumulation there OF a any ScT5y
thCeliIg ITgZooklyn has never suffered from summer
shortage 81 9arnnetead reservoir well filled and to
have II filled with the spring rains IS tne az he
safeguard against famine Inc ta uIa = w,ouId
datIT supply from other sources. where y. ~ sIiro
is waste while the great reservoir Is lliiIIS h.
=. an economy the engineers long have aesiIeu, De
,,inh has been made possible only by tne his
G3ents 1csJ sI0f BE- reaped by Brooklyn this year
frT vii accrue during the next rainy Season, a. nd
tbe inetallation OF the pumping ehshnieS9 ~
t 55ertaken by the present administration az Ia q
cost Of SIS. 400 The water when t,o nas Wantagh
paI1-,ore Nerrick and Freeport ana my. e. g.
surface food which has oozed INTO g noints while
below the driven well stations az these from the
The borough was drawing unnecess1a[ls ar siIsnle 70
f+emrStead reservoir viii hereafter be aNliri aN Of
a. +t f 81 o6 900 gallons daily the caIaciig i %
the Nlburn pumps. while the DIG iei go tafora e,,en
end 20 much larger eAtShl '"0''
=, 100 even during the dIrest outcry @ apouc ,en "a
p dam below, the Wantagh storage po." .. The
driven we'll station into me Daa, aa,1in.- Of a valve
sent eoyor,s streams into the air from the WI Mtt'
tubes that by sub.s1Thioacee eaIdb During the
We ea.so,' a. - ore water than saved OF u.s. %
al along the shore wasted into the sea. tr , can
be utilized. and 0g000io gallons q daS a"U
The initration eeIlery designed by Chief Eng,
neer De Nsrona IS new feature a,niied e in Cali
fornia. but never before in the East
heavy sub-surface volume cf water s,Sra of
ihe sea constantly all along ihe driven wells
Song Island From ths fiood tne III aIIerv is
simply scheme Tor accumulating this ain wa,er
IN oIoeT that II may be pumped I lntD ,e surface
OF the water bearing stratum OF sano an, r. sovy
The Joints Of TIE piTe are not caiked. but are
covered by heaps of gravel through wlh wlch ,nto r
the gallery. The first of these galleries WIZ ~ . g Dg
about two miles long and VIII be lad ig 9f 59i Mr. De
Earona asserts that the use ot sub-suriaee s s of