Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-27
Fill RATI0N PLAN 7
Report of Special House Com
mittee
ON PROGRESS OF WORK
RESULT OF A VISIT TO WORKS
HERE AND IN PHILADELPHIA.
The Work Done Up to Date and What
Remains-Some Technical
Recommendations.
ON PROGRESS OF WORK

fhe special committee Of the House COM
nIttee on the District of Columbia. ap-
pointed to inquire into the progress OF work
on the Washington filtration plant submit
ted its report today. The special commit
tee consisted OF Representatives Morrell of
Pennsylvania. Wiley of New Jersey and
Cowherd of Missouri. Mr.. Morrell intro
duced early in the session the resolution
which called for the Inquiry.
The committee recommends that the pre-
anrble of the original resolution. which
stated it was current report that work was
not progressing sufficiently to guarantee
completIon by next December. be amended
no as to read that whereas great interest
Is manifested In the progress OF the work
on the Washington aqueduct filtration
plant" etc. the Secretary of War Is in
structed to furnish the House with de-
tailed statement of the work to date, TO-
gsther with information concerning the
financial responsibility of the contractors.
The report of the committee states that
the members visited the now filtration plant
In Philadelphia and the one In TINS city IN
order to familariZe themselves with the
work The committee also conducted
hearing of those In charge Of the work
hare After reviewing the letting of the
contract early in 1908, the report says:
Work Up to Date.
"Couiug down to actual operations, we
find that up to the date of the visit of the
committee the necessary amount of excava-
tions completed were about 40 per cent ana
the remaining 60 per cent was not being
hurried inasmuch the material exca-
waited 1t was stated would be necessary
for back filling around the walls of the nj
ter and for grading the courts and Tor NIL
ing over the arches. The equipment for the
excavation consisted of five steam shoVeis,
nyuny locomotives
elevated railroad in New YORK, ana sur
fcient number of dump cars.
Your committee found that for M KING
concrete there was one cubical mixer at
work with claimed capacity OF 250 yaros
(bu. actual capacity of 1SO) per day OF ten
hours There were erected and almost
ready to go into operation three other cup
ical mixers of the same capacity each. foI
the distribution of the concrete from the
mixer to the forms to be supplied there
was erected and in operation one tAdger-
wood galloway, the towers of which were
placed In courts Nos. ! and so as TO
command two filters in length.
""This galloway seemed to be sufficient to
take care of the output of the single mixer
in operation but no other cableways or
devices were on hand to take care of the
product of the three mixers not yet In
operation. The time required to handle
bucket Of concrete from the mixer to the
point of delivery and return the empty
bucket was about three minutes. not allow
ing for any interruption in the operation OF
the machinery. For the laying Of the con-
crete there were about fifteen trained men
employed. which. with some additional
common labor. was sufficient to take care
of the single mixer in operation. AT the
time of the visit of your committee there
were about 1900 yards of concrete flooring
laid. but no forms had been erected except
FOR few piers, nor had any of the forms
been put in place for laying the roof. A
portion of the forms for the division wall
between the two easterly filters of the ten
filters now in process of construction was
IN nj receive
~ Storage Capacity.
THE storage capacity for sand and stone,
as stated by those In charge, Is 5000 yards.
and the storage capacity and protection Of
the cement at 10000 barrels Assuming 80
per cent of efficiency of the four concrete
mixers, the officers in charge calculated
that 1t would take about $50 days to COM
plete the concrete work Of the four filter
beds The committee found that small
about sufficient for one filter. were already
on the site of the work. and were told that
the remainder had been shipped.
mo method had been decided upon for
the manner of placing The pipes or the fill
tration material The filtration material,
1t was calculated, would be distributed
through the ventilator openings of the
filters below. With sufficient men. 1t was
stated by the officers in charge that the
filtration material could be laid at the rate
of one bed per week.
LAS was stated. the filtration works near
est In the cost of construction, and inyolv-
ing about the same amount of work to be
performed the Belmont works for sup
plying water to West Philadelphia, which
your committee visited Monday. April
1S The total cost of these works In round
figures will be about 50, 400. 900, or very
nearly the cost of the Washington filtration
works. They involve the same kind of OPP
erations. and 1t Is believed that compari-
son of these with the Washington filtration
works would be fair, especially the two
chief contracts were let were told by
Chief Engineer Hill. to persons of wide
experience and unlimited facilities for this
class OF public work.
Technical Recommendations.
After comparing the progress of work in
Philadelphia and in this city the report
makes several technical recommendations
as to changes in method of construction,
and concludes:
In order to secure q rate of progress
calculated to insure the completion of the
work within two years from the present
time the facilities Ter tho preparing and
handling material SHOULD be increased at
least twofold:
"(D In respect to the appliances for
preparing and distributing concrete
I'D In the transportation and the distri-
button Of the materials of excavation
(c)A And especially In the PREPARATION OF
nlitering material and arrangement for
the reception and delivery of these at the
site of the filters
Experience has shown in several in
stances that one of the most difficult and
Nexatious operations connected with the
construction is the sufficiently rapid prepa-
huon ana reception of the altering ma
teriais to be placed in the filters. The en-
sineers In charge should satisfy them
serves that the contractor has provided
the most approved and ample facilities to
transport and place the altering material
AT the highest rate of speed
me pest data which the committee has
upon the torce required to rapidly forward
work or this description and magnitude
Is obtained from the experience of the CITY
or Philadelphia with the filtration works
at Belmont 1t is shown that when this
work was moving at it's best speed at lea 81
l.ooo men were employed each day, in add,
tion 10 40 teams and the mechanical appIi.
ances used for the preparation and trans.
portation of the materials of construction
In addition to two Lidgerwood cableways
standard and narrow-gaJl5e railwfG tracks
and locomotives, dump cars. concrete mix.