The Washington herald., 1908-06-12

ago In answer TO New York City's cry
for a solution OF its big water problem.
and in response TO a call for 100000 gall
Ions Of fresh water daily in addition to
its present supply.
The work involved is so enormous as to
be almost incomprehenslble to the lay
mind, Hundreds of miles of topographic
surveys had to be made Innumerable
holes were drilled into the earth or the
solid rock TO determine the best and most
economical locations for the great reser-
voirs, dams. and aqueducts. Samples OF
soil. sand. gravel. and stone as well as
OF rock, from core borings, were oh
tained for study and analysis. All this
detail involves the best efforts OF emil
nent engineers. geologists. chemists,
specialists in aeration. filtration, and
reservoir making, and or experts in the
mechanical work of reconstructing rail
ways and highways.
Villages. churches. schools. hotels,
homes. railways. and highways will be
moved from the pathway Of this giant
project as the judgment of the engineers
decree. and since a land-Option ring has
thriftily acquired the rights 10 most or
the property subject 10 condemnation
proceedings, the amount to be paid out OF
the city treasury for land damages and
water rights alone will approximate SO-
100000. the total claims filed already ag-
gregating between SIS. 100000 and S20'OOOCO0
When completed. New York's water
system Will be the greatest ever under
taken by any city in the world. The
gathering ground for the water is 1S0
miles from the city hall, and $50 miles
from the lower end Of Staten Island.
-Four creeks. Esopus. RondoUt, Schoharie,
and Catskill. have been levied upon as
the main sources Of supply. The total
area OF the watersheds will be over 900
square miles. and their combined re-
sources when fully developed will exceed
SC00OO.O00 gallons daily. The water is 70
come from three great reservoirs in the
Catskills. being carried IN aqueducts that
will dive under the Hudson River at
Storm King to n depth Of 200 feet or
more. and come up on the other side.
From there it will cross gullies and pierce
hills in three conduits. and an aQueduct
will then carry 1 under East River and
New York Bay 70 Brooklyn and Staten
Island.
The main features Of this giant work
are TO be 4 principal impounding reser-
voir, the AShOkan; a storage reservoir,
the KenisCO. the largest fltering plant
ever built. a distributing reservoir, and
the CatsSill aqueduct eighty miles long.
There will be a dam 900 feet high across
Esopus Creek. and this. with other dams
and dikes. will form AshoKan reservoir.
Besides the waters OF Esopus this reser-
Voir will rec Give those diverted from
SChoharie Creek. by a ten-mile tunnel
through the mountains. and those from
Cats6iu Greek and adjacent small
streams. through another aQueduct. The
AshOkan reservoir will be twelve miles
long and two miles wide. with a water
surface OF 1000 acres and capacity of
12o.C0J 100000 gallons-a plan for cOnserv-
ing water as great as that which the En-
peror Constantine realized in his under
ground palace" that holds CONSTANT
nople's reserve water supply as safely
now as II did fifteen centuries ago.
The Catskiil aqueduCt will carry the
water from Ashokan 10 the distributing
reservoir in Yonkers. No pumping will
be needed. and from there it will be
distributed by gravity throughout Greater
New York This aqueduct is large enough
60 accommodate an ordinary railroad
train with ease. The famous aqueducts
Of Rome pale into insignifcance beside
st. for Il will carry nearly three times
as much water daily as did the combined
aqueducts OF the Imperial City In the
great period Of the empire when her civic
improvements had reached their zenith
Wherever the water flows at hydraulic
grade the aqueduct will be constructed
OF concrete. Where ID is necessary 10
cross those deep glacial Rorges. barely
indicated al present by the small chan
nels Of such streams as Rondout and
M0odna creeks. tunnels will be driven IN
solid rock far below the surface CT the
ground. These will be lined with con-
crete. and In them the water VIII flow
under pressure. dropping down into
deep shaft az the n0rtherly end Of each
pressure tunnel and rising agaia in a
similar shaft at the southerly end
The cost Of the entire system has been
estimated at SlG2 900. Despite this. it
Will not be a heavy burden per capita
There is no doubt that by the time New
York Is enjoying the benefits Of the new
system its population will probably have
reached 100000. Twenty-Five yearly pay
ments Of % cents per person will defray
the cost In return. the new system will
supply water for private. manufacturing
and public use at the rate Of 1J0 gallons
for each person daily. 40 more per capita
than Rome, formerly world leader IN
this respect, now supplies her people. Ex-
perence has proved that the water works
OF all large cities, If reasonable rates are
charged. have sufficient earning capacity
20 pay for their operation and TO replace
tho sum expended in their construction.
Therefore, New York practically only
de lee La
The cost Of the present CrOton system,
which. when fully completed, Is to supply
S25. 900 gallons Of unfltered water 20
the Borough Of Manhattan and part OF
the Bronx. will approximate 800. 200.
The contract for the Ashokan reservoir
has been let. and IL is generally believed
by those in charge OF the work that the
system viii be completed as far as the
present CrOtOn reservoir in five years.
1t will be more than double that time,
however, before the aqueduct under East
River and New York Bay Will give Brook
lyn and Staten Island their much needed
relief.
Even then, the problem will be only
partially solved. for the clty's population
is always increasing faster than its i'm
provements. and by the time the CatskilI
system is completed New York's demands
will have outdistanced the supply Of wa
ter and it will be necessary to go far
beyond the Catskills and build reservoirs
in the Adirondacks. The present plan Is
10 send an additional supply Of between
five hundred and six hundred million gal
Ions Of water daily 20 the five borouRhs
which constitute Greater New York The
total consumption is 5OO0O0.00O gallons n
day. Of which the Croton system when
completely developed in 1910. can be relied
upon 70 furnish 81, ,O0,Q00 II Is estimated
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