New-York tribune., 1909-04-26
DISREGARD THE MAYOR
L4QUEDUCT COMhIHHiON
DOESN'T TAKE 4DDf ICE.
Wifk Corporation Counsel Opposed
Thea Begin H7ori' on Proposed
Patterson ReserTOtr-

\
-, md +,a Corr,oration Counsel against
,5a,, have begun the preliminary work on their
,,-,fecte5 reservoir al Patterson and Paving N
Putnam and T5utcess counties It VIII Involve an
exren5irure Of not less than $@.2onvto and the
removal 10 another site Of twelve miles OF lhe
tracks Of the Harlem division OF the New YORK
Central Railroad The estimate by the CON
7uiSsioners is believed ia be under the mark
considering the removal Of the railroad tracks
and the rate that the city has been paying Tor
lpnd Conservative estimates place the cost al
about S5e00000.
Following this project the commissioners are
planning 10 build another reservoir at inc
Beaver Dam Brook site near the village of ha-
7onah. adjoining the Cross River reservoir. At a
cost Of At least So. 10000
The Aqueduct Commissioners have three corps
Of field engineers at work preparing maps for
the Patterson reservoir. with the expectation OF
having the maps completed by June Il. The
plans Of the Aqueduct Commission afford
striking object lesson Of the hit OF miss char
acter Of the present city charter. The water
supply Of the city is in the hands Of three sep
Rrate authorities According TO seniority the
.Aoueduct Commission comes first dating back
10 1883 Next comes the Commissioner of
Water Supply. Gas and Electricity, with general
supervision over the city's water supply Last
IS the Board of Water Supply. which has under
way the building Of the Ashokan dam. the piping
Of the CatsBin supply across the Hudson TO the
Croton watershed with new storage reservoirs
and systems Of conduits.
Just now there is a delay in getting the city's
fun sanction for the new reservoir, owing to the
refusal of Commissioner O'Brien, OF the Depart
Tnent Of Water Supply, 10 approve and resubmit
70 the Aaueduct Commission plans for the
reservoir sent TO him last year.
MAY START BUILDING IN JUNE.
Fortified however. by All opinion from ex-
Corporation Counsel Rives. involving the same
general principles those under controversy,
said opinion holding that the approval of the
Water Commissioner was merely clerical, the
Aaueduct Commissioners are going ahead with
their work. As soon as the necessary field maps
ere ready for filing in the middle of June they
viii take steps 10 get a ruling from the Appel
late Division. SO that they can begin building at
once.
Had the new charter passed the Legislature
this year the Aqueduct Commission would have
been consolidated with the Department of
Water Supply. and If a new storage reservoir
had been necessary the department would
have been charged with the duty of preparing
+he plans for it Feeling sure Of continuing in
office. the Aqueduct Commissioners on March
20 edoptedSh he necessary resolutions authorizing
themselves 10 90 ahead with the work the
Patterson reservoir. The minutes of the COM
mission were printed in the City Record last
week. and this was the first positive informa-
tion at the City Hall that the commission had
staked out new work intended to consume at
least four years
When Commissioner O'Brien was asked yester
dav about the plans Of the Aqueduct Commits
sion he said:
"The Mayor IN his last two annual mes
saees To the Aldermen recommended the abo-
lirion Of the Aqueduct Commission and q
transference Of their duties to the department
Of which 7 at present the head When the
AQueduCt Commissioners recently sent a
map of the Patterson reservoir, asking for off
cial approval. / decided to withheld such ap-
proval 1 understand that the Corporation
Counsel has taken the same attitude I'm the
matter
The commissioners are apparently going
ahead without our approval They seem 70 have
The Law on their side. Perhaps they are right.
They certainly in power. and with no pros
pect Of being disturbed Immediately They as
that it is their duty to develop TO the
utmost the Croton watershed I don't know
whether they are arrogatng to themselves un-
usual powers or not
One Of the extraordinary features of the sitrJs-
1icn IS that the Mayor and Controller are mem
hers o7icio Of the Aqueduct Commission hut
never attend the meetings The commissioners
working in accordance with the recon-
Sears. whose report on the Patterson reservoir
IS fully concurred in by Professor William n
Burr- employed hy the commission as expert
engineer.
"RFSERyOTR \ NECESSITY" SAYS CowAN
When John r Cowan- president of the 4oue
duct Commission. was asked yesterday about
the plans Of the commission he said:
We are going ahead with the U-orl- Of b,;1d
oir- AT Psf4
i viii cost about sS.25oooo. perhaps more. So
long We are in Office it is our sworn duty n
20 ahead ard provide water for the CITY Of New
York. The proposed new reservoir ~ Patterson
= necessit<- The city has wisely taken stems
70 Obtain ? new supply cf water fror, the
'stsk1ls- Making that supply available in
wolves question Of time. as every one knows
conservative estimates make the time ten wears
before this supply viii be available In rhe
mean time 81 is the duty Of the Aoueduct Com
EMISSION 10 take al possible precautions against
water shortage That is why We have got the
Patterson reservoir under way. An earthen dan
Of moderate height would provide for the avail
shle storage of at least 10000 100000 gallons
Ngith draft Of from fifteen TO eighteen feet
The area Of the reservoir is about fftv-fo,,r
square miles, with water surface Of srnrox4
nnstely four thousand acres. The physical char
acter1stics OF this proposed reservoir are prac-
tically Identical with the Ashokan dam The
dam at Patterson could be built in two seasons
snd could be ready for use wears before the ear
iest date proposed for the introduction of water
from the tatsklls We are waiting for advice
from the Corporation Counsel before going
ahead with the preparation and letting Of con
tracts Meanwhile, We have three engineering
parties in the field making the necessary maps
They ought 70 be done by the middle Of June
he