New-York tribune., 1909-12-18
WATER SUPPLY OFF
CROTON LIES IDLE.
Aquedact Closed "a Hours
Uhile Nee Gate Is Put In.

For more than twenty four hours. from
noon Thursday until noon yesterday. Man
haitian was dependent upon the Jerome
Park reservoir for It's water s,,poIv Bic
Croton was shut off TO enable worl<tn,il
TO put In a gate IN the great auueduct
just north of Jerome Park The siuIce
gates were opened again al noon yester-
day. and ct 6 o'clock the water reached
the opening at 2S3d street and the pos
sibiltty of water famine was over.
The Department of Water Supply. Gas
and Electricity went about. this work with
nervous haste. There had been no means
of Shutting off the aquedgct excepting at
Dunwoodie Ardsley and Pocantico. Place
had been left at 2s3d street for the pur-
pose. bat no opportunity to build the OBJ
structien had occurred until last month
Yesterday was the fourth time that the
Borough of Manhattan had depended upon
a supply that would have been exhausted
in three days. II an accident TO, the big
Crotch sluiceway had happened. That was
why on each occasion there was haste
and a degree OF apprehension.
Jerome Park reservoir when full con
tains 10OO.Oo0,o00 gallons of water Ken
sico can supply only 2O,coo,OoO gallons a
day. The last time of the shutdown
Jerome Park reservoir which has depth
OF Is feet went down to % feet Not as
much water was used this time. IL had
been expected that more would have 20
be used but when II came to putting the
new great iron gates into the grooves it
was found that the latter were not wide
enough. The time was taken in cutting
these to the necessary width Then the
signal to turn the water on again was
sent to Croton. more than twenty-five
miles away and the stream was started on
its way. 1t took six hours 10 be at the
normal flow.
The adueduct is twenty-six miles IN
length to the new gateway. IL is L feet
wide and 10 feet high. When the water
is ON 1t flows 1s feet deep in the aqueduct,
and this great stream. at the rate of about
800. .oOO.OOO gallons a day, pours into the
almost countless mains of Manhattan Isl
and the supply used here
There was merely a trickle Of water in
the adueduct when the men started in
with the work yesterday morning The
assistant engineer in charge had men sta
toned along the way TO the Croton reser-
voir AT High Bridge there were two as
sistant engineers with force OF men
ready for any emergency The outlook for
trouble was not serious. but there was a
possibility Of the sluice gates at Croton
not working as they should. They had
not been used for a long time until last
autumn.
Should the Croton gates stick! That pos
sibllitv was what made the workingnen
hasten and made the engineers nervous
There were only the three days supply in
sight II anything should happen away up
IN Westchester County. It might have
beAn necessary to use dynamite to open
+ha sIuicevav. The explosive was ready
It so happened. however. that the Croton
gates worked without a hitch, and when
the great waterway was open again there
was great relief, extending down to the
Park Row Offices Of the department
Chief Engineer De Varona said yesterday
that the siIIs and guides for the gates
were in place before the shutdown on
Thursday. The gates. great fiat. castiron