Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-07
RESERVOIR PRESSURE
PRODUCES POWER
Boston Authorities Find Com
merciaI Field for Excess
Head of Water.

From the Municipal Journal.
! AUGUST 10 of this year the metropolitan
water and sewerage board of Massachu
| sets Boston and vicinity began de-
| hNering to private corporation cleo
tr1cal energy created by the utilization
OIL an unnecessary head in the conduit
supplying water to Boston and the neigh
BORING municipalities. This is believed to
oe the hrst instance in this country Of a
pupiic water supply being used for the
ue'eiopment of electrical energy to be
SOFA commercially. Something the same
'h'hS Is TO he done in connection with
ti'e Los Angeles supply. but this project
mas not yet reached much more than the
initial stage
brlehE, the decision to develop and in
some way dispose of electrical energy i'm
inns way was reached because of the
fact that the Wachusett reservoir of the
metropolitan supply. located at the situa
ton most favorable for storage, was
found to give head Of 395 feet above
boston's city base. which was approx
matey Po rect more than was consid
ered necessary This 100 feet represented
considerable amount Of energy which
would ordinarily have been wasted, but
which it seemed worth while to try to
save. 1t seems probable that there are
of excessive head In storage reservoirs,
but few, If any. in which the head be-
tween storage and distributing reservoir
has been utilized.
Investigation by Health Board.
The difficulty experienced by several of
the suburbs of Boston in obtaining water
supplies adequate in either quantity or
quality, and the advantages which it
by cooperation, led to an investigation
Of this subject by the Massachusetts,
state board of health in 1893 report
by the same to the legislature in 1895
and the enactment by the same legisla-
ture of a bill providing that the gov
| ernor should appoint three water COM
missioners to constitute metropolitan
| water board; which board should con-
struct, maintain and operate a system
Of water works to serve a metropolitan
district. This district consisted OF the
cities of Boston, Chelsea, Everett. NAL
| den, Medford. Newton, Somerville and
! the Gowns of Belmont, Hyde Park, Mel
| rose, Revere. Watertown and Winthrop.
| Under permissory provisions of the act
| that any other city and town any part of
which was within a radius of ten miles
| of the statehouse could unite with those
named. the city of Quincy and the towns
of Nahant. Arlington. Stoneham, Lexing-
| ton and Milton were admitted into the
district: and under still other provisions
water is supplied to the town of Swamp
scott and a portion of the town of Sau-
gus. This makes nineteen municipalities
| within the district, the population of
| those outside of Boston being about
100000.
Boards Combine.
The metropolitan water board in 1901
| was combined with the board Of metro
| politan sewerage commissioners, and the
powers and duties of the two boards were
vested in new one known as the met
ropolitan water and sewerage board
One of the most important features Of
the work Immediately inaugurated by
the water board was the construction of
the Wachusett reservoir, which is locat-
| ed in the towns of Clinton, Boyleston and
West Boyleston and is formed by dam
across the south branch of the Nashua
river. about thirty-fve miles west from
| Boston.
| The Wachusett dam is a granite struc-
ture 944 feet long, including abutments.
| POI feet high at the point of deepest ex-
cavation, with maximum thickness of
| 1876 feet and 22.5 feet thick under the
projecting cornice at the top. In addi-
! ton there is waste weir 49, feet long
and 20 feet below the top Of the main
dam.