Evening star., 1912-09-01
WORK is OF IMPORTANCE
Second High Service Will Be Ex-
tended to Ten City Blocks.
ABOUT $4,000 TO BE SPENT
Pipes Already in Use in Old 14th
Street Line Will Be Used Again,
Effecting Saving.

The water department Of the District
of Columbia has just begun the work OF
taking up the thirty-six-inch main in old
14th street road. replacing the two
twelve-inch mains which have been in
use across the break in 18th street, south
of the Piney Branch bridge and relaying
the large main in 10th and Taylor streets
This undertaking. while not involving
the expenditure Of a large amount of
money, is one Of the most important
from an engineering standpoint, ever
attempted by the water department
When the work is completed one of the
expected results will be marked i'm
provement in the service by the extern
sion Of the second high service to an
area covering about ten city blocks and
bounded by 14th street. Farragut street,
Georgia avenue and Crittenden street.
Rough estimates place the cost of the
completed work at about $4,000. First
Assistant Engineer j. S. Garland is in
charge of the engineering features. while
Assistant Engineer d. w. Holton is look
ing after the field work Actual con-
struction work is in charge of Benjamin
Alsop. one of the most experienced fore
men in the water department, who has
force of seventy-five or eighty laborers.
calkers, etc, at work. The mechanical
.. &,
foreman of the department, with w. A.
Mcfarland, superintendent of the water
department. In general charge.
Old Pipe to Be Used.
This will be the first time in the his
tory of the water department that pipe
already in the ground has been used
in building a new line. The pipe in the
old 14th street road was laid about ten
years ago, and examinations show it to
be in good condition. The use of this
old pipe will result in a saving to the
department, it is expected, of about
5000. The old pipe will be taken apart
by the use of powerful blowers which
will be used to melt the lead callking be-
tween the sections. The sections of pipe
then will be taken out of the ditch by
means of tripod derricks. Part of the
pipe which runs beneath the Pine Branch
inch steel. riveted at the joints This
will be carried underneath the bridge
by means of metal hangers suspending
it from the 24-inch I-beam Of the bridge.
System to Be Used.
While the work of taking up the pres
ent pipe in old 14th street road and re-
placing it in 10th street is in progress,
water will be pumped to Brightwood
reservoir through a newly laid twelve
inch main from the existing twelve-inch
main at 14th and Webster streets to
Iowa avenue and Emerson street, thence
through Emerson street to 10th street
and Blagden avenue, at which latter
point it will connect with the original
thirty-six-inch main forming the feed
main running to Brightwood reservoir.
While this work is going on no area will
be without water service. with the ex-
ception of short piece of main in Spring
road east of old 18th street road. The
pressure will, however be greatly re-
duced in that section bounded by Emer-
son street. Georgia avenue. Decatur and
10th streets. This decrease in pressure
will last for period Of from ten days to
two weeks. but will not seriously affect
the service in the area named.
To properly feed the area north Of
Emerson street from the third high SER
vice trunk mains, new eight-inch main
is being laid in the west side of Georgia
avenue between Hamilton and Calves
ton streets, which main will afford a d.
rect feed into the above territory from
the twelve-inch main in Illinois avenue.
Petworth. In this connection 1t will also
be necessary to rearrange the water
mains at the intersection of Georgia ave-
nue. and Allison street, which is on the
dividing line between the second and
third high services