The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1913-03-14
SUPPLYING A METROPOLIS WITH
MOUNTAIN WATER.
Scientific American.

new dQucuuCL 10 uCiu6 Coh6ti uStOu
from the Catskill Mountains down to
the New York city line, where. at
the Hill View reservoir, the waters
will pause before taking their plunge
into the heart Of the city.
The problem of admitting so large
a flood into the metropolis is no
small one, particularly when the
chief demand for the water will
come from those sections of Greater
New York which lie many miles
away. For the present, at least. lit
tie if any of the Catskill water will
be used in Manhattan and the Bronx
but most of it will be consumed by
the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens,
and Richmond. The water Waste
Campaign which has been carried on
for the past few years has so far re-
duced the consumption of water that
the Croton system, which can furnish
steadily 350,O00,OOO gallons of wat
er per day. can easily take care of
the immediate wants of Manhattan
and the Bronx as we'll as the demand
from these two boroughs for many
years to come. 1t is not likely much
unless it undergoeS a marked, verti-
cal growth, for now there are prac-
tically no more vacant lots to
be built upon. So that in estimat-
ing the future demands upon the
Croton system we must consider
chiefly the growth of population in
the Bronx. In the other three Dor
oughs Of the city, however there is
a present demand for water and the
probability of large increases in pop
ulation in coming years.
To conduct the Catskill water into
Brooklyn and Queens, it was decided
to build trunk line, so far beneath
the surface that there would ALWAYS
be $50 feet of good solid rock for the
roof of the tunnel, and provide a
course for subterranean river
which could be tapped as needed for
the citys supply, and which, at the
same time, would be so completely
buried that it would never menace
the safety of structures above it.
When this tunnel is completed it will
be one of the most durable pieces of
work ever constructed by man; for
practically nothing but an earth
quake can destroy it, and even this
possibility is very remote, for the
rock underlying New York is of very
early formation and not at all liable
to seismic disturbance. And SO the
city tunnel of the Catskill aoueduct
is being bored through the rock on
the average of 200 to $50 feet be-
low the surface except in places
where the nature of the rock is of
such a character as to call for a
much greater death.
The first dip takes place just above
the Harlem River where the tunnel
drops down 1862 feet below the
ground level. Then it runs practi-
cally horizontally until it passes the
dip in the rock under 125th street.
Thence it rises again and maintains
a practically constant level of 200
feet under the city, until it arrives
at the. ancient bed of the East river
A glance at the map of New York
city will show that the East River
makes decided turn about the lower
east side or heel of Manhattan, Tn
pre-glacial times, the East River had
no elbow in it's course, but ran dir
ectly across the heel of Manhattan.
and 1t wore away the rock in its bed
TO considerable depth. However the
large deposits of earth and rock car
rled by the glaciers caused the river
10 be pushed eastward out of its nor
mai channel and over the solid rock
beyond. When borings were made
Tor the aqueduct through this section
OF the city, 1t was found necessary
to lay it at depth of about $50 feet
below the surface. Much of
the accompanying drawing, much of
the rock through this section is de-
cayed and unfit to form the walls Of
a high-pressure aqueduct which is
being built to last for all time. The
present channel of the East River ON
the other hand, passes over solid
rock, and is comparatively very shall
low Seven hundred and fifty feet ia
an enormous depth, second only TO
the great siphon under the Hudson
river, which is Lila feet below the
river surface. 1t SO happens that the
deepest shaft ever sunk in New york
city equals the heights of the tallest
building in the world. To illustrate
this enormous depth, our artist has
taken the liberty of building tho
II 81