New-York tribune., 1921-03-31
Hylan Planning
To Reopen 10
Pump Stations
Effort of Mayor to Aid the
Coming Campaign With
Several Hundred New
Jobs Is Seen in Move
$1,994, 600 Is. on Hand
Catskill System Gives City
100, 100000 Gallons of
Surplus Water a Day

Despite the fact that the city at pres
ent has surplus water supply of moro
than 100,000000 gallons a day, accord
ing to members Of the Board of Water
Supply, the Hylan administration is
planning to resume the operation of
sixteen pumping stations on Long ISL
and which were abandoned by the
Mitchell administration when the Cats
kill aqueduct system was completed,
with flow of nearly 40O,0OO,O0O gallons
day.
The Hylan plan would mean several
hundred new jobs and a large amount
of money to be dealt out by the Hylan
administration. In view of the city
election next fall politicians interpret
ed the move as an attempt on the
Mayors part to strengthen his cause,
with an eye on the denomination.
sl,9si,606 Appropriated
The matter of reopcning the aban-
doned pumping stations came before
the Board Of Estimate on more than
one occasion last year, when the Mayor
and his associates sought to obtain
special appropriation for the purpose.
The necessity of any emergency arising
where the city would need to pump
water again, at least for many years
to come, was strongly questioned by
Borough President Henry II. Curran at
that time. No special appropriation was
made, but an appropriation of $1,994,-
6O6 firally was put in the 1921 budget
10 the account of the Departm of
Water Supply, Gas and Electricity,
presumably for the Long Island pump
ing Stations.
-Four pumping stations, one in Queens
and three in Brooklyn, which were kept
in working order after the abandonment
Of the sixteen others in the Mitchell ad
ministration, were retained by the Hy-
Ian administration and put in charge of
Skeleton crews" as an emergency. 1t
was said yesterday that while the ap-
preparation Of nearly S2,00O,000 in the
budget for pumping stations was great
ly liz excess or that required to maintain
these four emergency stations, it prob
expenses of rcsuming the abandoned
stations on an adequate working basis.
Cornelius M. Sheehan, Deputy Com
missioner in the Department of Water
Supply, Gas and Electricity, in charge
of Brooklyn, when asked yesterday why
the city wanted to reesta blish the
scrapped pumping stations at this time,
said that it was in order to save the
machinery, which was deteriorating
rapidly from non-use, and also because
the Water Der"l tment did not intend to
be caught mapping if anything went
wrong with the Catskill Aqueduct.
Taxpayers Saved Millions
A one-time city official, member of
the Board of Estimate in the Mitchell
administration, said yesterday that he
remembered the discussion before the
board at the. time it was decided to
abandon the pumping stations. He said
that the board was in favor of aban-
don ming all the pumping stations, believ-
ing that the Catskill supply. augment
ing the Croton supply, would furnish
all the water the city could use for
years to come, but at the suggestion of
]. Waldo Smith, chief engineer of the
Board of Water Supply. it was decided
to maintain four of the stations with
skeleton crews" The abandonment of
the sixteen other stations, in Nassau
and Suffolk counties, saved the tax
payers several million dollars a year.
George j. Gillespie, chairman of the
Board of Water Supply, which has
charge of the Catskill system and the
pres. mt development of the Schoharie
watershed, while saying yesterday that
the pumping station matter did not
come under the jurisdiction of his
board, but under the city department.
declared that the Catskill aoueduct
furnished to-day 122,OOO0OO more GAL
Ions of water a day than the city
needed. He said that this system sup
piled upward of 372,O0O,OOO gallons a
day.
Mr.. Gillespie said that the whole
Catskil system will be com pleted in
l925 and will be able to furnish the
city approximately 6OO,OOo.Oo0 gallons
of water day. He declared that prob
ably there would be no need to look
TOR new sources of water supply for
at least fifteen or twenty years.