New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-08-06
City Engineers
Study Breaks
In w alter Mains
sservice ON marlborough at
Atlantic Ave. Returns to
Normal After Flooding
of Tracks i'm Subway
Interference Is Blamed
Colonel Smith Declares a
Larger Force of Repair
Men Is Urgently Needed

W.'er Supply, Gas and Electricity yes
te Jay began an investigation of the
latest serious break in large water
main at Fourth and Fiatbush avenues,
Bro eklyn. The service on the Inter-
borough subway at Atlantic Avenue,
whore mole was torn in the wall and
the tunnel flooded, was restored 10
normal early in the day. The neigh
bori God is being supplied with water
through the smaller mains, while the
big sixteen-inch main is being re-
paired.
Colonel Merritt E. Smith, chief en-
gineer of the Water Suppry Depart
ment, and Borough Engineer Charles
II. Bull. conducted an investigation at
the scene of the break. They would
not discuss the cause Of the break
until an official report had been made.
Despite the several recent breaks in
tbs large water mains, the department
engineers maintain that their number
Is not above normal, and the causes
arc all due to external interference
witt the mains, rather than any fault
win the mains them selves. or lack of
paper inspection and maintenance by
the department. According to the de-
partment engineers, serious breaks in
TIE larger mains average about twelve
year.
Ac COISlUeIS Il serious
brIak as one occurring in a twenty
ineh or larger main. The number so
IA this year, however, would seem to
srrpass previous records. Including
TIE two recent Flatbush avenue breaks,
tiere have been six or seven SERIOUS
b'eaks" since the first of last January,
afcol ding to the department records.
On May 4 20-inch main broke on
the north side Of Pelham Parkway in
he do;n Ja- Il
'to surrounding territory. On May %
a 36-inch main broke at Broadway and
Ninety-six Street, causing q food in
the Seventh Avenue subway, putting
the rapid transit service out of COM
mission at a congested point. On June
30-inch main broke in Lexington
Avenue, between Forty eighth and For
ty-ninth streets, and on July 28, an
other 36-inch main broke in Twenty
sixth Street west of Fourth Avenue,
causing a food in the East Side sub
way and suspension of rapid transit
on that line. The two recent breaks in
SrookSyQ are not yet on the official
records.
Chief Engineer Merritt Smith, In his
af.v aal report for 1921, recorded total
of eighty-seven breaks in the mains in
Manhattan and the Bronx, of which
only three were in larger than 20-inch
mains and six in 20-inch mains. The
yest were in the smaller n1& ms, which
are not the main arteries of tie water
supply system in the city and cause
comparatively little damage or incon-
vsnience.
"The number of breaks in largs
tnains," Colonel Smith said in this re-
tort, has been relatively small"
The Chief Engineer added that
although an area of water supply of
considerable size had been added to
$he service during the year, no breaks
he'd developed from the increased pres
cure. Colonel Smith, however, called
attention to the fact, as he had done
before, that the department should
have larger force of repair men and
better equipment to deal with the
breaking mains.
might emergency gangs are main
tanned at headquarters to respond to
calls due to breaks in MAINS" he said,
"but, as outlined in previous reports,
1t would be desirable to have larger
force assigned to the work, to have
motor trucks equipped with gate-clos-
ing devices, and to have trained
engineer on duty at all times Of day
and night to take immediate charge of
the work to be done in case of a
break
While the direct cause is not always
accurately found in the breaks in the
big mains, it is usually due, accord
ing to the engineers, to excavation and
building in the vicinity, or the over
weighing of the mains with ducts con-
tanning various assortment of small
pipes and wires, laid on top Of the
mains. The weight of these ducts,
together with the pressure from street
traffic, has been found to weaken a
main until it breaks.
The hippest water N, aims in &he cifv,a
system were usually laid north and
south lin Manhattanl, under the ave-
nues. Subway construction came after
the laying of the mains, and in many in.
stances paralleled the mains. The close
proximity of the big mains to the SUBJ
ways is bound to food the latter in
case of break. Of course, there is no
way of inspecting big water main
after it is laid, but prior to the laying
the big pipes are submitted to severe
tests by the department. According
to the engineers, the mains are sub
jected to a pressure Of $50 pounds to
the square inch, and seldom get more
than fifty pounds pressure to the
square inch after they are laid. The
big mains ought to last hundred years
or more. if undisturbed, according to
the engineers.
Besides serious breaks the depart
hSnt has 10 continually contend WIN
minor breaks and underground and hid
den leaks. Three hundred and twelve
such hidden leaks were located and
repaired last year at an estimated cost
of S45,527. 1t required $40 street open
ings to repair these leaks. The aver
age loss of water from these leaks was
1928 gallons day. This is small
matter, however, when the average con-
sumption of water in 1881 was 6S5 ,000,-
600 gallons a day
A staff of experts is employed con-
tinually locating the hidden leaks.
They use a sort of telephone apparatus
and listen at the hydrants and on the
surface pipes of residences and other
buildings for peculiar noises in the
pipes which, to their trained ears, give
them fairly accurate location of the
leak Engineers of the department de-
clared that these leaks we're located
with such accuracy that it only re-
auired an average of Ia openings Of
the streets to repair them. If an ordi-
nary gang were sent out to locate a
leak, it was said. they probably would
make dozen different openings in the
streets before they found the point
which needed repairing.
Speaking of this troublesome class
Of leaks, Chief Engineer Smith said in
his report:
"The character and material under