Evening star., 1924-05-25

On the 18th of May, 1874, large
reservoir at Williamsburg, Mass.
gave way and by
Williamsburg the resulting tor
rent through
DISdslel. populous valley $50
lives were lost and enormous property
damage was done. George Cheney
gatekeeper at the reservoir, at the
first sign of disaster, mounted horse
and sped down the valley to warn thr
people. He doubtless saved many
lives by his prompt action. The Star
of May IS, 1874, thus speaks Of the
tragedy:
THE details of the accident in
Hampshire County, Mass, called TO
mind the remarkably realistic de-
scription of 4 similar flood that forms
the most exciting chapter in Charles
Reade's novel, Put Yourself in His
Place In all the particulars of the
discovery of the fatal leak in the EN-
ba ankment of the great reservoir hiEh
up among the hills; the fearful rapid
ity with which the leak gained from
the thin stream first noticed at the
small crack in the crown of the en-
bankment, until the vast body of pent
up water lept out from its bounds,
carrying all before it: the subsequent
incident of the messenger -horseman
galloping down the valley to warn the
people; the incredulity with which
the warning was at first received and
the general features of the scene of
destruction, the story of the novelist
is almost literally that of the matter
of-fact reporter of the flood in Mass
achusetts. The fact illustrated in
both is the immense power of water
in motion and upon artificial embank-
ments which restrain its course IN
one direction. And Reade's story,
though given with the graphic de
Scriptive touches of which he is mas
ter. is really little more than the
actual narrative of similar food
that occurred at Sheffield. England. on
March IL. 1864, when the Rradfield
water reservoir burst and sent its
waters to carry death and disaster
throughout the neighborhood OF the
great manufacturing center OF Shef
field, when the country for fourteen
or fifteen miles about it was then
flooded. Hundreds of buildings and
much property were destroyed, rs
we'll as the lives Of about $50 per
sons.
"Of course, there would be a dis
position to blame the engineer who
laid the ,embankment, but it would
seem to have been constructed of
great thickness and with all apparent
solidity, but the difficulty is in making
any artificial embankment sufficiently
strong to resist the enormous pres
sure from body of water restrained
at an elevation. The piled-up earth
will crumble or crack at some un-
suspected point and the prisoned vol
ume of water speedily finds the tiny
opening and widens it into free
channel. The devastation carried by
the flood down the valley of the Pa
tapsco some years ago, depopulating
Ellicott City and other villages and
q r0T Yr1 har rex1
Illustrative of the fearful power 'nf
water when once under headwaY
down narrow gorge" -.,
This disaster caused some appre=
hension in Georgetown on the score
of the possible fall
GeOrpetown ure of the high
service reservoir in
N'esoif WILL that city at. Wis
consin avenue and r street. But The
Star in its issue of May 10, 1874, re-
assured the public, announcing that
the Georgetown reservoir had walls
of brick, cemented and bound, in d
way to Withstand a pressure many
times that they We're called upon to
bear. In a later issue it was related
that water was first pumped into-this
reservoir during the civil war. but
the bottom gave way. the leak being
fortunately discovered in time to pre-
vent damage. The water was drawn
off and a new bottom was put in
since which time there has been no
sign of weakness. 1t was originally
designed that this circular brick
structure should be covered by brick
dome. but this intention was only
partially carried out and the curved
wall. cut off at half it's height, was
surmounted by ornamental iron work
The Star says:
This reservoir supplies 5000 people
in Upper Georgetown with water, and
In the event of an accident to the pump
or reservoir they would suffer from a
water famine. AS it is, the supply is
often reduced on Monday morning-the
pump being idle on Sunday-to half a
million gallons. There should be a
larger reservoir on the higher ground
north of this and another and more
powerful pump, SO as to keep one at
work all the time. In event of a break
in the present reservoir the pressure
would be partially relieved by opening
the several valves which connect the
high service with tha.mRins- dawptowns'