Evening star., 1934-10-09
ANOTHER CONDUIT
PROPOSEDFORD.C. c.
U. S. Army Engineers Lay
ing Plans to Cope With
Growing Needs.
photo on Page A-4.)

United States Army Engineers here
are laying plans for the construction
of another conduit to carry additional
water supply to Washington from the
Potomac River at Great Falls to cope
with the city's mounting demands and
the growing population of the metrop-
oils.
This became known today as salts
factory progress was registered on the
construction of the booster plant" at
the Dalecarlia Reservoir on Conduit
road at the District line, designed to
increase the capacity of the two con-
duits that now carry the city's water
supply down from Great Falls.
Maj. Crawford Directing.
Mai. Robert w. Crawford. the new
District engineer for the War Depart
ment for the Washington area, who
has just come to that assignment from
duty with the Public Works Admins
tration, is directing the completion Of
the booster plant" and the studies
for the new conduit. 1t is expected
that the new plant will be placed in
commission about next March. In
about two weeks the building that has
been constructed on the dam that has
been built in the Dalecarlia Reservoir
will be finished.
Then will come the work of in
stalling the giant pumps and this
task will take a good share of the
Winter. There will be two pumps,
each of 100000 gallons capacity
and one of 100000 gallons capacity.
After an overhead crane has been
put in, these pumps, which will be
operated by electricity, will be in
stalled. Remote control over these
pumps at the main pumping station
will enable one operator to supervise
the whole operation.
First Lieut.. Frank o. Bowman, who
is in direct charge of WaShington'S
water supply system, under Maj.
Crawford, said today that the present
estimated capacity of the Mcmillan
and Dalecarlia water plants is 160,-
100000 gallons daily, which is the
maximum of both plants combined.
With the booster plant" in opera
ton, grand total of 00,00O, 900 GAL
Ions daily will be achieved, the lieu
tenant estimated.
Step Up Capacity.
The booster plant" will step up the
capacity of the two conduits that
now carry water down from Great
Falls, Lieut.. Bowman asserted. The
dam that has been constructed in the
Dalecarlia Reservoir will permit the
water to be pulled down at the end
where the conduits discharge and
thus increase the velocity of the
water flow in the conduits, said the
Army officer. The giant electric pumps
will force the water higher in the
eaSterly end of the reservoir, making
that height seven feet above what it
has been normally. This situation will
increase the height on the filters at
Dalecarlia, make the water flow more
swiftly into the purifiers and increase
the height of the reservoir at the Nc
MILAN Reservoir, so that the distance
the water must be lifted onto the
filter beds will be less and the conse-
quent cost of pumping decreased.
Lieut.. Bowman estimated that the
height of the water at the Mcmillan
Reservoir will be raised about six and
quarters feet, approximating the
added height at Dalecarlia.
The pumping station is placed on
top of part of the dam, which is about
200 feet in length, constructed across
a narrow portion of the reservoir
Maximum by 1910.
cat the present rate of increase of
water demand in Washington, the
maximum capacity of the present
plant would be reached about 1910,
without the booster plant" said Lieut..
Bowman. With the booster plant in
operation, however, its life will be ex-
tended 10 years-to 1850. Then, we
shall have to have another conduit.
This will likely parallel the course of
the other two, but will be placed on
the hillside of the present conduits to
afford greater earth covering"
Preliminary studies are now being
undertaken, the lieutenant revealed.
The United States Engineer Office is
just beginning to assemble data on
the problem, he said. Washington has
had an influx of population recently
and the Army Engineers have eStab-
lished that the per capita consumption
of water here is one of the very high
est in the Nation.
Washington is now averaging about
90 900 900 gallons a day for its use.
The peak was reached the past Sum-
mer-in August-when $4,000, ,00O
gallons were used one day. In the
Winter the daily average runs. from
90 900 900 to $4,000, 900 gallons daily
but Lieut.. Bowman asserted that the
Army Engineers must predicate their
calculations on the maximum use to
l.