HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
_New York_ was supplied by dug wells until 1842, when the Croton
water was brought, by gravitation, into the city, through a brick
aqueduct, thirty-eight miles in length, crossing the Harlem River by
“High Bridge.” The area of the water-shed of the Croton is 338.82
square miles. The storage capacity nine billion gallons. The capacity
of the aqueduct is ninety-two millions of gallons per day.
There are three distributing reservoirs:
One of 150 million.
One of 1200 “ in Central Park.
One of 24 “
One of 10¾ “ for high service.
The population is 1,206,500; miles of water-pipe, 500--the largest
being seventy-two inches in diameter; the average daily consumption
of water ninety-five millions; number of taps, 77,000. All buildings
are assessed by frontage-tax besides usual water rates. The meter
rate is 7½ cents per thousand gallons.
The original cost of the gravitation works was about nine millions;
present water-works valuation is thirty-two millions.
An additional supply from Bronx River is now in course of
construction. The water will be conducted through an aqueduct, of
forty-eight inch cast-iron pipe, twenty miles in length. During last
summer a water-famine was prevented by a Providential rain-fall.
_Philadelphia_ was supplied with water, systematically, in 1801;
previously, wells were the only source.
The system of supply is pumping by steam and water-power,
thirty-seven per cent. being done by the water-wheels in 1880.
The available capacity of water-wheels is 36,000,000 gallons daily.
During summer there is a deficiency of power. Capacity of all the
pumps 71.8 million gallons. There are 16 reservoirs, with a total
capacity of 200 millions. The distribution of water is divided
among the various works in relation to respective elevation. The
population, in 1880, was 846,984. Miles of pipe, 746. Daily average
consumption, in 1880, 57.7 millions. Largest daily consumption 80½
millions. Number of meters 30. Total receipts, in 1880, were nearly
1½ millions of dollars; and expenditures nearly $400,000. Laying of
water-pipes assessed on abutting property. Total profits, since 1855,
over twelve millions of dollars.
The pumping stations and performance for 1880 are:
========================+=================+========+=================+
STATIONS. |PER CENT OF WATER| LIFT | SOURCE OF |
| PUMPED IN 1880. |IN FEET.| SUPPLY. |
------------------------+-----------------+--------+-----------------+
Fairmount, water-power. | 37.35 | 90 |Schuylkill River |
Schuylkill, steam-power.| 25.96 | 120 | “ “ |
Belmont, “ “ | 16.78 | 207 | “ “ |
Delaware, “ “ | 9.45 | 133 |Delaware “ |
Roxborough, “ “ | 5.52 | 346 |Schuylkill “ |
Chestnut Hill, “ “ | .02 | 125 | “ “ |
Frankford, “ “ | 4.50 | 203 |Delaware “ |
========================+=================+========+=================+
========================+=======================================
STATIONS. | POWER.
|
------------------------+---------------------------------------
Fairmount, water-power. | 7 Turbine water-wheels.
Schuylkill, steam-power.| 2 Cornish and 2 Compound Engines.
Belmont, “ “ | 5 Worthingtons.
Delaware, “ “ | 1 Worthington, 1 low, 1 high pressure.
Roxborough, “ “ | 1 Cornish, 1 Worth., and 1 Knowles.
Chestnut Hill, “ “ | 1 horizontal high pressure.
Frankford, “ “ | 1 compound and 1 Worthington.
========================+=======================================
_Brooklyn._--Water-works introduced in 1859. The system is by
pumping, with reservoir distribution. The source is the southern
slope of Long Island Sound, ten to twenty-two miles from East River.
The water is gathered from a drainage area of 60½ square miles by
intercepting ponds, and conducted, through masonry conduit, to the
pump well, seven miles from East River. The natural flow, from these
ponds, into the conduit being insufficient during summer time,
pumping engines were erected, 1874, at Watts’ and Smith’s ponds to
meet the deficiency.
The storage reservoir, built in 1873-’76, has a water surface of
250 acres, and a capacity of one billion gallons. There are three
low-pressure beam-engines, with a combined capacity of 44 millions
daily. The distributing reservoir is 3,400 feet from pumping wells,
at 163 feet elevation and with a capacity of 160 millions.
Population, in 1880, was 566,689. Miles of pipe, 351. Daily average
consumption of water, in 1880, 30¾ millions. Largest daily
consumption 48 millions; number of taps, 60,000; meters, 859;
original cost of works, $5,200,000.
_Chicago._--The first works were constructed by the Chicago City
Hydraulic Company in 1840, Lake Michigan being the source. The
superiority of this water, as compared with well water, so manifested
itself during the cholera of 1849-’50 that the works became a public
institution, under whose control they were enlarged, in 1854, after
plans of Wm. J. McAlpine, C. E. The system is constant pumping
through stand-pipe distribution, 120 feet above city datum. There are
two pumping stations--North Side and West Side--the latter being the
new works, erected in 1874. The source is Lake Michigan. Previous to
1867 the intakes were near the shore; and, in order to secure pure
water, a brick tunnel, five feet wide by five feet two inches in
depth, was built under the lake, a length of two miles, to a crib
located in the lake. A second tunnel, 5 ft. in diameter, parallel to
the first, and forty-six feet apart, was constructed to the North
Side Works, thence continuing under the city, a distance of 20,000
feet, to the West Side Works. The North Side Works has four engines,
with a combined capacity of 64 millions; and the West Side Works two
engines, with a capacity of 46 millions.
In 1856 a twenty-four inch wrought main was laid in the Chicago
River; but, before brought into use, was injured by pile-driving, and
had to be relaid. In 1869 all the submerged mains were abandoned,
because of frequent accidents, and brick tunnels, six feet in
diameter, were built under the river. The statistics for 1880 were:
Population, 503,304; miles of pipe, 450; daily average consumption,
57.4 million gallons; number of meters, 2,000. Cost of West Side
Works, with new tunnel, $1,600,000. Total cost of works, $8,644,000.
_Boston._--In 1835 there were 2,767 wells in use, thirty-three of
which were artesian, besides a water-works under the control of “The
Aqueduct Corporation.” Out of the whole number of wells only seven
furnished water soft enough to use for washing. In 1840 there was
great complaint of the deficiency of wells, and in one case it was
stated that a well from which many drew their water, was kept locked
except at certain hours. During this time there were 56 reservoirs,
each holding 300 to 400 hogsheads. In 1848 water was first introduced
from Lake Cochituate, through a brick conduit (except the cast-iron
syphon over Charles River), oviform in shape, large end down, 6.33
feet high and 5 feet wide. Its length is 14.627 miles, with a total
fall of 4.26 feet. It has a capacity of delivering 16 million gallons
daily, with a velocity of one foot per second. The area of water
surface, at full water, of Lake Cochituate is 800 acres; when drawn
down 10 feet or level of the flow line of conduit, the area is 489
acres. Elevation is 134.36 feet, and bottom of conduit at dam 121
feet above tide level. There are two granite dams 500 feet apart.
The first dam was built on quicksand, and after filling of the lake,
springs boiled up and washed away the sand.
The new supply from Sudbury River was inaugurated in 1878. The
drainage is 78.24 square miles. The conduit is 16 miles long, with
a grade of 1.056 feet per mile. It is built of concrete and rubble
masonry, lined with brick. It crosses the Charles River by granite
bridge 475 feet long and 75 feet high. Its sectional area is 56.75
square feet, and capacity 70 millions daily.
There are two earth embankment reservoirs, one of 120 millions and
the other of 550 millions capacity, besides four stone masonry
structures of 22 millions capacity combined. One of the latter is
used for high service, is 219 feet above tide, and has a capacity
of 7 millions. The Roxbury High Service is supplied by two 20″ by
36″ pumps, through a stand-pipe 5 feet in diameter and 80 feet high.
There is also a couple of temporary high service works. There are
several cast-iron syphons of 20 and 24-inch pipes, with ball and
socket points, submerged in the rivers. A crack in one of these
20-inch pipes was stopped by pine wedges, and then covered with
an india-rubber band, secured by iron clamps. The work was done
by a diver, and occupied three weeks. The Mystic Water-Works, of
Charleston, became a part of the Boston Water System in 1873, by
annexation.
The population is 412,000; miles of pipe, 500; daily average
consumption, 36 millions; number of water takers is 68,334. There are
1,313 meters in use. The value of the works to December, 1880, was
$18,354,716.17.
_St. Louis._--The first water-works was built at foot of Bates
Street in 1830, eight years after it became an incorporated city.
The old works were entirely abandoned in 1872, when the new works,
built after the design of Jas. P. Kirkwood, civil engineer, were
put in operation. The new pumping stations is at Bissell’s Point at
the northern city limit. The water is taken from Mississippi River,
through a cast-iron tower (arranged to take water at any level) sunk
in the river to the bed rock, and conducted by a 66-inch iron pipe to
the first or low service pumps, which raises the water from 15 to 50
feet, according to the stage of the river, into settling basins (four
in number, each 25 millions capacity); from thence it flows through a
brick conduit 1,100 feet long, to the clear well of the high service
or main works. The clear water is pumped through a stand pipe into a
reservoir on Compton Hill, 870 feet by 540 feet, and 22 feet deep,
and 176 feet above city directrix. The low service works has two
Cornish bull and one rotative engine, and the main works has three
combination beam engines with a combined capacity of 40 millions of
gallons daily. The sediment in the water amounts, at times, to 1.8
per cent. of the total bulk. Nine hundred and forty-four parts in
one thousand of the sediment is deposited within twenty-four hours
in still water. One of the old reservoirs was abandoned entirely for
twelve years, on account of the accumulation of deposit, being 30
feet in depth. It was cleaned by hydraulic mining, after a method
designed by Henry Flad, civil engineer.
The population by last census is 350,522; miles of pipe, 200; daily
consumption, 25 millions; number of taps, 20,000.
The cost of the new works was about five millions of dollars.
_Baltimore._--In 1814 an association was formed for the purpose
of introducing a copious supply of wholesome water into the city
from Jones’ Falls. The works were purchased by the city in 1854 for
$1,350,000, and enlarged in 1857-’62. The river water is diverted
into Lake Roland, an artificial lake of 116 acres water surface.
From this reservoir it is brought through an elliptical conduit,
3.62 miles, and discharged into Hampden Reservoir. This reservoir
is semicircle in form, 1,000 feet diameter, with a water surface of
8 acres. It is 217 feet above tide. From this point the water flows
through three lines of 30-inch cast-iron pipe, 7,100 feet in length,
into Mt. Royal Reservoir, which is a circular structure 550 feet in
diameter with a water surface of 5 acres, and 150 feet above tide.
This reservoir supplies that portion of the city below 112 feet
elevation. The Hampden Reservoir supplies the districts between 112
feet and 188 feet above tide, and the high service reservoir the
district between 188 feet and 320 feet above tide. In 1867 the Druid
Lake was constructed with a view of storing clear water, to be used
when Lake Roland was muddy. It is made by building an earthen dam
(across a natural valley in Druid Hill Park), 119 feet high in the
middle with a puddled wall in the center 36 feet wide at the bottom.
The greatest depth of water is 63 feet. Seven lines of cast-iron
pipe were originally laid under the embankment, but broke within two
years. Five lines of 30-inch pipe were then laid through a cut-in
rock. Its capacity is 493,000,000 gallons, with water surface of 53
acres. The high service reservoir is circular, 500 feet diameter, 20
feet deep, and 350 feet above tide, and supplied by two Worthington
pumps.
The new supply from Gunpowder River is brought through a 12-foot
conduit 7 miles in length, having a capacity of 170 million gallons,
to Montebello Reservoir, of 80 acres water surface, and 163 feet
above tide. From here it is conveyed partly in tunnel and in open cut
5,391 feet to Lake Clifton, which has a water surface of 30¼ acres
and elevation 163 feet above tide, and 31 feet deep. Provisions are
made for six 40-inch mains; two now being used. The new system cost
$4,704,260.83, and was formerly inaugurated in October, 1881. The
statistics for 1880 are: population, 332,190; miles of pipe, 277;
water takers, 49,000; meters, 524; outstanding bonds amounting to 9
million dollars.
_Buffalo_ takes its supply from a pier in Niagara River, and is
conducted through a tunnel 22½ feet below the river bottom. The
system is pumping and reservoir distribution with Holly plan for fire
purposes and supply of higher levels. At the pumping station there
are two Worthingtons--one of 10 million and the other of 15 million
capacity--and a condensing beam engine of 8 million capacity. A third
Worthington is now in course of erection. There are three Holly
pumps, one of 1½ millions; one of 2½ millions; and one of 6 millions
capacity, which take their supply from the face main 20 feet below
the reservoir, and pump directly into the mains. The statistics for
1880 are: population, 155,137; miles of pipe, 102; daily consumption,
16½ million gallons; water-takers, 9,099. The original cost of the
works was $400,000. Present value 3 million dollars, outstanding
bonds $2,950,000.
_Washington_ is supplied from the Potomac River by diverting the
waters at Great Falls 17 miles above the city, by a dam of cut
masonry with rip-rap backing. Its top is 148 feet above tide level at
Washington. The water is conducted through a brick aqueduct 9 feet in
diameter, with a grade of 0.75 feet per mile. The reservoir at Powder
Mill Branch (made by damming the stream), has a water surface of 50
acres, with a capacity of 176 million gallons. The expectation that
the Potomac water, which is frequently very muddy, would have time to
settle in this reservoir before being drawn from its outlet was not
realized in consequence of the turbidity of drainage water collected
by the reservoir itself; a connecting conduit was therefore built in
1864 to supply direct from Potomac River, during freshets, in Powder
Mill Branch.
The high levels of Georgetown or those more than 90 feet above tide
level, are supplied by pumping and reservoir distribution. The
reservoir is a hemispherical brick structure, 120 feet in diameter,
and 220 feet above tide.
The statistics for 1880 are: population, 147,307; miles of pipe,
175; daily consumption of water, 26 million gallons; number of taps,
17,000. Cost of aqueduct and its maintenance to June 30, 1880, was
3.8 million dollars, and for water mains, 1.7 millions.
_Louisville._--The Louisville Water Company was chartered in 1854,
and in 1856 the city subscribed to the capital stock to the amount
of $550,000. The supply is taken from the Ohio River, 1½ miles above
the city limits. The intake is 300 feet from shore, 50 feet in
diameter, made of a crib of timber filled in with stone, the mouth
of the inlet being 5 by 12 feet, and set 1 foot below lowest stage
of water. By 1865 the inlet pipe was half full of silt; in order to
clean it a well was sunk over the pipe, 105 feet from its end, the
pipe cut, and then cleaned out. In 1877 the pipe was again cleansed.
Anchor ice has given them much trouble. There are two Cornish beam
engines which deliver the water through a wrought-iron stand pipe,
48 inches in diameter and 132 feet high, into a reservoir of earth
embankments, 141 feet above low water, and 3,650 feet from the works.
The water surface of this reservoir is 178 by 374 feet. The new
reservoir on Crescent Hill is 175 feet above low water, and 2½ miles
from stand-pipe. It has a capacity of 100 millions. Notwithstanding
extraordinary care having been taken in the foundations of this
reservoir, leaks and slips occurred soon after it was filled.
The statistics for 1880 are: Population, 123,645; miles of pipe, 110;
daily consumption of water, 5½ million gallons; number of meters,
201; hydraulic elevators. 50; value of the works--construction,
$800,000; enlargements, $2,400,000; total, 3.2 million dollars.
_San Francisco_ is supplied by the Spring Valley Water Company from
three sources. One from Lobos Creek, 4 miles from the city, where the
water is gathered after slow percolation through sand, and conducted
through 23,700 feet of wood and masonry aqueduct to the pumping-works
(at zero datum of city level) at Point Black. These engines raise
the water into two reservoirs on Russian Hill, respectively 396 feet
and 139 feet above city datum. The ordinary yield of the source is
2¼ millions daily. Another source is from the mountains of San Mateo
County, 15 miles from San Francisco, where a dam was built in 1864,
640 feet long, 26 feet wide on top, 95 feet high, with slopes 2¾
and 2½ to 1 foot. A puddle-trench is sunk 26 feet below the natural
surface to the rock. After the reservoir was full, a leak appeared
at one end of the dam caused by an unsound rock. While the reservoir
was full a shaft was sunk 80 feet deep to the point, and the rock
removed and replaced with puddle. This reservoir is 46 feet deep, and
has a capacity of 1,083 million gallons, with a water surface of 692
feet above the sea. The water is conducted 13 miles, through a flume
partly of 30-inch wrought-iron pipe, to Lagunda Honda Reservoir, 377
feet above the sea, with a capacity of 33 million gallons.
The third supply is brought from the water-shed of Lock’s Creek, 2.75
square miles in area, and 505 feet above tide. This water is conveyed
17.42 miles to St. Andres Reservoir through wrought-iron pipes and
tunnels lined with solid masonry.
The St. Andres Reservoir has a capacity of 7,000 million gallons, and
is formed by an earth dam 640 feet long, 25 feet wide on the top, and
93 feet high, with a puddle-trench 47 feet more to the rock. The cost
of the works to 1875 was $8,746,928.12. Amount paid on dividends to
stockholders $4,701,562.18.
The population in 1880 was 233,956, and daily consumption of water 17
millions.
_Cleveland._--The water-works were constructed in 1853 after the
plans of T. R. Scowden, civil engineer. The system is pumping through
stand pipe with reservoir distribution. The source is Lake Erie,
where the water is taken through a crib located in lake, 1¼ miles
from shore, and conducted through tunnel under lake to the pump
wells. The pumping stations contains two Cornish, a “Henderson”
compound duplex, and a 10 million Worthington. The combined capacity
is 28 million gallons. Another Worthington engine is being added
to the service. The stand pipe is 148 feet high and 36 inches in
diameter. The reservoir is made of earth embankments, 21 feet deep,
with a capacity of 8 million gallons.
The population for 1880 was 160,142; miles of pipe, 125½; daily
consumption of water, 10.18 million gallons.
Total cost of works to January 1, 1878, was $2,402,000. Bonded
indebtedness, $1,725,000. Cost of original works, $523,000.
_Portland, Maine_, is supplied with water from Lake Sebago, which has
storage capacity sufficient to supply the largest city of the world.
The total area of water-shed is 520 square miles. The annual receipt
of moisture, including rain and snow, is 51 billion cubic feet,
while the discharge is 20½ billion cubic feet. The water is conveyed
partly through a box conduit, 3′ 9″ by 3′ 6½″, an oval brick conduit
5,440 feet long, 2½′ by 3½′, to a gate-house, whence two wrought-iron
mains, lined inside and covered outside with best quality Rosendale
cement, each 16 miles long, distribute the water to the city. One of
the mains is 20 inches in diameter for the whole length, the other 26
and 24 inches, and respectively 4 and 12 miles long. The water system
is owned by the Portland Water Company.
_Cincinnati._--The permanent system of water supply was commenced
in 1817, when city council granted to the Cincinnati Manufacturing
Company the privilege of supplying the city with water for
ninety-nine years at an annual consideration of $100--the water to
flow three feet above the first floor of James Ferguson’s kitchen, on
west side of Vine, between Sixth and Seventh Streets, by 1820.
The first water was drawn from a wooden penstock at Sycamore Street
and Lower Market, July, 1821, being raised by horse-power from Ohio
River at the present site of pumping works, and forced into a wooden
reservoir, and from thence delivered through wooden pipes to water
consumers.
The Cincinnati Manufacturing Company transferred its privileges, in
1820, to Samuel W. Davis, and by him sold to Cincinnati Water Company
in 1825. The entire works were purchased by the city in 1839, for the
sum of $300,000, and consisted of 19 miles of wooden pipes, 3½ miles
of iron pipe, reservoir in three compartments of 1,700,000 gallons
capacity, two high pressure pumping engines with a capacity of
4,200,000 gallons per twenty-four hours.
The management of the water department was vested first with a board
of directors composed of one councilman from each ward. In 1847 this
power was given, by act of legislature, to a board of three trustees
elected by the people, and in 1876 the Board of Public Works was
established, which assumed entire control of all the public works,
including the water-works.
The city is supplied by pumping and reservoir system, with a main
and two auxiliary pumping works, and four distinct reservoir or
distributing services.
The main work is located on the bank of the Ohio River, and takes
its supply through two stone aqueducts, each 100 feet in length. The
western one is extended 60 feet further into the channel of the river
by two 40-inch wrought-iron pipes.
The pumping engines at these works are--three double and three single
engines with a combined theoretical capacity of 49 millions, with
present available capacity of 32 millions. The oldest reservoir,
built in 1850-’53, is a stone structure, entirely above the surface
ground, made in two divisions 23 feet in depth; the eastern part
being 163 by 116 feet, and western 180 by 116 feet. Its capacity is
5½ million gallons. The cost was $50,000; its elevation, 176 feet
above low-water mark in the Ohio River. The largest reservoir is
built in a ravine, where a masonry structure was erected 1,251 feet
long, 120 feet high, 48½ feet in width at the bottom, and 25 feet on
top. There are two compartments formed by a masonry wall 307 feet in
length, 30 feet at the base, 10 feet on top, and 67½ feet extreme
height. The upper part contains 57 millions, and the lower 43 million
gallons, at 30 feet depth. The elevation of flow line is 235 feet
above low water in the Ohio River. The cost was $1,660,000. The high
service No. 1 supplies nearly two millions daily to the hill-tops,
pumping into two iron tanks, each 60 feet diameter by 38 feet high,
310 feet above the pumping station level, through 2,700 feet of
20-inch and 4,501 feet of 16-inch cast-iron pipe. The cost of this
service to 1881, with forty miles of pipe, two pumping engines of
six million capacity, tanks, etc., was nearly half a million dollars.
No. 2, high service, was started in June, 1881. About 15,000 gallons
are pumped daily into an iron tank, thirty feet in diameter by
sixteen feet high, temporarily erected on wooden supports sixteen
feet high. The elevation of flow line of tank is 354 feet above the
pump station.
Number of miles of pipe in use (1880) 189
Number of valves in use 2,334
Number of branches or taps 23,627
Number of meters 545
Number of hydraulic elevators 318
Daily average consumption of water for 1880 19,476,739
Population 260,000
Gallons of water per inhabitant per 24 hours 75
Largest consumption of water for one day, 1880 27,951,391
The present value of works is $6,778,847.55, distributed as follows:
Hunt Street Pumping Works $ 184,475.98
Front “ “ “ 1,696,356.33
Third Street Reservoir and property 400,000.00
Mt. Auburn Tanks 35,000.00
Water Mains 2,706,864.58
Western Hill Supply, No. 2, High Service 58,603.61
Garden of Eden Reservoir 1,670,225.55
Office Fixtures 5,000.00
Markley Farm 22,321.50
The amount of outstanding water-works bonds is $1,625,000.00.
The water-fund provides for the interest on the entire fund, and a
sinking fund for $600,000 of bonded indebtedness. The department
furnishes free water to the fire department and public buildings to
the amount of $40,000 per annum.
The net water-rent receipts for 1880 were $499,857.36
Net expenses $186,527.90
Net interest 102,768.00 289,295.90
-----------
Net gain (applied to extension of mains) $210,561.46
_Toledo_ established her water-works in 1873-’74, after plans of J.
D. Cook, C. E. The water is taken from the Maumee River, through
a hexagonal crib, made of two rows of piling, with the space
filled with broken stone and coarse gravel, and conveyed, through
wrought-iron pipe and five foot brick conduit five hundred feet long,
to filter gallery of 19,000 square feet. The filtering material is
24 inches of broken stone, 6 inches of 2-inch gravel, 6 inches of
1-inch gravel, 6 inches of ½-inch gravel, 6 inches of ¼-inch gravel,
and 24 inches of fine sand. Maximum depth of water is four feet. The
filtered water is discharged into a clear-water reservoir by means of
gathering drains and an effluent pipe, and thence to the pump well.
There are two Worthington engines, each of five million capacity,
pumping against a 260-foot lift, into a stand-pipe. The cost of the
works to December 31, 1880, including interest, was $1,145,476.62;
population, 50,143; miles of pipe, 46.87; meters, 40; taps, 1,616;
daily consumption, 3,262,000 gallons.
_London_ is supplied with water by the following companies:
==================+===============+=============+==========+===========+
NAME OF | SOURCE OF |AVERAGE DAILY|NO. HOUSES| ESTIMATED |
COMPANY. | SUPPLY. | SUPPLY. | SUPPLIED.|POPULATION.|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+-----------+
Kent Water Co. |Chalk Wells. | 6,828,700 | 43,901 | 250,000 |
New River Co. |Lea River and | 27,179,000 | 123,493 | 900,000 |
| other sources.| | | |
East London Co. |Lea & Thames | 24,754,919 | 107,851 | 808,882 |
| Rivers. | | | |
Southwark & |Thames River. | 19,264,250 | 80,146 | 502,350 |
Vauxhall Co. | | | | |
West Middlesex Co.| “ “ | 10,468,138 | 47,039 | 332,792 |
Grand Junction Co.| “ “ | 12,017,830 | 3?,709 | 321,381 |
Lambeth Water Co. | “ “ | 13,671,900 | 52,529 | 367,703 |
Chelsea Water Co. | “ “ | 8,134,300 | 28,395 | 210,000 |
==================+===============+=============+==========+===========+
==================+=============++============++======================
NAME OF | CAPACITY OF || FILTER || ENGINE POWER.
COMPANY. | SUBSIDING || BEDS. || +---------
| RESERVOIRS ++----+-------++----+-------+ GREATEST
|IN MIL. GALS.|| NO.|AREA IN|| NO.| HORSE | LIFT
| || | ACRES.|| | POWER.| IN FEET.
------------------+-------------++----+-------++----+-------+---------
Kent Water Co. | -- || -- | -- || 16 | 1,291 | 314
New River Co. | 169 || 13 | 11¼ || 22 | 1,804 | 270
| || | || | |
East London Co. | 605 || 25 | 23 || 18 | 2,475 | 335
| || | || | |
Southwark & | 66 || 9 | 14½ || 11 | 2,000 | 360
Vauxhall Co. | || | || | |
West Middlesex Co.| 57 || 5 | 8 || 17 | 1,461 | 195
Grand Junction Co.| 19½ || 4 | 7¾ || 11 | 1,820 | 180
Lambeth Water Co. | 125 || 7 | 4 || 17 | 1,460 | 380
Chelsea Water Co. | -- || 7 | 6¾ || 8 | 1,025 | 175
==================+=============++====+=======++====+=================
The East London Company has its intakes further up the Thames than
the other works, where pumping engines, of 750 horse-power, are
capable of delivering ten million gallons daily, through a stand-pipe
240 feet high and three feet in diameter, into its subsiding
reservoirs. It also takes its supply partly from the Lea River.
The West Middlesex Company is above Hampton, and two miles below the
East London Company’s works. The water is drawn from the river every
day, whatever its state may be; but, in times of exceptionally foul
water, the intake is reduced as much as possible.
Close to the West Middlesex Company is the Grand Junction works. Near
the latter are the works of the Southwark & Vauxhall Company. And at
Thames Ditton, two miles further down, are the Lambeth and Chelsea
works.
The Kent Water Company takes its supply, exclusively, from deep wells
in the chalk. The New River Company takes its supply chiefly from
the Lea River. It has supplied a large portion of London, for two
hundred and seventy years, through a conduit originally forty miles
in length, which has been shortened by various cuts.
The statistics, as per monthly report for July, 1875, were:
Population, 3,713,108; miles of pipe, 3,074; daily average
consumption from Thames, 64,791,000 gallons; daily average
consumption from other sources, 57,528,000 gallons. Total daily
average, 122,319,000 gallons.
The Capital invested in the supply of water by these eight companies
represents a total sum of $51,900,000.
The largest pumping engines in use, in 1875, were:
STEAM CYLINDER. PUMP.
″ ′ ″ ′
Single-acting beam-engine at Battersea works. 112 × 10 50 × 10
“ “ at Grand Junction. 90 × 11 38 × 11
“ “ at East London. 100 × 11 50 × 11
“ “ at East London. 85 × 10 43 × 9
An act of 1871 provides power to compel the companies to give
constant supply when the public authorities may demand it.
By the act of 1872 a Government Inspector was appointed, who examines
and reports monthly the condition of the works and the character of
the water furnished.
As the London and Lea Rivers have been condemned by the Rivers
Pollution Commission, as well as the shallow surface wells, of which
they say, are not fit for human consumption, several schemes have
been proposed for new or improved sources.
Mr. Bateman proposed to furnish a daily supply, equal to 220 million
gallons, from the mountains of North Wales, where the annual
rain-fall amounts from 70 to 150 inches. The cost was estimated at
$51,000,000.
The plan proposed by Messrs. Hemans and Hassard is to gather the
water from the mountains in Cumberland, where a supply equal to 250
million gallons daily can be secured for the sum of $61,000,000. The
Rivers Pollution Commission were of the opinion, that an ample supply
of wholesome water could be secured from the chalk wells and springs,
within a radius not exceeding fifty miles of London.
_Liverpool_ had in 1874, 493,405 inhabitants. It is supplied with
water partly by gravitation and partly by pumping from deep wells
in and near the city. The gravitation-works are situated on the
slopes of Rivington Pike, a distance about 33 miles. One-third of
the storage water is required for compensation purposes. The area of
water-shed is 10,000 acres; that of the impounding reservoirs and
filter-beds 549 acres, with a storage capacity of 3¼ billion gallons.
The ordinary work of the six filter-beds is 14 million gallons daily.
The materials used for filtration are: 2½ feet sharp river sand,
clean gravel of the following depths and sizes: 6 inches ⅛-inch
diameter, 6 inches ¼-inch diameter, 6 inches ½-inch diameter, 6
inches 1-inch diameter, and 6 inches 2-inch diameter; 6 inches of
broken stone 4-inch diameter, and 12 inches broken stone 6-inch
diameter. The cost of filtration is $1.37 per million gallons. The
water, after filtration, flows from the clear water tank through a
main, 44 inches diameter and 18 miles in length, to the service
reservoir at Prescott, 102 feet lower than the clear water tank; to
break the pressure in this length there are two small reservoirs.
From Prescott the line is continued by two pipes, one 44 inches and
the other 36 inches in diameter, a distance of five miles to the
service reservoirs, which are seven in number, with a water surface
area of 37⅓ acres, and 114 million gallons capacity. They are partly
above ground and covered. The quantity delivered through the conduit,
is 10⅓ million gallons daily.
There are four pumping stations located at the respective wells, with
five Cornish and five Bolton and Watts’ condensing engines. Four
pumping stations have been abandoned on account of the pollution in
well water. Part of the town is supplied directly from mains and
partly from cisterns. It is now compulsory for all new property to
be provided with cisterns, and that the overflow-pipe be carried
outside the premises instead of being connected to soil-pipe or
sewer. A special staff of men is employed to make house-to-house
inspection of all water fittings and appliances. The cost of the
water-works was about 10 million dollars, and is inadequate. They are
now constructing an artificial lake, 1 mile wide by 5 miles long, for
impounding the waters of the Vyrnwy River in North Wales, 780 feet
above the sea level, and 67 miles distant from the city. The area
of water-shed is 22,000 acres. The dam will be a masonry structure,
120 feet extreme depth, and 100 feet wide at base; storage capacity,
1,900 million gallons. The cost is estimated at $15,000,000, and
daily capacity 52 million gallons.
_Glasgow._--The present water system was commenced in 1856, and
completed in 1859, after the designs of Mr. J. F. Bateman, civil
engineer. The supply is taken from Loch Katrine, including Lochs
Drunkie and Vennachar, with a drainage area of 47,800 acres, and a
storage capacity of 1,455 million cubic feet. The total length of
aqueduct is 25¾ miles, of which 13 are tunneled, 3¾ of iron pipe
across valleys, and remaining 9 miles of open cuttings and bridges.
There are 80 distinct tunnels. The capacity of aqueduct is 50 million
gallons per twenty-four hours. The amount required for compensation
purposes is fixed at 40½ million gallons daily, to be discharged
into the River Teith. The cost of the works was 6 million dollars.
The water is exceptionally soft, being less than one degree.
_Manchester._--The new supply was commenced in 1848, designed by Mr.
J. F. Bateman, civil engineer. The source is in the counties of Derby
and Chester, 777 feet above city datum. There are thirteen storage
and distributing reservoirs, with a water surface of 975½ acres, and
capacity of 6,458 million gallons. The greatest depth of reservoirs
is 84 feet. The conduit is 18 miles in length. The drainage area is
19,300 acres. Available daily supply is 33 million gallons, of which
13 millions are required for mill-owners. The average rain-fall is
50 inches, and mean available resource of 33 inches. The cost of the
works was 4 million dollars. The population in 1874 was 750,000;
daily average consumption 16 million gallons, and 550 miles of pipe.
_Edinburgh_ derives its supply from springs and brooks flowing from
the northern slope of the Pentland Mountains. The water is collected
in storage reservoirs, with a capacity of 280 million cubic feet,
three of which are compensating reservoirs for mill-owners. The
conduit is 8 miles in length, and varies from 20 to 15 inches in
diameter. The water is distributed directly into mains with an
equalizing cistern on the Castle Hill, 225 feet below the source of
supply, and 332 feet above tide. The capacity of pipe is 253 cubic
feet per minute. There were three filter-beds (in 1868) a short
distance below the reservoir embankment. The sand surface of each
is 90 by 90 feet. The superficial area of the three filters, 24,300
square feet; maximum rate of filtration, 85½ U. S. gallons per square
foot per diem. The spring water is not filtered. The additional works
were completed in 1868, which increased the supply to 992 cubic feet
per minute, or 10,685,770 U. S. gallons per day.
_Dublin_ secures its water supply from the Vartry River, 24½ miles
distant from city, and 692 feet above low water at Dublin. The area
of water-shed is 14,084 acres; the storage capacity, 2,400 million
gallons. The water is conveyed through a 33-inch cast-iron pipe
(with an average fall of 20 feet to the mile) to the Stillogram
distributing reservoir. There are three receiving tanks on the
line, with self-acting valves to shut off the water in case of pipe
bursting. The distributing reservoirs contain 86 million gallons--are
230 feet above the average head of the city, and 4½ miles distant.
Two 27-inch pipes distribute the water to the city from this point.
There were seven filter-beds in 1875, each 215 feet and 115 feet at
the top and 187 feet by 89 feet at the bottom, and 10 feet deep. The
filtering material is 6½ feet deep, composed of 2½ feet 4-inch stone,
2 feet gravel, and 2½ feet washed sand. The head on filter-bed was
increased from 2 to 3 feet to secure larger supply. The total cost
of this new supply was 3 million dollars. The water-rate taxation is
26½d. per pound. The population in 1875 was 330,000; daily average
consumption, 14 million gallons. All plumber fittings must be
inspected and stamped, for which a fee of two cents is charged. This
consumption, by careful inspection, was reduced from 19 millions. The
largest annual rain-fall from 1861 to 1874 was 69.34 inches; minimum,
40.08 inches. Fifteen inches is allowed for evaporation, leaving 25
inches for available supply for the dryest year during this period.
_Berlin._--The water department is owned by an English company,
called the Berlin Water Company, who have had the exclusive privilege
of supplying filtered water as required by the contracts since 1856.
After 1881 the Government has the option of taking stock, and should
the dividends exceed 10 per cent., one-half of the surplus is to go
to the sewerage fund for the proposed sewers.
The water is derived mainly from the River Spree, through a canal
reaching to the middle of the river. The pumping station is one
mile outside of the city, in which are located eight double pumping
engines, each pair having two beams, two pumps, and one fly-wheel.
The first four engines erected have pump-barrels of unequal diameter
and stroke, being respectively, 38 and 21½ inches diameter and 32
and 36 inches stroke. The large barrel was originally used for the
delivery of the river water to the filter-beds under a pressure not
exceeding 20 feet; the small barrel delivered the filtered water
into the city under a varying pressure of 90 to 120 feet. As now
operated, the four oldest engines pump the river water into the
settling or storage basin before filtration; while the other four
deliver the filtered water directly into the city mains, but the
pressure is regulated by a reservoir and stand-pipe along-side of
it. The stand-pipe is double-legged, connected at four points, each
connection having a valve, except the highest. The highest connection
is 200 feet above the pump-house, the lowest about 115, with others
intermediate. The water of the small reservoir, when full, stands
at about 110 feet above the pump well. There were eleven filters in
1875, with an area of 400,000 square feet. During the summer only
eight of the beds are used effectually. They are cleaned in winter
every month, and every week in summer. One-half of the old sand is
replaced each time of cleansing with new sand. The average rate
of filtration is 90 gallons per square foot, and maximum rate 120
gallons per square foot per twenty-four hours.
The filtering materials consist of 24 inches sharp sand, 3 inches of
coarse sand, three courses, each 6 inches in depth, of gravel, of the
size of a pea, hazelnut, and walnut, and 9 inches of granite pieces.
The head of water on filter is 39 inches.
Frequently the river water is pumped directly into the filter-beds
without subsidence. The stream is very sluggish in its velocity,
being held back by locks for the purpose of navigation, the water
does not carry sufficient sediment to render subsidence a necessity.
There are, besides, certain lakes not far above the works through
which the river flows, that are effective settling basins. They,
however, communicate to the water a dark vegetable tinge.
The statistics for 1875 were: Population, 969,000; daily average
consumption, 12¼ million gallons; number of meters, 6,916. Water-rent
receipts, for 1875, were $600,000 or 13½ cents per thousand gallons,
and expenses were $376,000, or 8 cents per thousand gallons.
The water rents are assessed upon the valuation of the property, with
extra rates for additional water privileges.
New works were erected in 1875-’77, with a daily maximum capacity
of 12 million gallons. The source is the “_Tegeler See_.” The water
is collected, by infiltration, in twenty-three cisterns, each having
a separate connection to a suction-pipe, 36 inches diameter, 4,000
feet long, which leads to the pump wells, stationed midway on the
suction line. The cisterns are circular in form, with two concentric
walls, the first of stone, the second of brick, with an intervening
space filled with gravel through which the water percolates. The
interstices of the stone are small, to prevent the washing in of
sand, in which the wells are made. The water is pumped, by six
compound engines, into a reservoir of two compartments, whence it
flows into a second pumping station at Charlottenburgh, where four
compound engines raise the water a second time, with a lift of 125
feet, into two reservoirs of six million capacity. The water is then
distributed into the city by two lines, one for the north side, the
other for the south side of the city. The first pumping station is
four miles from the second works, and the latter six miles from the
city.
_Vienna_ had a population, in 1875, of 1,007,365. Previous to the
application of the new supply, in 1873, the city was supplied by
ten thousand wells; ten gravitation works, for suburbs, public and
private buildings, palaces, etc.; four pumping works--one for large
abattoir, one for the parks, a special supply for the main street,
called Ring Strasse, which cost $75,000, besides several small
private works, and sixty-six public wells for street sprinkling, etc.
The first pumping works was erected in 1843, by Emperor Ferdinand
I., and given by him to the city. The total cost, to 1871, of this
service, was nearly $1,200,000, consisting of three pumping engines,
of Watts’ & Wolf’s designs, with a gross horse-power of 220; three
reservoirs, and a suction and filter canal 27,000 feet long. The
water is taken from a canal of the Danube, and raised forty-seven
feet high. The daily delivery was 2,600,000 gallons. In 1864, fifteen
projects for supplying the city with water were submitted, and the
plan of securing the spring water from the foot of the Alps was
adopted. Work was commenced in 1870, and completed in 1873. The cost
was nearly $11,000,000. The mean quantity secured daily from the
springs was originally 37 millions, the maximum 45 millions, and
minimum 5½ millions. The water is collected in three reservoirs,
located on mountain ridges, with a capacity of one million gallons.
The conduit is fifty miles long, and has sixteen tunnels, 5.2 miles
long, drifted through rock and cemented, and nine and one-half
miles of masonry bridges. The water is delivered into a reservoir,
arched and covered with ground; from this it is led into three other
covered reservoirs, with a combined capacity of seven millions. The
quantity realized from the springs was not as large as expected,
and additional springs were added to the source at an expense of
$250,000. It is now the intention to increase the main pumping works
for manufacturing purposes, so as to reduce the supply of spring
water for domestic use.
_Hamburg_ had a population, in 1875, of 337,602. The water-works were
erected in 1849. The water is taken from the River Elbe, through an
arched canal, to four pump wells (for subsidence of the water) with
a combined capacity of 53 million gallons. The water is slightly
turbid, except in floods. The pumping station is two miles above the
city, and contains four Cornwall and one Wolf engine, with a total
horse-power of 850. The water is forced through a stand-pipe 240 feet
high, under a variable pressure, according to the demand, into the
pipes. There are three reservoirs for equalizing the pressure, also
storage of water. Two of them are stone structures; the other is a
covered iron tank on a stone foundation 39⅓ feet high. The maximum
consumption was 19 millions daily; and daily average, for 1875, was
15¼ millions, or 45 gallons per inhabitant. The cost of pumping one
million gallons is $20, or $8.33 for one million gallons raised 100
feet high.
_Frankfort-on-the-Main_ was supplied by well water. In 1872, a supply
was brought into the city from the Spessart Mountains, where the
water from 139 springs were gathered together, and conveyed through
an aqueduct 41 miles long, two miles of which is made of cement 9½
to 18 inches in diameter, 38½ miles of 14½-inch cast-iron pipe,
and ½ mile of canal. The water flows through a syphon tower. There
are two reservoirs--one of 3½ millions, and the other of .8 of a
million capacity. The population, in 1875, was 103,136. Daily average
consumption, 1¾ million gallons; miles of pipe, 64½.
_Leipsic._--The water-works was built, by the city, in 1866, at a
cost of $900,000. The water is taken from the Pleisse River, through
an arched aqueduct, 656 feet long, to subsiding reservoirs or wells,
two miles in diameter, and thirteen feet below the lowest stage in
the river. The water is pumped into a reservoir, 140 feet lift, by
two Wolf engines, with a power of 120 horse-power. The maximum daily
consumption of water, in 1876, was 2.6 millions, and the minimum was
1.8 million gallons.
_Stuttgart_ had a population, in 1875, of 107,575. It has two kinds
of supply--one for drinking, that of spring water, and the other
for manufacturing and general use. For the latter demands, the
supply is taken partly from the Neckar River, and pumped through
three artificial filter beds; and partly from lakes, whose water is
conducted, through cast-iron pipes 15,000 feet in length, to five
filter-beds, and thence into two reservoirs, 145 feet below the lake.
The reservoir, for the filtered water from the river, is three miles
from the pumping station, and 180 feet elevation. Seven million
gallons are used daily.
The spring water is conducted through 23.6 miles of pipe, into a
reservoir of 132,010 gallons capacity. The maximum daily consumption
of spring water, in 1875, was 580,800 gallons, and minimum
consumption 369,600 gallons.
_Dresden._--The water-works were erected, in 1875, at a cost of
$2,000,000. The available maximum delivery was 11.88 million
gallons per day. The water is taken from the Elbe River, through
two cast-iron pipes, 9.8 feet below low water, and conveyed to two
wells, 23 feet in diameter, dug along-side of the river. The water is
pumped, by six double engines, with 720 horse-power, through 3,608
feet of pipe, into a reservoir 197 feet above the pumping station.
The maximum daily consumption of water, in 1875, was 3.7 million
gallons, and minimum .7 of a million; population, 197,000. In 1876
there were 2,047 meters in use.
_Marseilles_ obtains its water supply from the Durance River, at a
point sixty-two miles from the city. The water is conveyed through
an open canal (excepting the numerous tunnels) with a fall of six
inches per mile. Thirty-four millions, of the 159¾ millions total
daily ordinary flow of the canal, is considered sufficient for the
city, the balance being available for irrigation and water-power,
while the waste flows into the sea. About one-seventh of the water,
as estimated, is lost by evaporation and filtration. There were five
settling basins, with a water surface of 220 acres, constructed along
the line of the canal, designed to increase the deposition of the
heavier particles of sediment by diminishing the velocity of the
water. Only one of these basins was serviceable in 1868. The largest
one was used for a short period only, because of a defect in the
construction of the dam; the others were abandoned because of the
neglect in or difficulty of withdrawing the sediment. A costly filter
gallery was built at Longchamp, consisting of two apartments, with
a series of arches in the center, forming the bed for the filtering
material and the cover for the collecting reservoir for the filtered
water. The plan was abandoned in 1866, because of the unusual amount
of sediment carried down by the Durance River, which is estimated at
one thousandth part of its volume. In 1868, there were from three to
four inches of compact mud on the sand beds, and the gallery used for
a reservoir only. Subsiding basins have since been constructed. The
rate of filtration, when the gallery was in operation, was 90 cubic
feet to the square foot, equal to 8,312,940 U. S. gallons per day for
both filter-beds, or 36 gallons per inhabitant for a population of
230,000.
_Paris._--Previous to the introduction of the Vanne supply, in 1865,
the city was supplied from the following sources:
CUBIC FEET.
1. Aqueduct of Arcueil, 10 miles long, built in 1620-24. 56,480
2. Canal de l’Ourcq, 60 miles long, from the River } 3,671,200
Ourcq, built in 1801-22. }
3. Pumping works at Challiot, from the Seine River 1,421,000
4. Pumping works at Quai d’Austerlitz, opp. Challiot. 28,240
5. Artesian well of Grenelle 31,770
6. Springs on the north side of Paris, and of the } 17,650
Pres. St. Gervais. }
---------
Total. 5,217,340
or 39,025,713 gallons per day for 1,600,000 persons, or 25 gallons
per head.
The Passey artesian well increased the supply 5½ millions. The Vanne
supply has, as its source, the rivers Dhuys and Vanne. The conduit is
83 miles long; its capacity 20 millions daily.
There are projected works (1876) to secure the waters of the Mame
that will increase the daily supply 25 millions.
The waters are generally very impure, chiefly obtained from navigable
streams. None of the water is filtered. There are two covered
reservoirs--Ménilmontant and Montrouge--of vaulted arches, after
the Roman style. The pumping works are located in the city. The
daily average consumption, in 1868, was 55,861,472 gallons, or 33
gallons per head. Water is distributed throughout Paris, but not
more than one-fifth of the houses have water connection. The others
are supplied in carts and buckets, carried by men to the door. About
7,000 men, principally natives of Auvergne, are employed thusly. It
is a custom to let the water run for three hours, from the public
fountains, in the morning to cleanse the streets.
_Bombay._--The water-works were commenced in 1856. The source is in
the valley of the Goper, where the Vehar impounding reservoir, with
a storage capacity of 12,900 million gallons is located. The maximum
depth of the reservoir is 80 feet, with an area of 1,394 acres. There
are three dams--one 835, one 555, and the other 936 feet long. The
extreme height of first dam is 84 feet, inner slope 3 to 1, and the
outer 2½ to 1. The embankments were made in layers of six inches.
The top width of this dam, which carries a roadway, is 24 feet. The
puddle walls are 10 feet wide at the top, and have a batter of 1 in 8
on each side. The trenches, for the foundations, were excavated into
the solid basalt below the surface rock. The slopes and tops of all
the embankments are covered with stone pitching 12 inches in depth,
with another 12 inches of broken stone underneath. The waste weir is
358 feet long, with a top width of 20 feet.