to the Common Council, strongly recommending the Bronx River as a
source from which to obtain a supply of good water for the use of the
citizens. This recommendation induced the Common Council to employ
William Weston, Esquire, a Civil Engineer, to examine the subject, and
he reported on the 16th of March, 1799, in favor of the practicability
of introducing the water of the Bronx into the city. Neither of these
gentlemen had used levels or made any survey of the country over which
the water should be brought, nor was there any measurement obtained of
the flow of the stream; consequently, their opinion was only founded on
personal view, gained by walking over the ground.
In April, 1799, the _Manhattan Company_ was incorporated by an act
of the Legislature, and the object of this Company was declared to
be, to supply the city with pure and wholesome water; but instead
of looking for a supply from foreign sources, they resorted to the
plan of furnishing the water from wells which they sunk within the
city limits. Besides these wells of the Manhattan Company there were
others subsequently sunk by the Corporation of the city, as well as
by individual enterprise. Some of these wells were of great depth
and capacity, having, in some instances, horizontal excavations at
a considerable depth below the surface, branching off from the main
shaft. Efforts of this kind, however, proved unsatisfactory, and much
solicitude was felt by the citizens on account of the scarcity of
_pure_ water.
On the 17th of March, 1822, the Mayor among other measures suggested
by him to the Common Council, brought to their consideration, the
important question of supplying the city with pure and wholesome water,
and requested its reference to a Committee, which was accordingly done.
The Committee, of which the Mayor was one, proceeded to the principal
source of the Bronx River, in the county of Westchester, known as the
Rye Pond. They spent two days, the 20th and 21st of March, in exploring
the country adjacent to the River and Sound, and at a meeting of the
Common Council, on the first of April, the Mayor, as Chairman of the
Committee, made a report of their observations, and recommended an
appropriation, with authority to employ a competent engineer to survey
and profile the whole line between the city and the main source of the
river Bronx, and to ascertain the quantity of water it would afford,
and an estimate of the probable cost of completing the project of
supplying the city with good and wholesome water from the aforesaid
source. The recommendation was concurred in, and the Mayor employed
Canvas White, Esquire, a Civil Engineer, to make the said survey and
estimate.
The yellow fever prevailed in the city during the summer of 1822,
and shortly after the termination of the epidemic, on the 25th of
November, the Mayor, in a communication to the Common Council, on
subjects relative to the preservation of the public health, stated that
a very important subject connected with the health of the city, was a
sufficient supply of good water; and that on this subject all had been
done that it was practicable, under existing circumstances, to perform;
that arrangements had been made with Mr. White, a Civil Engineer of
repute, to examine the several sources from which a supply was likely
to be obtained, and to furnish correct surveys and profiles of the
heights and depressions of the country through which the water must be
conveyed, and that he had been requested to report as soon as it was
practicable.
In 1823, the Sharon Canal Company was chartered by the State, and among
its duties was that of supplying the city of New-York with pure and
wholesome water. The work was not, however, undertaken.
In January, 1824, Mr. White made his report, which he prefaced
as follows:--“That he had the honor of receiving a request from
Stephen Allen, late Mayor, to make an examination and estimate of
the expense of furnishing the city with a copious supply of good and
wholesome water. Agreeably to that request, I have made the necessary
surveys, levels and examinations to ascertain the practicability
of the project,” &c. &c. At the same date, Benjamin Wright, Esq.,
reported to the Common Council on the same subject, which he prefaces
as follows:--“In obedience to a request of your honorable body,
communicated to me by Stephen Allen, Esq., late Mayor, in November
last, desiring me to assist Canvas White, Esq., with my advice and
counsel, as to the best method of supplying the city of New-York with
plenty of good water, I beg leave to make the following report,” &c.
Mr. White reported in favor of bringing the water of the Bronx to
the city; taking it from the River at the Westchester Cotton Factory
pond. The natural flow of the River at this place, he stated to be
3,000,000 of gallons per day, in the driest season, and he proposed by
artificial works at the upper Rye pond, and by lowering the outlet of
this pond, to obtain 3,600,000 gallons more per day; thus furnishing
a daily supply of 6,600,000 gallons. The cost of bringing the water
to a reservoir near the Park, was estimated at $1,949,542. Mr. Wright
concurred with him in this opinion.
In 1825 a company was incorporated by the Legislature, and called the
“_New-York Water Works Company_,” with authority to supply the city
with pure water. Canvas White, Esq., was appointed Engineer to this
Company, and in his report to the Directors, he recommended taking the
waters of the Bronx at Underhill’s bridge; estimated that 9,100,000
gallons of water could be delivered in the city daily, and that the
expense would not exceed $1,450,000.
The charter of this company proved so defective in practice, that they
were unable to proceed under it, and they accordingly applied to the
Legislature in 1826 for an amendment, authorizing the company to take
such of the waters, land and materials, by appraisement of indifferent
persons, as might be required for the work. In this application,
however, they were defeated, by the opposition of the Sharon Canal
Company, who claimed, under their charter, all the water on the route
of their canal. The Water Works Company was accordingly dissolved in
1827.
In 1831, the Common Council of the city, impelled by a sense of the
importance of a supply of pure and wholesome water, began to take more
decided steps towards the accomplishment of the object: a Committee
of the Board of Aldermen on Fire and Water, consisting of James
Palmer, Samuel Stevens and William Scott, to whom were referred
various communications and resolutions on the subject of supplying
the city with water, presented a report adducing facts and arguments
sufficient to prove the practicability of the project and the ability
of the Corporation to meet the expense; and prefaced that report as
follows:--“That they approach the subject as one of vast magnitude and
importance to an already numerous and dense population, requiring our
municipal authorities no longer to satisfy themselves with speeches,
reports and surveys, but actually to raise the _means_ and strike
the spade into the ground, as a commencement of this all important
undertaking.”[2]
Their attention was drawn, at that time, to the Bronx River, with the
ponds at its head, as the source for supply; but appended to their
report is a letter directed to the Corporation and signed Cyrus Swan,
“who is President of the New-York and Sharon Canal Company,” in which
it is asserted, “it has been ascertained that _that_ River (the Croton)
can be carried into the city of New-York, and that without it, a supply
which shall be adequate to the present and future wants of the city
cannot be obtained.
This Committee drafted an _Act_ for the Legislature to pass, which was
approved by the Common Council, and presented to the Legislature in
the session of 1832, but failed in becoming a law. That _Act_ provided
for the appointment of a Board of Commissioners of three persons, by
the Common Council, to superintend the execution of the plan and make
contracts for introducing water into the city of New-York.
In November, 1832, a report was made by Timothy Dewey and William
Serrell to Benjamin Wright, Esq. They had examined the sources of the
Bronx River and other streams, and the practicability of introducing
the water of the Croton by connecting it with the Sawmill and Bronx
Rivers;--they did not consider it possible to bring the Croton water to
mingle with those of the aforesaid rivers without the aid of expensive
machinery, from the great height it would be necessary to elevate the
water. They finally recommended the Bronx as a sufficient source, with
some artificial reservoirs, to answer all the city purposes.
The frightful ravages of the cholera, during the summer of 1832, gave
to the subject of _a supply of pure water_ a deeper interest, and the
minds of the citizens were again aroused to the importance of it. The
Committee of the Board of Aldermen, on “Fire and Water,” James Palmer,
chairman, pursued the subject with energy; exhibiting on all occasions
perseverance and industry in their researches.
Myndert Van Schaick, Esq., being a member of the Board of Aldermen
at that time, was familiar with the question of a supply of pure and
wholesome water, and holding the situation of Treasurer of the Board
of Health, became deeply interested in the measure, and urged it as
a matter of the deepest importance to the permanence, welfare and
financial interests of the city, that every method should be taken
to investigate and probe the subject which cautious men could adopt,
and his efforts in the subsequent measures and provisions of law in
relation to it are of the same character.
In December, 1832, De Witt Clinton, Esq., of the United States Corps
of Engineers, made a report pursuant to a request of the Committee on
Fire and Water, in which, after stating the substance of the several
reports in favor of the Bronx as the source of supply, he arrives at
the conclusion, that an adequate supply can only be obtained from the
Croton River.
He proposed to take the waters of the Croton at Pine’s bridge, which
he stated to be 183 feet above the level of the Hudson; to conduct the
water in an open Aqueduct, following the line of the Croton and Hudson
Rivers, and cross Harlem River on an arch of 138 feet in height, and
1,000 feet in length. The whole cost he estimated at $2,500,000.
It does not appear, however, that any levels were run, or survey made
by Mr. Clinton, of the route he recommended; but, that he depended on
the information of others, together with his personal observation, for
the subject matter of his report.
In a report made to the Board of Aldermen in January, 1833, it was
suggested that the failure of the law asked for the year previous,
was in consequence of a want of sufficient information to warrant the
opinion of the feasibility of the project, and it recommended that
immediate application should be made to the Legislature, asking for the
appointment of a Board of Commissioners, with full powers to examine
all the plans proposed, to cause surveys, and to estimate the probable
expense of supplying the city of New-York with water.
The Committee recommended that the Commissioners should be appointed by
the Governor and Senate, and that their number should consist of five,
“inasmuch as the object of their appointment is to settle conclusively
the plan to be adopted, and the amount requisite for its performance.”
This report was concurred in by the Board of Assistants, and approved
of by the Mayor, January 17th, 1833.
In compliance with the request of the Common Council the Legislature of
the State, on the 26th of February, 1833, passed an Act,[3] providing
for the appointment by the Governor and Senate, of five persons, as
Water Commissioners, whose duty it was by said Act declared to be “to
examine and consider all matters relative to supplying the city of
New-York with a sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome water for the
use of its inhabitants, and the amount of money necessary to effect
that object.”
In pursuance of this law, the Governor and Senate appointed the
Board of Water Commissioners, consisting of the following named
gentlemen:--Stephen Allen, William W. Fox, Saul Alley, Charles
Dusenberry and Benjamin M. Brown. They were directed to make their
report to the Legislature, by the second Monday of January, 1834,
and to present a _copy_ thereof to the Common Council of the City of
New-York on or before the first day of November, 1833.
The Commissioners proceeded in the discharge of their duties, employed
as Engineers Canvas White, Esquire, and Major D. B. Douglass, of the
United States Corps of Engineers, and made all necessary examinations
so as to determine, whether a sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome
water could be obtained for present and future purposes, whether
its introduction into the city would be practicable at an elevation
precluding the use of machinery, and also what would be the probable
cost of completing the projected work. Their report satisfied the
Legislature that a supply of pure and wholesome water was of great
importance to the city--that its introduction was feasible, and
that the expense was within the financial ability of the citizens.
Accordingly an Act[4] was passed by the Legislature, on the 2d of May,
1834, which provided for the appointment of five Water Commissioners
by the Governor and Senate, and they were required “to examine and
consider all matters relative to supplying the city of New-York with a
sufficient quantity of pure and wholesome water; to adopt such plan as
in their opinion will be most advantageous for securing such supply,
and to report a full statement and description of the plan adopted
by them; to ascertain, as near as may be, what amount of money may
be necessary to carry the same into effect; to report an estimate of
the probable amount of revenue that will accrue to the city, upon the
completion of the work, and the reasons and calculations upon which
their opinion and estimates may be founded; such report to be made and
presented to the Common Council of the city on or before the first day
of January, 1836.”
It was further provided, that “in case the plan adopted by the
Commissioners shall be approved by the Common Council, they shall
submit it to the electors to express their assent or refusal to allow
the Common Council, to instruct the Commissioners to proceed in the
work.”
The Commissioners who were appointed in 1833, were re-appointed under
the Act of the 2d of May, 1834. They immediately entered upon the
duties of their office, thoroughly re-examined their former work, and
decided that the Croton River was the only source that would furnish
an adequate supply of water for present and future purposes. In making
these examinations they employed, as Engineers, David B. Douglass,
John Martineau and George W. Cartwright, Esquires. Various plans were
proposed for conveying the water to the city, and estimates made of
the cost of the work constructed by either of these plans, but the
one recommended by the Commissioners, and that for which a preference
was expressed by the Engineers, Messrs. Martineau and Douglass, was
a closed Aqueduct of masonry. These gentlemen each made an estimate
of the cost of bringing the water of the Croton River to the city of
New-York by a closed Aqueduct of masonry, and the Water Commissioners
offered, as the true cost of the work, an average of the two estimates.
The cost of the work, as estimated for this plan and presented by
the Water Commissioners, (including the cost of the city mains and
conduits,) was $5,412,336.72.
The report of the Water Commissioners was referred to a Committee,
who reported to the Common Council, on the 4th of March, 1835, two
resolutions, the first approving the plan adopted by the Commissioners
as described in their report; and the second referring the subject to
the electors at the ensuing annual election, as required by the Act of
May 2d, 1834. These resolutions were adopted by the Common Council, and
at the election in April, 1835, the subject having been duly submitted
to the electors of the city and county of New-York, a majority of the
voters were found to be in favor of the measure. On the 7th of May
following, the Common Council “instructed the Commissioners to proceed
with the work.”
Thus authorized, the Commissioners immediately commenced the
preparatory measures for the construction of the work. David B.
Douglass was employed as Chief Engineer; he proceeded in the location
of the line for the Aqueduct and in preparing plans, until October,
1836, when he was succeeded by John B. Jervis, who continued at the
head of that department during the construction of the Aqueduct.
The construction of the work was commenced in May 1837; and on the
22d June, 1842, the Aqueduct received the water from the Fountain
Reservoir on the Croton:--on the 27th of June, the water having been
permitted to traverse the entire length of the Aqueduct, entered the
Receiving Reservoir at the city of New-York, and was admitted into the
Distributing Reservoir on the 4th of July.
The Commissioners who were appointed in 1833, and re-appointed in 1834,
continued in the performance of their duties until 1837--in March, of
which year Thomas T. Woodruff was appointed in the place of Benjamin
M. Brown, who resigned his office, and the Board of Commissioners thus
constituted, continued until March, 1840, when they were succeeded by
Samuel Stevens, John D. Ward, Zebedee Ring, Benjamin Birdsall and
Samuel R. Childs. This Board of Commissioners remained in office until
February, 1843, when they were succeeded by the gentlemen who composed
the former Board.
OF PLANS PROPOSED FOR FURNISHING THE CITY WITH WATER, AND OF THE PLAN
ADOPTED.
In the course of examinations which were made to determine sources
whence water could be obtained, questions of deep importance presented
themselves in regard to the source to be relied upon for a supply, also
in reference to the plan which should be adopted for conducting the
water to the city.
It was of so much importance to the city that the supply should be
such as not only to answer the present purposes, but be adequate to
the future increased demands, and that the quality of the water should
be unquestionable, that it became necessary to extend the examinations
over every watered district in the vicinity, in order to judge of
the comparative merits of different sources. The Engineers who were
employed, traversed the country, gauged the streams, reported their
supply, the quality of the water, and plans which might be adopted
for conveying it to the city. It was a field for the exercise of the
talent and research of the Engineer: in resorting to a distant stream
for a supply, any plan which he might propose for conveying the water,
would encounter obstacles requiring skill and ingenuity to overcome.
He would find it necessary to build up the valleys, pierce through the
hills, and span the waters of the arms of the sea which embrace the
city and make it an island. Structures would be required, which, in
their design, would find no parallel among the public works of this
country, and in forming plans for them he might study with advantage,
the works constructed for similar purposes by the Ancient Romans.
The examinations embraced all the sources from which a supply of water
might be obtained in the neighboring counties of Westchester and
Putnam; giving a comparison of the different streams in regard to their
elevation, their capacity, and the quality of the water. It was decided
that the Croton River would supply a sufficient quantity of water at
all seasons of the year; at an elevation precluding the use of steam
or any other extraneous power, and that the quality of the water was
unexceptionable. Other streams were found which would furnish water
equally pure, but too limited in quantity at certain seasons of the
year, and not at a sufficient elevation.
In addition to the information furnished by the Engineers employed,
the Water Commissioners received communications from other sources
suggesting plans for supplying the city with water.
It was suggested that water might be obtained from the Passaic Falls,
at a distance of about eighteen miles from the city, in New-Jersey. The
objections to this project were, that it would be going into another
state, that an Aqueduct bridge over the Hudson River would obstruct its
navigation, and iron pipes laid across the bed of the river would be
exposed to injury from the anchors of the shipping. Another plan was
proposed which contemplated a permanent dam across the Hudson River
extending from the city to the Jersey shore. This dam was proposed to
be built about 2 feet above the level of high tide, thereby keeping all
the salt water below; and above the dam would be the fresh water for
supplying the city, which must be pumped up into a reservoir by means
of water-wheels, which would be operated by the overfall of water when
the tide was low, but when the tide was up within 2 feet of the top of
the dam there would not be sufficient fall to propel the wheels. Locks
were to be inserted in the dam, of a sufficient number to accommodate
the vessels on the river. The river, at the place where it was proposed
to locate the dam, is over a mile in width, and in the channel the
depth below the surface to proper foundation for such a structure,
would probably be 50 feet. The difference of tides is about 5 feet,
which added to the height of dam above high tides, would give 7 feet
of the top of the dam exposed to the pressure of the water on the up
stream side when the tide is low.
It was suggested that the hydraulic power here obtained, could be used
for manufacturing purposes, except that portion of it which would
be required for elevating the water to the reservoir. This plan of
supplying the city with water was objected to, because it could not
be accomplished except by an Act of the Legislature of New-Jersey as
well as that of New-York, and it was also questionable whether such
obstructions could be placed in navigable rivers without interfering
with the powers of Congress to regulate the commerce of the nation.
It was feared that in locking vessels through, the salt water would
become mingled with the fresh above the dam where a supply would be
taken for the city, to such a degree, that it would render it unfit
for domestic use. The quantity of land that would be overflowed by the
water set back by the dam, presented another objection. The space of
time that the tide would be sufficiently low to allow the wheels to
work in pumping water into the reservoir, would be entirely too short
to insure a supply. This objection was offered by Frederick Graff,
Esq., the superintendent of the Philadelphia Water Works, who stated
that although the dam on the Schuylkill River is raised 6 feet 6 inches
above the highest tides, the delay in pumping, occasioned by the tides,
averages seven hours out of the twenty-four; and in full moon tides,
from eight to nine hours.
The projector of this plan set forth many advantages which he thought
would arise from the construction of the dam, but the obstruction to
the navigation of the river, the destruction of the shad fishery, and
various objections besides those already mentioned, induced the Water
Commissioners to reject the idea of building a dam across the Hudson.