AARON BURR’S WATERWORKS PLANT STILL RUNNING.

AARON BURR’S WATERWORKS PLANT STILL RUNNING.

曼哈顿银行公司,40墙压力et, is still compelled by law to maintain the old waterworks plant and reservoir in the three-story brick building at Reade and Elm streets, Manhattan, New York, established by Aaron Burr and others in 1799, the old wooden water pipes of whose system have of late been uncovered so frequently in the excavations for the rapid transit subway. Though it is said by the president of the bank that the law does not make it of obligation to keep the pumps running, they are run twice a week, “purely out of sentiment.” Be that as it may, it seems that the old iron reservoir is filled every third day, although the boiler that furnishes the power to the Worthington donkey pumping engine is situated in another room and supplies power to several other Reade street buildings. A pipe running from the boiler supplies the motive power to the well as a pump, which is both a suction and a force pump. The pipe is three-inch and goes down into the old well, and an overhead pipe leads to the old iron reservoir in the corner building, which is between fifteen and twenty feet deep, by about thirty-five feet in diameter. It rests on heavy masonry, which at the base has passageways, 01 galleries, through it. No one uses the water, which is very dirty and thick with mud. The well is a very large one. Formerly pipes were run to the old Collect pond, up near, and under the Tombs, which was the source of the supply. In 1840 the Manhattan company had about twenty-five miles of wooden pump logs and fourteen miles of iron pipe in its waterworks system. Soon after that the Croton waterworks system was projected.

At Columbus, Ohio, the river and the water supply are beginning to lower, and the hint is sent out that it will be better to boil the water for drinking purposes. At present 17,000,000 gallons are pumped daily. It is not thought that it will be necessary at any time to increase this amount. A year ago the West Side station alone pumped this much. The meter system is preventing much of the waste of water that has been complained of in the past. It is also thought that the sprinkling of the streets will not affect the water supply materially, as it is figured that, as soon as the sprinkling begins, the use of private hose will largely fall off.