NEW WATER SERVICE AT PROVIDENCE, R. I.
新的高压水服务沿着运河,Washington, West Exchange, Aborn, Matthewson, and Jackson streets, and a portion of Weybosset street, Providence, R. L. having been completed and made available for use, it was publicly tested at Exchange place and at Battery street where the land was higher than at the former place, and the pressure, therefore, correspondingly lower. When the test was made,quite a stiff breeze was blowing, which somewhat interfered with its success. Streams, however, from the three pipes tested were easily sent over the top of the highest building—that of the Industrial Trust Company being one.
It was decided to send up streams from the low pressure and high pressure services simultaneously, for the purpose of comparison; but the low pressure stream did not reach quite half as high as that from the high pressure. On the first test a two-inch nozzle was used on the large Jumbo hose, which was fed from the hydrant by two three-inch and one two-inch section of hose a body of water was sent over thirty feet above the roof of the Industrial Trust Company building. The wind,however, broke the stream somewhat, and the water came down in showers. The height of the stream from a two-inch nozzle, as tested by Engineer Weston, was 145 feet, or twenty-nine feet higher than the roof of the Industrial Trust building.
Tests were next made with a two and one-quarter-inch nozzle, and later a two and one-half nozzle was tried. The latter threw a solid stream to the top of a nine-story building. No official measurement was made of the height of the stream 0.1 that occasion nor of the tests made by means of the water tower. The two and one quarter inch pipe sent a stream 240 reet in the air, and the two and one-half-inch pipe 132 feet. The pressure at the high service hydrant showed 115 pounds to the square inch during the test, while the low service showed sixtv-five pounds. From Exchange place the scene of the tests was changed to the corner of Washington and Battery streets, where the high pressure service at the hydrants showed ninety pounds pressure, while on the old service it was only fortythree pounds. The streams were thrown both vertically and horizontally, and with such good effect as fully to satisfy the fire commissioners and Chief Steere of the efficiency of the system for fire protective purposes.
Of the entire service there are available fifty-nine hydrants, covering the most thickly settled and dangerous portions of the city. Of these, eleven arc located along the 4,060 feet of twenty-four-inch pipe starting at Stevens street, near Randall square, and running through Back street, Smith street, and Canal street, Exchange place to Exchange street. When the whole system is completed there will be thirty-three more hydrants added to the number now availahle for use, making a total of ninety-two hydrants. In the low section of the business section the pressure is from 115 to 123 pounds.
