The Fitchburg Water System

The board of water commissioners of Fitchburg, Mass., consists of Thomas C. Sheldon, president, Arthur A. Train and Frank H. Foss. Arthur W. F. Brown is superintendent and registrar. The department report, covering the year ending November 30, 1915, shows that the total of extensions during the year were 8,579 feet and the total length of mains is 84.87 miles. Sixteen additional hydrants were set by the city, making the total number of hydrants owned by the city 773. The total number of hydrants owned by private parties is 123. The street mains were tapped in 95 places, making the total number of taps to date 5,749; 9,198 feet of service pipe laid, of which 4,442 feet were charged to the city and 4,756 feet to the takers. The water works were constructed by the city of Fitchburg in 1873. The source of supply is given as storage reservoirs and the mode as gravity. The receipts were: From water consumers, water rates, schedule, $401.88; water rates, metered, $92,779.58; service pipe, $6,561.63; total, $99,746. Management, repairs and maintenance cost $57,746.09, and the sum of $42,000 was transferred to the city treasury. The cost of work to date is $1,494,952.12; bonded debt is, $662,500; present value of sinking fund is $167,816.79; net bonded debt is $494,683.21. During the year 95 service taps were added, making 5,749 now in use. The number of meters in use is 4,981, of which 86 were added during the year. Relative to the new supply, Ashby reservoir, the report says:

New Supply—Ashby Reservoir.

1914 - 15年的冬天和调查plans and specifications prepared for building the dams and new roads at this reservoir. Bids were called for, and fifteen received which were opened by the board of water commissioners on March 2. The lowest bidder was the E. W. Foley Contracting Company, 71 Wall street, New York, who bid $99,105 for the whole contract as figured on the estimated quantities as given in the specifications. As most of the prices in the bid were unit prices the actual payments were made on the quantities found during construction. The contract was awarded to the E. W. Foley Contracting Company, who began work as soon as possible and continued through the summer, with the result that November 30, 1915, finds the work nearly completed, only a little more will need to be done in the spring, and the reservoir can be filled this winter if desired. The original depth of the pond was increased by raising the high water mark thirteen feet, giving a depth to the new reservoir of about 21 feet, and a capacity of 700,000,000 gallons. An earth dam with reinforced concrete core wall was built at about the location of the old dam, having a length of about 1,200 feet and height of six feet above the flow line, with a 60-foot wasteway at the west end of the dam, a 24-inch waste pipe through the dam into the brook flowing through Ashby, so pond could be entirely drawn off if necessary. The foundation of the core wall was carried down to satisfactory material for the whole length of the dam and at the deepest point is about 25 feet below the original surface of the ground. At the south side of the pond an earth dyke with reinforced concrete core wall was built, about 1,200 feet long, following the highest surface, to prevent the water from flowing into the Shattuck brook. At the east end of the dyke a 60-foot wasteway was constructed at the same elevation as the one in the north dam and at each flash boards can be placed so the overflowing waters can be diverted either into the Ashby brook or the Shattuck brook. At the lowest point of this dyke a gate house is built with a 24-inch outlet pipe running about 1,000 feet and emptying just below the new Rindge road, into the Shattuck brook; a 24inch inlet pipe extends from the gate house into the pond on the bottom and a 16-inch pipe about 10 feet above it so water can be drawn at different depths. This dyke is built on very hard material, considerable of the length is on ledge and all in a very thorough manner. The Rindge road was relocated for about 3,700 feet south of its intersection with the Ashburnham road and a new road built at better grades and alignment than the old. To replace the “New Road,” so-called, which will be overflowed when pond is full, a new road was built between this and the Ashburnham-Ashby road from its intersection with the Rindge road to the crossing of the old “New Road.” The grade of the AshburnhamAshby road was raised and the road rebuilt from the end of the last named “New Road,” to the old schoolhouse near west end of main dam. All these roads were built with concrete culverts, a concrete bridge where the pipe line and the overflow from the dyke cross the Rindge road, and are fenced wherever necessary to protect the public, the construction being equal to state roads except the surface which is a good gravel. Land has been taken wherever necessary to protect the purity of the water and in many cases satisfactory settlements have been made with the owners. All work of the dams and roads has been under the supervision of E. E. Lothrop, city engineer, with Metcalf & Eddy of Boston as consulting engineers. All the ground that will be flowed has been cleared off and everything possible burned. As the waters from this reservoir will run in open channels for about three miles before entering the pipes to the city it was not considered necessary to strip and clean the ground as thoroughly as if the water was used direct, and running in the open channels will purify it so the quality will be equal to the present supply.

Shattuck Line.

As the 14-inch pipe from Shattuck brook to the Overlook conduit will not be large enough to deliver the amount of water that will be drawn into Overlook reservoir from Ashby reservoir, we are replacing that line with a 24-inch pipe and put in 2,514 feet this season. There remains about 5,525 feet to carry the pipe to the location of the proposed Shattuck dam and we have 2,500 feet of 24-inch pipe on hand which is being teamed to the line this winter, ready to lay next summer.

City Engineer Ernest E. Lothrop’s Report.

The report of City Engineer Ernest E. Lothrop, says in part:

North Dam.

北大坝的工作已经开始在4月9日,1915年, when the stripping was begun. Excavation was started for the core wall trench on April 13 and completed August 16. First concrete poured at core wall on May 4. Core wall completed October 26. Started filling and rolling for embankment on July 17. Embankment completed including loaming on November 14. The seeding will have to be done in the spring of 1916; also the general finishing up of the slopes. The spillway concrete was started on October 12, and completed November 5. Paving in spillway is completed. We have built this core wall on good solid foundation of a clayey nature for the entire length and drove none of the sheeting as shown on the plan. The paving has been carried up to the top of the dam as recommended by your board instead of elevation 1010 as shown on the plans.

South Dike.

Work on the South Dike was started May 1, 1915. Excavation for the core wall was started May 14, and completed September 20. First concrete for the core wall was poured May 27, and the wall completed October 7. Earth embankment was started July 27, and completed on November 2, including loaming and seeding. The pavement was completed to elevation 1010 on October 23, and afterward brought to the elevation of the top of the bank. In doing this it was necessary to remove the loam on the front of the dike and this was thrown over the top and down the back of the dike.

Measurements of Water Flowing From Ashby Reservoir.

Measurements to get the amount of water flowing from the reservoir during the season were taken by means of a thin crested weir constructed on Willard Brook at some distance below the North Dam.