Chapter II: Part 2

“In the maritime parts of Peru, I have seen the remains of walls, along which water was conducted for a space of from 5 to 6000 metres, from the foot of the Codilleras to the coast. The conquerors of the 16th century destroyed these Aqueducts, and that part of Peru has become, like Persia, a desert, destitute of vegetation. Such is the civilization carried by the Europeans among a people, whom they are pleased to call barbarous.” These people had laws for the protection of water, very similar to those of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and all the older nations; for those who conveyed water from the canals to their own land before their turn, were liable to arbitrary punishment.

Several of the ancient American customs respecting water, were identical with those of the oldest nations.

They buried vessels of water with the dead. The Mexicans worshipped it. The Peruvians sacrificed to rivers and fountains. The Mexicans had _Tlaloc_, their god of water. Holy water was kept in their temples. They practised divinations by water. The Peruvians drew their drinking water from _Deep Wells_, and for irrigation in times of drought, they drew it from pools, and lakes, and rivers.

There is reason to believe that Peru, Chili, and other parts of the southern continent, were inhabited by a refined, or partially refined people, centuries before the time of Manco Capac, the first Inca; and that a long period of barbarism had intervened, induced, perhaps, by revolutions similar to those which, in the old world, swept all the once celebrated nations of antiquity into oblivion. The ancient Peruvians had a tradition respecting the arrival of giants, who located themselves on the coast, and who _dug_ wells of immense depth _through the solid rock_; which wells, as well as cisterns, still remain.

There is much uncertainty respecting Manco Capac. Who he was, and from what country he came, are equally unknown. According to their _Quippus_, or historical cords, and the opinion of the Inca, who was uncle to Garcilasso, and who communicated to the latter all the knowledge of their ancestors then extant, he made his appearance in Peru about 400 years before the invasion of the Spaniards. It is said he was whiter than the natives, and was clothed in flowing garments. Awed by his presence, they received him as a divinity, became subject to his laws, and practised the arts he introduced. He founded Cusco, and extended his influence to all the nations around. He taught them agriculture and many useful arts, especially that of irrigating land. His son succeeded him, and without violence greatly extended the limits of the kingdom; prevailing with the natives, it is said, by a peaceable and gentle manner, “to plough, and manure, and cultivate the soil.” His successors pursued the same mode, and with the same success. The fifth Inca, we are informed, constructed Aqueducts, bridges and roads in all the countries he subdued. When the sixth Inca acquired a new province, he ordered the lands to be “dressed and manured;” the fens to be drained, “for in that art (draining) they were excellent, as is apparent by their works, which remain to this day; and also they were (then) very ingenious in making _Aqueducts_ for carrying water into dry and scorched lands, such as the greatest part of that country is; they always made contrivances and _inventions_ to bring their water. These Aqueducts, though they were ruined after the Spaniards came in, yet several reliques and monuments of them remain unto this day.”

The seventh Inca, _Viracocha_, constructed some water works, which, in their beneficial effects, perhaps equalled any similar undertakings in any other part of the world. “He made an Aqueduct 12 feet in depth, and 120 leagues in length; the source or head of it arose from certain springs on the top of a high mountain between Parcu and Picuy, which was so plentiful that at the very head of the fountains they seemed to be rivers. This current of water had its course through all the country of the Rucanas, and served to water the pasturage of those uninhabited lands, which are about 18 leagues in breadth, _watering almost the whole country of Peru_.”

There is _another_ Aqueduct much like this, which traverses the whole province of _Cuntisuyu_, running above 150 leagues from south to north. Its head or original is from the top of high mountains, the which waters falling into the plains of the Quechuas, greatly refresh their pasturage, when the heats of the summer and autumn have dried up the moisture of the earth.

“There are many streams of like nature, which run through divers parts of the empire, which being conveyed by Aqueducts, at the charge and expense of the Incas, are works of grandeur and ostentation, and which recommend the magnificence of the Incas to all posterity; for these Aqueducts may well be compared to the miraculous fabrics which have been the works of mighty princes, who have left their prodigious monuments of ostentation to be admired by future ages; for, indeed, we ought to consider that these waters had their source and beginning from vast, high mountains, and were carried over craggy rocks and inaccessible passages; and to make these ways plain, they had no help of instruments forged of steel or iron, such as pickaxes or sledges, but served themselves only with one stone to break another. Nor were they acquainted with the invention of arches, to convey the water on the level from one precipice to the other, but traced round the mountain until they found ways and passages at the same height and level with the head of the springs.”

“The cisterns or conservatories which they made for these waters, at the top of the mountain, were about 12 feet deep; the passage was broken through the rocks, and channels made of hewn stone, of about two yards long and about a yard high; which were cemented together, and rammed in with earth so hard, that no water would pass between, to weaken or vent itself by the holes of the channel.

“The current of water which passes through all the division of Cuntisuyu I have seen in the province of Quechua, which is part of that division, and considered it an extraordinary work, and indeed surpassing the description and report which hath been made of it. But the Spaniards who were aliens and strangers, little regarded the convenience of these works, either to serve themselves in the use of them, or to keep them in repair, nor yet to take so much notice of them as to mention them in their histories, but rather out of a scornful and disdaining humor, have suffered them to run into ruin, beyond all recovery. The same fate hath befallen the _Aqueducts_ which the Indians made for watering their corn lands, of which two thirds at least are wholly destroyed, and none kept in repair, unless some few which are so useful that without them they cannot sustain themselves with bread, nor with the necessary provisions of life. All which works are not so totally destroyed but that there still remain some ruins and appearances of them.”

In describing the temple and gardens at Cusco. Garcilasso observes, “there were five fountains of water, which ran from divers places through pipes of gold. The cisterns were some of stone, and others of gold and silver in which they washed their sacrifices, as the solemnity of the festival required.”

FOUNTAINS.

Artificial fountains and _jets d’eau_ are of extreme antiquity; they have been used for beautifying public grounds of cities, and have served the purpose of moderating the temperature of the air; in these cases the water has been in some instances perfumed.

“From excavations made at Pompeii it appears that in almost every street there was a fountain, and that bronze statues, through which the water issued were common,--several have been found,--four or five are boys of beautiful workmanship; the fluid issued from vases resting on their shoulders, or held under their arms, and in some cases from masks. Paintings of elegant fountains, from which the water issued in perpendicular jets, have also been discovered both at Herculaneum and Pompeii.”

“In the middle of the square of the Coliseum, is a pretty remarkable piece of antiquity, (says Blainville,) though very little minded by most people. Here stood anciently, a beautiful fountain, adorned with the finest marbles and columns; and on the top was a bronze statue of Jupiter, from which issued great plenty of water, as may be seen on the reverse of one of Titus’ medals. This fountain was of great use both to the spectators and the gladiators in the amphitheatre to refresh themselves. Pope Alexander VII. caused it to be repaired, but since his time it has been entirely neglected.”

“During hot weather, Augustus the Roman Emperor slept (observes Sentonius) with his chamber doors open, ‘and frequently in a portico with waters playing around him.’”

The garden water-works of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth are probably the finest in England; being ornamented by many fanciful devices and from a jet of six inches diameter the water rises perpendicularly to the height of 90 feet.

The most remarkable fountain or _jet d’eau_ in the world, is at Cassal in Germany, where the water rises from an orifice of 12 inches diameter to a perpendicular height of 250 feet. The source from which it is supplied is at the top of a mountain near by, being about 500 feet above the level of the town. The surplus water not used for the supply of the fountain flows down the mountain-side forming a beautiful cascade.

The cities of Europe abound in fountains which in their arrangement furnish beautiful designs and are ornamented with specimens of workmanship displaying much skill and refinement of taste: a minute description of them would, however, occupy too much space, and since we have had our attention drawn (on the subject of Aqueducts) more particularly to the works of the Romans, we will revert to the

_Fountains of Rome._

“If during the most distinguished eras of the Roman state, the Aqueducts conduced to the luxurious enjoyments of the wealthy and powerful, yet in modern times, the residents of Rome have also found them particularly advantageous, by their furnishing occasions for the cultivation of those elegant arts, which, in a peculiar manner, call forth the energies of genius, and the exercise of refined taste, in realizing and decorating her productions. Qualities of this kind appear conspicuous in several of the numerous fountains which adorn that celebrated city; and the most intellectual and accomplished professors of sculpture and architecture, have happily united beauty and grandeur in the construction of many such admirable edifices. These structures are also characterized by great diversity of design, as well as skilful execution; hence, a concise description of several of them may be interesting.”

“The largest structure of this kind in Rome, is that denominated the _Pauline_ Fountain, which was built by order of Pope Paul V., with the materials of Nerva’s Forum. This spacious edifice is situate on the highest part of the Janiculum hill, and Dominica Fontana, and Carlo Mederno, furnished the designs for its construction. The front is adorned with six Ionic columns of red granite, on which an attic has a tablet containing an inscription with the pontiff’s arms placed above it. Between the columns the spaces are open, and from these arcades the currents of water flow with a loud noise, and in great abundance. The apertures on the sides are smaller than the others, and in each of those is placed a dragon spouting water into the spacious magnificent marble basin below. This fountain is furnished with water by the Aqueduct called _Aqua Paolo_; and it runs from the basin, in a very large stream into several canals, whence it is employed to work various corn, paper, and other mills, as well as to supply fountains and fish-ponds in the gardens and palaces of the opulent.”

“Near to the baths of Dioclesian, and in the square of the _Termini_, stands the fountain of the _Aqua Felice_. The edifice is not only elegant but fanciful, and it has three arcades ornamented with four Ionic columns of granite. The middle arcade has a colossal statue of Moses, causing the water to issue from the rock; and at the sides are two basso relievos, one representing Aaron leading the Israelites to the miraculous spring, and the other Gideon selecting the soldiers to enlarge the passage for the water, which flows in great abundance through three apertures into marble basins. The sides are adorned by four marble lions, with the water issuing from their mouths: two of these are formed of white Grecian marble, and the other two of black granite. The latter are Egyptian workmanship, and covered with hieroglyphics. This noble fountain was erected from a design of Cav. Fontana; by the order of Pope Sixtus V., and its supply of water is obtained twenty-two miles from the city.”

“Another of these fine structures is that called the _Fountain of Trevi_, in which boldness of design, and elegance of architecture are admirably united. The erection of this very magnificent edifice commenced during the pontificate of Clement XII., who repaired the Aqueducts. Niccolo Salvi designed the grand front, but the work was completed under Clement XIII., who decorated it with statues, basso relievos in marble, and different columns of the Corinthian, Ionic, and Composite orders. In the centre is a statue representing Oceanus, standing in a car, drawn by two large sea-horses, guided by Tritons. One of the horses appears furious and impatient, whilst, on the contrary, the other is exhibited as calm and placid, so that both are symbolical of the tempestuous or tranquil state of the sea.

‘Bounding to light, as if from ocean’s cave,
The struggling sea-horse paws the lucid wave,
While health and plenty smile, and Neptune’s form
Majestic sways the trident of the storm.’

“A statue, designating Abundance, is placed at the right of Oceanus, and on the left another emblematical of Health. The basso relievo, which adorns the right side, portrays the Emperor Trajan, contemplating a plan of the fountain; and that on the left exhibits a girl showing to some soldiers, the spring that supplies it with water. Various other sculptures decorate this superb edifice; and at the top of the principal front are two figures of Fame, supporting the arms of the Pope. Its supply of water is furnished by the Aqua Virgini, and it flows in very large streams from three arcades. The cost of constructing this splendid and useful fountain was great; but it ranks among the most interesting objects conspicuously embellishing the city of Rome.”

“The _Piazza Novana_ has a very noble fountain standing in its centre. It is composed of a large circular marble basin 79 feet in diameter, in the middle of which is placed a rock of square form with apertures at the sides. The figure of a lion adorns one side, and that of a sea-horse another. From the base to the top of the rock, the height is about 14 feet; and on its summit stands an Egyptian obelisk formed of red granite, 55 feet in height, and covered with hieroglyphics. At the four sides of the rock are colossal marble statues, which designate the four great rivers in different quarters of the world: viz. the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges, and the Plata: and from these statues the water flows in copious streams to the spacious basin below.

‘The Nile and Ganges from the silver tide:
La Plata too, and Danube’s streams unite
Their liquid treasures, copious, clear and bright.’

“During the summer, it is the custom occasionally to permit the water to overflow the whole square, for the entertainment of the people; and on midsummer’s eve persons amuse themselves by wading and driving through the flood. This practice has sometimes been attended with fatal accidents, and not only men but horses have actually been drowned in the attempts to pass it in carriages.

“In the month of August the area of the square is likewise filled with water for the purpose of amusement.

“The same square likewise contains two other fountains, one of which consists of a capacious marble basin, having at its centre a Triton holding a dolphin by the tail; and on the margin of the basin are four heads with the same number of Tritons that spout the water from their mouths. The other fountain has not any remarkable characteristics to entitle it to peculiar attention.”

“Where formerly stood the circus of Flora is now the site of the Piazza Barberinni, which has two fountains to embellish it:--one of them being composed of four dolphins supporting a large open shell, with a Triton in the middle ejecting water to a great height. The other is fanciful, being also formed of an open shell, from which three bees throw out the water.”

“In the vicinity of the Temple of Vesta stands a handsome fountain, having a capacious basin, in which some Tritons support a large marble shell. From the centre of the latter, the water spouts to a considerable height, and then descending flows over its margin into the basin beneath. Some fine fountains adorn the magnificent colonnade in front of the Cathedral of St. Peter. The _Piazza di Spagna_ has likewise for its embellishment, a fountain in the form of an antique boat. Besides the structures described above, there is a great number of other fountains which evince much diversity of taste and ingenuity in their contrivance. But at the different villas of the opulent, the abundance of water is rendered subservient to amusing as well as useful purposes, and several of them are rather singular. The description of one will convey some notion of what is common to many of them.

“The delightful promenades, groves, and gardens belonging to the Doria family, are interspersed with fountains of various forms; besides having a beautiful lake with waterfalls. Statues, antique basso relievos, and small fountains, adorn a kind of amphitheatre, where a circular edifice contains the marble figure of a fawn holding a flute, on which it seems to play different airs: the music, however, is produced by a machine resembling an organ in its construction, and motion being given to it by the flowing of the water from a cascade.”

“Perhaps the few instances recited above will suffice to demonstrate the different modes employed at Rome, for calling into exercise genius, fancy, and taste, to diversify the public edifices concerned with its abundant supply of water; thus rendering them subservient to magnificence, entertainment, and utility. Whilst John Dyer resided there, he viewed these celebrated fountains with the mingled feelings of the painter and the poet; hence, associating them with other interesting circumstances, they furnished the materials for one of his most striking and pathetic delineations.

‘The pilgrim oft,
At dead of night, ’mid his oraison hears
Aghast the voice of Time, disparting towers,
Tumbling all precipitate, down-dashed,
Rattling around, loud thundering to the moon;
While murmurs sooth each awful interval
Of ever-falling waters; shrouded Nile,
Eridanus, and Tiber with his twins,
And palmy Euphrates; they with dropping locks
Hang o’er their urns, and mournfully among
The plantive echoing ruins, pour their streams.’”

_Ruins of Rome._

HISTORY

OF THE

PROGRESSIVE MEASURES FOR SUPPLYING

THE

CITY OF NEW-YORK WITH WATER.

As early as 1774, when the population of the city of New-York was only _twenty-two thousand_, the Corporation commenced the construction of a reservoir and other works for supplying water; and for the purpose of defraying the expense of the undertaking, issued a paper money, amounting to _two thousand five hundred pounds_, under the denomination of “_Water Works Money_,” and bonds were executed in favor of certain individuals for land and materials to the amount of _eight thousand eight hundred and fifty pounds_ more.

A spacious reservoir was constructed on the east line of Broadway, between, what is now known as Pearl and White streets, and a well of large dimensions was sunk in the vicinity of the Collect. The war of the revolution, which commenced in 1775, and the consequent occupation of the city of New-York by the British troops, was the cause of the abandonment of the work in its unfinished state.

In the year 1798, Doctor Joseph Brown addressed a communication 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.

We have now gone over most of the preliminary steps which were taken before deciding upon the source for a supply of water.--Having fixed upon the Croton River as a stream possessing the requisite advantages for a supply, questions naturally arose as to the manner in which it should be conveyed to the city. The distance being about forty miles, over a country extremely broken and uneven, and following a direction, for a portion of this distance, parallel with the Hudson River, encountering the streams which empty into it and form deep valleys in their courses. It will be interesting to notice the different plans which were suggested for forming a channel-way to conduct the water. The following modes were presented:--a plain channel formed of earth, like the ordinary construction of a canal feeder:--an open channel, protected against the action of the current by masonry:--an arched culvert or conduit, composed essentially of masonry; and iron pipes. In deciding which of these modes should be adopted, it was necessary to make a comparison among them as to their efficiency for conducting the water in purity, and in the quantity required, their permanency as structures, and their cost.

The disadvantages attendant upon an open canal were, that by filtration through the banks there would be a heavy loss of water;--the difficulty of preserving the water from receiving the wash of the country, and preventing injurious matter from being thrown into it and rendering it impure, and the impurities which might be contracted by passing through different earths. Evaporation would also occasion a serious loss of water. The banks would be liable to failure in seasons of long-continued rains, and the city depending upon this for a supply, would be cut off, except there should be sufficient in the reservoirs to furnish a supply during the period of repairs. The canal could never be subjected to a _thorough_ repair, because of the necessity of keeping it in a condition for furnishing water constantly during the whole year, so that all repairs would be done under great disadvantages, and the channel would be yearly growing worse until its failure might become a public calamity. In regard to the open channel having the sides protected by masonry, the objections were found to be such as would apply equally to every species of open channel; namely, that it would be exposed in many situations to receive the wash of the country; that it would be unprotected from the frost, and liable to be interrupted thereby, and lastly, that there would be a loss by evaporation. It was supposed that these objections might be obviated by certain precautions; for example, the wash could be avoided by making sufficient side drains; and the interruption liable to occur from frost and snow, and the evaporation, to a certain extent, could be prevented by closing the channel entirely with a roof over the top. The close channel or culvert, composed essentially of masonry seemed to possess all the requisite advantages for conducting the water in a pure state and keeping it beyond the influence of frost or any interruption which would be liable to occur to an open channel. In point of stability this plan had a decided preference over either of the other plans proposed, and the only objection offered was the cost of the work constructed in this way. To avoid too great expense it was proposed to make use of a mixed construction, using the close channel or culvert in situations where deep excavations occurred and it would be desirable to fill in the earth again to the natural form, also where the line of Aqueduct intersected villages, and using the open channel with slope walls for the residue of the distance.

In regard to iron pipes for conducting the water, it was found that a sufficient number of them to give the same sectional area as would be adopted by either of the other plans would be more expensive, and considering the great distance and the undulating surface over which they would extend, other disadvantages were presented which added to the objections, and the plan was considered inexpedient. Could a line be graded so as to give a regular inclination from the Fountain Reservoir to one at the city, then the expense of laying iron pipes for conducting the proposed quantity of water, would be greater than for constructing a channel-way of masonry; and when laid, the pipes were thought to be less durable. Should the pipes follow the natural undulations of the ground, there would be so much resistance offered to the flow of water that the discharge would be diminished in a very great degree.

The close channel or conduit of masonry was adopted as the plan best calculated to answer all the purposes of conducting the water to the city.

_Sources of the Croton River._

The sources of the Croton River are principally in the county of Putnam, at a distance of fifty miles from the city of New-York; they are mostly springs which in that elevated and uneven country have formed many ponds and lakes never-failing in their supply. There are about twenty of these lakes which constitute the sources of the Croton River, and the aggregate of their surface areas is about three thousand eight hundred acres.

From these sources to the mouth of the Croton at the head of Tappan Bay in the Hudson, the distance is about twenty-five miles. The country bordering upon the Croton is generally elevated and uneven, not sustaining a dense population and cleared sufficiently to prevent injury to the water from decayed vegetable matter. The river has a rapid descent and flows over a bed of gravel and masses of broken rock. From these advantages there is good reason to suppose that the water will receive very little impurity from the wash of the country through which it flows, and there is no doubt that the sources furnish that which is peculiarly adapted to all the purposes of a large city.

The water is of such uncommon purity that in earlier days the native Indian gave a name to the river which signified “_clear water_.”[5]

_Flow of Water in the Croton River, Capacity of the Fountain Reservoir, &c._

The medium flow of water in the Croton, where the fountain reservoir is formed, exceeds fifty millions of gallons in twenty-four hours, and the minimum flow, after a long-continued drought, is about twenty-seven millions of gallons in twenty-four hours.

The dam on the Croton River is about 38 feet above the level which was the surface of the natural flow of water at that place, and sets the water back about six miles, forming the Fountain Reservoir which covers an area of about four hundred acres. The country forming the valley of the River was such as to give bold shores to this reservoir generally, and in cases where there was a gentle slope or a level of the ground near the surface of water, excavations were made so that the water should not be of less depth than four and a half feet.

The great length of this Reservoir is favourable for the purity of the water which enters the Aqueduct: spread over this large surface, it will have an opportunity to settle and part with some of the impurities which it receives, during rainy seasons, from the wash of the country through which it flows.

The available capacity of this Reservoir, down to the level where the water would cease to flow off in the Aqueduct, has been estimated at six hundred millions of gallons.

Could we suppose that the Croton River will ever in any season of drought, fail to furnish a supply greater than would be carried off from this Reservoir and the Reservoirs at the city by evaporation, we have still a supply of water which would be sufficient for one million of inhabitants during the space of thirty days (estimating the amount necessary for each inhabitant to be twenty gallons for every twenty-four hours.)

But we may assume the number of inhabitants at present to be one third of a million, and therefore we have a sufficient store of water in this Fountain Reservoir to supply them for the space of ninety days, in the emergency before supposed. In addition to the quantity in the Fountain Reservoir, we have sufficient in the Reservoirs at the city to supply one third of a million of inhabitants for about twenty-five days, at the rate of supply before mentioned. Thus we find, should such a limit as we have supposed ever happen to the supply from the River, the season of drought cannot certainly be supposed to continue during the length of time (about four months) that would be required for the present population of the city to exhaust the quantity in store when all the Reservoirs are full.