BRACKETT'S DATA 



129 



attention are completely tight. Where leaks do exist they are 

 usually of considerable size, such as are produced by some 

 movement of the pipe and opening of the joint, either by settle- 

 ment or by often repeated temperature changes. 



Evidence and Opinions as to the Amount of Leakage from 

 Street Mains. Mr. Dexter Brackett, of Boston, who had given 

 the subject of waste of water as much as attention as any 

 American Engineer, stated that: 



The waste from street mains and services is much larger than is gener- 

 ally supposed. It is often said that no leak of any magnitude is likely to 

 occur without showing on the surface of the ground, but broken 4-inch and 

 6-inch pipes and service pipes running 1000 gallons per hour have been 

 discovered in Boston which gave no indication at the surface, and which 

 had evidently been wasting water for years. Trans. Am. Soc. C.E., Vol. 

 XXXIV, p. 196, 1895. 



Not long after, Mr. Brackett had an opportunity to test the 

 leakage of a system of pipes laid by the Metropolitan Water Board 

 for the supply of Boston and its suburbs. These tests were made 

 soon after the pipes were laid. These pipes were large connect- 

 ing pipes, serving for the distribution of water in a wholesale 

 manner only, and there were no service connections from them 

 and the opportunity for testing was much more favorable than 

 occurs in ordinary water works development. The tests of leak- 

 age are summarized in the following table: 



The total length of the different sizes tested was 271,944 

 feet, and the average leakage per lineal foot of lead joint for 

 twenty-four hours was 3 gallons. 



