132 W. & L. E. GURLEY, TROY, NEW YORK 



register is to record stream heights during winter months and 

 during flood stages, the installation must be protected from cold 

 and from floating ice, logs, debris, etc. 



In the ideal structure, illustrated in Fig. 21, the well and 

 the house should be located far enough back from the river to 

 be out of danger from floating ice or drift, and to provide 

 sufficient protection for the well and pipes to prevent freezing. 

 A permanent ladder should extend to the bottom of the well, so 

 that the float and intake pipe can be readily inspected. If the 

 installation is to be maintained for a long period the well slum 1.1 

 be lined with concrete, otherwise a heavy plank lining may be 

 used. The intake pipe should be placed well below the lowest 

 stage of the river and provided with a screen for keeping out 

 fish and foreign material. It should also be provided witli a 

 gate valve where it enters the well, so that the flow can be 

 reduced if necessary, to eliminate wave action, or entirely shut 

 off for purposes of inspection or for repairs. 



Two non-recording gages, referred to permanent bench 

 marks, should be installed with each automatic register, in order 

 to check the readings of the automatic register with the stage 

 of the river. One, of the type best suited to the locality, should 

 be placed in the river and the other, preferably a hook gage, 

 should be located in the float well to aid in setting and checking 

 the recording register, and, by comparison with the river gage, 

 to indicate any interruption in the free communication with ilx 

 river. The river gage should be in the same cross-section of 

 the river, as the intake pipe, care being taken to have it rest on 

 a solid foundation. It may, however, be dispensed with by 

 using a reference point so located that the elevation of the water 

 surface can be readily determined. 



The well is essentially a stilling box for the float. It must 

 be large enough to accommodate the float, driving and counter 

 weights, and the hook or staff gage, from extreme low to 

 extreme high water, and to permit them to be inspected readily. 

 Experience shows that if the well is more than 8 feet deep these 

 conditions are met best by a well 2/4 by 5 feet in cross-section. 

 For wells up to sixteen feet in depth this cross-section will give, 

 in the long run, greater satisfaction than a smaller one, while 

 even for deeper wells, if in easily excavated material, it may 



