riRST ANNUAL RHl'OKT. 'M 



the strongest points in favor of South Hronx Park ; and in view 

 of the fact that eventually our Park will, if developed on lines 

 acceptable to the public, be visited annually l)y hundreds of 

 thousands of visitors, its importance can hardly be overestimated. 



4. Natural Watjck Supply. — Above South Bronx Park, 

 the Bronx River drains a valley about fourteen miles in length, 

 and with an average width of about a mile as far up as Bronx- 

 ville, where it suddenly widens to two and one-half miles, and 

 receives the waters of several quite large brooks. The great 

 Bronx valley sewer is to have a total length of twenty-one 

 miles, and is particularl\- designed to receive the .sewerage that 

 ■would otherwise pollute the waters of the river. The question 

 now arises, to what extent will the .sewer, when built, inter- 

 cept the storm water that now flows into the Bronx by a thou- 

 sand brooks and brooklets, and cau.sc the stream to dry up? 



From observations made in the parks of Buffalo, we know 

 that a very satisfactory body of still water can be maintained 

 in a public park without any current whatever flowing through 

 it constantly, and which receives its entire supply from sudden 

 rushes of water during stormy periods. The stream which 

 supplies the lake in Buffalo's northern park is not more than 

 one-.sixth as long as the Bronx, does not regularly carry more 

 than one- tenth of its volume of water, and for long periods in the 

 summer is entirely dry. It flows through a section of the city 

 which even now is plentifully supplied with sewers, but during 

 severe storms it becomes a ru.shing torrent, eight feet in depth. 



There is now in the Bronx River, within South Bronx Park, a 

 large body of still water, like an attenuated lake, formed by a 

 dam across the river where it leaves the Park. This is precisely 

 as it .should be for the purpo.ses of a zoological park ; for, how- 

 ever beautiful a running river may be, a large body of still 

 water is much more valuable, not onl}- for water fowl, aquatic 

 mammals, and for boating, but also as a feature in the landscape. 

 It is ni}' opinion that there will always be a good flow of storm- 

 water in the Bronx River, and most certainly there wnll al- 

 ways be sufficient to maintain the highly valuable body of still 

 water now in existence just where it is most needed. Beyond 



