Does the Silver Lake Reservoir Leak Excessively?^ 



William T. Davis 

 - (with plate i) 



The Stat en Islander of September 15, 191 7, published a letter 

 from the writer on the apparent leakage of the Silver Lake 

 reservoir. The points there mentioned are in the main as fol- 

 lows : That shortly after the Catskill water was let into the reser- 

 voir, the region about the Horseshoe Spring in the Clove Valley 

 was observed to be very wet, and little rivulets of water com- 

 menced trickling down the sloping ground about the spring. 

 That the water came from the hillside above, and the actual flow 

 of the spring itself was not noticeably increased. That the once 

 dry paths below the reservoir are now almost impassable to the 

 average pedestrian; and that with time the ground has become 

 more and more saturated with water, and the little stream that 

 drains the valley to the southwest is quite a brawling brook. 



The foregoing refers to leaks in the dam constructed to retain 

 that part of the reservoir formed from the old Silver Lake basin, 

 but the additional dam, built to retain the northern section of 

 the reservoir, occupying the site of Logan Spring, also leaks 

 considerably, as shown by the increased flow of the brook that 

 passes through the grounds of the Sailors' Snug Harbor and 

 crosses Castleton Ave. near Bard Ave. At the headwaters of 

 this stream it may be seen that numerous rivulets from the slope 

 adjacent to the reservoir join to make a brook even in the days 

 of dry summer weather. 



While it was to be expected that the two dams would leak to 

 some extent, it was pointed out that this, in time, might become 

 excessive, as running water is apt to enlarge its outlets. 



1 Presented at the meeting of the Association October 20, 1917. 



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