Apbh, 19, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



603 



Competent authorities have studied the 

 matter exhaustively and decided upon what 

 it is best to do. This problem has now 

 entered upon its second stage, that of con- 

 struction. 



The project is, as you know, to enlarge 

 the supply of all the boroughs of the city 

 by bringing water from the Catskill Moun- 

 tains. The quantity to be delivered will be 

 from 80,000,000 to 150,000,000 gallons per 

 twenty-four hours at first, and will prob- 

 ably reach 500,000,000 gallons, or more, in 

 time. It is estimated that this, with the 

 present sources of supply, should be 

 enough to meet the needs of the increasing 

 population until 1925. The present sup- 

 ply of Croton, which is consumed in Man- 

 hattan and Bronx, is about 292,000,000 

 gallows per day with a per day increase 

 each year of 14,000,000 gallons, as shown 

 by the records of consumption for the last 

 ten years. 



The quality of the new water will be 

 superior to that of the Croton. It will be 

 softer to begin with, and will be filtered 

 through slow sand filter beds, located near 

 "White Plains, such as have been exten- 

 sively used in various parts of Europe and 

 America for many years. It is practically 

 certain that the Croton supply will be 

 filtered in the same manner. 



Although a part of the new water will 

 be available for the boroughs of Brooklyn 

 and Staten Island, it is considered highly 

 desirable that Brooklyn, if possible, should 

 avail itself of supplies now stoied in the 

 sands of Long Island east of the present 

 sources of supply. 



As pointed out by the mayor, in his 

 message of January 7, 1907, since the 

 New Tork Board of Water Supply was 

 appointed in June, 1905, remarkable prog- 

 ress has been made by its engineers in the 

 preliminary work necessary to construc- 

 tion. About 40 per cent, of the line of 

 the principal aqueduct of 86 miles from 



the Catskills to what is known as the Hill 

 View reservoir, located near Yonkers, has 

 been located, as has the site of the dam for 

 the great Ashokan reservoir and the 10,000 

 acres of the reservoir itself. About 15 per 

 cent, of this aqueduct has been prepared 

 for contract. To accomplish this result, 

 550 miles of surveys and 12 miles of sub- 

 surface borings have been made. 



At this rate of progress, it would not be 

 surprising if water from this new source 

 would be available considerably within the 

 eight years allowed by the engineers. 



As pointed out by the mayor, the new 

 water supply is to cost over $160,000,000 

 and it is highly desirable that the tax- 

 payers should understand the benefits to 

 accrue from it. 



The need of this work did not arise from 

 any emergency. No epidemic pointed to 

 its necessity. The work is being carried 

 out largely in anticipation of the needs of 

 the future, as pointed out with infallible 

 accuracy by the teachings of sanitary 

 science. 



The problem of disposing of the sewage 

 of New Tork and neighboring municipali- 

 ties so that it shall not create a nuisance, 

 or in other ways interfere with health, 

 comfort or convenience has been the sub- 

 ject of official study for three years and is 

 likely to continue to be investigated for 

 several years to come. And the question 

 here is not so much to improve present 

 conditions, although this object may be ac- 

 complished in the end, as to protect our 

 tidal waters against the vastly increasing 

 pollution of the future. 



Hitherto there has been no question as 

 to the efficacy of the method of sewage dis- 

 posal pursued by New Tork and its neigh- 

 boring municipalities. House sewage and 

 street washings have been discharged, with- 

 out purification of any kind, into the near- 

 est tide waters. Eecently, communities re- 

 mote from the shore have joined together 



