516 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



5) In the Hudson valley, 10 to 11 inches. 



6) In the Mohawk valley, 10 to 11 inches. 



7) In the Champlain valley, 7 to 8 inches. 



8) In the St Lawrence valley, 5 to 6 inches. 



9) In the Great Lakes region, 5 to 6 inches. 



10) In the Central Lakes region, 1 to 5 inches. 



11) And finally, for particular localities, not more than 2 to 4 

 inches can be stored. 



In the Atlantic coast region, by storage is meant the total quan- 

 tity of water which may be practically utilized, either from sur- 

 face flows or underflows. 



Moreover, the foregoing statements are made for a single year 

 and without reference to the water yield that may be supplied by 

 considering a period of three years. Usually, taking into 

 account a 3-year low-water period, more storage can be provided 

 than when only a single year is considered, and the question as 

 to just what the water stored is to be used for will largely deter- 

 mine which period to take. If for water power, where exceedingly 

 large quantities of water are required, it is not generally desirable 

 to take more than the single dry year, while for water supplies a 

 period of three dry years may be taken. 



Many persons consider that 11 inches of water collected in a 

 dry year is a conservative assumption, but the preceding dis- 

 cussion will serve to show that anybody assuming such quantity 

 in the State of New York would, in some parts, be wide of tlie 

 mark. 



STATE OWNERSHIP OF PUBLIC UTILITIES 



When a country becomes thickly populated there are some 

 things which can be better done by the State than by either an 

 individual or by a single community. We will briefly discuss a 

 case of this character here. 



State water supply. New York State is specially suited for a 

 State water supply because, due to fortuitous conditions, it is 

 possible to deliver water by gravity without excessively long con- 

 duits, to nearly every city and town in the State. Such supplies 

 would answer the requirements of purity and would settle the 

 question of water supplies in this State for all time to come. The 

 writer therefore considers that there should be a State commis- 

 sion specially authorized to define the limits of these reservations 



