HYDROLOGY OF NEW YORK 



acquire the right to draw 775 cubic feet of water per second at a 

 cost not exceeding the sum of $4,761,180, previously found. As 

 an alternative proposition, the city might build the compensation 

 storage and realize the full value of the property when sold. 



Water supply for New York city from Lake George. About 

 1880 the New York and Hudson Valley Aqueduct Company was 

 incorporated to construct a water supply from Lake George "and 

 upper Hudson for Xew York and other cities of lower Hudson 

 valley. Reports on this project were made by Col. J. T. Fanning, 

 chief engineer, under dates of December 1881, and November 

 1884. Colonel Fanning proposed to divert Hudson river above 

 Glens Falls, utilizing the extended area of Lake George for storing 

 flood-flows. In this way it was considered that a supply of 

 1,500,000,000 gallons per .day could, if necessary, be obtained 

 (2315 cubic feet per second). Since Colonel Fanning's reports 

 are readily obtainable, space will not be taken to give his con- 

 clusions in detail. The following are the main elements of the 

 Lake George project, as deduced from the topographic sheets of 

 the United States Geological Survey : 



Elevation of lake surface above tidewater. . 323.0 feet 

 Catchment area, including water surface. . 229.0 square miles 



Area of water surface 43.4 square miles 



Area of 340 contour 49.2 square miles 



Storage between 323 + T. W. and 340 21,043,308,540 cubic feet 



Lake George is surrounded by mountains rising to an altitude 

 of from 1500 to 2700 feet above tidewater. There is little special 

 knowledge of the rainfall, but it can not be materially different 

 from that of the Hudson river catchment area. The outlet is at 

 the northern end of the lake, and has a fall in a distance of about 

 a mile of 222 feet, which is largely utilized in paper making, infor- 

 mation at hand indicating a total development of from 4000 to 

 5000 net horsepower. Taking the value of water-power as pre- 

 viously used the damage to Lake George outlet water-powers may 

 be computed at $1,458,000. But since the entire properties would 

 be taken we may, in this case, estimate that the final damage 

 would not be less than $2,000,000. 



There are many large hotels and summer resorts about Lake 

 George which would be mostly destroyed by raising the lake sur- 



