694 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



municipality in the State of New York. In 1890 the act was 

 repealed and a general law enacted which surrounded w T ith new 

 safeguards contracts made with the companies organized under 

 it, except that these safeguards did not apply to the already 

 organized Kamapo company. A few years later, under chapter 

 985 of the laws of 1895, an act to limit and define the powers 

 of the Ramapo Water Company, the Legislature considerably 

 extended the privileges granted to this company. This act 

 gives the Ramapo company power to contract for supplying to 

 any municipality, or to any corporation, public or private. The 

 act also gives to the company powers of condemnation, and 

 they may select such route as they choose. 



At the same time the Legislature considerably restricted the 

 power of Xew York to acquire an additional supply of water, 

 as indicated by the following: In 1896 the Suffolk county act, 

 preventing Brooklyn from using the underground waters of 

 Suffolk county, was passed. This act was continued in force 

 by the New York charter, which went into effect January 1. 

 1898. A clause was also inserted in the Greater Xew York 

 charter preventing the city from taking water from a supply 

 devoted in whole or in part to the supply of any other muni- 

 cipality. In 1898-99 the Ramapo company proposed to supply 

 Xew York with 200,000,000 gallons of water daily, for which 

 the City of Xew York was to pay $70 per million gallons. The 

 delivery of water was to begin in 1902. 



Very earnest discussion occurred in New York when the 

 Ramapo proposition was understood. An extensive report was 

 made by the Merchants' Association and also by John R. Free- 

 man to the Comptroller, showing that water could be furnished 

 for very much less than the price proposed to be paid to the 

 Ramapo company. An appeal was made to the Legislature and 

 the legislation was modified, allowing the city to construct its own 

 works. 



There are a number of available sources from which Greater 

 Xew York may be supplied without any great engineering diffi- 

 culties. These sources may be enumerated as: 



1) On the east side of the Hudson river, where there are the 

 following: the Housatonic and Ten Mile rivers, which are, how- 

 ever, interstate streams; Fishkill creek. Wappingers creek and 

 the Roeliff Jansen kill. 



