HYDROLOGY OF NEW YORK 



785 



- In the low level project it is proposed to convert Oneida lake 

 into a storage reservoir, and by cutting a channel through the Rome 

 divide, navigation at lake level could be extended to the Mohawk 

 river at Frankfort, a distance of seventy- two miles from the lock 

 at the western end of the level, 2.5 miles east of Fulton. From 

 Frankfort to the Hudson the route is practically a rectification 

 of the Mohawk river to Rotterdam Junction, thence for three miles 

 along the south side of the Mohawk valley and across the divide 

 to the head of the Normans kill, which stream enters the Hudson 

 a short distance below Albany. 



The water supply of the high level project, including evapora- 

 tion, leakage, water-power, waste, etc. is taken at 1600 cubic feet 

 per second for a 30-foot channel and at 1400 cubic feet per second 

 for a 21-foot channel. In order to provide this quantity, a reser- 

 voir was located in the valley of Black river, with surface area, 

 when full, of 73 square miles and an impounding capacity of 

 57,000,000,000 cubic feet, and one in Salmon river valley of 8.5 

 square miles area and a storage capacity of over 7,000,000,000 

 cubic feet. The storage of the Black river reservoir would be suffi- 

 cient to maintain a supply except in periods of low precipitation, 

 when additional suppty might be needed from the Salmon river 

 reservoir. The Black river reservoir also provided for maintain- 

 ing the waterpower on Black river below the reservoir. 



A study was also made of an alternative tunnel project as a 

 substitute for the feeder line, which has sufficient merit to warrant 

 further investigation. This tunnel would leave the south end of 

 the Black river reservoir at Lyon Falls and open into the upper 

 Mohawk at the village of North Western, a distance of 20.5 miles 

 from the reservoir, and thence discharge from the channel of the 

 Mohawk into the waterway near Rome. It is considered that the 

 tunnel plan would be preferable because the amount of waste and 

 cost of maintenance would be much less than for the open feeder. 

 The danger of accident would be reduced to a minimum. The 

 costs of the two systems, as estimated, are approximately the 

 same. 



The estimated cost for a 30-foot channel on the high level pro- 

 ject is $195,870,000. 



For the low level project, the estimated cost of a 30-foot channel 

 is $199,926,000. 



