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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



SELLING PRICE OF AV ATE R POWER 



The original places in New York State at which hydraulic 

 developments have been made for the purpose of selling power 

 are Oswego, Cohoes, Lockport and Niagara Falls. At Oswego 

 the power on the east side of the river is owned by the Oswego 

 Canal Company, the development being by a canal 4000 feet long, 

 with an average surface width of 60 feet and a depth of 6 feet. 

 The water from this canal is dropped into the Oswego river at 

 the level of Lake Ontario. The working head is from 18 to 20 

 feet, although with high water in the canal and low water in 

 Lake Ontario, the working head becomes somewhat greater. 



The State controls the first right to the flow of the Oswego 

 river in order to maintain slack-water navigation in the pool 

 above the dam at the head of the Oswego Canal Company's race- 

 way; all water not needed for canal purposes being equally 

 divided between the Oswego Canal Company's race on the east 

 side and the Varick canal on the west side. TTie Oswego Canal 

 Company gives a 999-year lease of water, but without land for 

 location of buildings. A water right on this canal is called a 

 run, meaning, probably, the amount of water required to drive 

 a run of stone, a run of water being taken at 11.75 cubic feet 

 per second which, under the ordinary working head of 20 feet, 

 will, at 75 per cent efficiency, produce 20 horsepower. There are 

 assumed to be 32 first-class runs, the rental for which is |350 

 a year for each run. At this price the cost of a horse- 

 power a year, with 75 per cent efficiency, becomes $17.48, 

 or the cost of a gross horsepower a year becomes $13.11. 

 There are also 32 second-class runs, of which the rental 

 varies from $250 to $300 a year for each run. Further, there are 

 surplus runs which are rente-d at a little over one-half of the 

 rental charged for first-class runs. Jn case of a shortage of 

 water the surplus runs are shut down successively, beginning 

 with the most recent leases; after this the second-class runs 

 share equally with one another in reduction; and finally, in case 

 of extreme shortage, the first-class runs are similarly cut down. 



The Varick canal on the west side of the river controls one- 

 half of all the water not needed for navigation purposes, the 

 game as the Oswego Canal Company's canal on the east side. In 



