experience of other cities, this excess of consumption is due mainly to the deteriorated condition of the older portions of the distribution system. To increase the head of water on this deteriorated and leaky distribution service would increase the waste and hasten the deterioration.

The remedy for this condition of affairs is to be found in the systematic inspection and repairing of the distribution system, particularly in the lower part of the city, and there is no reason to doubt that such an inspection systematically and scientifically undertaken would result in a very great diminution of the waste and consequently an apparent increase in the amount of water sup plied to the City.

In making provision for an increased supply, the first step, therefore, is to stop the flow of water into the ground from the pipes, which would have a more certain and durable effect than the impounding of additional water above the Croton Dam.

THE CONTRACT WITH THE RAMAPO WATER COMPANY,

It is proper that I should call your attention to some of the provisions in the contract recommended for execution by the Commissioner of the Water Supply.

The Water Company is to furnish water from the Esopus creek and its tributary and connecting water-sheds. A general map drawn on a small scale, which was furnished me by the Chief Engineer of the Ramapo Water Company, indicates as the sources of supply, the water-shed of Esopus creek, of about 300 square miles area, with six storage reservoirs, and the water-shed of Catskill creek, of about 300 square miles area, with four storage reservoirs. The Chief Engineer of the Water Company stated to me orally that it was proposed to construct fifteen storage reservoirs in the Esopus water-shed. The limited time within which it was necessary to make this report precluded the possibility of my making a personal inspection of the proposed water-sheds. Such inspection was deputed to Mr. George S. Rice, whose report you have and from which it appears that the number and character of the storage reservoirs possible to be constructed in the Esopus water-shed has been largely overestimated by the company, so far as can be ascertained at this time. The area of water-shed tributary to the point of intake for the pipe-line to the city is apparently much less than is represented by the company. The character of the water-shed of the Esopus creek is such that a very large storage capacity will be needed to utilize the mean run-off. It is rocky and precipitous, and the rain water runs off very rapidly. There can be very little underground storage, producing a large average flow in the streams, and to collect the rain water for gradual distribution, as the source of water supply, the storage reservoirs must be very large, and, moreover, the dams must have long spillways, involving a large amount of masonry construction.

Of several reservoir sites examined, only one, that at Olive Bridge, has a rocky foundation visible in the bed of the stream. The depth to which the foundations of the other dams would have to be carried is unknown.

The eighth paragraph of the contract, relating to the deferring of the time for the delivery of water at New York, at the option of the Water Company, for a period equal to the time that the Water Company may be interfered with in the construction of the works, by legal proceedings, has been already referred to in this report. It practically places the time of delivery of the water at the will of the company.

Section 10 of the form of contract provides that "This contract may be modified, altered or amended hereafter, in such manner as the parties may deem necessary or desirable." This, practically, annuls the whole contract. No provision is made anywhere in the contract for inspection or supervision of the plans, the character of the materials used, the mode of execution of the work or the preservation of the purity of the water, by The City of New York during the whole time of the contract.

With reference to the character of water to be supplied, the only provision is in the second clause of the contract, that such water shall be of greater purity than the water now supplied to

The City of New York, as shown by the average of the analyses of such water, made during the past year, as compared with the average of a year's analyses of the water to be furnished. The water might be seriously polluted for a month at a time, but if the average of the year's analyses showed well, there would be no redress for the City.

At the end of forty years, the City's use of and interest in the supply would cease, unless the Water Company chose to renew the contract.

If there were no other objectionable features in the project, these, I think, show that it would be contrary to public policy to execute it.

CONCLUSIONS.

The time allowed for the investigation of this subject has been too brief to permit of as thorough a study of the subject as should be made, but from such examinations as have been made, I am of the opinion that the first step toward the increase of the supply of water available for use by the citizens of New York and Brooklyn should be a systematic investigation into the sources of waste, and repression of such waste, which, judging from the experience of other cities, would result in an increase of from 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 gallons a day available for use at once. Second, the authority should be conferred upon the officials in charge of the city water supply to investigate other sources of supply than the Croton river, and to proceed with the construction of works which would furnish within the next six or seven years an additional supply of at least 200,000,000 gallons a day, and probably an equal amount within the next ten years should be proviped for.

Any such works should be controlled, owned and constructed by The City of New York and not by private corporations, over which the City has no control.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

J.J. R. CROES, Consulting Engineer.

NEW YORK CITY, N. Y., August 29, 1899.

Hon. BIRD S. COLER, Comptroller:

DEAR SIR-In accordance with your request I have examined the Esopus creek in Ulster County, N. Y., as a source of water supply by the Ramapo Water Company for The City of New York and recommended in a communication made by Hon. William Dalton, Commissioner of Water Supply, dated August 9, 1899.

The Ramapo Water Company has placed on file in Ulster County sixteen locations for storage basins, situated on Rondout and Esopus creeks and their tributaries. The maps of these reservoirs have been filed and in almost all cases the dams have been located and the flow-lines of the reservoirs shown on the plans. These reservoirs are named as follows: Glenerie, Katrine, High Falls, Napanoch, Sandburg, Beer Kill, Palen, Vernooy, Atwood, Olive, Boiceville, Cold Brook, Phoenicia, Shandaken, Big Indian and Lake Hill.

The first nine of these reservoirs are so situated that they cannot be used in this scheme for storage purposes on account of the locality in which they are situated or the low altitude, which is insufficient to obtain an elevation of 300 feet above tide at the New York City line, such being the elevation mentioned in the report of the Commissioner of Water Supply.

The Olive Reservoir is situated on Esopus creek and lies below the Village of Shokan in the Town of Olive. The dam is located a short distance above Olive Bridge, and the flow-line has an elevation of five hundred (500) feet above the level of tide-water; the dam at this place is pro posed to be about five hundred (500) feet long, and the foundation would probably be on rock in all its parts, as the ledge croppings show on both sides of the river and in its bed.

This dam has a drainage area of something less than three hundred (300) square miles and of necessity would be built of masonry, as the overflow must be nearly the full length of the dam in

order that it may take care of the heavy rainfalls. This reservoir would flood the country at about the same elevation as the railroad bridge at Broadhead Station, where the rails are about twenty-one (21) feet above the bottom of the stream and would impound an amount less than two thousand million gallons of water. The height of the flow-line is practically limited by the Village of Shokan, which lies directly above the reservoir, and if any greater depth should be added to the reservoir it would create a large amount of shallow flowage and at the same time destroy the village for residential purposes. This reservoir is about two miles long and varies in width from five hundred (500) to twenty-one hundred (2,100) feet.

The next reservoir, as proposed, is located a little more than half a mile below the Boiceville Station on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad. The dam would be about fourteen hundred (1,400) feet long and have an elevation of flow-line of about six hundred and fifty (650) feet above tide. Earth and boulders show on the two sides of the valley, and the bed of the river shows sand, gravel and boulders.

This reservoir is about two (2) miles long, having its storage capacity principally in the lower mile of length, the upper mile being confined to a large extent to the river section and not flooding the railroad as it does on the lower portion. The capacity of this reservoir is less than two thousand and seventy-five millions of gallons.

The next reservoir, which immediately adjoins the Boiceville Reservoir, is the Cold Brook Reservoir.

Its proposed dam is at the Cold Brook Station, and advantage has been taken of the drawing together of the valley at this place to locate the dam. The material both of the sides of the valley and in the bed of the river shows gravel and boulders. The elevation of the flow-line of this reservoir has been taken at an elevation of six hundred and ninety-five (695) feet above tide-water. This is the most extensive reservoir in the main valley and is nearly three (3) miles long. It has a varying width of from twenty-five hundred (2,500) to twelve hundred (1,200) feet, and its capacity somewhat diminishes, owing to a sudden rise in the creek, at a distance of about half a mile to the north of the dam where some rapids are located. This reservoir has a capacity of less than three

thousand millions of gallons storage.

The next reservoir, as proposed, is located some distance above the railroad station a Phoenicia. The dam would be about nine hundred (900) feet in length with a reservoir about two (2) miles long. The flow-line has been taken at about elevation 950 above tide-water.

Immediately above the Phoenicia Reservoir is located the Shandaken Reservoir. This is about two miles long, having a dam about eight hundred (800) feet in length, with a flow-line of 1,040 above tide-water.

The next reservoir is situated about two miles above the upper part of the Shandaken Reservoir and is called the Big Indian Reservoir. It is over a mile long and has a dam of about one thousand (1,000) feet in length, with a flow-line elevation of something over 1,200 feet above tide level.

The last two reservoir areas have been located by means of the maps, but the sites of the dams have been omitted on the plans. The plans show, however, that the last three reservoir dams must of necessity have considerable height, as the valley is quite steep in this particular section of the country. The villages located at Phoenicia, Allaben, Shandaken and Big Indian are composed to a large extent of summer boarding places and would be obliterated by these three reservoirs if built, as the flow-lines interfere with almost all the buildings situated in this part of the valley.

These three reservoirs, as proposed, in the upper part of the Esopus creek have a storing capacity of less than four thousand millions of gallons.

The Lake Hill Reservoir, as proposed, is located on Little Shandaken creek, being one of the tributaries of the Esopus, and flows into this creek at Mount Pleasant, near the upper portion of

the Cold Brook Reservoir. This reservoir has a flowage area of less than four hundred (400) acres, and has an elevation of about 1,060 feet above the tide level.

It is three hundred and sixty (360) feet above the valley and about three miles distant from Mount Pleasant, and has a limited drainage area and would not have much value for storage purposes on that account..

Taking these seven available reservoirs as located by the filed plans of the Ramapo Water Company, there is a total capacity for storage of less than twelve thousand millions gallons.

The valley of Esopus creek falls from the proposed reservoir at Big Indian to the surface of the reservoir at Olive Bridge, about seven hundred (700) feet in a distance of twenty (20) miles, being an average fall of about thirty-five (35) feet per mile. The valley is not particularly well adapted on this account for reservoir purposes, the flow of water at the present time being so small that at almost every part of these twenty miles it is possible to wade the stream with ease, and in most cases to cross without wetting one's feet. The stream is evidently what is called a "flashy” stream, being liable to a sudden rise on a fall of rain, and on that account requires a large amount of storage capacity to use it for water supply purposes.

The neighboring country is wooded in all its parts, except in the valleys, where the bottom land is used for farming purposes, the sides of the valleys being steep, which accounts for the rapid discharge of water in times of heavy rainfall. On this account it would not be advisable to build the dams of anything except masonry or earth with good-sized masonry cores, and it would be necessary in all cases to have a large overflow so that floods could be taken care of without danger to the structures and to those living in the valleys below.

From the foregoing statements relating to the storage capacity of the Esopus creek, as proposed by the filed plans of the Ramapo Water Company, in this valley, it can be stated that twelve billions (12,000,000,oco) of gallons of stored water is manifestly insufficient for a supply of two hundred millions (200,000,000) of gallons per day for New York City. This amount would not, at a daily consumption of 200 millions gallons, give much more than two months' supply at a dry time, and such dry times are often liable to happen. When such times happen, water is the most needed.

Commissioner of Water Supply, William Dalton, in referring to the Cold Brook Reservoir, in his report states that the reservoir at an elevation of six hundred and seventy-five (675) feet would contain fifteen billions of gallons of water. By the plans of the Ramapo Water Company, this reservoir would contain less than three billions of gallons. He also says: "The Olive Reservoir site can be made to impound seven billions gallons." By the filed plans of the Ramapo Water Company this reservoir will contain less than two billions of gallons of water.

It would not be possible for the Ramapo Water Company to properly and economically construct the works as proposed on the Esopus creek with the connecting conduits in The City of New York's northern line inside of three or even five years.

The reconnaissance necessary to ascertain the material for the foundations of the several dams, would take several months, and the designing of the work preparatory to construction would take a year at least.

The least amount of time which should be allowed for the building of these works before the water could be used by New York City would be more than five years under the best of conditions

Yours respectfully,

GEORGE S. RICE, Consulting Engineer.

The Hon. Wheeler H. Peckham, Mr. Simon Sterne and Mr. Fulton, in behalf of the Citizens' Union and the City Club, the Comptroller and the Commissioner of Bridges spoke in opposition to the contract, and the President of the Board and Mr. Barton, representing the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, in favor thereof.

The following resolution, presented by the Commissioner of Bridges, was then adopted :

Whereas, Section 472 of the Greater New York Charter confers authority upon the Commissioner of Water Supply, with the approval of the Board of Public Improvements, to select and to determine all sources of water supply throughout the State that may be needed for the supply and distribution of water in The City of New York; and

Whereas, Said section further provides for the acquisition by condemnation of any real estate or interest therein that may be necessary in order to acquire the sole and exclusive property in such source or sources of water supply, and to extinguish the water rights of any person or corporation therein; and

Whereas, The expressed principles of the present administration when seeking the suffrage of the people of this city was that the municipality should own and control all public utilities therein;

Resolved, That it is not in the public interest, nor for the public weal, neither is it necessary, that the City should contract with a private corporation for its supply of water; that upon the expiration of the term of the existing contracts for such purpose proceedings should be taken to acquire the rights of the persons or corporations holding or owning any such rights, to the end that the municipality shall own its water system exclusively.

Affirmative-Comptroller, Commissioner of Highways, Commissioner of Street Cleaning, Commissioner of Sewers and Commissioner of Bridges-5.

Negative - Commissioner of Water Supply and President of the Board-2.

The President of the Borough of The Bronx claimed the privilege of voting, but the President ruled that, under the Charter, as the question was a general one, not affecting any one particular borough, no borough President had the privilege of voting.

The President of the Borough of The Bronx, the President of the Borough of Richmond and the President of the Borough of Queens then requested to be recorded as desiring to vote in the affirmative, if they had the right to vote.

Adjourned.

Attest:

MAURICE F. HOLAHAN, President.