An improved water supply at Fort Monroe is urgently needed. At the present time the only potable water to be obtained upon the reservation is rain water stored in cisterns. This, at the best, is an unsatisfactory source of supply, and during a very dry season is liable to fail entirely. To this danger may be added the equally serious one of contamination of the water so stored, resulting from the lack of a proper system of sewerage. The supply of fresh water is now supplemented by water obtained from driven wells on the west side of Mill Creek, and brought to the reservation in iron pipes. This water is of an inferior quality and is not fit for drinking purposes. The importance of abundant supply of pure water for the use of the garrison, the large force of employés of the United States, and citizens who visit the post, can not be overestimated. From a military point of view it is hardly necessary to say that is of vital importance that an adequate supply of good water, not liable to be cut off during time of war, should be had within the limits of the fortification. Such a supply, it has been thought, could be obtained by sinking an artesian well within the fort. I subjoin the following summary of work done in former years in this direction. PREVIOUS OPERATIONS. The first effort to obtain water by an artesian well at Fort Monroe was made in 1846, when the original well was commenced, There were 225 feet of 8-inch pipe sunk, and inside of this 283 feet of 5-inch pipe. No record of the exact depth reached has been found. This well was abandoned in 1851. In 1864-65 Gen. B. F. Butler put down 340 feet of 12-inch pipe. In 1867 Col. Henry Brewerton commenced sinking an 8-inch pipe within the 12-inch pipe of the well of 1864-'65, and a part of the 5-inch and 8-inch pipe of the well of 1845 was withdrawn and used in this work. On June 30, 1868, a depth of 370 feet had been reached. The sinking of the 8-inch pipe was continued until a depth of 517 feet below the surface of the parade of the fort was reached, when the lowest section of the pipe separated from the rest. It was found that a pipe 5 inches in exterior diameter could be passed through the disjointed pipe, and it was decided to insert within the 8-inch cast-iron pipes, wroughtiron tubes of 4 inches interior diameter with screw ends, and 585 feet of this tubing were successfully inserted. At a depth of 585 feet, the bottom of the clay stratum through which the auger had been passing was reached, and a stratum composed of about 90 per cent sand and 10 per cent of clay was reached. After passing into the sand, a water-bearing stratum was reached which yielded a limited amount of saline water, which when left undisturbed for twenty-four hours rose in the tubing to a height of 4 feet 6 inches above the level of the parade of the fort. On June 30, 1870, the well had been sunk 900 feet, and the 44inch tubing sunk 886 feet below the parade. Work was suspended in August, 1870, at which date the 43-inch tubing had been forced down to a depth 898 feet below the parade, while the auger had penetrated to a depth of 906.5 feet below the same level. In November, 1871, operations were resumed, and a drill was substituted for the auger previously used. The 42-inch tubing which had been left projecting about 15 feet above the ground was found to be full of water. The tube was tapped near the ground, and, on being plugged, the pipe was found to fill gradually. On pumping out the water to secure a dry tube for drilling, a sudden inrush of clay, coarse gravel, and shell filled the tube for about 120 feet from the bottom. After removing this with the sand pump, and attempting to drill, it was found that the lower section of the tubing was entirely detached. A passage for the drill was then cut through this section, but another influx of material moved the section, and but little progress could be made. The removal of the 44-inch tubing was then commenced, and, on June 30, 1872, 664 feet had been taken out. Operations were soon after suspended for want of funds, and have not since been resumed. FUTURE OPERATIONS. In the annual report for June 30, 1890, an appropriation of $10,000 was recommended for the purpose of sinking a new well. In the act of February 24, 1891, an appropriation of $6,000 was made, but as this was insufficient to cover the cost of sinking a well beyond a depth already demonstrated to be insufficient, no work has been done. It is the opinion of Prof. W. J. McGee, of the U. S. Geological Survey, that artesian water will probably be found at Fort Monroe at a depth of about 1,200 feet. În work of this character it is important that all of the funds needed for the well should be in hand before operations are commenced, and it is, therefore, recommended that the additional appropriation of $4,000 be made. Money statement. July 1, 1891, balance unexpended. $6,000.00 July 1, 1892, balance unexpended. 6,000.00 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project... 4,000.00 4,000.00 3 C. SEWERAGE SYSTEM. The sewerage system of Fort Monroe is seriously defective. It drains only the buildings within the walls of the fort, while for the drainage of the quarters outside there is no provision whatever. The sewers have not sufficient inclination to make them self-cleansing and are of ten obstructed. The main sewer alone is flushed by tidal water impounded in the moat, and discharges the sewage into Mill Creek, where it is often washed up along the shore and becomes a nuisance. As a result of the existing conditions the health of the garrison suffers, and numerous cases of typhoid fever are reported-a disease formerly unknown at the post. On July 28, 1888, Lieut. Col. P. C. Hains made a report upon the existing sewerage system-which he stated to be defective and submitted a plan for a new system for draining the fort alone, the sewage to be pumped into Chesapeake Bay. The estimated cost of this system was $33,000. On March 2, 1889, Congress made an appropriation of $25,000 "for the construction, complete, of a sewerage system." Specifications for a complete system were prepared and proposals invited by public advertisement. The lowest bid received was $35,749.48, but this did not conform to the specifications. As all of the bids exceeded the appropriation made by Congress, they were rejected. The question of the drainage of the quarters and buildings outside the fort, and also of the several hotels authorized to be built by acts of Congress, has since been the subject of consideration. Various plans and projects looking either to the construction of a combined system providing for the drainage of all these buildings or of two separate systems, one for the hotels and one for the quarters, have received attention. In the event of the construction of a combined system, the manner in which the cost of such a system should be met by the several interests involved, has likewise been considered. On October 29, 1891, the Secretary of War decided that two separate systems should be constructed, one by the United States and the other by the hotel proprietors and others who enjoy the privilege of residence on the reservation. The existing appropriation of $25,000 would only be sufficient, it was found, for draining the fort proper and discharging the sewage into Mill Creek or Hampton Bay, and would not provide for the drainage of the quarters outside the fort. Such a system would be unsatisfactory and incomplete. Estimates were therefore prepared for a system to drain both the quarters and public buildings within and those without the fort, the sewage to be discharged by pumping into Chesapeake Bay. The estimated cost of such a system was $45,000, and on March 12, 1892, it was recommended that an additional appropriation of $20,000 be asked for with such legislation as might be necessary to render available the $25,000 appropriated March 2, 1889, for a "complete" system. Money statement. July 1, 1891, balance unexpended July 1, 1892, balance unexpended $24,902. 10 20,000,00 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project. ト APPENDIX No. 4. REPAIR AND PRESERVATION OF FORT MARION, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. REPORT OF MAJOR JOHN C. MALLERY, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OFFICER IN CHARGE, FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1892. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, St. Augustine, Fla., July 11, 1892. GENERAL: I have the honor to transmit herewith my annual reports on Forts and Marion, Fla., for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892. * * Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. THOMAS L. CASEY, J. C. MALLERY, Major, Corps of Engineers. Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. REPAIR AND PRESERVATION OF FORT MARION. Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Fla., was built during the Spanish possession. It was at first named Fort San Augustin and later Fort San Marcos. For a description and an historical sketch of the work attention is invited to the annual report for 1889. The work is not available for defense. In the act approved July 5, 1884, $5,000 was appropriated for the preservation of the fort and the inclosure of its grounds. With this appropriation a picket fence was built along a portion of the reservation boundary line, the sea wall and covered way breast-height walls repaired, the bastion towers renewed, the interior walls refaced where necessary, the ramp rebuilt, and a portion of the terreplein covered with a waterproof pavement for the protection of the casemates. In all of the repairs the original designs were followed as closely as possible. Under allotment from the appropriation for "preservation and repair of fortifications," the following repairs to the permanent work were made, viz: A short length of the sea wall at the north end of the fort and the north end of the water battery, which had been partly undermined by wave and current action, was protected; the sally port, the terreplein of the southwest bastion, and about two-thirds of the terreplein of the south curtain were covered with a waterproof pavement; a concrete drain was constructed under the sally port; the two sentry |