Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

THE WATER SUPPLY Esopus, steel pipe.................... 1,850 feet. Tangore, steel pipe.................... 700 Rondout, rock tunnel.................23,610 Wallkill, rock tunnel.................23,400 „ Washington Square, steel pipe......... 3,550 „ Moodna, rock tunnel..................19,800 Hudson River, rock tunnel............. 4,450 „ Foundry Brook, steel pipe............. 3,800 „ Indian Brook, steel pipe............... 600 Sprout Brook, steel pipe............. 2,270 Peckskill Creek, steel pipe.......... 7,040 Total.....91,070 feet. The crossing of the Hudson River was re- garded from the very first as one of the most difficult features of the Catskill development scheme, and that this will actually prove to be the case is now certain. It was origin- ally proposed to cross the river at New Hamburg ; but the preliminary bor- ings here, as at other suggested sites, failed to expose rock sufficiently free from fissures and other imperfections to justify confidence that it would be able to withstand the enor- The Hudson River Crossing. mous pressure of water at the depth below the river bed to which, the tunnel would have to be sunk. The attention of the engineers was consequently directed to th© country between Cornwall and West Point, where geologists assured them a thoroughly sound and reliable granite would be found. For various reasons, a line crossing the river from Storm King Mountain on the west to Break- neck Mountain on the east was selected. Here the hills rise precipitously to more than 1,200 feet above the water, and the river is 2,800 feet wide and 90 feet deep. At this picturesque spot costly and labori- ous operations—necessarily suspended during the severe winter months—have been in pro- gress since September 1905, but so far with invariably dis- appointing and perplexing re- A Serious Obstacle. sults. The putting down of vertical holes in the bed of the river having proved unavailing, and a difficult undertaking on account of the interference by navigation and the violent winds which frequently blow through th© gap, OF NEW YORK CITY. Ill wash and core borings have in turn been abandoned. A deep test shaft has now been sunk on each shore of the river, and from these shafts horizontal drill borings are being made under the river bed. Up to January last, the deepest boring under the river had been sunk 626 feet below tide-level, or nearly 1,030 feet below the aqueduct on the western slope of the river, but without encountering rock. It is consequently evident that the huge inverted siphon by which it is proposed to convey the Catskill water across the Hudson must be carried to a much greater depth than was originally anticipated, and that its construction will involve much unexpected difficulty and cost. As was truly remarked by one of the orators on the occasion of the inauguration of the work, “ This mighty aqueduct will take from no man anything that is needful to him. It will bring the purest and most healthful of all drinks to myriads of citizens of New York both in the present and the future. It will carry to their homes the means of cleanliness and happiness. It will be a safeguard to the household gods of the poor and to the mer- chandise of the captains of industry.” Reference to the map printed on page 107 will show that the policy of “ looking forward ” looms large among the responsible authorities, and that—so far at least as plans are concerned—little is Looking to be left to chance in the Forward, future. If more water should be demanded when the present enterprise is completed—at an estimated cost, for the first installation of 250,000,000 gallons daily, of £23,093,000, and for double that quantity of £33,402,000— inroads will be made on the yields of adjacent watersheds. The first threatened is the Rondout, which is said to be capable of yielding 130,000,000 gallons daily. In this it is proposed to construct two reservoirs— Lackawack and Napanoch—with capacities of 13,2/0,000,000 and 4,760,000,000 gallons re-