USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1906 > Part 33
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Seven hundred and sixty-eight meters were set during the year, including 114 to commence operation January 1, 1907; of this number, the use of thirty has been discontinued for non-
396
ANNUAL REPORTS.
occupancy of premises and other causes, making a net increase of 738. The total number now in the system is 2,820, as shown in the following table :---
METERS DECEMBER 31, 1906.
SIZE
KIND
Total.
5%"
1"
11%"
2ª
3"
4"
6"
Nash
174
174
Empire
1
5
3
2
1
1
1
1
19
Gem
1
Hersey
10
Hersey Disc
225
16
4
1
4
1
1
Trident
215
44
21
5
4
1
290
Crest
18
13
7
1
5
1
45
Union Special
20
Columbia .
153
King
200
Lambert
1,223
112
15
1
1,351
Worthington Disc . .
303
303
Totals . .
2,517
205
58
12
17
5
4
2
2,820
Motor and ele- vator registers
9
2,829
Most of the meters installed were on new services, and on applications of property owners on old buildings. Meters are furnished by the city without charge, and are installed without cost to the owner, except where it becomes necessary to furnish materials or labor outside of the actual setting of the meter. In such cases a charge is now made sufficient to cover the addi- tional cost of such installation, reducing somewhat the total meter construction account.
The following table gives a summary of the pipes and fix- tures of the water system December 31, 1906 :-
Summary of Pipes and Fixtures.
Feet of main pipe (approximately) 482,143
Feet of service pipe (approximately)
390,980
Service connections (approximately) .
11,489
Public fire hydrants
1,018
Private fire hydrants
49
Gates
1,376
Check valves
7
Meters
2,820
Motor registers
9
Waterposts
73
Blow-offs
136
Drinking fountains and troughs
10
1
Crown
5
4
1
2
3
250
Torrent
1
1
2
Union
15
4
1
153
200
1
.
WATER DEPARTMENT.
Inventory.
The annual inventory of stock on hand, tools and machinery, teams and stable equipment, pumping apparatus, and furniture shows a valuation of $23,852.34; the land and buildings of the department are valued at $32,100, and the distribution system of the water works has an estimated valuation of $875,000.
Maintenance.
The physical condition of our ninety-one miles of street mains is believed to be very satisfactory; but eight leaks have been found during the year, and these were repaired at a cost averaging but eighty-six cents per mile for the entire system.
One hundred and twenty-six leaks on service pipes have been repaired, and 130 services have been renewed.
A large outlay was incurred for renewal of service pipes in those portions of Medford street, Broadway, and Union square where the Hassam street paving was to be laid.
Instead of laying numerous small pipes across the street, one for each house, as heretofore, the method was adopted of laying one pipe, one and one-half inches in diameter, from the main to the sidewalk, and then extending smaller branches from this ser- vice main up and down the sidewalk to the respective houses. Where the conditions favored, a brick chamber was constructed in the sidewalk so that the main service gate and all the branch gates and connections can be easily reached.
Much attention has been given to the fire hydrants, and so far as known, they are all in good condition. Seven hydrants, defective or in other ways unsatisfactory, have been taken out and replaced with new ones, and the location of one near the cor- ner of Medford and Walnut streets has been changed about fif- teen feet.
Fire Underwriters' Inspection.
In August the National Board of Fire Underwriters made an inspection of the fire-fighting facilities of this city, and in an exhaustive report issued later have taken occasion to commend the water department in the following conclusions :-
Records .- Generally satisfactory.
Supply .- Ample and reliable.
Consumption .- Not excessive for a city of this character. Pressure .- Satisfactory and well maintained.
Main Arteries .- Have frequent connections to a generally well-connected and adequate system of secondary feeders.
Minor Distributers .- The small mains will not furnish satis- factory engine supply unless well gridironed and reinforced at frequent intervals by larger ones. In general, these conditions are fairly well fulfilled, but there are some well-built-up sections in need of improvement.
398
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Condition of Mains .- Available evidence indicates generally good interior conditions of mains.
Gate Valves .- The system is generally well equipped with gate valves.
Hydrants .- Hydrants are well spaced, except in rapidly- growing sections ; usually of fairly satisfactory type. Those in- spected found in good condition.
The recommendations following the Underwriters' report are for the most part in line with the policy long since adopted by the water commissioner, and which is being made effective as fast as conditions will permit.
Water Assessments and Consumption.
The annual assessments paid by this city as its proportionate part of the cost and operation of the metropolitan water works are given below :-
Year.
Sinking Fund.
Maintenance.
Interest.
Total. $14,250 19
1893
No division made 66 66
20,975 58
1900
66
66 .6
28,689 24
1901
$12,491 73
$12,033 79
$32,291 24
56,816 76
1902
19,014 85
12,955 64
30,427 40
62,397 89
1903
15,748 56
12,763 10
48.776 77
77,288 43
1904
16,404 42
15,393 87
54,938 64
86,736 93
1905
21,358 11
13.666 71
55,535 91
90,560 73
1906
22,345 50
17,412 51
57,402 07
97,160 08
$534,875 83
There has been credited to the city by the commonwealth as its proportion of the amounts received from entrance fees, water supplied outside the district, and water furnished to water companies the sum of $9,056.10.
Once again has the legislature changed the basis of appor- tionment of the annual water tax levied by the state on the cities and towns in the metropolitan water district, so that hereafter the city of Boston will pay for its water on the same terms as the rest of the district, viz., one-third on the city's valuation and two- thirds on its consumption of water, instead of wholly on its valuation, as heretofore; the result of this legislation will be, undoubtedly, to considerably increase the annual water assess- ment of this city from what it would be under the former basis. The ultimate result may, however, be beneficial to the district if it should lead our sister city to curtail her present extravagant use and waste of water, assisting thereby in the postponement of the large expenditures which may be required in the future for the acquisition and construction of additional water supply.
The daily consumption of water in Somerville, as recorded
1899
HICH SERVICE
1.80'.
1-70
1.80
1.60.
1000
1:70
150
1.60
140.
1:50
1:30 .
1900
:1.40
1905
1-20.
.130
1.10.
1:20
1.10
--
1.00
19.05 -
.90
1906
00
--
10
-
NON
09.
LOW SERVICE
MILLION GALLONS PER DAY
6.0
1906
5.0
1903
0061
1905
40
1905
1205
1926
/
1905
3.0
week ending
9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27 3 10 11 24 1 8 15 22 29
--
1
906
--
3.0
1506
2.0
NOV
DEC
6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 3 10 19 24 31 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 55
JUNE
JULY
SEPT
OCT
.80
·70 !
-
9068 1905
MAY
Neck ending 6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 / 8 15 22 29 6 19 20 27 3 10 11 24 1 8 15 22 29
1905
-
1906
1.0
1905
90 .
906/1
1.00
1925_
/
1905
906/
MILLION GALLONS PER DAY
WATER CONSUMPTION. IN SOMERVILLE DURING YEARS 1905 AND 1906 full line shows Average Rate, Dotted Line shows Minimum Rate.
1
WATER DEPARTMENT.
399
by the Venturi meters, operated by the metropolitan water works, is shown below by months for the year 1906 :-
Month.
Gallons.
Month.
Gallons.
January
6,154,700
July
6,523,300
February
6,191,300
August
6,703,700
March
5,825,800
September
6,529,100
April
5,707,000
October
6,342,700
May
6,363,900
November
6,037,300
June
6,620,900
December
6,591,800
The total consumption for the year is 2,299,865,000 gallons, making an average daily consumption of 6,301,000 gallons.
The chart shown herewith indicates graphically the con- sumption of water in this city during the years 1905 and 1906 on both the high-service and low-service systems. The full line represents the average daily consumption of water, and the dotted line the average daily rate of consumption during the pe- riod of minimum use or between the hours of one and five in the morning. The difference of the quantities indicated as average daily consumption and minimum consumption shows approxi- mately the legitimate use of water in gallons, while the line rep- resenting the minimum flow shows clearly that a large quantity of water is lost through defective pipes and fixtures, and, espe- cially in the cold months, through allowing water to run to waste to prevent freezing. In the high-service system the line com- mences the year at an average daily consumption of 1,340,000 gallons, and closes at 1,420,000, with a minimum of 1,260,000 gallons in the week ending March 10, and a maximum of 1,810,000 on June 30. The night flow of water is more regu- lar, starting the year at an average of 840,000 gallons per day, and closing at the same figure, with a minimum of 640,000 on November 17, and a maximum of 940,000 February 10. The large increase in consumption commencing May 10 is undoubt- cdly due to the commercial use of water by a railway company for the time being, and is not expected to continue. In the low- service system the 1906 consumption starts at an average of 4,700,000 gallons per day, and closes the year at 4,900,000, with a minimum of 4,200,000 March 17, and a maximum of 5,700,000 during the cold period of December 15, while the minimum line reaches its lowest point November 3 at 2,200,000, and its highest during the cold season of January and February at 4,000,000.
The average daily quantity of water used in Somerville dur- ing 1906 remains the same as in the previous year, viz., eighty- nine gallons per inhabitant, while the average for the entire water district has fallen one gallon, or to 128 gallons per day for each inhabitant.
The following table shows the daily per capita consumption of water in the cities and towns in the metropolitan water district for the year 1906, as registered by the metropolitan meters :-
400
ANNUAL REPORTS.
For the
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Year.
Boston
158 162 154 146 149 151 148 149 149 143 141 165 151
Somerville
88
88 83
81
90
93
92
94
92
89
84
92 89
Malden
51
50
49
50
52 54
55
53
54
48
48
49 51
Chelsea
102 117
106
92
89
92
93
97
82
80
74
69
87
107
Medford
91
94
90
90 104 105 103 108 117 104
96 101 100
Melrose
112 111 109 111 113 106 108 110 113 107 101 106 109
Revere
67
74
73
66
80
97
99 104
93
73
68
85
82
Watertown
60
59
60
64
73
74
70
69
71
71
82
76
43
44
49
Winthrop
96 106 127 135 145 131 107
Stoneham
62
63
59
62
67
69
69
76
84
78
69
Belmont
38
38
45
54
76
77
71
76
98
92
79
68
66
62 79 71
The district, in order of per capita consumption, beginning with the lowest, stands as follows :-
1-Milton
49
8-Everett 81
2-Malden
51 9-Revere
82
3-Belmont
62
10-Somerville
89
4-Watertown
67 11-Chelsea
97
5 -- Stoneham
69 12-Medford
100
6-Nahant
71 13-Quincy
107
7-Lexington
79 14-Melrose
109
7-Swampscott
79 15-Winthrop
113
8-Arlington
81 16-Boston
151
98
104
98
60
62
74
97 101
96 68
80
82
48 68
85
74 76 66 79
Swampscott
87
75
68
71
74
78
87
96
88
65
52
56
67
Arlington
70
75
72
72
88
90
83
87
Milton
36
35
39
62
64
56
61
97
87
Everett
83
91
84
80
83
80
Quincy
105 107 108 103 112 117 109 113 115
99
95
97
It is noticeable that the municipalities which are largely metered have the smallest per capita consumption of water; it is not to be supposed that the residents of these towns stint them- selves in the legitimate use of water for domestic, sanitary, or other purposes ; the only inference that can be drawn, after mak- ing proper allowance for the varying commercial and public use of water in the several localities, is that the difference in per capita consumption of water in metered and unmetered cities represents approximately the per capita waste of water. If this enormous waste can be stopped or greatly restricted, it will save unnecessary burdens, not only upon the people of this water dis- trict, but upon residents of other portions of the commonwealth, whose properties and business interests will be impaired by the taking of lands for further extension of the metropolitan water system.
Electrolysis.
Several service pipes have been injured by electrolytic action during the year, and while the number is not large, it is sufficient to give warning of what is going on through this agency, and to
Nahant
62
68
62
63
69
74
Total
132 136 129 123 128 130 127 129 129 122 119 138 128
94
61
47
69 61 76
81
110 113
Lexington
57
92
98 72
71
83 113 97 81
Wachusett Aqueduct - Crossing Assabet River. METROPOLITAN WATER WORKS.
-
---
-
401
WATER DEPARTMENT.
prepare us for a probable large expenditure of money for re- newals of pipes as the process of disintegration continues. The trouble is caused primarily by the escape of electric currents from the street railway tracks, and it is found to exist not only in close proximity to the tracks, but to some extent along the line of the mains of the New England Gas and Coke Company, which ap- pear to gather up and convey considerable quantities of these stray currents from one section to another, and, on their way, to work injury to the pipes of our water system. Other than through proper action on the part of the electric railway com- panies in returning the currents by insulated wires, instead of through the rails and earth, no satisfactory means has yet been discovered for the protection of water pipes from the serious in- jury impending from electrolytic decomposition.
Grounding of Wires.
Arrangements have been made whereby the Edison Electric Illuminating Company is permitted to ground the secondary wires of its electric lighting service to the water pipes in build- ings supplied with its current. Satisfactory evidence was ob- tained from experts that no probable injury would be caused to the water pipes from this source, but an indemnity bond was re- quired from the company to cover any damage that might pos- sibly result to property or person on account of such connections, and an annual payment to the city of $500 was agreed upon to cover the cost of inspection and incidental expenses.
Metropolitan Water Works.
As the construction of these works is, for the present, prac- tically completed, it may be interesting to our people to have a brief description of the main features of this great undertaking, that they may know where the water supply comes from and for what purpose the vast expenditure of money has been made for which they are contributing annually their proper share. Some ask even yet if our water is drawn as formerly from the Mystic lakes; that supply, however, was abandoned on January 1, 1898, and no water has since been used from that source.
The metropolitan water works were constructed for the pur- pose of furnishing water to Boston and neighboring municipali- ties whose local supplies had become inadequate or of inferior quality. The need of such action had become apparent in the year 1892, and in 1893 a bill was passed by the legislature direct- ing the state board of health to investigate the subject. In Feb- ruary, 1895, the board presented its report to the legislature rec- ommending the taking of the water of the south branch of the Nashua river. at a point above the Lancaster mills in the town of Clinton, and the construction of the necessary works for utilizing this supply in conjunction with other sources of supply then in use by the city of Boston. The Metropolitan Water Act, Chapter
402
ANNUAL REPORTS.
488, of the Acts of 1895, provided that the governor should ap- point three water commissioners, who should constitute the met- ropolitan water board, and that this board should construct, maintain, and operate a system of water works substantially as recommended by the state board of health.
By the act this board was directed to take the waters of the Nashua river at a suitable point in the town of Clinton, about thirty-five miles westward from Boston; to construct a dam and reservoir for the storage of the waters; to build an aqueduct from the dam at Clinton, about twelve miles long, to the partially completed Sudbury reservoir in the town of Southborough; to complete this reservoir and connect it with the Sudbury aqueduct of the city of Boston; to take from the city of Boston the Cochituate, Sudbury, and Mystic systems, which were the sources of its water supply, and the Chestnut-hill reservoir and pumping station ; also to take Spot pond, in the town of Stone- ham, which was then used as a water supply by Malden, Medford; and Melrose ; and to lay the main pipes required to supply each of the municipalities embraced within the water district.
It was provided that the commonwealth should issue bonds to an amount not exceeding $27,000,000 (afterwards increased to $10,000,000), the proceeds of which should be applied to meet the expenditures occasioned by the various operations of the board. A sinking fund was established for the payment of the loan at its maturity, and assessments were required to be made upon the several municipalities included within the district suffi- cient to meet the cost of maintenance and interest on the in- debtedness, and for contributions to a sinking fund sufficient to secure the payment of the indebtedness at maturity.
The metropolitan water district now consists of the cities of Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Newton, Quincy, Somerville, and the towns of Arlington, Belmont, Hyde Park, Lexington, Melrose, Milton, Nahant, Revere, Stoneham, Water- town, and Winthrop. Under provisions of the act, any one of the other cities and towns, any part of which is within a radius of ten miles of the state house, may, on application, be admitted into the district upon payment of such sum of money as may be determined by the board. Under authority of the original and subsequent acts, water is also supplied to the town of Swamp- scott and to a portion of the town of Saugus, both of which are without the limits of the district.
The nineteen municipalities within the district as now estab- lished had, according to the census of 1905, a population of 946,300, and the population supplied from the metropolitan works in the same year was 902,000.
Water supplied by the metropolitan water works is obtained from three sources, the Nashua river; the Sudbury river, and Lake Cochituate. The two latter sources had been previously acquired by the city of Boston, and works for storing and con-
403
WATER DEPARTMENT.
.
veying the water therefrom had been constructed by that city. The construction of works on the Nashua river was begun by the metropolitan water board in 1895, and was practically completed last year. The works at present comprise the
Wachusett reservoir on the Nashua river, capacity, 63,000,- 000,000 gallons ;
Eight storage reservoirs on the Sudbury river watershed, with a combined capacity of 13,616,100,000 gallons ;
Lake Cochituate, capacity, 2,242,400,000 gallons ;
Wachusett aqueduct for conveying water from the Wachu- sett reservoir to the Sudbury reservoir, capacity, 300,000,000 gal- lons per day ;
Weston aqueduct and reservoir for conveying water from the Sudbury reservoir to the metropolitan district, capacity of aqueduct, 300,000,000 gallons per day ;
Sudbury aqueduct for conveying water from the reservoirs on the Sudbury river to Chestnut-hill reservoir, capacity, 103,- 000,000 gallons per day ;
Cochituate aqueduct for conveying water from Lake Cochituate to Chestnut-hill reservoir, capacity, 18,000,000 gal- lons per day ;
Chestnut-hill reservoir, which receives and stores water sup- plied through the Sudbury and Cochituate aqueducts, and from which water is pumped for supplying the metropolitan district ;
Five pumping stations located at Chestnut-hill reservoir, Spot pond, West Roxbury, and Arlington, containing thirteen pumping engines, having an aggregate capacity of 204,500,000 gallons in twenty-four hours ;
Six distributing reservoirs, of which Spot pond is the largest, and two standpipes, located in the metropolitan district, having a combined capacity of 1,881,230,000 gallons;
Eighty-four and two-tenths miles of pipes, ranging in size from sixty inches to twelve inches in diameter, through which water is delivered to the nineteen municipalities in the district.
The greatest undertaking in connection with the metro- politan water works was the construction of the Wachusett res- ervoir and dam. The reservoir is located in the towns of Clin- ton, Boylston, and West Boylston, and is formed by a dam across the south branch of the Nashua river, located about half a mile above the settled portion of the town of Clinton, and by two earth dikes, one on either side of the valley, a short distance above the main dam.
The river above the dam has a drainage area of 118.32 square miles. The reservoir is 8.41 miles long, with a maximum width of two miles, an area of 4,195 acres, or 6.56 square miles, and a capacity of 63,068,000,000 gallons. The maximum depth of water will be 129 feet; the average depth, forty-six feet.
In constructing the reservoir the soil was stripped from 3,943 acres of the submerged area to an average depth of one
404
ANNUAL REPORTS.
foot, the quantity removed being 6,900,000 cubic yards, and over about 150 acres where there were deep deposits of muck, gravel was spread to a depth of one foot. The land required for the reservoir contained six large mills, eight schoolhouses, four churches, and about 360 dwelling houses occupied by 1,700 people.
In order to provide a new location for the Central Massa- chusetts railroad, which ran for six and one-half miles through the reservoir site, about four and one-half miles of new railroad was built, the construction including a rock tunnel 1,110 feet long, a steel viaduct 917 feet long crossing the valley of the Nashua river, with a maximum height of 133 feet, and 1,500 linear feet of rock cut having a maximum depth of fifty-six feet.
The construction of the reservoir necessitated the discon- tinuance of nineteen and one-fourth miles of roads and the con- struction of 11.8 miles of new roads, one of which crosses the reservoir on an embankment 700 feet long and from fifty to seventy feet in height.
The Wachusett dam is a granite masonry structure, com- prising the main dam with abutments at each end, 971 feet in length crossing the valley of the river, a waste weir 452 feet long, over which the flood waters can be discharged into a chan- nel 1,150 feet long excavated in rock along the hillside to the river channel below the dam, and a corewall fifty-three feet long extending easterly beyond the terminal structures. The total length of the masonry of the dam, including the corewall, is 1,476 feet ; the length of the main dam between terminal structures is 838 feet.
The top of the dam is twenty feet above high-water level in the reservoir, and 415 feet above Boston City base; the height of the top of the dam from the point of lowest foundation is 208.3 feet, and the maximum thickness is about 185 feet. The stone masonry has amounted to 263,412 cubic yards, the brick and concrete masonry to 10,761 cubic yards, and there have been used in the work 81,103 barrels of Portland cement and 182,480 barrels of natural cement.
Passing through the dam there are four forty-eight-inch cast-iron pipes, with their bottoms at elevation 284 above Boston city base, or 111 feet below high water in the reservoir. These pipes connect with circular vertical wells which extend to above high-water mark. Two wells are provided for each pipe, the up-stream one containing two 21x6 feet sluice gates at levels 33.5 and 65.5 below high water, through which water can be ad- mitted from the reservoir to the down-stream well, and thence into the pipe. Water is admitted to each of the up-stream wells through six ports in the masonry, each eight feet high and 2.5 feet wide. On the down-stream side of the ports there are three pairs of composition grooves, in which can be placed screens and stop planks so arranged as to draw the water from the reser-
METROPOLITAN WATER WORKS.
Wachusett Dam, Showing Railroad Viaduct and Highway Bridge over Waste Channel.
405
WATER DEPARTMENT.
voir at any desired depth. The chamber containing the appa- iatus for operating the gates and screens is built in the dam above high-water level and entirely below the top of the dam. The four lines of forty-eight-inch pipes, after passing through the dam, enter the lower gate chamber, which is designed to receive machinery for utilizing the power of the water as it falls from the reservoir to the Wachusett aqueduct, and also serves as a head-house for the aqueduct. This building contains valves for controlling the flow of water into the aqueduct or into pipes which discharge into a masonry pool 150 feet in diameter, front which it flows into the river channel. The cost of construction of the dam has been about $2,200,000. .
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