USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lincoln > Town Report on Lincoln 1906-1910 > Part 31
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
The matter has been in the hands of the Honorable Nathan Matthews, counsel for the Town, and its present status is given in the letter of which we append a copy with the documents to which the letter refers. We be- lieve that this states the position accurately, and we hope that the legislature will recognize the importance of relieving Sandy Pond from the draughts made by Concord which the pond is wholly inadequate to supply.
MOORFIELD STOREY, CHARLES S. WHEELER, JULIUS E. EVELETH.
91
BOSTON, Feb. 16, 1910.
HON. MOORFIELD STOREY, Exchange Building,
Boston, Mass.
DEAR MR. STOREY :-
The present situation of the Sandy Pond case is as follows :---
(1) Inhabitants of Lincoln v. Inhabitants of Concord.
This case is still pending in the Supreme Judicial Court for Middlesex County. The parties are at issue; the cause has been referred to a Master; the preparation of the case for the Town of Lincoln has been completed; and I am ready to try the case at any time.
(2) Action of the State Board of Health.
At my suggestion, the Lincoln Water Board, under date of April 21, applied to the State Board of Health for a re- examination of the joint use of the Pond, and a reversal of the position taken by the Board in its letter of April 5, 1906. On June 3, 1909, the Board, upon consideration of the additional information collected for the Town during the past winter, issued an opinion practically reversing its former decision.
(3) Action of the Town of Concord with respect to Nagog Pond.
Either by reason of the attitude taken by the Town of Lincoln with respect to the continued use of Sandy Pond, or for independent reasons of its own, the Town of Concord has, under legislative authority, laid pipes to Nagog Pond, and is now receiving a large part of its supply from that source. We are informed that with a relatively slight additional expense for larger mains in one section of the pipe line, it would be possible for Concord to procure its entire water supply from Nagog Pond.
(4) Negotiations with the Town of Concord.
As soon as the preparation of the Lincoln side of the case had been completed, negotiations were opened with
92
counsel for the Town of Concord for an amicable settle- ment of the case. These negotiations are still in progress; and the outlook for a favorable settlement would be good if it were not for the insistence of the Concord Water Board upon a money payment by the Town of Lincoln.
(5) Application to the State Legislature.
In January of this year the Lincoln Water Board, at my suggestion, filed a petition with the General Court for an act repealing the rights of Concord in Sandy Pond. This petition and accompanying bill were referred to the joint committee on water supply, and a hearing has been set for March 3.
Although the case is ready for trial at any time on the part of the Town of Lincoln, I am in favor, on the whole, of threshing the matter out first before the joint commit- tee on water supply of the State Legislature.
I sent you at the time a copy of the report of the State Board of Health, of June 3, 1909, and I now enclose copies of the petition and accompanying bill submitted by the Town of Lincoln to the General Court; also a copy of the letter addressed by the Lincoln Water Board to the State Board of Health, under date of April 21, 1909.
Yours very truly,
N. MATTHEWS.
93
(Copy)
OFFICE OF STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, STATE HOUSE.
BOSTON, June 3, 1909.
To the Board of Water Commissioners of the Town of Lincoln:
MR. GEORGE L. CHAPIN, Chairman.
GENTLEMEN :- -
The State Board of Health received from you on April 22, 1909, the following communication relative to the use of Sandy Pond in Lincoln as a source of water supply for the Towns of Lincoln and Concord :-
"The Water Board of the Town of Lincoln respectfully asks the advice of the State Board of Health concerning the further joint use of Sandy Pond by the Towns of Lincoln and Concord. Since the request of January 29 1906, and the letter of the Board of Health dated April 5' 1906, the undersigned have had the problem carefully examined, new data not know at that time have been discovered, and we think that upon a re-examination of the matter the Board will conclude that the further joint use of the pond is inadvisable.
The undersigned also request the privilege of submitting the information collected by them in detail to your Honor- able Board."
This question was considered by the Board in response to a request from the Town of Lincoln in 1906, and the Board advised that it was not essential that the use of water from the pond be immediately restricted but that means be provided as soon as practicable for measuring with reasonable accuracy all the water drawn or discharged from Sandy Pond, and that observations be made of the height of water, so that its yield and capacity could be
94
determined and the use of water from the pond restricted to the amount that it is capable of supplying continuously.
The Board has in response to your request caused a further examination of the pond to be made and has ex- amined the available records of the quantity of water used by the Towns of Concord and Lincoln and the height of water in the pond.
The level of the water in the pond at the time of the previous reply of the Board was 3 feet below full pond. During the dry season of 1908 it fell nearly to a level of 7 feet below full pond, and the rainfall of the present year, though considerably greater than the average up to the present time, has raised the level of the water only to a point about 5 feet below high water.
· It is evident that the present rate of use of water from this pond is greater than the amount it is capable of sup- plying in a long series of years, and if its use is to continue at the present rate the quantity of water in the pond will diminish until it becomes practically exhausted.
A new survey of the pond during the past year shows that there is a considerable area near the Lincoln intake over which the depth of water is only about 12 feet at full pond. The bottom of this area is covered deeply with mud and there appears to be much danger that, unless the level of the pond is allowed to rise, vegetation will grow in this shallow area. Moreover, vegetation is springing up on the exposed shores of the pond, which have now been uncovered for several years. For these reasons a continu- ation of the conditions of the past months is likely to have an unfavorable effect on the quality of the water, and, in the opinion of the Board, the use of water should be di- minished to a quantity which will allow the pond to fill in years of ordinary rainfall.
Since January, 1908, the quantity of water used in the Town of Concord has been measured through a Venturi meter. In Lincoln, a Venturi meter has also recently
95
been installed to measure more definitely than it was practicable by the pumping records the quantity of water used. The records are not very satisfactory but the re- sults of the available measurements indicate that the quantity of water used in both towns is very large, and it is probable, in the opinion of the Board, that the draft of water from the pond could be very materially reduced, possibly by the stoppage of leakage from the main pipes or by the use of meters on all service pipes.
Calculations show that the pond is probably capable of yielding in the neighborhood of 600,000 gallons per day, and the Board advises that the use of water from the pond be restricted to that quantity until the pond has filled again. The Board is informed that the Town of Concord has already taken steps to secure an additional supply of water from another source, so that it will ap- parently soon be practicable to restrict the use of water to a quantity well within the amount indicated.
By order of the Board,
WM. C. HANSON, Acting Secretary.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
In the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ten.
AN ACT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. The Town of Concord shall not hereafter draw any water from the pond called Sandy Pond in the Town of Lincoln, and all rights to draw water from said pond heretofore given to the said Town of Concord are hereby revoked.
SEC. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
96
BOSTON, April 21, 1909.
To the State Board of Health:
GENTLEMEN :-
The Water Board of the Town of Lincoln respectfully asks the advice of the State Board of Health concerning the further joint use of Sandy Pond by the Towns of Lincoln and Concord. Since the request of January 29, 1906, and the letter of the Board of Health dated April 5, 1906, the undersigned have had the problem carefully ex- amined, new data not known at that time have been dis- coverd, and we think that upon a re-examination of the matter the Board will conclude that the further joint use of the pond is inadvisable. The undersigned also request the privilege of submitting the information collected by them in detail to your Honorable Board.
Respectfully, GEORGE L. CHAPIN, Chairman Water Commissioners.
97
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of · the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court · Assembled.
The undersigned, citizens of Lincoln, respectfully rep- resent that the Towns of Lincoln and Concord have de- rived their public water supplies from Sandy Pond in the Town of Lincoln during many years past; that the said pond is totally inadequate to supply more than the reason- able demands of the town of Lincoln; that the effect of the use of the said pond by the Town of Concord has been to impair the adequacy of the supply for the Town of Lincoln and to impair its quality; that the Town of Concord has under legislative authority recently acquired a new and adequate supply of water from Nagog Pond; and that there is no reason why the said Town of Concord should con- tinue to draw water from said Sandy Pond.
WHEREFORE, your petitioners pray that the gen- eral court will prohibit the said Town of Concord from hereafter drawing any water from said Sandy Pond, or will limit the amount of water which may be drawn there- from by said town of Concord, or the seasons at which it may be drawn in such manner as may seem to the general court wise.
MOORFIELD . STOREY, Chairman Committee on Claims.
GEORGE L. CHAPIN, Chairman Water Commissioners. C. LEE TODD,
Selectman.
98
Water Commissioners' Report.
The Water Commissioners respectfully submit the following report for the year ending Jan. 31, 1910 :-
At the last Annual Meeting it was voted to extend the water pipe from the State Highway to a point opposite the house of Martin Neville. The pipe and fittings for this extension were purchased by the Commissioners, and the contract for digging and laying the same was awarded to Cunningham Bros., the lowest bidder, at 24 cents per lineal ft., and $2.75 per cubic yard for rock excavation.
The following is the cost of the same :-
Cunningham Bros.
1,616 ft. @ 24 cts.,
$387 84
88₺ cubic yards rock, @ $2.75,
242 68
Setting Hydrant,
1 00
Teaming,
35 25
$666 77
Chapman Valve Mfg. Co., Hydrant and Gate,
$33 71
Davis & Farnum Mfg. Co., Specials,
3 44
Freight and Express,
65 50
M. J. Drummond & Co., Pipe,
339 06
Total cost,
$1,108 48
Due Cunningham Bros., 10% Reserve held for 6 months, $66 67
The water in the pond was so low in October that it became necessary to extend the suction pipe into deeper
99
water; some new pipe 16" in diameter was cast by Davis & Farnum Mfg. Co. and this pipe was connected with the old pipe in the screen well, through one of the ports and supported on piling outside, since that time the water has been taken from a lower level. All of this work has been done under the supervision of the Superintendent at a cost of $252.63.
This pipe is intended as a temporary arrangement, to be removed when the pond fills again. The water in the pond was lower last year than ever before, at one time reaching 8 ft. below the top of the flash board at the out- let, and the quality has not been so good since drawing from a lower level.
We feel that the time has now come when the Town should assert its prior right in Sandy Pond.
The general condition of the works is the same as last year; seven new services have been added.
Water rates amounting to $11,208.25 have been collected, and $125.77 remain uncollected; of this amount $32.00 is [partially offset by a bill of $25.27 and $13.50 for a note due Jan. 1, 1910. .
· The water has been shut off from three services for the non-payment of bills, amounting to $80.27.
The revenue received the past year has been larger than any preceeding year, there have been however unusual construction expenses.
We are of the opinion that during the next few years or until the $1,000 bonds now becoming due each year are paid, the expenditures for the Water Works should be limited to the actual necessities of the Works.
GEORGE L. CHAPIN, JOSEPH S. HART, STEPHEN H. BLODGETT, Water Commissioners.
100
WATER.
Payments.
Jas. T. Laird, Services as Supt. and Engineer, $1,001 00
Jas. T. Laird, Cash Paid for Sundries, 4 37
National Express Co., Express, 38 00
Boston & Maine R.R., Freight, 73 83
Lossie E. Laird, Reading Meters, 7 22
J. A. W. Hunter, Reading Meters, 21 00
S. R. Snelling, Coal, 801 41
F. E. Cousins & Co., Coal,
94 25
First National Bank, Coupons,
1,617 50
Town Treasurer, Coupons,
1,395 00
Town Treasurer, Payment of Water Bonds,
1,000 00
Town Treasurer, Payment Coupons,
722 50
A. J. Dougherty, Labor,
94 25
Boston & Maine R.R .,
7 15
Isaac N. MacRae,
112 02
S. Mariano,
4 54
M. H. Doherty, Carriage Hire, etc.,
40 25
Builders Iron Foundry, Supplies,
369 00
Dean Steam Pipe Co.,
28 46
Walworth Mfg. Co.,
23 58
Braman, Dow & Co.,
71 53
C. W. Trainer Mfg. Co.,
66
12 28
Wadsworth, Howland Co.,
2 95
Davis & Farnum Mfg. Co.,
66
202 94
National Meter Co.,
6
19 70
George E. Winslow,
21 01
Boston Steam Pipe Repair & Supply Co., 66
25 80
Chapman Valve Co., 6
74 06
Union Water Meter Co.,
66
19 12
Eagle Oil & Supply Co.,
66
175 75
Hodge Boiler Works,
66
23 54
101
New England Nursery Co.,
Supplies
$ 7 36
Chadwick Boston Lead Co.,
17 70
Library Bureau,
"
28 50
Waltham Coal Co.,
6 75
Laidlow D. & G. Co.,
11 50
M. J. Drummond & Co.,
339 06
Buttrick Lumber Co.,
17 28
Yale & Towne Co.,
95
Wilfred Wheeler,
8 23
E. B. Badger & Sons Co.,
17 00
Waldo Bros.,
12 24
Ames Plow Co., 66
3 09
J. L. Chapin & Son,
16 62
H. S. Cousins & Co.,
66
7 50
Matthew Ellsworth,
5 00
J. F. Farrar & Son,
202 37
R. D. Donaldson,
66
10 68
N. E. Tel. & Tel. Co.,
66
85 79
Cunningham Bros.,
631 35
Frank Cunningham,
32 27
P. J. Whelan,
5 90
Nathan Matthews, Legal Services,
500 00
C. F. Eveleth, Telephone Expense ,
98
William C. Pierce, Rent of Land,
5 00
Charles S. Smith, Water Commissioner,
50 00
Joseph S. Hart, Water Commissioner,
50 00
Charles S. Wheeler, Water Commissioner,
50 00
Stephen H. Blodgett, Water Commissioner,
50 00
Geo. L. Chapin, Water Commissioner,
50 00
Geo. L. Chapin, Collector,
150 00
Lincoln Press Printing,
2 10
Winter Hill Publishing Co., Printing,
2 25
C. L. Todd, Treas. Sinking Fund,
2,173 37
66
Total, $12,654 85
PROFIT AND LOSS Year ending Feb. 1, 1910.
DR.
Cr.
To Expense,
$ 100 33
By Water,
$11,334 02
Salaries,
1,449 53
Interest,
3,196 21
Repairs and renewals,
869 46
Fuel,
1,030 66
Net gain for year,
4,687 83
$11,334 02
$11,334 02 102
ASSETS.
LIABILITIES.
Construction, Cash,
$165,496 02
Bonds outstanding, Surplus,
$84,000 00
2,096 67
91,889 65
Fuel on hand,
95 00
Sinking Fund,
8,076 19
Water Bills Uncollected,
125 77
$175,889 65
$175,889 65
103
OUTSTANDING WATER BONDS.
Issue of 1894, due one each year
$5,000 00
Issue of 1897, due 1917,
10,000 00
Issue of 1900, due 1930,
23,000 00
Issue of 1902, due 1932,
9,000 00
Issue of 1903, due 1933,
5,000 00
Issue of 1904, due 1934,
5,000 00
Issue of 1906, due 1936,
14,000 00
Issue of 1907, due 1937,
4,000 00
Issue of 1907, due $500 each year,
9,000 00
$84,000 00
WATER RECEIPTS.
Domestic,
$7,398 97
Meters
3,809 28
$11,208 25
Uncollected, 1909.
125 77
$11,334 02
104
Report of Tree Warden.
The Tree Warden submits the following report of money expended and work done during the year ending January 31, 1910 :-
The sum appropriated by the Town, at its last annual meeting, to be spent, if so much was needed, under the direction of the Tree Warden, was $3,500, as compared with an appropriation of $6,500 on the same account for the previous year. The gross amount so expended during the previous year (1908-9) was $10,467.63. Of this, however, the Town was reimbursed in the sum of $5,000 by the State, leaving a balance of $5,467.63, to be met from the Town treasury. But of this balance $3,225.15 repre- sents the cost of three sprayers, in nature of permanent plant; leaving a net amount of $2,242.48 met from Town funds on account of labor and material under all heads during the Town year in question (1908-9).
The gross amount expended by the Tree Warden during the last year (1909-10) on like account, was $5,471.83. Of this, the sum of $2,084.18 was reimbursed to the Town by the State, and a further sum of $944.91 has been paid in and $246.03 is due from private owners on whose land work was done, leaving a net expenditure of $2,196.71 of Town money. Including the above sum there thus remains an unexpended balance of $1,303.29 in the Town treasury to the credit of the Tree Warden.
In this connection it is interesting to compare the gross expenditure in Lincoln with the expenditures for similar work in neighboring towns. As nearly as can be ascer- tained, the gross amounts expended on account of insect-
105
pest work done during the year ending December 31st was in the towns specified, as follows :-
Wayland
$4,736.87
Bedford
5,997.23
· Waltham 9,451.07
Concord 10,797.28
Lexington
12,287. 17
Weston
15,228.94
It would thus appear that Lincoln has, in comparison with the Towns adjacent to it, spent less within its limits during the year just ended than any of the neighboring communities, with the single exception of Wayland. In addition to the amount paid out from the Town treasury, the National Government, acting through Superintendent Rogers, has also spent a very considerable sum, having about three times as many men at work within the Town limits as the Town itself has had. Thus when the money put out by the United States government and that repaid by the State government are taken into consideration, it would appear that Lincoln has had no cause of complaint. It has received liberal assistance from outside sources. As the work proposed to be done by the United States government is now nearly finished, it being mainly con- fined to roads backed by woods, the Tree Warden takes this occasion to put on record his sense of the great obliga- tion the Town is under to Superintendent Rogeis, both for amount of work done and for its quality. Throughout, Mr. Rogers has shown great willingness to help Lincoln out and it is matter for regret that the excellent forestry done under his direction along the borders of our wood- roads, could not be extended over the whole of the tracts adjacent thereto.
As nearly as can be estimated, there are 8,700 acres of land in Lincoln, of which in round numbers 5000 acres
106
are covered by wood, much the greater part of it in a comparatively wild state. It is, consequently, manifest that the amount put at the disposal of the Tree Warden cannot be made to suffice for the proper care of the terri- tory under his supervision. The Town appropriation would average only about 70 cents to an acre; whereas it would be not unsafe to estimate that a proper and thor- ough care of the whole area, including roadside and ornamental trees, and its protection against insect pests, 'would cost, on an average, at least $3.50 an acre, or in the neighborhood of $30,000. The main question with the Tree Warden, therefore, is one of policy,-How to spend the amount at his disposal in such ways as to accomplish the greatest amount of effective work? On consultation with the advisory committee appointed by the town, it appeared at once that the present law of the Common- wealth, regulating gypsy-moth work done on private lands, was in no way applicable to Lincoln, or towns of the same character as Lincoln. It provided only that work might in case of necessity be done by the Town officials on private lands, the owners of which could be taxed therefor to an amount not in excess of one-half of one per cent. on the assessed value of the property. But in the case of Lincoln a large portion of the area most liable to the depredations of the gypsy moth is wild wood- land, assessed at a valuation of perhaps $10.00 an acre at most; while the cost of effectively treating the same could hardly be less than its entire assessed value. Thus, for much of the money expended by it for the protection and benefit of private property, the Town would be reimbursed to the extent of one-half of one per cent. of the amount by it annually paid out ;- or, say, five cents an acre on land assessed at $10.00, and costing perhaps that amount to protect. The law as framed was evidently designed to meet- the case of wealthy suburban townships, and in no way conditions existing in Lincoln.
107
Under these circumstances, the recommendation of the advisory committee to the Tree Warden was for the adoption of a policy outlined in a circular, copies of which were sent to all property-holders in the Town.
Under the policy thus outlined the Town was to pro- vide for all roadside trees, and also all trees in public grounds, cemeteries, etc. The Town would, through its officials, also enter on private property, and care for the trees thereon, whenever the owners of said property so requested, the Town charging the owners the actual cost of the work done and material furnished; they agreeing to reimburse it fully therefor. In certain individual and exceptional cases also, where the prevalence of the moth would have acted as a center for pest development, it was decided that the Town would, with the consent of the owners, enter thereon and do work to such extent as seemed advisable, at the public cost. These cases were, however, of a wholly special character, and in each case to be disposed of as such, no precedent being thereby created. The sum of $25 was spent in this way.
· Acting upon the policy thus laid down, some thirty miles of road were treated by the sprayers, several miles having been gone over a second time; about 200 acres of woodland were also treated, much of it of the tallest growth. The spraying of the thirty miles specified cost in the neighborhood of $433; the detailed cost per mile being approximately $2.25 for teams, $2.75 for men, and $9.43} for poison and material. Either by the Tree Warden or by the government officials, all the roads in Town were sprayed. Of the woodland sprayed, the owners found part of the teams and men on 110 acres. About 90 acres were sprayed with no assistance of the owners, upon half of which the trees were climbed and sprayed down from the top; the average cost of this work was $6.40 per acre, -$1.33 for teams, $1.24 for labor, and $3.83 for poison,
108
48 pounds of arsenate of lead and 350 gallons of water being used to the acre.
While a very considerable amount of work has thus been done during the year, and the pest, to a certain extent, held in check, it is obvious that the remedy applied is of a partial character only, and that the gypsy moth is, in spite of the work done, rapidly increasing, and working its way into fresh areas. To any person curious to study its advance, it would, on any day toward the latter part of July, be instructive to go to the reservoir on Lincoln hill, and thence note the advance of the pest. The line of its severe and most ravaging work seems to move for- ward at the rate of one to two miles each year. During the coming season it will have about reached the centers of Billerica, Bedford, Lincoln and Weston. At the present rate of progress the entire area of Lincoln will probably be invaded within the next three years.
Under such circumstances the development of para- sites calculated to hold the pest in check, is of the utmost interest. This matter was referred to by the Tree Warden in his previous report. (Town Book, 1908-09, page 102.) The following from the report of the gypsy moth work along the North Shore for 1909 is also of interest :-
"Naturally it will be some years before these parasites can develop enough to secure the balance of power- because the gypsy moth are already present in such large numbers. All the best experts agree, however, that in a few years the parasite will develop and secure the balance of power in this country, as it has already done in all other countries where the gypsy moth is prevalent. In the mean time we must preserve all our most valuable wood- land near the shore by active, efficient and co-operative work."
It is hazardous to venture any predictions on this head. According to the best attainable information, it would seem that fair ground exists for hope that the energetic
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.