USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1897-1899 > Part 20
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SEC. 12. It shall be the duty of every person to whom any such permit may be granted, to place all his building ma- terials and rubbish on the place designated by the Selectmen; and, during the whole of every night, from twilight in the evening until the next morning keep lighted lanterns so placed as effectually to secure all travellers from liability to come in contact with such materials or rubbish.
SEC. 13. In case any person shall use any portion of such way for the purposes mentioned in the IIth section, without the permit, in writing, of the Selectmen, as therein provided, or for a longer time than so permitted, or shall fail to comply with the requisitions of the 12th section, the party so in de- fault shall forfeit and pay into the Town Treasury ten dol- lars for each offense, and shall also reimburse the Town all expenses by way of damages or otherwise, which the Town may be compelled to pay by reason of the way being en- cumbered.
SEC. 14. No person shall erect or maintain any sign over any street or sidewalk in this town.
SEC. 15. No person shall spit upon any sidewalk, in any
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street railroad car, on the floor, platform or walks of any railroad station, or in any church, hall or building of public entertainment, or in the entrances thereto.
HEALTH AND COMFORT.
SEC. 16. No person shall remove or drive, or cause to be driven, any cart or wagon containing night-soil between April Ist and December Ist, or drive or cause to be driven, any wagon or cart used for that purpose, through any street in the Town, between the hours of 5 A. M. and 10 P. M., nor permit any such wagon or cart to stand between said hours in any such street. Any person offending against this sec- tion shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars for each and every offense.
SEC. 17. No person shall put, leave, or throw any ani- mal or vegetable substance, or refuse matter of any kind, or any ashes, or sweepings, in any street, except with the writ- ten permission of the Superintendent of Streets, nor throw, lead, or permit soap suds, sink or waste water to flow into any street.
SEC. 18. Wherever the word "street" or "streets" is mentioned in these By-Laws, it should be understood as meaning all alleys, lanes, courts, public squares, and public places, including sidewalks and gutters, unless the contrary is expressed, or the construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent; and all fines shall be for the use of the treasury of the Town of Plymouth.
SEC. 19. The outside covering of any roof of any build- ing in the territory hereinafter described shall be repaired only with gravelled roofing or some incombustible material, unless permission is given in writing by the Selectmen, for the use of some other covering. Said By-Law shall apply to the territory included in the following bounds : Begin- ning at the harbor at the turn in Water street near the rail- road station, thence by Water street, Railroad avenue, Sa-
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moset street, Allerton street, North Russell street and Wil- lard place to Town Brook; thence in a straight line to the westerly end of Robinson street, thence by Robinson street, Pleasant street, North Green street and Bradford street to the harbor, thence by the harbor to the point of beginning. The penalty for any violation of this By-Law shall be a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars.
SEC. 20. From and after the first day of July, 1900, the wheels of all draft vehicles not hung upon springs, passing over or upon any highway of, and owned in this Town, shall have tires as follows :- If of four wheels, not less than three inches in width, and if of two wheels, not less than four inches in width. The owner or driver of any draft vehicle owned in this Town, who shall drive or suffer the same to be driven over any highway in this Town with tires contrary to these provisions, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five or more than twenty dollars for each offense.
SEC. 21. No person shall ring the door bell, or gong, or knock at, or open the door of, any dwelling-house, for the purpose of depositing therein, or leaving or calling attention to any placard, show bill, hand bill, or other advertisement.
SEC. 22. Any person who shall violate any provision of these By-Laws, in cases not otherwise provided for herein or by law, shall pay a penalty of not less than two, or more than twenty dollars.
SEC. 23. Upon the approval by the Superior Court of such of the foregoing By-Laws as said court may approve, the By-Laws of the Town adopted May 13, 1871, January 24, 1893, April 3, 1893, and June 15, 1895, shall be annulled and repealed.
Respectfully submitted, CHARLES S. DAVIS, BENJ. F. GODDARD, BENJ. A. HATHAWAY.
Committee.
EEL RIVER OUTLET.
REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTE.
The committee appointed under a vote passed at the an- nual meeting of the town in 1899, "To see what action the town will take in regard to restoring Eel River to its recent course to the harbor, and also in regard to making a new course for the river from the bridge now building to the sea," make the following partial report.
The length of the river from Warren avenue bridge to the harbor along its old course is about twenty-five hundred feet, and the cost of re-opening it would be about one thou- sand dollars. It would be useless, however, to re-open it while the beach remains in its present condition. In the storm of November, 1898, the beach was swept the whole distance from the bridge to the harbor, and should the old channel be now opened the first severe storm would refill it. If then it were now decided to restore the river to its old bed it would be necessary to build a breakwater twenty-five hun- dred feet in length to protect it. A breakwater of any prac- ticable use would cost not less than three dollars per foot, or $7,500, which sum, together with $1,000, the cost of digging out the river, it would be necessary for the town to expend, if it were determined to restore the old outlet at the present time. This the committee are not prepared to recommend, but think it judicious to await the issue of the work on the beach now going on under the direction of the general govern- ment, before deciding what in their opinion it is expedient for the town to do.
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If the breakwater, now in process of construction should be extended to the highway bridge, thus affording protection to the restored channel without expense to the town the ques- tion for the committee to consider will be whether on the whole it will be advisable to reopen the river at the expense of $1,000 on the one hand, or on the other hand to adopt with some protective features the present outlet to the sea. But if the government engineers should decide that the work now going on is intended for the protection of the harbor, and that the harbor extends no farther south than the river out- let the question for the town to decide will be whether it will reopen the channel at a cost of $1,000, and expend $7,500 in the construction of a breakwater to protect it. The com- mittee have had several interviews, through a sub-committee, with the government engineers, but as yet are unable to learn how far south their work will extend. Until this is deter- mined, the committee prefer to postpone the consideration of any recommendations to the town.
ELKANAH FINNEY. WM. T. DAVIS. E. R. MANTER. CHARLES I. LITCHFIELD.
W. S. HADAWAY. ALFRED HOLMES. E. W. HARLOW.
TOWN CONTROL OF WATER.
The committee appointed at the town meeting held July 20, 1899, "To take into consideration the question of such control by the town of the sources of its water supply as will most fully insure freedom from contamination, and re- port thereon at some future meeting with such recommenda- tions as seem to them desirable for adoption by the town," respectfully report that Chapter 510 of the Acts of Legisla- ture of 1897, authorizes the State Board of Health to adopt rules and regulations for the preservation of the purity of the water supply of cities and towns in the commonwealth.
This committee recommend that the Board of Water Commissioners be authorized and directed to apply to the State Board of Health to take such action as is provided under said act and to prepare the necessary rules and regula- tions to ensure the accomplishment of the purposes desired- namely the protection and preservation of the purity of the water supply of this town.
Respectfully submitted, INCREASE ROBINSON. JOHN H. DAMON. E. F. SHERMAN. N. MORTON. WALTER H. SEARS.
FUTURE WATER SUPPLY.
Report of the committee appointed to consider the future Water Supply of the Town of Plymouth.
The committee appointed at the town meeting held March 6, 1899, "To take into consideration the whole matter of our future water supply, and report at some subsequent meeting," presents the following report :
The committee organized by the choice of Mr. Increase Robinson, Chairman of the Water Board, as chairman, and Mr. Walter H. Sears as secretary.
The vote under which the committee was appointed was very broad, and the committee has considered the following subjects, viz :-
First, in point of importance, the purity of the present source of supply, and its conservation and protection from future contamination.
Second .- The quantity of water which can be safely con- sidered available from the South Pond system of lakes, which includes Little and Great South, Boot and Nigger Ponds.
Third .- The present condition and future necessities of the distribution throughout the town, both as regards do- mestic consumption and fire protection.
First .- Purity of the present source.
The watershed contributing to the supply of the lakes or ponds of the present source of supply, is of an open, sandy nature. The shores are clean and sandy, with very little of a swampy or muddy character. The water which reaches
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these ponds through springs and underground or invisible sources is exceptionally clear and pure when compared with certain other ponds in this county used as sources of public water supply.
The State Board of Health Reports also indicate that the quality of the water compares most favorably with any source of water supply in the State. There have been times when, through an abnormal growth of certain organisms, a disagreeable odor has been noticed, and at times an unpleas- ant taste, but nothing to interfere with its healthfulness or salubrity has ever been detected.
Little South Pond, from which the water supply is im- mediately drawn, has an area given in the report of 1856, as 67 and 20-100 acres. Its chief source of supply is Great South Pond through the canal joining the two. There are possibly some underground connections. Numerous measure- ments of the quantity of water flowing through the canal, indicate that Little South Pond has very little independent supply, and its function is practically that of a storage reser- voir where the water may settle and become still further bleached and purified.
In common with other of Plymouth's many ponds, Little South Pond has however numerous shore cottages which are a menace to its purity and healthfulness as a source of pub- lic water supply.
The water collected in the other ponds of the system comes very slowly to Little South. Disease germs in either of the others would not probably survive the long journey to the canal, and into and through Little South to the intake. This does not apply to a source of contamination introduced directly into Little South Pond itself; however, which might very possibly be transmitted to the intake, and thence into the distribution throughout the town. The evil may be small at first, but it is none the less an evil, and one whose remedy should not be delayed. There should be no possible
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source of contamination on the shores of this pond. To render this impossible, the town should acquire at least rights of protection to all the shore bordering on this pond, and to all in Great South Pond in the vicinity of the canal.
The whole shore line of the new Wachuset reservoir of the Metropolitan Water Supply is held and considered a part of the reservoir in this respect. The town of Winchester owns not only the whole shore line of its reservoirs, but in connection with the Metropolitan Park System it owns, and controls nearly the whole water shed of its source of water supply. Other instances could be cited almost without number, where cities and towns in this Commonwealth and throughout the country, have been compelled, in self-defence, to acquire the shores of lakes and ponds utilized as sources of public water supply. There can be no better time than the present for this town to inaugurate some protective scheme in this direction.
Second .- Quantity of water that can be relied upon from the present source.
Data for careful estimate of the quantity of water to be relied upon from this source in a series of dry years is not readily obtainable. The sandy nature of the soil through- out the territory in which the ponds are situated, renders it difficult to define the limits of the watershed contributing to the supply of these ponds. As has been already referred to, there are no brooks or other visible sources of supply to guide in tracing the outlines of their gathering ground.
All the ponds are supplied from invisible sources, except that when full the upper of the series flows into the lower. At present, as at other times heretofore, a large quantity of water is wasted over the stone weir at the outlet to Great South Pond. There is no means of storing this water for use in the dry series of years which experience has shown will undoubtedly follow.
The total amount of water used by the town cannot be ex-
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actly stated, as there is no means conveniently available for measuring the gravity supply. The quantity pumped for the high service has increased from 94,992,542 gallons in 1889, to 111,567,456 gallons in 1898, an increase of 16,575,000 gallons in 10 years, or about 2 per cent, per an- num. The average consumption on the high service being about 294,000 gallons per day, supplying about 4,500 peo- ple. In 1856 Mr. Whitwell, consulting engineer for the construction of the water works, estimated that "a 10-inch pipe. . . by running into a reservoir. will de- . liver 272,040 gallons daily, or a supply for a population of 9,068." It will thus be seen that the town uses more than double the quantity of water per inhabitant than was esti- mated when the works were built.
The town has always had an ample supply, and has per- haps acquired extravagant and even wasteful methods in the use of water. As the population of the town increases, and the uses for water become more varied, it may need to adopt methods of checking unnecessary or wasteful use, thus prac- tically adding to the life of the present source. It seems probable that with proper use, the present supply is ample for many years to come.
Third .- Distribution.
The present system of distribution was commenced in 1855, when a 10-inch pipe was laid from the intake at Little South Pond to the town; that is to say to the junction of Summer and High streets. The 10-inch pipe was continued to the Allerton street reservoir. An 8-inch pipe was laid through the remainder of Summer street, and through Mar- ket, Main and Court streets to Samoset street, reinforced over Russell street by the continuation of the 10-inch pipe from the corner of Summer and High streets. From Samo- set to Allerton on Court street, is 6-inch pipe. The remainder of Court street to Kingston line is supplied through a 4-inch
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pipe. Similarly, all the south part of the town from Mt. Pleasant street, is supplied through a 4-inch pipe.
In 1879 this 10-inch gravity pipe proved inadequate to supply the higher parts of the town, and certain sections which had never been supplied, demanded the service. Ac- cordingly the pumping station was established at Lout Pond. The water was pumped directly into the mains, and during the daytime when the pump was running, the whole town was on high service. At night the higher parts of the town were without water as before.
Incidentally, in this connection, it may be stated that this intermittent action of the pump where the pressure on the pipes varied from the normal or gravity pressure to as much, at times, as one hundred and thirty feet above the same, was of the most trying nature upon the general system of distri- bution. As a matter of fact, the pipes proved of ample strength to withstand this sort of service.
In 1886-1887, the present high-service reservoir was built, and a 16-inch pipe was laid from Little South Pond to the pumping station. Thence a 14-inch pipe was laid to the town, and the service of the town was permanently divided into high and low service; the low service being sup- plied by the new pipes, and the high service by the old 10- inch pipe connected with the high-service reservoir near Lout Pond. This is practically the present situation.
The growth of the town, as far at least as the use of water is concerned, which is indicated in these different changes and enlargements, is further illustrated in the following table, showing the increase in population, and the Assessors' valuation of the town in 20 years; also the increase in the income from water rates, and in the number of water takers, compiled from Annual Town Reports.
Population in 1875, 6,370; in 1895, 7,957. Increase, about 25 per cent.
Valuation, 1878, $4,861,562; 1888, $5,373,525; 1898,
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$6,944,350. Gain in 10 years, $511,963, or II per cent .; gain in 20 years, $2,082,788, or 43 per cent.
Income from Water Works: sale of water, 1878, $9,511.00; 1888, $15,631.00; 1898, $20,610.00.
Water was supplied
in 1888
in 1898
For families,
1,483
1,78I
Water closets,
428
824
Bath tubs,
I37
265
Stores and offices,
60
95
Hose,
177
184
Other uses,
500
791
Total uses
2,785
3,940
Increase in uses in 10 years, 1, 155, or 39 per cent.
The changes above referred to have been of benefit to those parts of the town where the pipes have been of sufficient size, and to some extent to the outlying districts, but the pipe on Court street, north of Allerton street, still remains a 4-inch pipe, and the pipe supplying Chiltonville and all south of Mt. Pleasant street, is only a 4-inch pipe still.
In order to show exactly what occurs in the service of this 4-inch pipe, the Plymouth Cordage Company, nearly at the extreme end of the Court street pipe, kindly furnish a record of the average pressures as recorded by a gauge at their works. Observations were taken every half hour for four days.
This shows the pressure at midnight, and during the early hours of the morning, to be about 60 pounds, the normal pressure due to the high-service reservoir. At about 4 o'clock A. M., the pressure begins to diminish, and the vari- ous domestic operations requiring the use of water can be traced in the varying pressure, until a minimum of 25 pounds is reached at about 7 P. M. After this time the pressure gradually recovers until the normal is again reached in the quiet hours of the night.
A.m.
P.m.
.A.m.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5 6
7
8 9
10
11 12
1
2
60
50
- 40 .
30
. Pounds.
Minimum Pressures June 141.
20
-
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ยท
a
Plymouth
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These conditions occur from ordinary domestic uses only. This state of things applies equally to the south end of the town. Residents on high ground in both sections are de- prived almost entirely of water at certain hours of the day, and other sections suffer more or less inconvenience from lack of pressure.
At night the ordinary supply becomes available. The pipes supplying these sections were considered sufficient when they were laid, forty-five years ago, but are entirely inadequate at present.
Fire Protection.
The above considerations relate chiefly to domestic and manufacturing service. For fire service it is evident that both these sections can have only very inefficient fire pres- sure, if in ordinary daily use the pressure on the pipes, and consequently their value for this purpose, is diminished nearly 60 per cent. In other words the pipes will not deliver sufficient water for effective fire service in these sections, ex- cept, perhaps, during the few hours in the middle of the night.
Furthermore, the hydrants on Main street, Court street, Leyden street, Middle street, North street, Sandwich street in part, and the territory thence to the shore are on the low service, and are mostly of antiquated construction, with 2 and 1-2-inch, or 3-inch connections, entirely unsuited to modern fire-extinguishing apparatus. It is true that a gate at the pumping station, some miles away, can be opened in case of necessity and high-service pressure put upon all hydrants. This involves the closing of a self-regulating valve to prevent the water from flowing into the low-service reservoir. At the Unitarian church fire, this arrangement failed to give satisfactory results.
It would thus appear that fire protection through a very large portion of the town is defective and inefficient from lack of proper facilities and appliances for using the good
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fire pressure which the high-service reservoir normally af- fords, and while domestic service is of fairly good quality in portions of the town, on both high and low service, there are, nevertheless, large sections which are deprived of the ser- vice which properly belongs to them, and for which they pay the prescribed water rates.
It would seem therefore that while the quantity of water at the source is ample, and the head or pressure from the high-service reservoir is sufficient, the means of bringing the water to the town, and delivering it where needed, are inadequate. The committee therefore became convinced that a new connection with the high-service reservoir should be made, and a new pipe laid to the town.
To this end three routes were considered, and the com- mittee decided in favor of bringing the new pipe, 12 inches in diameter, from the reservoir, through the "Nook road," so called, to Sandwich street, near the blacksmith shop of George Fuller; thence southerly a 10-inch pipe to Jabez Corner, and northerly a pipe of the same diameter to Spring hill, to connect with the present pipe at that point. From Jabez Corner, south to Bramhall's corner, a 6 or 8-inch pipe, connecting there with Warren avenue, through Cliff road.
From Bramhall's corner, at some future time, a 6-inch pipe via River street and Clifford street, to Warren avenue, near Hotel Pilgrim.
The construction of Standish avenue the present season by the town, offers a favorable opportunity to increase the supply of that section of the town, by laying therein, after the street has been graded, a pipe of sufficient size to prop- erly supply the new street itself, and also to reinforce Court street by connections through the various cross streets, most of which are already supplied with pipes.
This pipe the committee recommend to be a 10-inch pipe, to be laid from the junction of Oak and Samoset streets, through Standish avenue to Spooner street, and thence via
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Spooner and Court streets to a point near the entrance to the Plymouth Cordage Company property. The means for supplying such a pipe are now deficient, however, and the committee further recommend that a 12-inch pipe be laid from the junction of the Sandwich and Summer streets pipes at Spring Hill, above mentioned, via Market, Main and Court streets to Allerton street, to connect there and at Samoset street, with the 10-inch pipe proposed for Standish avenue, thus giving that pipe an abundant supply.
There would thus be laid from Jabez Corner, nearly to Kingston line, a large pipe supplied at two points with water direct from the high-service reservoir. On this pipe at proper intervals, would be located throughout the main street of the town fire hydrants at all times under high-service pressure, and ready to respond at call to all requirements. This pipe, except on Standish avenue, need be used for fire hydrants only, leaving house services as at present.
Whether insurance rates will be reduced after such in- crease of facilities for extinguishing fires, cannot be stated, but actual fire risks to owners will certainly be very greatly reduced.
Kind of Pipe.
The question of the kind of pipe to be used has been care- fully considered by the committee. The further use of wrought-iron, cement-lined pipes in most cities and towns where it was at first put in, has been very generally aban- doned.
The experience of our own town, one of the first towns in the United States to put in a system of public water supply ("The Plymouth Aqueduct Corporation," was established by the General Court, Feb. 15, 1797), is wholly in favor of this description of pipes.
Cast-iron pipe, now generally used, is subject to incrusta- tion or tuberculation on the inside, so that within a few years
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the carrying capacity is very greatly reduced. Two instances taken from the experience of our town may be cited.
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