USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1906-1908 > Part 10
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
The high service supply is from the pump, while it is in operation, with the high service reservoir as a reserved source when the pump is shut down, or when the demand is greater than the pump will supply.
There is a 10" pipe from the Pumping Station to the cor- ner of Summer and Market streets, by the way of the water course and Billington street, a distance of about 8,800 feet.
As before mentioned there is a 12" pipe from the high service reservoir to Sandwich street, by way of the Nook Road about 6,600 feet long. Also a 10" pipe in Sandwich street, from Nook Road to Market street, a distance of about 3,500 feet.
This makes a circuit consisting of 12,250 feet of 10" and about 6,600 feet of 12 inch. Connecting with this loop, there is about 4,100 feet of 12 inch pipe on Market, Leyden and Court streets, ending at Lothrop street. These mains form the back bone of the high service system. The pipe radiating from these mains are 6", 4" and even as small as 2" in diameter.
In studying the efficiency of a water works system for
-187-
fire protection, it is often necessary to calculate the number of hose streams which can be obtained near any particular point. Also their volume in gallons per minute and the height to which they can be thrown.
The elements which have the greatest effect upon the ef- fectiveness at any point are, distance from water supply, size of mains between the point and the supply, static head (i. e. when no water is being drawn) and number of available hydrants (which governs the length of hose required).
At the corner of Market and Summer streets, the static pressure is about 45 lbs. per square inch. The length of high service supply mains as given above are 6,600 feet of 12" combined with 3,500 feet of 10" coming from the direc- tion of Nook Road and 8,750 feet of 10" bringing water by way of the water course, Billington and Summer streets.
From the high service system at this point three fair fire streams of about 200 gallons per minute through 100 feet of best rubber lined fire hose can be obtained, the maximum horizontal limit of distance as an effective stream being 50 feet and the maximum vertical limit of height as an effect- ive fire stream being 52 feet.
No allowance has been made for water for domestic use during the supposed test, it being assumed to be supplied by the low service system.
The number and size of the streams it is possible to ob- tain from the high service system at this point, which is one of the important centres of the town, cannot be considered as satisfactory and the conditions should be improved.
The low static head or pressure at the assumed point is largely responsible for the weak fire service. This can of course be supplemented by an efficient steam fire engine service, which is expensive. Even at the shore the static high service pressure is only about 164 feet or 71 lbs. per square inch.
At the corner of Court and Lothrop streets the static head
-188-
due to the high service is only 48 lbs., or three lbs. greater than at the corner of Market and Summer streets, but the loss by friction caused by the flow of 600 gallons per minute in 4,100 feet of 12" pipe would be 2 lbs., so that conditions at the north end of the 12" line on Court street at Lothrop street are about the same as at the point of the assumed test.
If a new 16" pipe were laid from the pumping station or high service reservoir to the corner of Market and Summer streets, the conditions would be improved to the extent of getting about seven streams instead of three. The static head would not be increased.
There are portions of the town supplied by the high ser- vice system where the pressure is very low. and the supply unsatisfactory. At the westerly end of Cherry street the pressure during the night hours is only 10 lbs. per square inch and 4 lbs. during the day time. At other places on the west side of Standish Ave., the service is equally poor.
As the high service consumption increases, as it is sure to do, the pressure during the day hours will be less and less. The best and practically the only remedy is to build a stand- pipe near the present high service reservoir. Just south of the reservoir is a level space at about elevation 158. On this land, owned by the town, a concrete standpipe could be built. If this standpipe were 75 feet in diameter and 60 feet high it would contain 1,982,800 gallons. It would be of much greater efficiency than the high service reservoir because high water would be at elevation 233. instead of 164, an increase of 69 feet or 30 lbs. It is to be noted that the standpipe, which would be of concrete, holds a greater amount of water than the high service reservoir and that 69 feet in height of the water, or more than nine-tenths of the total capacity of the standpipe is above high water level in the high service reservoir.
Concrete will probably be used very largely for standpipes in the future, as it has many advantages over iron or steel. the most important of which is its non-corrosive qualities.
-189-
A metal standpipe or tank requires scraping and painting once in two or three years, according to the action of the water. A good concrete standpipe ought to cost practically nothing for repairs and be very durable.
With the new 16" pipe from the Pumping Station to the corner of Summer and Market streets, the old 10" main now used as a high service supply could be used to reinforce the low service demand.
FIRE PROTECTION AND DOMESTIC SUPPLY FURNISHED BY THE LOW SERVICE SYSTEM.
From records of the height of water in the low service reservoir, during the year 1906, kept by Mr. Blackmer, it appears that the average elevation was about 10I. That on only one day, April 30th, did it rise to elevation 103. The lowest level reached was 97.9 on Dec. 19, 1906, and Jan. 23, 1907, both cold days. For the months of Novem- ber and December, 1906, and January, 1907, the average elevation of the water was about 100.
The water in Little South Pond during the year 1906 varied from elevation 103.2 to 105.I. Average elevation about 104.3.
It would be natural for the low service reservoir to vary in height to correspond with the elevation of the pond sup- plying it, and it would do so if the connecting pipes were of sufficent size and there was no low service consumption, leakage and wastage.
The object of the low service reservoir, as of the high service reservoir, is to furnish a liberal reserve of water, as near as possible to the thickly populated portion of the town, ready at all times for immediate use for domestic supply or the extinguishing of fire.
A resistance, or retardation, of flow of water in pipes, in- creasing as the length of pipes increases, makes it necessary
-190-
to use larger pipes, especially when the length is great and the pressure or head of water is smaller than would be neces- sary if this retardation did not exist.
There is a limit, depending upon size, head or pressure under which the water is flowing, length of pipe and smooth- ness of interior surface, to the amount of water any pipe will deliver, and this can be determined in advance with a fair amount of accuracy.
The great distance of Little South Pond from the low ser- vice reservoir is an important factor in reducing, not only the flow of water to the low service system and reservoir, but also the elevation at which the pipe will deliver the water into the reservoir.
The fact that the low service reservoir is most of the time 3 feet below the present surface of Little South Pond indi- cates that the 16 and 14 inch supply pipes are not of suffici- ent size to maintain the water at a proper level.
It appears from Mr. Blackmer's test made in August 1905 and January 1906 that the consumption for the whole town was about 1, 120,200 gallons in 24 hours. The average daily pumpage in 1905, supplying the high service alone, was 604,- 500 gallons. The difference, or 515,700 gallons per day, is, therefore, the daily amount delivered to the low service.
The present 16 and 14 inch mains and a new 16" main would deliver this quantity and not allow the low service reservoir to drop more than one foot below Little South Pond.
This additional supply pipe would be a decided advantage, helping to keep a large reserve on hand at an increased ele- vation and furnishing the means of bringing more water from Little South Pond when needed for fire purposes.
It should be remembered that the upper foot in either reservoir contains more water than any other, the amount rapidly decreasing as the bottom is approached. Hence the advantage of keeping the reservoir as nearly full as possible.
-- 191 ---
The capacity of the low service reservoir at elevation 99.0 is only 780,000 gailons, or but little more than half the cap- acity at high water or elevation 106. On 21 days between Nov. 1, 1906 and Feb. 'I, 1907 the reservoir has been at or below elevation 99.2 and on two days of this period it was as low as 97.8.
AREA OF WATER SHEDS.
A computation of the water sheds of several of the ponds available for increasing the Plymouth water supply have been made by drawing upon the State topographical map the boundary lines of these dainage areas and measuring upon the map the territory enclosed.
These water sheds or drainage areas contribute a certain portion of the rain falling upon them to form the ponds. The yield of a pond is largely dependent upon the area, con- figuration and character of its water shed; likewise upon its capacity to store water in the wet season.
Most of the Plymouth ponds have rather small water sheds.
The following figures give the approximate area of the water sheds, including water surfaces :
Great South Pond,
.95 square miles.
Great South and Little South Ponds, I.23 square miles. Great South, Little South and Boot
Ponds,
I.95 square miles
AREA OF PONDS.
Mr. Blackmer has made a survey of Great and Little South Ponds on the ice, taking soundings to locate certain contour lines below the surface. These contours are the shore lines when the ponds are drawn down to the level of the contour.
The area of the ponds at these different water levels can
-192-
be calculated and used to determine the storage between cer- tain levels.
LITTLE SOUTH . POND.
Elevation.
Acres.
Area to high water level of
106.
67.5
Area to surface of ice, Dec. 1906,
104.
64.1
Area to,
100.
54.4
Area to,
94.
44.3
GREAT SOUTH POND.
Elevation.
Acres.
Area to high water level or,
106.
302.7
Area to,
104.5
288.2
Area to,
94.5
206.7
METERS.
I should without hesitation advise the installation of me- ters on all services, mill supplies, standpipes for street water- ing, etc. No other commodity is sold unmeasured. Water under pressure ready for use has cost something, and has a value, and the consumer should pay according to the amount used. A water meter is an ingenious appliance and with proper care is durable and reliable. With few exceptions, meters are substantially accurate. No "up-to-date" water works system should supply water except through meter, which should be owned and controlled by the town and read at least once a month. They give but little trouble, are not expensive to maintain and a town or city using them has never gone back to "fixture rates." The latter are not equitable and offer no incentive to properly use and not waste water. A man with one faucet in his house may use and waste ten times as much as a man with half a dozen fixtures. Why should the latter be charged, perhaps, four times as much for his water as the former ?
-193-
The remedy is obvious, put a meter on each service and charge for what is used. Then a man will pay for his water as he does for his coal, according to what he uses and not according to the number of stoves he may happen to have in his house.
The rate per 100 cubic feet or 1.000 gallons must be fixed to secure, as nearly as possible. the income required. The rate first adopted will very likely require revision at the end of perhaps, two years, when the new method has shown the income it will produce.
The cost of maintaining about 1,000 meters of different sizes in Wellesley for the year 1906 was $269.73 or only about 27 cents each.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
FIRST. The adoption of meters for reasons already giv- en. They should be placed as rapidly as possible, so that in as short a time as practicable all water distributed shall be measured.
SECOND. The digging of a canal from Boot to Great South Pond.
THIRD. The installing of a low lift pump, probably of the centrifugal pattern, operated by an oil or gas engine. The plant to be placed in a small brick or concrete building located near the screen chamber at Great South Pond. The plant to have a capacity of 3,000 gallons per minute or more than double the capacity of the Barr pumping engine. The building should be large enough to contain a second pump and engine when needed. The object of this pump is to lift the water of Great South Pond into Little South Pond and raise the level of the latter so it will flow by gravity to the Pumping Station and to the low service system.
FOURTH. The laying of a new 18 inch supply main from Little South Pond to the Pumping Station. With this
Plymouth 13
-194-
main there will be less suction lift and less coal will be burn- ed so long as pumping into the high service reservoir is con- tinued. This saving will offset a small part of the interest and depreciation charge on the new main.
A 16 inch pipe would supply the Barr pump alone fairly well. If, however, a stand pipe is built, as there should be, the conditions might be such as to make it advisable to use both pumping engines at the same time.
The introduction of Boot Pond to the water supply makes the available amount greater. Moreover, this pipe is not being laid for the present alone.
FIFTH. The building of a concrete stand pipe on land owned by the Town at the High Service Reservoir. To be 75 ft. in diameter, and to contain 60 ft. in depth or 1,982,- 800 gallons of water. The piping to be so arranged that if the stand pipe is ever drawn to the level of the reservoir a check valve shall open and water from the High Service Reservoir will keep up the supply.
SIXTH. The laying of a 16 inch supply main from the Pumping Station to the corner of Summer and Market streets, with proper connections to pump, stand pipe and high service reservoir.
SEVENTH. The laying of about 2,100 feet of 14 inch pipe in Oak street from Summer street to Samoset street, and 300 feet of the same size in Samoset from Oak street to Standish avenue, for the benefit of the high service do- mestic supply on Standish avenue.
LOCATION OF LOW LIFT PUMPING PLANT.
The advantage of locating the pump between Great and Little South Ponds is that it can be run almost continuously until high water in Little South Pond is nearly reached. The surface of Little South Pond is so large the water pumped into it will raise its level very slowly, pumping
-
-195-
would, of course, not begin till the canal between the two ponds had nearly equalized the elevations of the two ponds. As soon as pumping begins Great South Pond will fall and Little South Pond will rise and there must be some means of closing the canal tight, else the water will leak back into Great South Pond. What the under ground flow from Little South Pond into Great South Pond, when the former was at a higher level, would be difficult to determine.
A pipe of large diameter, with a check vale opening from Great South Pond, laid at as low a level as possible, or a wooden culvert with a self-closing suice gate, would prob- ably be satisfactory. ,
An open trench protected by sheet piling, in connection with a pipe and check valve, or a wooden culvert with a self-closing sluice gate at the Little South Pond end, might be built to a low level and be so arranged as to prevent leakage back into Great South Pond.
The advantage of placing the pump at the north end of Little South Pond would be that the water could be pumped to elevation IIO. or higher, in which case a 16" pipe would probably be large enough to furnish both the Barr and Worthington pumps with water. When the pumps were not in operation, the low lift centrifugal pump would de- liver water through the gravity supply main to the low ser- vice reservoir.
Another advantage would be more available storage in Little South Pond. That is Little South Pond would most of the time be below high water level, ready to receive rain or melting snow, whereas if the water is pumped into Little South Pond from Great South Pond, Little South Pond will practically be at high water level most of the time and in- capable of receiving a great addition from its water sheds.
Futhermore, if Little South Pond is kept at a lower level than Great South Pond, there would be some under ground flow into the former from the latter.
-196
The distance to the north end of Little South Pond is slight, less than to Great South Pond.
Probably the depth to which a canal would have to be ex- cavated to deliver the required water from Great South Pond to Little South Pond would be practically prohibitive, and decides the question in favor of locating it at the north end of Great South Pond.
The cost of the plant, unless there should be a decided difference in lengths of suction pipe required, would be prac- tically the same whichever location were adopted. and before the installation of the plant there will be time to give the matter careful thought.
The low lift pumping plant will not require continuous attention, but can be left for a considerable portion of the time, care being taken to properly provide for the supply of oil or gas and lubrication.
To raise Little South Pond from elevation 104 to 106 or high water with the proposed low lift pump delivering 3,000 gallons per minute would require 9.9 days of 24 hours each. This shows the advantage of having as much water as pos- sible flow through the canal.
THE SUPPLY.
With the introduction of meters and the addition of Boot Pond, the quantity of water available should be sufficient for a considerable number of years. The amount required to be furnished to the woolen mill is a heavy draught upon the water resources of the Town.
The available storage in Great South and Boot Ponds can- not be computed until the surveys of these ponds have been completed.
The combined area of the water sheds of the three ponds, as measured on the map referred to, is nearly 2 square miles, while the direct water sheds of Great South Pond is less
-197-
than I square mile. These areas, in all cases, include water surfaces.
If the time should come when Great South, Little South and Boot Ponds should be insufficient, it would be natural to investigate Gunner's Exchange Pond. Billington Sea would furnish a large additional supply, probably of good quality.
PROTECTION OF WATER SUPPLY.
There is a growing inclination for people living in thickly settled villages and towns to spend the summer months in cottages in the woods, especially if adjacent to a body of water, where boating, fishing and bathing can be enjoyed. Such a desire is rational and to be encouraged. The result, however, if these cottages are built along the shore of a pond, is to contaminate it and depreciate its value as a source of supply. The Town of Plymouth ought to jealousy guard its most excellent water supply from such injury, at the same time considering the well being of its citizens. Then greatest good is no doubt a pure water supply. The ques- tion is one of great and growing importance. It would seem wise that the Town should own and control a proper area of land surrounding these pond's and possibly lease lots to such persons as will agree to conform to reasonable re- quirements.
The general laws give towns a certain amount of authori- ty in these matters.
ESTIMATED COST OF IMPROVEMENTS.
Installing about 2,250 meters mostly of 5-8' size, $25,000 00
Low lift pumping plant and station at Great South Pond, 5,000 00
-198-
New 18" supply main from Little South Pond to Pumping Station, 23,000 00
Concrete reservoir, diameter 75', height 65', 37,000 00 New 16" supply main from Pumping Station to Summer and Market streets, 19,000 00
New 14" main on Oak and Samoset streets, 5,000 00
$114,000 00
Respectfully submitted.
F. L. FULLER, Civil Engineer.
STATE BOARD OF HEALTH REPORT.
Reply of the State Board of Health to an application from the Board of Water Commissioners, Plymouth, for advice in relation to an additional water supply for the town, under the provisions of section 117 of Chapter 75, of the Revised Laws of Massachusetts.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Office of the State Board of Health, State House, Boston. December 12, 1906,
To the Board of Water Commissioners of the Town of Plymouth.
GENTLEMEN-
The State Board of Health received from you on Novem- ber 22, 1906, an application for advice as to an additional water supply for the town of Plymouth, stating that it is proposed to investigate (I) an underground supply, (2) Billington Sea, and (3) Long and Half-way ponds.
It appears that the plan for obtaining a ground water sup- ply is with the view of supplying manufacturing concerns which use a large quantity of water. The other sources, if used, would be connected directly with your present works.
The Board, in response to this application, has caused the locality to be examined by its engineer, and has considered the information presented as to the capacity of the present
-- 200-
sources of supply, the need of an additional supply, and the quality of the water of the various sources available.
The locality indicated as a possible source of ground wa- ter supply is the valley of Town Brook in the lower part of its course in the town. While it is probable that a large quantity of water could be obtained from wells or filter gal- leries there, the ground water of this locality is undoubt- edly polluted by the dense population living on the territory about it, and it is not desirable, in the opinion of the Board, for the town to supply such water where it might be acces- sible for drinking.
If it should be deemed desirable to introduce a supply of ground water for the use of the manufacturing establish- ments it is probable that water of good quality could be ob- tained by sinking wells at some place in the uninhabited ter- ritory immediately back of the thickly settled portions of the town, and there are several localities there in which the con- ditions appear to be favorable for obtaining a large supply of good ground water. Such water might be intro- duced into the general water supply system of the town if found desirable, but it would be necessary to avoid discharging any ground water into the open dis- tributing reservoirs where it would be likely to cause trouble from growths of organisms and disagreeable tastes and odors. It is probable that a considerable amount of ground water could be introduced into the supply mains, however, without danger that it would reach the reservoirs.
Billington Sea, the second source of supply mentioned, lies at no great distance from Lout Pond, one of the sources now used, and, since it appears that the former pond is some- what higher, it is probable that a large additional supply could be obtained by diverting its waters into Lout Pond. The water of Billington Sea, judging from the results of a single analysis, is of good quality for domestic purposes, and there is no doubt that that source would furnish a very large additional water supply; but it is one of the chief res-
-201-
ervoirs which feed Town Brook, on which there are sever- al factories which use the water for power, and the cost of taking a supply from that source would doubtless be large.
Long and Halfway pond's are probably considerably lower in level than your present sources of supply and are at such a long distance therefrom that the cost of taking water from either of those sources would also be large.
With the present arrangement of your water works the depth of water that can be drawn from Little South Pond is limited to less than 4 1-2 feet below full pond, this being the approximate level of the sill of the screen well. Great South Pond is connected with Little South Pond by an artificial channel constructed many years ago. This channel at one time filled with sand and was reconstructed a few years ago at a lower level, but it appears that the channel is again be- coming partially stopped up, and at the present time the water in Great South Pond is nearly 1 1-2 feet higher than in Little South Pond.
Boot Pond, lying south of Great South Pond, and separat- ed from the latter only by a narrow strip of sandy land, is at present at an elevation of about 0.75 of a foot higher than Great South Pond, but is not directly connected there- with, though such a connection could apparently be made at small expense.
With the intake works at Little South Pond arranged as at present it is impracticable to use all of the storage in this source that might be used, and, on account of the clogging of the channel between Great and Little South Ponds, a large part of the storage in Great South Pond is not at present available, and, under present conditions, it is doubtful whether these ponds and Lout Pond together will yield more than about 1,000,000 gallons of water per day.
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.