Town of Newton annual report 1875-1877, Part 25

Author: Newton (Mass.)
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Newton (Mass.)
Number of Pages: 674


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Town of Newton annual report 1875-1877 > Part 25


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).


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The grass should never be cut after the first of September, but allowed to remain to shed rain and keep out frost. It may be burnt over in the spring and clipped several times during the sum- mer, without injury, provided it is not cut too close. Many lawns are injured by too close cutting, particularly on steep slopes.


The gate-house was built, under contract, by J. W. Coburn & Co., during the last half of October, 1876.


Water was first pumped into the reservoir Oct. 30, 1876, and pumping was continued during working hours for about a week, and afterwards at intervals, so as to keep the reservoir about half full till the latter part of February, 1877, when work was stopped to allow the water to fall. When the depth diminished so that the bottoms of the reservoir and gate-chamber could be well seen, they were carefully inspected and no indication of deterioration was found. The blow-off valve was imperfectly closed and leaked slightly during the winter. By blocking the inlet valve open, closing the gates in the cross wall and putting stop-planks in the screen channels, we were able to draw out the water and adjust this valve so as to stop the leak, without interrupting the supply of water to the city. This work was finished May 15, when the depth of water in the chamber was about 4 feet. During the next eleven working days 13,665,000 gallons were pumped in. After that, we pumped less than the amount consumed till July 24,


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1


GATE HE: AND CHAMBER AT RESERVOIR.


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47


allowing the water in the reservoir to fall to about 4,600,000 gal- lons, in anticipation of a large amount of pumping in aid of the work on the extension of the filtering basin. During the progress of this work the engine was run more or less on 60 different days, but partly at slow speeds. On Nov. 6 the dam between the old and new basins was removed, and the engine was stopped, with the reservoir full.


During the spring of 1877 the granite steps were furnished, under contract, by E. Ricker, of Boston. They were set and most of the stone wall around the grounds was built, under con- tract, by T. Stuart, of Newton. The laying of the drains and the grading of the roads around the reservoir were done by day work. The carpenter work on the fence was done, under contract, by S. D. Garey, of Newton.


DISTRIBUTION.


The water is conveyed through the streets of the city and to the reservoir in cast-iron pipes, of which about 51} miles have been laid. The length of each size and a complete schedule by streets is given elsewhere.


The general plan is shown by the accompanying small map.


At the 24-in. X in front of the engine-house, the current divides into the 20-in. Needham street line and the 16-in. line in Oak street. By stop-gates near the X the water can be shut off from either street.


The principal and most direct line to the reservoir is the 20-in. pipe in Needham street, Centre street, and Ward street. Newton Highlands and Newton Centre are on this line. A secondary line of 16-in. and 12-in. pipe goes through Oak street extension, Chestnut, Woodward, Beacon, Washington, Church, and Centre streets, uniting with the 20-in. line at the west end of Ward street. This line passes through Newton Upper Falls, West Newton, Newtonville, and Wards 1 and 7.


The only 16-in. pipe is in Oak street extension from Needham street to Upper Falls village (corner of Chestnut street), and in Centre street from Ward to Mill; the latter is laid with a view to the future possibility of a line of large pipe being required through Mill street to Walnut street or beyond, as an additional means of supplying Newtonville and West Newton.


48


To get a general idea of the distribution, therefore, we may regard it as a circuit or ring of pipe whose average elevation is about the same as that of the pumping-engine, connected on one side with the pumping-engine and on the other side with the reser- voir, say 150 feet higher. When the engine is at rest, the pipes are full of water under pressure produced by the height of the water in the reservoir. Ordinarily when the engine is working the greater part of the water goes through the pipes to the reser- voir, and a small part is drawn out on the way. It would be pos- sible, by opening many hydrants, to discharge all the water the engine could furnish ; if more hydrants were opened, some of them would draw from the reservoir.


If the reservoir should be disconnected or empty, pumping would be required to keep the pipes full and maintain the pressure. When the engine is disconnected, or not working, the reservoir supplies the demand to the extent of its capacity.


A large part of the supply is delivered through a network of pipes depending on the above-described main circuit, and chiefly 8-in., 6-in., and 4-in. in diameter, as is sufficiently apparent from the schedule. There is 12-in. pipe in Auburn street for supplying Auburndale ; in Centre street to the Watertown boundary ; and in Waverly avenue from Ward street to Church street. The latter serves to reinforce the Centre street line by means of the connec- tion through Vernon street, and will do so to a greater extent hereafter if pipes shall be laid in other connecting streets.


12-in. pipe has also been laid in Walnut street and in Chestnut street in West Newton, on account of the probable completion hereafter of lines across the city to supply water in these streets, and also to reinforce the supply to the territory along the line of the B. & A.R.R.


Newton Lower Falls and Chestnut Hill are supplied through 8-in. lines from the 12-inch and 20-inch mains respectively.


The head or pressure in the pipes varies nearly in proportion to their vertical distance below the surface of the water in the reser- voir. The high-water line of the reservoir is at grade 265.8. The lowest pipe is in Jefferson street, Ward 7, at about grade 31, and is therefore liable to a pressure of about 235 feet of water. The grade of the Woonsocket Division of the N.Y. & N.E.R.R. varies from about 175 at Chestnut Hill to 125 at the Upper Falls.


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49


The B. & A.R.R. track varies from grade 53 at the Newton station to 73 at Auburndale. On West Newton Hill and on Mount Ida the pipes go up to about grade 200.


When the pipes are receiving water from the pumping-engine instead of from the reservoir, the pressure in them is increased more or less, according to their locations relative to the pumps and reservoir.


The thicknesses of the pipes were varied somewhat in proportion to the pressures which they would be liable to under the above conditions, as shown by the following


Table giving the dimensions, weights, etc., of straight pipes used.


Nominal Diameters.


Classes,


Heads to which the pipes are adapted.


Lengths over all.


Thicknesses.


Standard Weights.


Inches.


Feet.


Ft. In.


Inches.


Pounds.


24


C


224


12 4를


131


3,227


20


B


177


12 4₺


2,208


20


b


138


12 41


2,058


16


B


204


12 43


1,645


12


c


216


12


1,070


12


B


151


12


20/00


982


8


c


240


12


32


623


8


b.


142


12


co !


564


6


B


232


12


17


428


4


B


312


12


32


280


The thicknesses were computed by Shedd's formula,


t =. 00008 H D +.01 D +.36, in which


t = the thickness, in inches ;


H = the head, in feet ; D = the diameter, in inches.


The standard weights were computed from the proposed dimen-


50


sions, reckoning the weight of a cubic inch of the iron at 0.261 pound. Individual pipes were allowed to vary 4 per cent. either way. All that weighed less than 96 per cent. of the standard were rejected. Pipes which weighed over 104 per cent. of the standard were accepted, but no payment was made for the excess over 104.


All the pipes were made expressly for these works, and each had the letters N. W.W., with the class letter, year, and running num- ber cast on it for identification ; and they were tested by a hydrau- lic pressure of 300 pounds per square inch.


They were coated with a preparation of coal tar to protect them from rust. This process has been in use about 20 years, and we are now able to say that it adds greatly to the durability of the pipe.


The specifications required that the iron should have a tensile strength of at least 16,000 pounds per square inch ; 120 sample rods were cast from the different pourings, and afterwards broken in a testing-machine made for this purpose. Some of them broke considerably below the standard, but the average ultimate strength of all the samples was slightly above 17,000 pounds per square inch ; some, without being unduly hard, held up to 25,050 pounds.


All the processes of manufacturing and testing were carried on under the constant supervision of Mr. Samuel R. Eccleston, an inspector employed and sent to the foundry under the direction of the Commissioners.


So faithfully was this done that not a single pipe showing any defect of manufacture sufficient to justify rejection reached here. In caulking the joints some two or three bells were broken, reveal- ing hidden defects.


The inspector reported each day's work to the office, giving the weight of each accepted pipe, and the reasons for the rejection of the others.


Each pipe was examined and weighed on its arrival here, by Mr. Wm. I. Parker, Superintendent of the Pipe Yards, and his assistants, and the results were compared with the returns from the inspector at the foundry and with the Foundry Co.'s bills. We found the total weight slightly greater than charged for in the bills.


The depths of the bells or sockets for the joints of straight pipes


51


are as follows : 2 inches for 4-inch and 6-inch pipes, and increas- ing by proportional gradations to 3.20 inches for 24-in. pipe.


The most common practice is to make bells about 2 inches deeper than ours for all sizes of pipes. This makes the weight of a pipe a little greater and its effective length less. Experience has demonstrated that the depths adopted by us are ample ; and I estimate that we have saved by this deviation from the common practice a little over $7,000 in iron, and $7,000 more in lead and rope-yarn for making joints.


The bells of the special castings are 1 inch deeper than those of straight pipes of the same diameters respectively.


The straight pipes weighed about 16,400,000 pounds and cost about $304,500, delivered in Newton. A small part of this pipe is still unlaid.


A large number of special castings were used, consisting of branch pieces, bends, reducers, hydrant connections, bevel hubs, sleeves, yokes, caps, gate-box covers, etc. Nearly all of these were cast from new and improved patterns made from our draw- ings. There are about 38 of these new patterns.


These castings, together with a few for the reservoir and a large quantity for the engine-house, were made by Messrs. Davis and Farnum, of Waltham.


The total weight of castings furnished by them is about 533,000 pounds, and the cost, including some machine work, etc., was about $14,900.


All the straight pipes were furnished by the Warren Foundry and Machine Co., of Phillipsburg, New Jersey.


All the dealings of both these parties with us were characterized by a spirit of entire fairness and courtesy.


245 stop-gates have been set. Their positions are shown on the map by red cross-lines. Four of them are on 6-in. blow- off branches ; one from the 24-in. line at the pumping-station, one discharging into the brook which crosses Needham street about one-third of a mile from the pumping-station, one into the brook at Centre street, corner of Willow street, Newton Centre, and one into Charles river, at Newton Lower Falls. Several 2-inch blow- offs have also been attached to dead ends. Elsewhere hydrants are depended upon for emptying the pipes.


52


The remaining 241 gates subdivide the distribution into sections, any one of which can be isolated by shutting the gates which limit it, so that repairs or alterations can be made without inter- rupting the general supply. At present about one-third of the sections consist of single lines of pipe, supplied at one end only, and consequently having but one gate each. In villages, where the streets are generally piped and intersect each other at short inter- vals, the number of gates on a section is usually from 4 to 7, and in one case 8.


Many of the gates have been set on the smaller pipes where they branch off from larger ones, to avoid the necessity of interfering with the flow in the main pipes, on account of any work upon less important lines. Gates at intersections of streets are usually set in range with one of the street lines, or nearly so, which facilitates finding them if the signs put up for that purpose are missing.


At present there are 10 very short sections, 6 of which will be extended hereafter.


Excluding the 4 blow-off gates, the distribution proper is now divided into 185 sections ; the average length of pipe in one sec- tion is 1,466 feet, and the average number of gates per section is 2.56. The length of pipe and number of gates per section will be increased hereafter, when the pipes shall be extended into other streets which will naturally fall into the sections now made.


Great diversity of practice exists as to the use of gates. In some places, where it was thought necessary to make all possible savings in first cost of works, gates are put in much less freely than in Newton. In some other places they have been used much more freely, making sections 500 to 1,000 feet long, with 3 to 5 gates only. The expenditure of time, labor, and water in shutting off, emptying, and refilling, and the number of supplies interrupted, are diminished in about the same ratio that the length of pipe per section is diminished.


The following table gives the number of gates of each size, ex- clusive of blow-offs, in comparison with the length of street pipes of the same size.


53


SIZE.


Number.


Length of Street Pipe.


Feet of Pipe per Gate.


24-inch


1


72


72


20-inch


8


17,958


2,245


16-inch


2


2,457


1,228


12-inch


35


58,905


1,683


8-inch


49


53,098


1,084


6-inch


125


116,164


929


4-inch


21


22,551


1,074


Totals and ? Average,


241


271,205


1,125


Post hydrants were adopted, in accordance with the almost uni- versal practice excepting in places where business or inhabitants are greatly concentrated and the sidewalks are crowded. The difficulty and delay in finding flush hydrants, particularly when covered with snow, seemed to be more objectionable than the ob- struction of the sidewalks by post hydrants, especially where there were similar obstructions already by lamp-posts and trees.


In streets 50 feet wide and upwards the hydrants were set back of the curbstones, so as to clear the hubs of vehicles. In streets of less width, the sidewalks being proportionally narrower, the hydrants were usually set out to the curb line, - as the obstruction of the sidewalks by setting them further back was thought to be a greater evil than the danger of collision with hubs of vehicles. It seems to me, however, that the risk of collision ought to be avoided by making the standard widths of sidewalks 1 foot greater in all streets less than 50 feet wide, and immediately altering such walks where hydrants are now set. So far as I know, there is little or no objection to this excepting the cost.


In a few cases, where streets and sidewalks were very narrow, hydrants were set at the back of the sidewalks, as the best that could be done under the circumstances.


54


It is convenient to have all pipe lines at a uniform distance, say 6 feet, from the curbstone, and our hydrant connections were made to suit that distance when hydrants were set in the walk clear of the curbstone, as in wide streets. When the hydrant is set out to the curb line the pipe line is carried out 7 feet from the curb.


The standard depth for the axis of the pipe is 5} feet below the curbstone grade ; this brings the axis of the pipe about 5 feet beneath the surface of the street. The curbstone grade is made the standard of reference, because the length of the hydrants depends upon the depth of the axis of the pipe below the surface of the sidewalk, and it is desirable to make the hydrants of a uni- form length.


Many of the ancient streets vary irregularly in width and aligne- ment, and many sidewalks vary from the standard widths and heights.


Many streets, both ancient and modern, have never been brought to the grades and cross-sections established for them by the city government.


It is not to be expected that the Highway Department can very rapidly bring the streets from the former hap-hazard styles into conformity with the regular system which they have adopted.


But it was necessary to make our work tolerably convenient and secure for the present, notwithstanding the probability that parts of it will be more or less out of place a few years hence, when existing faults in the lines and grades of streets are corrected. Hence these irregularities require many deviations from the regu- lar system above indicated for the arrangement of pipes, hydrants, etc. On account of the varying heights of sidewalks, some hydrants were made 3 inches shorter and others 3 inches longer than the standard length.


Pipes laid in earth can easily be lowered or raised if future changes shall require it ; but it is impracticable to lower a pipe in a rock cutting without taking it up for blasting out the trench. Hence we have generally aimed to lay pipes in rock excavations low enough for any probable cutting down of the street grades hereafter.


The pipes connecting the hydrants with the street mains are 6 in. in diameter. The hydrants have 5-in. barrels, and each hydrant has one 4-in. nozzle and two 2}-in. nozzles.


55


269 hydrants have been set as indicated by red spots on the map. There is now one hydrant set for each 1,008 feet of pipe laid.


As a rule, pipes and hydrants are least likely to freeze when located on the north or sunny side of streets. But many of the streets had gas-pipes laid on the north side. In several cases, where the difference seemed to be sufficiently important, the Gas Light Co. moved its pipes to the other side ; in some cases the water-pipes were laid very near the gas-pipes for considerable dis- tances, and in others, where the danger of freezing seemed to be small, the water-pipes were laid on the south side and the gas-pipes were not disturbed. Where there was no gas-pipe in the way the water-pipe was always laid on the north side, irrespective of dif- ferences in rock cutting, lengths of service-pipes, and other local considerations.


In streets running north and south there is little or no choice of sides as to freezing, and we took the sides not occupied by the gas- pipes, though uniformity would have been preferable.


The Gas Light Co. now lays all new pipes on the southerly and easterly sides of streets.


The intersections of streets are evidently the most serviceable positions for hydrants, as any departure from a corner adds just so much to the distance from houses on the cross street, and makes the lines of hose crooked, without giving any advantage on the street where the hydrant stands. At a street corner, however, a hydrant would be particularly liable to be injured by passing vehicles strik- ing it ; moreover, the street pipe is frequently at an inconvenient distance from the sidewalk, on account of connecting the streets by a curve. The hydrants, therefore, are usually put a short distance from the corner, on an average, perhaps, 15 feet back from the property line of the intersecting street, and mostly on the northerly side in streets running east and west, but without any uniform system beyond this.


Where there is no doubt of a sufficient supply of water, hydrants are connected with 6-in. street-mains in preference to larger sizes, so that it may not be necessary to shut off water from the most important lines for the purpose of doing any required work upon the hydrants.


56


Branches for hydrants are set about 500 feet apart, being rather nearer together in the densely built parts of the city, and a little further apart where there are but few buildings ; but in many places which are not yet sufficiently built up to justify the expense of a hydrant these branches are capped. The positions of these capped branches are shown on plans in the office.


Rather a large amount of rock was encountered in the pipe- trenches. Two large gangs of men, with hand drills, and one gang, with two steam drills, were kept at work on it for several months.


In Woodward street our pipe passes over the Cochituate aque- duct, and additional covering of earth was required to protect it. In order not to make the street grade too steep, the filling was extended each way from the aqueduct, making the length of the street more or less raised about 550 feet. This required the build- ing of some bank wall, new fences, etc. The total cost of these changes was about $1,050, one half of which was paid by the City of Boston.


In the construction of the new conduit for the additional supply from Sudbury river, the Boston Water Board has built culverts under the work at street-crossings except where the street grade is far above the conduit, so that the Newton water-pipes and sewers may pass under without interference. Our pipes are now laid through such culverts in Chestnut and Boylston streets at the Upper Falls ; also in Pleasant and Sumner streets, Newton Centre.


A self-supporting box was made for carrying the 4-inch pipe over the railroad-bridge in Hammond street, Chestnut Hill, and the pipe was further protected from frost by coverings of hair-felt and tarred paper.


A contract was made with Devlin, Long & Moore, of New York, for laying all the main distributing-pipe. They laid about 2} miles in the latter part of 1875, and about 9 miles in 1876. On the afternoon of April 21, 1876, the contractors' employés were driven off by large mobs of strikers from the Sudbury-conduit line. The ringleaders were promptly arrested by the Newton police, and there was no further interruption from this cause.


Owing to the failure of the contractors to pay their men, and


57


prosecute the work, but little was accomplished from May 20 to June 15, 1876. After the latter date all pipe-laying was done by day work.


Four large gangs were employed most of the time till October, after which the force was gradually diminished till the close of the season, in December. As a general rule, each gang was in charge of an inspector, foreman of pipe-laying, and foreman of trenchmen.


The pipes, so far as then laid, were filled with water early in November, 1876.


During the first six months thereafter, 4 leaks were discovered at joints which were not perfectly made, 1 at a joint which settled, 1 at a dead end imperfectly capped, and 1 at a split pipe.


All pipe-laying previous to March, 1877, excepting the conduit- pipe at the pumping-station, was done under the immediate super- intendence of Mr. Wm. H. Mahanna, who attended to his work with untiring industry and energy.




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