Hutchinson River Parkway Detritus Was Used to Fill Much of the Pelham Reservoir in 1925

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There is a lovely lake in Pelham.  Known as the "Pelham Reservoir," it long served as one of the principal sources of drinking water for our Villages.  By the mid-1920s, however, all of Pelham grew increasingly concerned with the quality of the water sourced from Pelham Reservoir.  As Pelham Manor, Pelham, and North Pelham worked on finding alternative water sources, construction began on the new Hutchinson River Parkway that cut through the small valley through which the Hutchinson River flowed.  

The New Rochelle Water Company had been working for years to bring Catskill Mountain water to Pelham Manor by connecting to the aqueduct system that carried that water through the Hudson Valley. Indeed, in November, 1928, the New Rochelle Water Company installed new pumping equipment that enabled it to draw Catskill water and deliver it to Pelham Manor. Barely a month later, the new pumping equipment began giving trouble and had to be repaired. 

During the repairs, Pelham Manor had to revert to consuming reservoir water during a prolonged drought. Once the pumping equipment was repaired, use of the reservoir water had drawn water levels to such a low that the repaired pumping equipment had to be deployed to refill the reservoir to ensure its availability during a water emergency rather than using it to move Catskill water to Pelham Manor.

To make matters worse, in late 1925 as construction crews excavated the landscape for the new Hutchinson River Parkway, they needed somewhere to deposit the dirt and debris.  In late November, for example, two steam shovels were stationed near today's Lincoln Avenue and were digging out about 1,000 cubic yards of material daily to get the river valley ready for the roadbed.  

According to a report in The Pelham Sun:

"The old Pelham reservoir north of the New Haven railroad tracks is now being slowly filled in with the material excavated north of East Lincoln avenue and although 100,000 cubic yards of material will be available in that way, it will be necessary to haul in from other places 96,000 cubic yards of dirt and gravel.  The reservoir extends from First street to Fourth street and is from 60 to 150 feet wide.  I has been cut in two by a dam and the filling is being done from the south end at present."

Detail of 1910 Map Showing Pelham Reservoir and Filter

Beds. Source: Bromley, George W. & Bromley, Walter S., Untitled

Map Bounded by Town of East Chester, City of New Rochelle, Pelham

Station, Clarefmont Avenue and Central Boulevard in Atlas Of Westchester

County, Vol. One, p. 17 (Philadelphia, PA: G. W. Bromley & Co., 1910).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Wed., Mar. 11, 2015:  Research Regarding the History of the Pelham Reservoir in Today's Willsons Woods Park.

Wed. May 27, 2015:  A Portion of the Pelham Reservoir Dam Was Destroyed in 1896 to Save the Filter Beds.

Tue., May 26, 2015:  1921 Report of Inspection of the Pelham Reservoir Water Supply System.

Mon., May 04, 2015;  Pelham Manor's Efforts to End Use of the Pelham Reservoir for Drinking Purposes.

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"Steam Shovels on Parkway Through By Next Summer
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Contract Calls for All Excavation Work to be Through by July, 1926
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The excavation work on the Hutchinson River Parkway will be completed by July 1, 1926 from New Rochelle Road to Boston Post Road, according to Superindent James O'Flannagan who is in charge of the work.  Two steam shovels are now stationed near East Lincoln avenue and First avenue and are digging out about 1000 cubic yards of material daily, in an effort to get the river valley ready for the roadbed of the boulevard.  The road will wind and thread its way along-side the channel of the Hutchinson River and will make an ideal drive on a crisp autumn day.

The old Pelham reservoir north of the New Haven railroad tracks is now being slowly filled in with the material excavated north of East Lincoln avenue and although 100,000 cubic yards of material will be available in that way, it will be necessary to haul in from other places 96,000 cubic yards of dirt and gravel.  The reservoir extends from First street to Fourth street and is from 60 to 150 feet wide.  I has been cut in two by a dam and the filling is being done from the south end at present.  

Superintendent O'Flanagan reports that the most serious difficulty has been encountered so far has beeen the 200 yards of solid rock found north of East Lincoln avenue.  It has also been difficult to relocate 500 feet of 10-inch water main, but an acetylene torch has been used to cut up the water main into lengths convenient for transference.

Besides steam shovels, compressed air drills and dynamite will be called into service and work will continue all winter on the Parkway.  There is 5000 cubic yards of rock to blast out, most of which is found near Boston Road and just north of East Lincoln avenue."

Source:  Steam Shovels on Parkway Through By Next Summer -- Contract Calls for All Excavation Work to be Through by July, 1926,The Pelham Sun, Nov.. 27, 1925, p. 3, col. 2.

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The New Development of Pelhamwood as it Was in 1913

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Located just north of the Pelham station on the New Haven Line is the lovely neighborhood known as Pelhamwood.  Almost triangular in shape, the neighborhood is bordered on the north by Lincoln Avenue, on the west by Harmon and Highbrook Avenues, on the south by the railroad tracks and on the east by the New Rochelle border.  In 1909, Clifford B. Harmon & Co. bought from the Winyah Park Realty Company this one-hundred acre tract and began development of Pelhamwood.

Within four years, all the roads of Pelhamwood were macadamized.  All the streets also were provided with concrete sidewalks and gutters.  Electric street lights illuminated the streets, a particularly modern convenience at a time when gas lamps still lit much of Pelham.  Also by 1913, the Village of North Pelham had constructed outlet sewers through Highbrook Avenue and at Fifth Avenue and Harmon Avenue so that Pelhamwood homeowners could connect to a sewer system for the area.  That year, Clifford B. Harmon & Co. was engaged in constructing a complete sewer system in Pelhamwood, "paid for in part by the abutting owners and in part by the company."

On December 20, 1913, The Pelham Sun published a half-page advertisement for the new real estate development known as Pelhamwood.  The newspaper further filled the remainder of the page with brief articles touting the beauty and modern conveniences of the new development, together with a series of early photographs of the development and a few of its residences.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of these materials and provides images of the published photographs and the half-page advertisement.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

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"Pelhamwood is One of the Town's Beauty Spots
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Pelhamwood
-----

The Pelhamwood section of the Village of North Pelham, since it went into the hands of Clifford B. Harmon & Co., has made great strides, and is rapidly building up.  All the streets have been macadamized, gutters and concrete sidewalks provided.  For street lights electricity is used.  The building and maintenance of the streets is paid for by the Harmon Company, which also pays its lighting bills ,the streets not having been turned over to the village.

The village paid for the outlet sewers through Highbrook avenue and at Fifth and Harmon avenue, and the realty company is now engaging in building a complete sewer system in Pelhamwood, paid for in part by the abutting owners and in part by the company.

Pelhamwood is one of the prettiest spots in the town and the residences there erected are all high class and of a decidedly pleasing appearance.

The fact that the village has improved Fourt street east to the village line has provided the north end of Pelhamwood with a fine entrance from that point and will help materially to boom property in that part of the village.  

A number of new residences are planned to be built the coming spring, some by private owners and others by the realty concern.

Pelhamwood is somewhat of a bonanza to the Village of North Pelham, in that it produces a large revenue in taxes and receives little in return therefor.  That, of course,, is caused by the fact that the streets are private and not public thoroughfares, although use of them is permitted the general public, with the exception of heavy trucks, which are barred.

The pictorial display in this page will show various types of Pelhamwood residences.

Our Water Supply
-----

In the Town of Pelham, the Villages of North Pelham and Pelham Manor and the unincorporated section adjoining Pelham Manor are supplied with water by the New Rochelle Water Company, which gives them a service far superior to that of many much larger communities.  The Village of Pelham is supplied by the Inter-Urban Water Company.

The New Rochelle Water Copany has its source of supply and machinery equipment in duplicate, each unit entirely independent of the other.  Reservoir No. 1, located 3 3-4 miles distant from the Town Hall, covers a water area of 60.54 acres, with a 34 feet depth of water at the gate house, has a storage capacity of 271,735,700 gallons and supplies the Gravity Service.  

Reservoir No. 2, located 3 1-8 miles from the Town Hall, covers a water area of 18.28 acres, with a 25 foot depth of water at the gate house, has a capacity of 37,000,000 gallons.  Reservoir No. 3, which is located between Nos. 1 and 3 [sic], has a water area of 30.11 acres, with a depth of water at the gate house of 25 feet, has a storage capacity of 128,000,000 gallons.

Reservoir No. 2 and 3, together with a battery of 20 driven wells operated by an air lift, supply the high service, for which there are installed at the main pumping station two pumping engines of 3,000,000 and 3,500,000 gallons, respectively, which pump into a stand pipe with a capacity of 1,200,000 gallons.  These engines are supplied with stream by four 150 H. P. boilers, each supplied with under feed stokers.

Also this commpany has reservoir No. 4, located in Yonkers, about one mile west of Reservoir No. 1, wjhich reservoir has a flooded area of 34.5 acres, a depth of water at the gate house, of 25 feet, and has a storage capacity of 108,500,000 gallons.  This reservoir is capable of supplying both the high and low service, having a pumping station equipped with two electric power pumps of 4,000,000 and 1,000,000 gallons, respectively.

Though Reservoir No. 1 is used for gravity service, it can supply Reservoir No. 2, and thus serve the high service system.  By opening the gates the high service can be made to serve the gravity system.

In addition to the above sources of supply the company has located at Pelham a battery of 62 driven wells.  At this point is located a pumping station with a pumping engine of 2,000,000 gallons capacity, stream for which is furnished by two 100 H. P. boilers which are equipped with under feed stokers.  

This company, with pipe lines of upwards of 140 miles, is metered certain throughout, with the exception of certain residences in the Village of Pelham Manor, and supplies in addition to the City of New Rochelle, the suburban towns of Eastchester, Bronxville, Tuckahoe, North Pelham and Pelham Manor.
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Pelhamwood Association
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The Pelhamwood Association is the outcome of a meeting of the property owners of Pelhamwood, held May 16, 1912.  The principal object of this association is to promote the welfare of Pelhamwood.

The association is controlled by a President and Board of Governors.  The President is elected by the association for a term of two years, and cannot serve more than two terms in succession.  The Board of Governors, composed of six members, is also elected by the association for a term of two years, the term of three governors expiring each year.  The governors are not eligible to serve two terms in succession.

The Board of Governors is required to hold monthly meetings and to take up for action any subject that may be presented for the welfare of Pelhamwood.  

The annual meeting, which is held in May of each year, is something of a 'get together' meeting, where the governors give account to the association, the election is held, and the balance of the evening spent in getting better acquainted, in which refreshments, served by the ladies, play a very prominent part.

The present Board of Governors is as follows:  R. H. Smith, President; E. F. Campbell, Charles Smith, C. R. Adams, W. M. Pack, J. S. Marvin, Treasurer, and T. J. James, Secretary."   

Source:  Pelhamwood is One of the Town's Beauty Spots, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 1913, p. 7, cols. 1-7.  

"MR. WARDROP'S RESIDENCE" in Pelhamwood.

Source:  Pelhamwood, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 

1913, p. 7, cols. 1-3.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

"RESIDENCE OF G. W. KREMER" in Pelhamwood.

Source:  Pelhamwood, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 

1913, p. 7, cols. 5-7.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

"RESIDENCE OF R. W. SACKETT" in Pelhamwood.

Source:  Pelhamwood, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 

1913, p. 7, cols. 6-7.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

"ENTRANCE TO PELHAMWOOD."

Source:  Pelhamwood, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 
1913, p. 7, cols. 1-3.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

1913 Advertisement for the New Development "Pelhamwood."

Source:  Pelhamwood, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 

1913, p. 7, cols. 1-7.  NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

The text of the advertisement immediately above is transcribed below to facilitate search.

"PELHAMWOOD
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The Beautiful Residential Park between Mt. Vernon and New Rochelle

30 Minutes to Grand Central 167 Trains per Day

On Three Lines of Electric Roads  Two Stations on Property
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PELHAMWOOD is mighty attractive to those who wish the comforts and pleasure of suburban life, but who desire to be near the office and the city at all hours.

PELHAMWOOD is nearer, in time, than Brooklyn, The Bronx, or 145th St., Washington Heights, and trains almost as convenient as subway expresses -- and a comfortable seat all the way.
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PELHAMWOOD is now selling at suburban prices, but being in the direct line of the city's growth northward, is rising in value as rapidly as city property.  We will help you build a home here, and you can pay for same in monthly payment like rent.

VISIT this attractive property as our guest.  Full particulars, book of views, maps, etc. ,sent on request, and no obligation on your part.
-----

Clifford B. Harmon & Co.

42nd St. and Madison Ave. New York, N. Y."

Source:  Pelhamwood [Advertisement], The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 1913, p. 7, cols. 1-7.

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Periodically I have written about Pelhamwood and Clifford B. Harmon, a principal developer of Pelhamwood.  For those interested in a comprehensive history of the development, see Bell, Blake A., The Early Development of Pelhamwood, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 37, Sept. 17, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.  For earlier postings about Pelhamwood and Clifford B. Harmon, see:

Mon., Mar. 16, 2015:   Newspaper References and Advertisements Regarding Development of Pelhamwood.

Mon., Mar. 16, 2015:  Newspaper References and Advertisements Regarding Development of Pelhamwood.

Fri., Sep. 26, 2014:  1909 Advertisements Show How the New Development of Pelhamwood Was Marketed to New Yorkers.

Sat., Jan. 25, 2014:  Putting the Finishing Touches on the Lovely New Church in Pelhamwood in 1923.  

Mon., Feb. 1, 2010:  Obituary of Richard B. Ferris of Pelhamwood. 

Thu., Oct. 11, 2007:  Biographical Data and Photographs of Clifford B. Harmon Who Developed Pelhamwood. 

Tue., Jul. 10, 2007:  An Early Event in the History of Pelhamwood. 

Thu., Jun. 21, 2007:  Information About "Aeronautic" Exploits of Clifford B. Harmon Who Developed Pelhamwood in Pelham. 

Thu. Aug. 10, 2006:  The New Development of Pelhamwood Gets Approval for its Proposed Sewage System in 1912. 

Tue., Nov. 15, 2005:  Plaque Dedicated at the Historic Pelhamwood Clock Tower. 

Mon., Sep. 12, 2005: Pelhamwood Association Celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 1942. 

Thu., May 12, 2005: Clifford B. Harmon, Developer of Pelhamwood.

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Pelham Manor's Efforts to End Use of the Pelham Reservoir for Drinking Purposes

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The history of the Pelham Reservoir and its use as a source of potable water for residents of the Town of Pelham is rather convoluted and complex.  Recently I published to the Historic Pelham Blog an extensive collection of the research I have prepared on this issue.  See Wed., Mar. 11, 2015:  Research Regarding the History of the Pelham Reservoir in Today's Willsons Woods Park.  Today's posting provides a little more information about the history of the reservoir.  Specifically, it provides information about the Village of Pelham Manor's efforts to end reliance on Pelham Reservoir as a source of potable water.  

By 1929, it was clear that Pelham Reservoir was no longer suitable to meet the water needs of Pelham residents.  In the previous twenty-five years, the population of the Pelhams had exploded from about 2,500 residents to nearly 11,000.  The population of the entire region had grown similarly, straining the water resources of the New Rochelle Water Company that owned the reservoir system at the time.  Additionally, the region was in the midst of yet another prolonged drought.  Consequently, water levels in the reservoir were dangerously low and water pressure throughout the area was quite poor.  Additionally, the Pelham Manor Fire Department tested the system by opening a few hydrants.  What they discovered was rather revolting.  

In one instance, the water was "black as oil."  Throughout the system the water was muddy.  Something had to change.

It was not for want of effort that the Village of Pelham Manor still used reservoir water in early 1929.  The New Rochelle Water Company had been working for years to bring Catskill Mountain water to Pelham Manor by connecting to the aqueduct system that carried that water through the Hudson Valley.  Indeed, in November, 1928, the New Rochelle Water Company installed new pumping equipment that enabled it to draw Catskill water and deliver it to Pelham Manor.  Barely a month later, the new pumping equipment began giving trouble and had to be repaired.

During the repairs, Pelham Manor had to revert to consuming reservoir water during a prolonged drought.  Once the pumping equipment was repaired, use of the reservoir water had drawn water levels to such a low that the repaired pumping equipment had to be deployed to refill the reservoir to ensure its availability during a water emergency rather than using it to move Catskill water to Pelham Manor.

The Village of Pelham Manor was understandably upset.  Finally, in mid-April, 1929, the New Rochelle Water Company announced that the Catskill water service would begin again the following month and that the reservoir water would only be used for emergency purposes until the lease of the reservoir facilities expired in November, 1931.

On May 1, 1929, the New Rochelle Water Company turned on the Catskill water throughout the Village of Pelham Manor.  Complaints of distasteful and muddy water ended immediately.  By the end of the year, Pelham Manor officials had secured a contract with New Rochelle Water Company "guaranteeing constant supply of Catskill water."  See IN RETROSPECT, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 27, 1929, Vol. 20, No. 39, p. 2, col. 1. 

Detail of Undated Post Card, Ca. 1911, Showing

View to the East at the New Trestle Carrying the

New York, Boston and Westchester Railway Over

Portion of the Pelham Reservoir and Hutchinson

River with Children Fishing.

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"Catskill Water Service For Manor Starts Next Month; Reservoir Water Only For Emergencies, Says Newsom
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President of New Rochelle Water Company Predicts New Pumping Machinery Necessary To Deliver Catskill Water Will Be Ready By the End of the Month -- 'After Which Time Catskill Water Will Be Furnished To Pelham Manor Except Under Emergency Conditions'
-----

A definite promise that Catskill water will be furnished to Pelham Manor residents continuously except when emergencies arise, and that the Catskill service would be in operation next month was made by J. Reeves Newsom, president of the New Rochelle Water Company in a letter to the board of trustees of Pelham Manor presented at its meeting Monday night.

Delay in the delivery and assembling of extra pumping equipment necessary to deliver Catskill water, was given by Mr. Newsom as the reason for the continued supply of the unsatisfactory reservoir water.  Mr. Newsom in reply to a request by The Pelham Sun for a statement sent the letter which appears in this column.

Quoting from his letter to the Board:  'We now expect to have the needed equipment in operation by the end of the month or possibly a few days before after which time Catskill water will be furnished to Pelham Manor except under emergency conditions.'

Fire Chief John J. Brennan reported to the Trustees that investigations made at hydrants in various parts of the village showed the water to be muddy, and unsuited for drinking purposes.  One hydrant on Manor Circle which was flushed during the week previous, Brennan stated, 

(Continued on page 8)

Catskill Water By First Of Next Month
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(Continued from page 1)

showed water black as oil.  It was proposed that the water company have a general flushing of all the hydrants in the village.  Trustee Edward W. Haskins was authorized to take this up with the water company and insist that thhis work be done.  

Chief Brennan told The Pelham Sun this week that there were at least a dozen places in the village where closed gates at connecting points of the high pressure and low pressure systems made dead ends.  He expressed an opinion that if these gates were opened the pressure throughout the entire Pelham Manor distributing system would be improved.

President Newsom, when asked about this, stated that this would be impracticable because of danger at the points of intersection of the two pressures.

President Newson''s letter follows:  

'Editor of The Pelham Sun.

'Dear Sir:

'In answer to your request for a statement in connection with our beginning to serve Catskill water in November, and the subsequent temporary discontinuance of this service, I am pleased to advise as follows:

'The Catskill service begun in November was expected to continue except under emergency conditions.  About the first of the year the motor pumping unit which was being used began to give trouble.  While this trouble was being located and repaired the lower reservoirs, already nearly empty on account of the prolonged drought were pulled down to a point unsafe even for emergency use.  The pump, therefore, when repaired, had to be used to transfer water from the Yonkers reservoir to the other ones near the city.

'The permanent change to Catskill will include the abandoning of the use of certain equipment at the lower pump station, but it was decided, in view of our recent experience that this could not be safely done until a spare unit was installed at the upper pumping station.  As it was impractical to keep two stations manned for the same work, the use of reservoir water had been continued until the new unit is ready for service.

After this unit is in operation the reservoirs will be used in emergencies only, but until November, 1931, the end of the lease period, they will be so used.  In order to be able to get along without them under any combination of emergencies a third line must be laid to the aqueduct, an equalizing reservoir must be built on the high point in the northeastern part of New Rochelle, several miles of large transmission pipe lines must be built to and from this reservoir and another pumping station at a different location must be built and equipped.

'This work will require the expenditure of about a million dollars in addition to an equal amount already spent by the Company in the last two years to improve the service and to complete the first part of the development necessary to use the Catskill aqueduct as the regular source of supply.  It is our plan to have these additional works completed and in operation by the end of 1931.

'It is easy to appreciate that it has been a very difficult problem to finance these enormous expenditures over a short space of five years without raising rates, especially in view of the fact that, in addition to the resulting increased interest charges, water from the Catskill aqueduct, even at the new reduced price, costs the company twice as much as the reservoir water.  It has been our hope from the first not to raise rates and we now believe that it will be possible to get through this change-over period without doing so and that the growth of the territory over a term of years will justify the Company in having absorbed all the increased costs resulting from the undertaking.

'Yours very truly,

'Reeves J. Newsom,

President

'New Rochelle Water Company.'"

Source:  Catskill Water service For Manor Starts Next Month; Reservoir Water Only For Emergencies, Says Newsom, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 19, 1929, Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 1, cols. 6-7 & p. 8, col. 5.  

"Trustee Sherman Is Satisfied With Water
-----

Trustee Lawrence F. Sherman is satisfied with the water that is being distributed in Pelham Manor now.  

'It must be Catskill water, it's so good.  I can find no fault with it' he told The Pelham Sun, Monday.  

Since the direct connection was made to the Catskill system on May 1, no complaints about distasteful or muddy water have been heard by the Board of Trustees.  Prior to that time when Pelham Manor was receiving Westchester County reservoir water complaints were numerous.

Trustee Sherman was leader in the demand that Catskill water be served here."

Source:  Trustee Sherman Is Satisfied With Water, The Pelham Sun, May 31, 1929, p. 5, col. 2.  

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Worries Over the Region's Water Supply in 1891

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As the populations of Mount Vernon, Pelham and New Rochelle grew in the 1880s and early 1890s, worries about the region's water supply also grew, particularly given the rather crude sewerage treatment technologies of the day.  A lengthy editorial about the water supply problem appeared in the September 8, 1891 issue of The Chronicle published in Mount Vernon.  The editorial is transcribed below in its entirety.

"Our Water Supply.

The Board of Trustees are to meet next Wednesday evening, the 9th inst., at eight o'clock, to consider our water supply.  On that occasion it is probable that the New York and Mount Vernon Water Company and the New York and Westchester Water Company will be represented.  The former now furnishes, or tries to furnish Mount Vernon with water, the latter desires an opportunity to do so.  The present is therefore a fitting moment for a statement of what Mount Vernon wants and what the Water Company which serves us must supply. 

1.  We must have an abundant supply of water.

2.   It must be pure and wholesome.

3.  It must be furnished at reasonable rates.

4.  We must have a storage reservoir sufficient to supply us in any period of drought which is likely to occur.

Let us test the New York and Mount Vernon Water Company by these standards.

First.--It has not an abundant supply of water.  The New Rochelle Water Company owns the headwaters of Hutchinson River, down to and below Duryea's Mill Pond, so that all the water therefrom which the New York and Mount Vernon Water Company receives can be cut off at any moment.  To make bad worse the New York and Westchester Water Co. own the Hutchinson River below Duryea's Mill Pond down to and south of Glen Drake, so that all the water of the Hutchinson River nnorth of Glen Drake can be cut off at any time.

From Glen Drake to the reservoir of the New York and Mount Vernon Water Company is a distance of a mile; from the source of the Hutchinson River to Glen Drake is four miles.  How small a part of the watershed of the Hutchinson River is left to the New York and Mount Vernon Water Company, these figures show at a glance.  Moreover, we do not known how soon portions of this little strip of watershed may be bought up by rival companies. 

It is evident therefore that our supply of water from the Hutchinson River is likely to grow small by degrees and beautifully less, as the village increases in population.  We are informed that most of the water furnished in our village comes from artesian or driven wells.  The failure of these wells lately shows their insufficiency; artesian wells are not affected to any material extent by droughts. 

How much water recently acquired, Huguenot Lake will furnish we know not; but we do know that although the pipe therefrom to the reservoir has been laid for more than two weeks, and during those two weeks it has rained frequently, the water in the reservoir up to last Saturday, had not risen two feet.  The number of customers the company has is about 1,700.  As there are an average five to a family, about 8,000 people in Mount Vernon use the water.  They use about 60 gallons per haed.  Our Water Company should have a supply for at least 35,000 people -- that is three times the number it now supplies.  It has nothing of the sort.

2.--The quality of water.  That which comes from the artesian wells is, we believe, excellent, but that which comes from the Hutchinson River is not.  On its watershed are Pelhamville, Chester Park, Highland Parg and the Wartburg and Infant Asylums.  Guard these as you will, their sewerage will to some extent leak into the river; and as these places grow the leakage will be greater.

Hence the sooner the Hutchinson River is abandoned by us as a water-supply, the better.

3.--THE WATER RATES.

These are excessive when compared with those in New York City and in our other neighbors.  If the New York and Mount Vernon Water Company desires to keep the patronage of Mount Vernon, it must, like Capt. Scott's coon, come down.

4.--THE STORAGE RESERVOIR.

We must have a new storage reservoir and it should not be where it is.  It is immaterial where the water comes from as long as the location of the reservoir is unchanged.  The purest of water, if pumped into it, will be contaminated with the impurities and sewage which find their way into the river.

The reservoir holds only 30,000,000 gallons or thereabouts when full.  It barely holds a month's supply for Mount Vernon to-day; and it will not be a fortnight's supply two years hence.  The New Rochelle reservoir holds 130,000,000 gallons.  It is therefore almost six times as large as ours, although the population is not half as numerous.

CONCLUSION.

Now if the New York and Mount Vernon Water Company will remedy all these defects, it should be preferred to any other company.  If it will not, then any other company which will give us a better supply should have our patronage.

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The New York and Westchester Water Company propose to get most of their water from the Pocantico River.  This is a small stream that flows into the Hudson River at Tarrytown.  How much of its watershed the company owns we know not.  How many gallons a day it supplies we know not.  How pure the water is we know not.  Neither do we know what rates the company proposes to charge, nor the size of its storage reservoirs."

Source:  Our Water Supply, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 8, 1891, p. ?, col. 1 (page number not printed on newspaper page). 

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