New Bedford, Massachusetts; its history, industries, institutions and attractions (1889) (14592504830)

Identifier: bedfordmassac00newb (find matches)
Title: New Bedford, Massachusetts; its history, industries, institutions and attractions
Year: 1889 (1880s)
Authors: New Bedford (Mass.). Board of Trade Pease, Zeph. W. (Zephaniah Walter), b. 1861 Hough, George A Sayer, William L. (William Lawton), 1848-1914
Subjects:
Publisher: (New Bedford) Mercury publishing company, printers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation



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ether with the probable cost. Theperiod from i860 to 1865 was occupied in the examination of differentschemes presented, by which this important problem could be solved.These investigations were conducted by joint committees of the citygovernment appointed each year. Capt. Charles H, Bigelow, theengineer in charge of the construction of the fort at Clarks point,together with George A. Briggs, then city surveyor, and William F.Durfee, civil engineer, were the first to make surveys and estimates ofthe various sources of supply. The advantages of the head waters of the Acushnet river as asource of supply were soon apparent, and this conclusion was endorsedby William J. McAlpine, the eminent hydraulic engineer, whosecounsel was sought in 1865. During this period Prof. George I.Chase, of Brown University, had made several chemical examinationsof samples taken from the Acushnet and declared it to be a water ofremarkable purity. The usual form of enactment was passed by the legislature April
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SEEING THE SIGHTS. 97 18, 1863, and was accepted by the city on April 14, 1864. Threeconstructing commissioners, Messrs. WilHain W. Crapo, WarrenLadd, and David B. Kempton, were appointed November 30,1865. These gentlemen, together with George A. Briggs as chiefengineer, and William J. McAlpine as consulting engineer, beganat once with the construction of the present system of water works.This work was vigorously continued and water was first introducedinto the city in December, 1869. The source of supply is from a storing reservoir artificiallyformed by constructing a dam across the valley of the Acushnet,about seven miles north of the centre of the city. The area ofwater shed above the dam is thirty-three thousand acres ; the area ofwater surface of reservoir is three hundred acres ; capacity of reser-voir wheq full is four hundred million gallons. The elevation ot thefull reservoir is forty feet plus the tide in New Bedford harbor. In1886 a canal was dug permitting an auxiliary sup