WATER FOR HANOVER AND THE COLLEGE

A SHORT HISTORY

In Chase's "History of Dartmouth College and Hanover" we read: "The first successful well (about 1770) is now covered by the sidewalk on the eastern side of the road over against the southwest corner of Reed Hall. That now on the Green, which for so many years supplied the college pump, was dug three or four years later." This historic "well-on-theCommon", now marked by a concrete slab, yielded the principal water-supply, during a century, for the near-by group of buildings which was distinctly the College during that time.

In December 1820 the Hanover Aqueduct Association was incorporated,—a stock company under whose charter a lead pipe, one and half inches in diameter, was laid from a series of wells on a wooded hillside about two miles southeast of the village. This supplied the dwellings of, eventually, about 120 takers. One share was about 40 gallons per day served through a pinhole in a copper butt or plug at the end of the pipe, and stored in such receptacle as the taker chose to provide. The only other resource was rainwater stored in convenient cisterns. Roofwater also furnished the only available fire protection. Ten or more large underground cisterns, of capacity from 60 to 100 hogsheads each, were located at principal street corners. To utilize this reserve the only force was man-power operating the antique "hand engine" of ye olden time. The strongest men could continue the exhausting work of the pumps for a short period only, and calls for more help brought few willing hands.

After sixty years of service, during which the stockholders received a fair return on the investment, the first pipe, having become inadequate, was replaced by one of two inches diameter, under direction of Judge Chase, in 1880. This more than doubled the capacity, and the aqueduct is delivering this water of excellent quality today. The hydrostatic head to the highest service point in the village is about 50 feet. However, with the gradual improvement of the reservoir water, the demand for "the aqueduct water" has so much declined that it has lately become an inconsiderable part of the Village water-supply. Its quality is superior and it has such degree of hardness that the interior surface of the pipe was soon coated with a chemical compound of lead sufficient to so minimize further action of the water upon the metal that the claim is made that no case of lead poisoning has been traced to use of this water. The chemists, however, are slow to admit such absolute immunity. The directing heads of this enterprise were, during the past fifty years,—Judge Chase, Professor J. K. Lord and, today, Dr. G. D. Frost, to all of whom the service was mostly a labor of love. The last-named, especially, with a keen "engineering" instinct, has given to it assiduous and painstaking supervision.

Between 1880 and 1890 Hanover suffered from two disastrous fires, and the need of adequate fire protection became more urgent. Agitation and investigation resulted (1892) in rejection of a proposal to pump from the river, decision in favor of a gravity system, survey of the reservoir site in ''District No. 4", and estimate for a storage reservoir and pipe system sufficient for fire protection. But the project was too large for the financial resources of the village precinct, and there was another year of delay until Dr. Tucker assumed the presidency of the College. Then the Trustees decided that an abundant water-supply must be had to insure the future growth of the College. In 1893 a charter was procured from the Legislature, the Village Precinct voted $20,000. (limit prescribed by law), the College contributed $25,000., and the organized Hanover Wetter Works Company issued bonds for $20,000. more. With this working capital work was begun about August Ist, and The HanoverGazette of November 18th, 1893, announced the completion, of the works in good running order, after a very gratifying demonstration by the fire department, which, from a near-by hydrant and through one hundred feet of hose, sent a fire stream over Reed Hall, clearing the roof by fifteen feet or more. The initial cost, excluding cost of service pipe and making the early connections, was less than $63,000. Mr. Taylor, of Worcester, Mass., the contractor,—also a waterworks engineer of long experience,—took professional pride in the work, for which he gave a six month's guarantee of successful operation and correction of any defects. The Company had one full-time and one part-time inspector at the dam and the same on the pipe system, from start to finish of the work.

The dam creating the storage reservoir was 720 feet long, more than 30 feet high, from bed of the core-wall at lowest point, and contained above 18,700 cubic yards of compacted earth, besides above 600 cubic yards of core-wall masonry,stone laid with cement mortar. This intercepted the run-off from about 1200 acres,— one of the best farming districts in town,—consisting of woodland, pasture, and mowing or tillage in fairly equal proportions. The reservoir covered about 33 acres,—about one thirty-sixth part of the tributary area. At first the company bought only about 50 acres, leaving an irregular margin with the enclosing fence nowhere more than a few rods from the water. The overflowed basin had been chiefly mowing, but about Ax/2 acres of woods and bushes were cleared, stumps blown out, all usable wood removed and brush and rakings burned on the ground. The initial pipe system consisted of about two and one sixth miles of 14 inch and 12 inch main and four and seven eights miles of distributing pipe.

The entire basin is singularly favorable for run-off and storage, since the subsoil is blue-clay hardpan, practically impervious, and this is covered by woodsearth and tillable soil generally not much more than two feet in depth. The runoff is more rapid from the steeper northern slopes but is held back in the more absorbent soil oif the less rugged southern slopes, and this storage only gradually seeps into the reservoir after snow-melting and rainfall. Some years elapsed before the vegetable matter in the soil covered by the water was dissolved and removed. During the first two or three years the water was not favored for drinking, in comparison with that served by the aqueduct company; and, during the first decade, the best reports of tests at the State laboratory noted an undesirable presence of dissolved organic material. Nothing better was possible under the conditions then existing. It is surprising how recent has been the education of the public (including ourselves) into a full appreciation of an unsanitary situation. Here was an attractive region among the high hills, having only seven inhabited farm houses,—but so widely scattered that hardly more than two were visible from a single point,—where all the activities of farm life were performed, and yet "watching the situation" was considered to be a sufficient precaution,—howbeit with some misgivings. When, however, the outbreak of typhoid fever occurred in Ithaca, (early in 1903) where there were 1350 known cases in a population of 13,000 (including 3000 students in Cornell University), President Tucker and the Trustees of the College decided that we were taking too much risk, since the ilthaca disaster was traced to contaminated water supply. Hence, proceedings were begun without delay, by which practically the entire drainage area was finally purchased and thus brought under exclusive control of the company. All dwellings were vacated mostly within a year, and these, with nearly all the barns and out-buildings have been long since removed.

The original storage capacity of the reservoir was about 115 million gallons, —but, by successive raising of the spillway crest and a small addition to the height of the dam, this was increased to nearly 165 million gallons. At first the storage was so super-abundant that the use of small water motors was permitted for operating creamery separators, a small printing press and small shop machinery. These, operating under head, which at different points varied from 150 to 200 feet, made very effective use of the surplus water. But, as the consumption rapidly increased with the building of new dormitories for the expanding college, the general introduction of modern plumbing, and the growth of wasteful practices usually resulting when water is abundant, the use of water motors (which finally numbered 18) was prohibited. Small electric motors were by that time available at reasonable cost

The increase of storage capacity was accomplished concurrently with a great betterment along the border of the reservoir. The entire margin (about a mile) was revetted with field stone laid in a bank wall 4 to 5 feet high, thus gaining equivalent depth of water all around, and abolishing shallow bays and corners. It appeared, upon due consideration, that the cost of this betterment would be but little more than the cost of trying to check or control consumption by use of meters on all house service pipes. The policy of flat rates was preferred to that of mechanical restriction, in view of the gain of about 45 percent in available storage. The maintenance of meters demands a constant expense for inspection, repairs, renewals, etc., and was not adapted to our circumstances, involvingquestions of adjustment between the rapidly developing needs of the college and the moderate demands of the widely scattered residences.

Having full control of the territory, a program of clearing and cleaning up was followed year by year, especially along the brook courses. Barriers of posts and wire netting were made near the mouths of the principal brooks, thus intercepting floating leaves and debris from the woods. To abolish low margins, where cat-tails and other aquatic growth flourished, the aforesaid revetment of fijsldstone (of which there was abundance in old stone walls) secured a definite deep-water margin, clean and stable and resistant to wave-action. Outside of this a border from three to six rods wide was kept clear of trees and bushes and maintained as grassland. The late Dr. Gile took particular interest in reforestation, and (in his capacity as one of the Directors) inaugurated the policy by which more than 40,000 white pine seedlings have already been set out, and 10,000 are to be set out each springseason for some years to come. Meantime, with the gradual decrease of profit from the hay grown on the meadows, the natural seeding of the old pastures and grassland has proceeded so that, in one or two decades more, the larger part of the territory will be covered with woods. Following advice from the United States Fish Commission, the old reservoir was promptly stocked with largemouthed black bass in the winter of 1894. These have effectually prevented the development of frogs and other objectionable visible creatures. Muskrats and mink, which have appeared occasionally have been kept in check by trapping. The market value of the pelts is a sufficient inducement to an authorized trapper. Fishing has been allowed, under restrictions, one or two days in a week by permit, on payment of a small fee.

Although the region has the high altitude of 700 feet above sealevel and the open country is favorable for promoting cleanly conditions by natural agencies, we have not escaped occasional visitations of those microscopic and sub-microscopic organisms' which some times pervade stored surface-waters and plague the managers of water-works. This liability is, greatest in 'the stagnant period of "dog-days", and when the water carries a certain amount of dissolved vegetable matter. Our most serious visitation of this kind occurred in July, 1904, only just after the company had gained full control of the territory. An organism known as uroglena gave to the entire body of water in storage (then about 100 million gallons) a yellowish tint and disagreeable taste and odor. Under direction of Dr. Kingslford, medical director of the College, and by means of a boat transported thither, a treatment of sulphate of copper was given. This required only one part in four million by weight, or in the proportion of one ounce in 1000 gallons, which is one ounce in 32 barrels of water. This amount was so minute in that body of water that there could be no effect on human beings. Possibly the mud at the bottom of the pond might have shown traces of it. There was no visible effect on well developed fish. The organisms were greatly reduced in 40 hours and had entirely disappeared after 60 hours; and they did not re-appear that season. Other visitations at rare intervals, as of algae, etc., have been more localized, usually occurring in narrow strips along the margin, and these have promptly yielded to similar treatment.

The experience of the past fifteen years,—recorded by graphs of the rainfall and of the ups and downs of the surface-level,—showed that even this large storage would be inadequate under certain conditions of the season. Although the run-off of the winter and spring always filled the reservoir before May each year, the level sometimes continued to drop steadily all summer, so that the storage would be depleted when college opened in September; then, if the rains of autumn were scant, the depletion has continued so as to threaten a serious shortage in the late winter before replenishment could begin. The multiplying dormitories (now 17) and fraternity houses (now 24), the new gymnasium with its swimming pool, the increasing use of automatic flush closets, the four or more garages, and the expansion of the village by erection of more than 100 new dwellings (with addition of nearly four miles to the distributing system of pipe lines) has increased the total of outlets to nearly or quite 6000, each of which is a possible source of leaks. Exposure of the depleted reservoir-basin to the vicissitudes of our severe winters had wrought injury to the gatehouse and gates and the pavement of the dam, etc., so that the necessity of a reserve which could be depended upon to keep the reservoir full became increasingly apparent. Daily observations at the spillway in the spring showed that, from January to April in 1924, more than 200 million gallons were wasted over the crest, and in 1925 nearly 230 million gallons. Either of these quantities greatly exceeds the entire storage capacity. These facts and the existence of an unusually favorable site for another reservoir, and other considerations led to the decision by the Directors to provide another reservoir to store some of the water which was annually lost.

Undoubtedly the quality of the reservoir water might have been put beyond criticism at any time by incurring the expense of works for filtration. Engineers who design such works stated that the cost of plant, under the conditions in that locality, would be about $30,000 per million gallons daily consumption; and to this must be added a large annual expense for maintenance which would include constant supervision, cost of chemicals, overhead charges, etc. Because the question of quality was important only for the small proportion of water needed for household use, and because the need of more storage would yet remain, and because the cost of filtration, with its continuing expense, would probably exceed that of another reservoir, any other decision was out of the question.

Other considerations favoring the new reservoir were stated in a report made by the writer to the Directors in December 1923. These were as follows:

1. It is an axiom among water-works managers that "pure water is better than purified water". The betterments already made were giving us promise of continued improvement of quality in the future.

2. The experts who planned and built the great systems of water works for Boston and New York testified to the greatly beneficial influence of storage on the quality of stored surface waters. High authorities, also declared that stored water is to be preferred to running water. We need not discuss here the purifying effects of sunlight and winds in causing circulating currents within depths down to 24 feet. Incidentally the final judgment, after expensive experiments, was that meticulous care in stripping the top soil from reservoir sites is not worth the cost.

3. The remarkable results of experiments on aeration were cited, some of which were as follows:—Water impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen gas, 15 parts to the million, lost more than 12 parts in two seconds when the water rose in jets, and that the perceptible odor disappeared. Also that de-aerated water '"falling through the air in drops during one second would increase the dissolved oxygen from 0 percent to 75 percent of saturation, and in 2 seconds to about 90 percent." In this respect our conditions for aeration are ideal, since water from the full reservoir discharged from a fixed vertical nozzle rises 16 feet in one second, falls 16 feet in the next second, and is further scattered on a wide platform of concrete studded with large stones. It then flows into the rough stony channel of the brook which, in a course of a quarter of a mile, descends 60 feet more before discharging into the lower reservoir. Along this brook barriers of stone may be arranged to make as many cascades as desired. The vertical drop from upper to lower spillway crests is 80 feet.

4. The purification of the water at the gate house would give no assurance of good quality after traversing several miles of cast-iron pipes. One authoritydivides all potable waters into two classes,—"aggressive" and "quiet". To quote :—"An aggressive water attacks and tuberculates the pipes, reduces their carrying capacity and may ultimately destroy them". It may pass all of the prescribed tests, but it may also, under certain conditions, slowly produce a "floe" or dirty mud which moves forward with the, flow, makes the water turbid and disagreeable and gives just cause for complaint. Mr. Allen Hazen has said:"Knowledge comes first, and when engineers understand better why waters are aggressive it will be easier to find methods of treating them so as to keep them quiet."

The contract for the new reservoir was let promptly in the spring of 1924, to the Ames Construction Company (William M. Ames, Thayer School, 1895) which nearly completed the work before winter and finished it in the spring and summer of 1925. The excellent materials available and other conditions were very favorable for constructing an earth dam with limited core wall partly on a ledge and partly on the stratum of clay hardpan. The basin which was all meadow land, with the exception of a few trees and a small bush-covered tract, was thoroughly cleared, grubbed and plowed, and loose vegetable matter raked up and burned. The area covered is about 32 acres. One of the first operations was to build a first class revetment wall five feet high along the entire margin; necessarily the face of the dam (550 feet long) was paved thoroughly with stone. The storage capacity is about 130 million gallons, which added to the full volume of the old reservoir, makes the combined storage nearly 300 millions. The entire cost was about $40,000. This reservoir would have filled in the first winter season if the gates had been closed. Afte,r the final work of construction it was overflowing early in December, 1925, and so continued through the winter just past. Meantime nearly one hundred black bass were transferred from the old reservoir, thus stocking the water at once with well-grown fish.

During the past five years a resident overseer has occupied "reservoir lodge", a farmhouse near the lower dam and just outside of the watershed line. Under direction of Professor F. F. Parker, our efficient and painstaking superintendent, operations for betterment of conditions all over the territory,—such as tree planting, clearing away unsightly thickets and dead trees, burning the waste, looking after the fencing and trespassers, etc.have been in progress day by day.

From the first organization of the Company, nearly thirty-three years ago, the Board of Directors has consisted of seven members, a part representing the village precinct as one stockholder and part representing the College,—the other stockholder. Two of these have served continuously during the entire period,— Perley R. Bugbee, as Secretary-Treas- urer, and the writer. At present the other members are Mr. Edgerton, Treasurer of the College, and Mr. Gooding its Superintendent of Buildings, and Mr. A. D. Storrs and Mr. H. E. Hurlbutt, representing the Village Precinct. The late Dr. Gile was the other member.

We believe that we are quite justified in the statement that few communities under like requirements for the present and future,—in New England or elsewhere,—have a more satisfactory prospect for an adequate water supply, under conditions so favorable for realizing a high standard of quality.

"The wise man of Miletus thus declared The first of things is water" J. S. Blackie, quoting Pythagoras.

"Here's that which is too weak to be a sinner, Honest water which ne'er left man in the mire".

Shakespeare.

The New Reservoir

The Spillway of the New Reservoir

Below the New Reservoir—Aeration

The Old Reservoir from the West

President and Engineer of Hanover Water Works Co