LIST OF PLATES.

PLATE XXIV. Map of a Part of the Borough of Manhattan, Showing Proposed Installation of Sea Water Pipes.

PLATE XXV. Map of a Part of the Borough of Queens, Showing Proposed Installation of Sea Water Pipes.

PLATE XXVI. Map Showing Proposed Sea Water Fire Pipes for the Dry Goods District.

I.

CONTENTS OF APPENDIX (F).

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS,
Recommendation for Experimental Systems in Manhattan,
Effect of Sea Water in Extinguishing Fires,

Present Annual Consumption of Water for Extinguishing Fires, 360
Borough of Brooklyn,

360

Borough of Queens,

Long Island City,

Borough of The Bronx,

II.

Fire Pipe System for Pumping Station on the East Side,
Flushing Gutters and Sewers,

Cooling the Streets,

Use of Sea Water in Office Buildings,

Acknowledgment to Contributors of Information,

FIRE PIPE LINES IN CLEVELAND, MILWAUKEE, Detroit,
BUFFALO AND BOSTON, .

III. SALT WATER FIRE SYSTEM OF BOSTON,

364

365

366

Present Distribution System,

VI.

V.

PROPOSED SEA WATER PIPE LINE SERVICE FOR NEW YORK, 382
Recommendations for New York,

VII. SEA WATER VS. FRESH FOR STREET PURPOSES,
Effect of Salt Water on Asphalt Pavements,
Experience in Pacific Coast Cities,

Experience in English Cities,

Effect upon Horses,

Effect upon Rubber Tires of Automobiles and Bicycles, .
Effect upon Macadam Roads,

401

401

IX.

POSSIBLE USE OF SEA WATER IN OFFICE BUILDINGS AND
INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS,

Experience on Steamship Lines, .

422

Cost of a General Introduction South of Twenty-third Street, 430
Interest and Depreciation, .

431

Annual Cost of Operation and Maintenance of Fire Pipe
System,

432

Estimate of Cost of Pumping Station in Corlear's Hook Park,
and Annual Cost of Operation,

433

Comparison of Fire Loss with Cost of Operation,

434

Fire Losses, Per Acre, South of Twenty-third Street, Dry
Goods District, .
South of Chambers Street,

434

434

AN AUXILIARY SALT-WATER SUPPLY FOR FIRE-PROTECTION, STREET-WASHING, SEWER-CLEANSING, AND OTHER

PURPOSES.

BY FOSTER CRowell, C. E.

To the Engineering Committee of the Merchants' Association of New York, Thomas C. Clarke, Past President American Society Civil Engineers, Chairman:

GENTLEMEN:

In accordance with your resolution of December 8, 1899, I have made a careful investigation of the question of an auxiliary sea water supply for New York City, and herewith present my report.

Your instructions required that the report should cover fire protection, street washing, sewer cleansing, and other purposes for which salt water might be utilized.

The facts and figures from which my conclusions are drawn are set forth elsewhere in this report, arranged in separate chapters for convenient reference and study, together with tabular statements, detailed estimates of cost and citations.

The conclusions reached and the accompanying recommendations will now be stated in order.

The present New York water supply system is so constituted that in the greater part of the city it is impossible to obtain by

gravity sufficient pressure at the hydrants for extinguishing fires, and reliance has heretofore been entirely upon the fire engines.

Moreover, the present pipe distribution system is not suitable for the introduction of a high pressure service by means of pumps; and even if the facts were otherwise, the high pressure would necessitate the separation of the fire service from the domestic supply of fresh water, or else require the replacement of the house fixtures with others suited to the higher pressure, both of which plans would be costly and unsatisfactory. In either case pumping would have to be resorted to.

The only portions of the city where it has been possible to secure both adequate pressure and sufficient volume of water without depending on the fire engines are the narrow margins of water fronts that lie within the radius of operation with hose by the fireboats. My first recommendation is to extend that radius, by means of fire pipe lines, into the heart of the city.

Such fireboat pipe lines are in use in the cities of Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo and Boston, and have given complete satisfaction, as will be seen by reference to the facts and figures in Chapters II and III.

Boston uses sea water, and the experience had there demonstrates conclusively the great value and advantage of using this source of supply; for, although no fires have occurred within the fire pipe district since the line was put into service, the very exhaustive tests made under service conditions prove beyond any doubt its power and effectiveness.

The germ of the pipe line system is the fireboat. New York has six fireboats in service, with an aggregate capacity of about 40,000 gallons per minute under high service conditions, which is equivalent to the work of ninety ordinary fire engines, as determined comparatively by the Boston tests. The largest of the boats, the "New Yorker," alone has a capacity of 13,000 gallons per minute, or the equivalent of thirty engines.

While the fireboats do magnificent work at fires sufficiently near to the water front, and are an indispensable feature of the New York fire service, yet the occasions for their use are so infrequent that for the greater portion of the time they are performing no useful work and yielding no return. Of course, the fires must be kept up and the crew be on duty at all times, and the aggregate expense involved, together with interest and