REPORT 
ON THE 
REMOVAL OF THE PUMPING STATION 
iND OTHER WORK CONNECTED WITH THE 
BROOKLINE WATER SUPPLY, 
PRESENTED BY THE 
SPECIAL COMMITTEE 
AND 
CONSULTING ENGINEERS. 
AS AUTHORIZED BY THE TOWN, JUNE n, 1879. 
BROOKLINE: 
PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN & SON. 
188c. REPORT 
ON .THE 
REMOVAL OF THE PUMPING STATION 
AND OTHER WORK CONNECTED WITH THE 
BROOKLINE WATER SUPPLY, 
PRESENTED BY THE 
SPECIAL COMMITTEE 
AND 
CONSULTING ENGINEERS. 
AS AUTHORIZED BY THE TOWN, JUNE 11, 1879. 
BROOKLINE: 
PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN & SON. 
1880. report; 
At the special town meeting holden Oct. io, 1878, the thi'.rd 
article of the warrant, viz., “ To see if the town will examine 
the cause of the alleged impurity of the water supply,” being 
under consideration, it was “ Voted, That the subject-matter of 
this article be referred to a Committee consisting of Messrs. 
Henry M. Whitney, Willard A. Humphrey, William H. Lin- 
coln, and the Water Board, with a request that they report at 
the next annual meeting the full extent of the difficulty, and 
the best way to remedy it, and the cost of doing it; and that 
the Committee have power to consult experts.” 
Pursuant to this vote, the Committee appointed submitted a 
*eport to the town at the annual meeting in March, 1879, with 
.timates, and letters bearing upon the subject, and recom- 
mended the passing of the following vote : “ That the sum of 
$35,000 be appropriated for moving the Pumping Station to 
Cow Island, including new house for engineer, new relief 
engine and force main to connect v/ith the force main at the •*, 
present location of the Pumping Station.” 
At the conclusion of a lengthy discussion upon the Report, 
in the same meeting, without action upon the above motion, 
the town passed the following vote: — “That the Report be 4 
referred back to the Committee, with instruction. ta sec :ure 
engineeiing advice other than that of those whom they have 
already consulted ; and that the sum of five hundred ($500) 
dollars be appropriated for that purpose." In accordance with 
this vote, the Committee, after careful enquiry and correspond- 
ence, secured the services of General George S. Greene, of 
New York, forhW President of the Society o Engineers, 
whose report was submitted to the town in print, at a special 
town meriting held June nth, 1879, and at the same meeting 
the following vote was passed: — “ Voted,, That the sum of 
$35,000 be appropriated for moving the Pumping Station to 
Co w Island, including new house for engineer, new relief 
engine and force main, to connect with the force main at the 
present location of the Pumping Station, and the other items 
included in the proposition of Messrs. Shedd & Sawyer, dated 
April 29, 1879, ar*d that this sum be borrowed upon the notes 
of .the town, to be denominated * Brookline Water Scrip,’ and 
that the sum of $971.71 be appropriated from the taxes of the 
present year for a sinking fund for the payment of the water 
scrip, the issue of which is, or has been authorized the present 
year, as by law provided : and that the work be done under the 
direction of the Committee on Water Supply, with Messrs. 
Shedd & Sawyer as consulting and superintending engineers.” 
The work contemplated by the foregoing vote having bee 
completed, with the exception of some min jr matters to whici 
reference is made hereafter, the Committee would respectfully 
submit their report, together with the report of the consulting 
engineers. 
Immediately after the adjournment of town meeting, noticed 
above as of June 11, the Committee organized by the choice of 
MHenry M. Whitney, Chairman, and Mr. F. Hunnewell, 
Secretary. Messrs. Shed cl & Sawyer, engineers, were notified of the 
action of the town, and called upon for plans and specifications 
of the work proposed, in accordance with their report to the 
Committee, under date of March 15 and 29, and which has 
• also been submitted to the town in a former report. 
From the site selected for the location of the new Pumping 
Station to the point where the main would meet the present 
line of conduit, it was necessary to pass over a short piece of 
land owned by Mr. N. M. Morrison. This right of way was 
obtained by the payment of one hundred ($ioo) dollars, and 
some accommodations in relation to the use of water for his 
own domestic purposes,'with a release of damages and convey- 
ance of the right to maintain the conduit, and to enter for any 
purpose connected therewith. 
Letters were addressed to several parties, soliciting bids for 
the 16-inch main, which resulted in closing a contract with 
Messrs. R. D. Wood & Co., of Philadelphia, for three thousand 
feet of 16-inch iron pipe, at per ton of 2240 lbs., deliv- 
ered at the Spring Street Station on the Dedham branch of 
the Boston & Providence Railroad. 
It was decided by the Committee, as there was to be a super- 
intendent upon the ground all the time, night as well as day, 
that all. the material to be used in the pump well, screen cham- 
ber, filter gallery and foundations for engine house, should be 
purchased by them, and the work done by the day, with the 
exception of laying the stone foundations of the house and 
for foundations of the arch of the filter gallery, which was 
contracted for by the perch. 
In pursuance of this decision, contracts for materials were 
made as follows: Sixty thousand bricks, at $8fy5Q per M ; five 
hundred casks of cement, at $1 per cask ; 320 perch of 
stones, at per perch, and the necessary lumber, at $ 1 per M, all to be delivered on the ground—a schedule of 
which may be found in the appendix of this Report. 
A contract was entered into with Felix Johnson, Sen’r., he 
giving the lowest figures for the same, for laying all the stone 
foundations in filter gallery, and for the engine house, as speci- 
fied, for $i.qo per perch ; a slight concession to which price 
was subsequently made for the stone laid in the filter gallery. 
And in view of many delays and difficulties he had necessarily 
to encounter, it is but just that special mention should be made 
of the substantial and faithful character of this important 
portion of the work. 
At the request of the Committee, propositions were submit- 
ted by Messrs. H. R. Worthington and Wm. E. Worthen, of 
New York, for the new relief engine. Each appeared before 
the Committee to explain the peculiar advantages of their 
respective pump, neither of which could be furnished for a less 
sum than three thousand ($3,000) dollars. 
But owing to the fact that it was thought desirable the two 
engines should be similar in construction, and as the engine 
(Worthington) now in use had given, from the day it was put 
to work to the present time, the most unqualified satisfaction, 
it was decided to execute a contract for a Worthington pump- 
ing engine capable of pumping one million gallons in twenty- 
four hours, for the sum of three thousand ($3,000) dollars, 
substantially as set forth in his proposition on file, under date 
of July 16, 1879. 
Three propositions were submitted for furnishing the new 
boiler, viz. : Messrs. Kendall & Roberts, and Cunningham Iron 
Works, and the Whittier Machine Co., and the contract was 
awarded Messrs. Kendall & Roberts, for the sum of $848.00 
this being the lowest bid, which provided for its being delivere 
upon the ground at the new Pumping Station. In the meantime the labor was pushed forward at Cow 
Island, — clearing up the ground, constructing the new road- 
way from the line of Morrison’s land to the site of the 
building, and excavating for the pump-well and the screen 
chamber. 
The dimensions of the excavation for the pump-well were 31 
feet in length, 19 feet in width, and 18 feet in depth ; and for 
screen chamber, 11 feet in length, 9 feet in width, and 17 feet 
in depth. After sinking about ten feet, water was met in large 
quantities, and one of the portable engines was started up to 
drain the ditch. The digging was through coarse, clean gravel 
the entire distance, and the work rapidly done, using sheet 
piling to confine the gravel at each side and end.' 
Subsequently, two engines, one pumping at each end of the 
excavation, were required to keep the water away from the 
men at work within. On the 26th of July the brick bottom 
was commenced in the well — laying double rows in cement — 
and notwithstanding the two pumps at work were raising out 
of the ditch nearly, if not quite, 1,500 gallons of water per 
minute, — pumping night and day during just this stage of the 
work, — yet the work was uninterrupted even for a single hour, 
and the men and brick were as dry as if at work on the.surface. 
And this was true all through the construction of well and 
screen chamber, and is worthy of special mention, inasmuch as 
it assures the perfect adhesion of the cement, making a solid 
and impenetrable wall of brick and cement, to resist the water 
when the time should come to let it in. Adjoining the pump- 
well and connected with it by a brick conduit, in the end of 
which is the large gate, is the screen chamber. These (the 
pump-well and screen chamber) stand at right angles with 
the new section of the filter gallery. In the screen chamber 
are placed the screens, which run in a groove left in the brick work, and which fall on a stone weir, over which the water 
must flow in its" course from gallery to pump-well. And as ; 
this weir is raised several inches above the bottom of the 
gallery, it acts as a protection against gravel or any other 
heavy matter getting in to check the flow, or contaminate 
the water in the well chamber. 
While laying up the brickwork in the above, excavations 
were going on for the new filter gallery to connect in a direct 
line -with the east end of the old galleries. To guard against 
the large influx of water which retarded the work when the old 
galleries were constructed in 1-874,'only small sections of about < 
twenty-five feet in length were opened at a time, with bulk- 
t . „ i 
heads in the ends. By this method no difficulty was experi- 
enced in keeping the v/a vr ’own, and allowing the masons to 
prosecute their wor;.: in a mparative comfort. This gallery, 
which is to f for. long is laid up with a solid foundation of 
heavy stom- and cement, two feet high and two feet thick, from 
which the brick arch springs six feet high, and six feet wide at 
the base with double rows of brick, which, as will be observed, 
is two feet higher and two feet wider than the old galleries. It 
is also built two fee* low in order to get the pumps as low as 
the floods of Charies River will admit, and to utilize a lower 
Stratum -A water seed. In excavations for this gallery it was 
new-wary u:: cut -hrough and disconnect the wooden conduit* 
from the old galk ' duikng which time the water supply to 
the t' -M wo kep up b} ; mining with one of the portable 
engine from the n w pump-well (which was now completed 
and cov'-c d) into the v'd can . At below where this break was 
made. 
As may read !y be ini .red ;; m the above statement, this 
source was abv dV fti :vepng a very large supply >f water. 
■ ; the fact that a second engine was exhausting.. the water from the -excavation at the western end of: the new 
gallery but 150 feet away: and on the 7th of August, at 
noon, the following comparative temperature was taken : — 
Atmosphere, 740 ; water of Charles River two feet below the 
surface, 8i° ; water in old filter gallery, 50° ; water in new 
pump well, 490 Fahrenheit. 
In making connection with the old gallery, a portion of the 
man-hole and a few feet of the gallery had to be taken down 
and relaid, first, in order to make the connection strong, and 
also because the brick-work was found to be in a rather rough 
condition, as though it had either been put up in great haste, 
or the foundation had been in some way disturbed. 
On the 9th of September digging was begun for the 16-inch 
main, which had now arrived on the ground, commencing with 
the end nearest the new station. By the courtesy of Mr. Jones, 
Superintendent of the Eastern Division of the Cochituate 
Water Works, a caulker from the Boston force was engaged 
to assist the one connected with our own works in making 
the lead joints of the new main. Connection was made with 
the old Pumping Station on the 3d of October. 
As a demand was made by the water takers of the town, 
that the new. source of supply should be utilized at as early an 
hour as possible, it was the purpose of the Committee, im- 
mediately upon the completion of laying the main, to place a 
temporary pump over the new pump well, and force the water 
through to the old station. 
But a better and a more economical plan was suggested by 
our engineer, Mr. Flynn, which was, to make a suction pipe of 
the new main, and with our engine at the old station, draw the 
water from the new gallery. 
This plan receiving the endorsement of our consulting 
engineers, was adopted ; and on the 8th of October water was delivered to the town, from the new pump well through 
the new main, and -th% old wooden flume forever abandoned. 
On the 27th of September, the bids were opened for 
furnishing material above foundations, and building the new 
* Pumping Station, in accordance with plans and specifications, 
furnished by the engineers. Four bids were submitted as 
follows:—Horace James, eight thousand ($8,000) dollars, 
jos. W. Coburn •'?; Co., seventy-seven hundred and eighty-four 
($7,784) collars. I M Russell, seventy-seven hundred and 
fifty ($7,750) dolia 3. Felix Johnson, Jr., sixty-three hundred 
and seventy-five ($-6,375) dollars. 
Subsequently, the latter bid war withdrawn, and the con- 
tract given to J. M. Russell/ a proper bond being furnished 
satisfactory to the Committee, and the work was begun on 
the 13th of October. 
Owing to the fact that with the pump m the old location, it 
was unable to draw the water down in the old filter galleries, 
to a lower depth than about 21 feet even in the dr vest times., 
leaving an open space of, only about 18 inches, it has been 
impossible for the Water Commissioners to enter them, for the 
purpose of inspection or repair, until the completion of the 
new gallery, which, being 2 feet lower, would allow the others 
to be drained into it. Even the assistant engineer on the 
works at the time they were conducted, and v nose duty*it 
was to iaspect the work as it’pt ogresseJ. admits that he never 
catered the galleries after they were completed; and, owing to 
the small space and the amount of water, • did not deem them 
safe to enter. He could only in r?ect them v far as a lantern 
could throw its dim light ini 'hem, from • man-hole or 
other opcci With wate; drawn nearly out of these 
galleries as described, sc inspection was thought essential by 
the Committee, and a man, with lantern, was started at the. man-hole at the intersection of the old with the new gallery, 
going through the eastern section, 271 feet, of the old gallery, 
finding the brick work and foundation in tolerable condition. 
Between this and connecting the western section, is a wooden 
flume, like the one across the meadow, 389 feet long. Enter- 
ing the man-hole again at the east end of the western section, 
the inspector was confronted within twenty feet, with an im- 
passable barrier, and was obliged to return. Men were imme- 
diately put to digging to uncover the gallery; they soon 
encountered pieces of old plank, broken Akron pipe and large 
quantities of brush, tumbled in as if in great haste, and under 
all lay the bricks of the fallen arch. 
The Committee have endeavored to find the party respon- 
sible for this gross fraud, but without satisfactory results. 
The Board of Water Commissioners having in charge the 
construction of the works, the engineer-in-chief, the con- 
tractors, foreman and inspector, deny any knowledge upon 
the subject. The work of repairing this break, coming more 
properly under the charge of the Water Board, was imme- 
diately taken in hand by them, the debris removed, and the 
arch firmly replaced. A man-hole, which seemed to be of 
prime necessity, was built at the extreme end of this, the 
western gallery, which now leaves all the galleries in good 
shape for any future inspection. 
This completed all the work below the grade, about the new 
station, except some finishing touches upon the drive-way, 
which must neeessarily be left until frost is out of the ground 
in the spring. And at this point it may be of interest to 
refer to the fact, that all the materials used were contracted 
for at the lowest figure of cost they have touched for many 
years, if ever before, in this country; and again, from the 
time ground was broken for the new pump-well in June, until the foundations for the station were in, 'and the 3,00 
teet of 16-inch main laid and connected at the old station 
October 3d, the work was impeded less than forty-eight hour: 
by inclement weather, or any other casualty. 
Reference has been made to the intermediate conduit; vvbic 
is a wooden flume connecting the two sections of gall eric • 
Tiid across a piece of land 389 feet in length, of a marsh 
nature. While we think the leakage of swamp water inf 
the conduit is very slight, yet your Committee regard 
within the range of their duty to suggest that, at no ve. 
distant day, a gallery similar in size and construction to f; 
one just completed, be substituted for this flurne, Conner 
mg the other galleries, and thus remove the only possir 
Source by which our water supply can receive the lei 
contamination. 
In January, 1880, the relief engine was connected with !• 
boilers now in position, and the building ready to receive t 
finishing touches on the inside. 
As soon as the proper connections with the boiler and for 
main could be made, the new Relief Engine was put in serv 
and the old engine and boiler disconnected and got ready 
removal to their new positions. 
The new pump, as will be noted by the terms of the contr 
with H. R. Worthington, (its maker,) was assured a pump! 
capacity at the rate of one million gallons in.twen y-f 
hours ;*but it has proved upon trial for many consecutive d& 
capable of pumping at the rate of one and two-thirds million 
gallons for the twenty-four hours, with a stroke of \6o to 
minute, and running with perfect smoothness. As an den 
of assured safety, in ease of accident to the larger pump 
value and of the addition of this relief pump to 
-town’s water supply, can scarcely he overestimated. During the month of January, 1880, bids were solicited, and 
three were obtained, for rebuilding the engineer’s residence, in 
accordance with plans and specifications furnished by the 
engineers, Messrs. Shedd & Sawyer, using the material, as far 
as practicable, from the old pumping station. 
But on opening the bids, and after a very careful consider- 
ation of the whole matter, it was deemed advisable by your 
Committee to postpone further action on this building, in main, 
for the following reasons:—First, — All the bids were con- 
siderably above the figures at which it was originally calcu- 
lated the work could be done for. Second,-—As all the out- 
standing bills on the work were not on file, it could not then 
be determined just what portion of the appropriation could be 
used for thi” purpose. Third, — With the view of modifying 
the plans somewhat, to reduce the cost, and with the hope that 
the work may be done for less the coming season. 
Save the construction of this building, the setting up and 
connecting the old engine and boiler, all the important work, 
the supervision of which was entrusted to your Committee, is 
complete. And it must appear that the points attained by the 
undertaking, namely : an ample water supply, under any con- 
tingency likely to occur, and that, too, for many years to come, 
and of a quality unsurpassed for its purity, more than compen- 
sate for the liberal outlay the town has incurred. 
HENRY M. WHITNEY. 
WILLARD A. HUMPHREY. 
WM. H. LINCOLN. 
OLIVER WHYTE. 
WILLIAM GRIGGS. 
FRANCIS HUNNEWELL. 
Special Committee on Water. SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT. . 
The members of the Committee, not members of the Water 
Board, beg to call the attention of the town to the following 
vote, passed June n, 1879, as follows, viz: 
Voted, “ That with a view to their compensation, the said 
Committee be requested to keep a record of their meetings, 
and of the attendance of the several members, and the time 
spent by the several members in this service of the town," 
The details of the work have been perforated by the members 
of the Water Board. It has required very constant attention 
by some member of the Board throughout the entire progress 
of the work, and will continue to do so until all is completed, 
and in our opinion, the work has been performed with great 
fidelity to the trust, and with good judgment. 
We think the sum of Fifteen Hundred Dollars should be 
appropriated as the compensation contemplated by the above 
vote of the town, and recommend the passage of the following 
vote:— 
Voted, That the sum of Fifteen Hundred (#1,500) Dollars 
be appropriated as compensation to the members of the Water 
Board for their services in attending to the repairs of the water 
works.” 
The Committee furthermore ask, as all the most important 
work has been completed, that the finishing be left with the 
Water .Board, under the supervision of the present engineers, 
and that they (the undersigned) be discharged Corn further 
duly. 
HENRY M. WHITNEY, . -Af, 
WILLARD A. HUMPHREY. 
WILLIAM H. LINCOLN. REPORT OF THE ENGINEERS. 
Providence, March 23, 1880. 
Messrs. Whitney, Lincoln, Humphrey, Whyte, Hunne- 
well and Griggs, Special Committee on Water Works 
of the Town of Brookline. 
Gentlemen : We make herewith a report of progress of 
the work upon the New Pumping Station, in accordance with 
your request. 
Water was supplied from the new gallery to the town reser- 
voir, through the old engine, on the ninth day of last October, 
at which time all contamination by swamp water ceased. 
Since then, the supply of pure water to the town has been 
uninterrupted. This supply was accomplished by connecting 
the new line of 16-inch iron pipe, which had been laid 
across the swamp for the future force main, temporarily with 
the engine, to use as a suction pipe, and extending the other 
end into the new pump-well on Cow Island, which received 
its water from the new gallery. ' This suction pipe . was 
about 2,900 feet long. It had a check valve in the pump- 
well and an air chamber about 15 feet high near the 
engine. By connecting this air chamber with the air pump of 
the engine, so that the surplus air relieved from the water at 
every stroke of the engine could be drawn off at pleasure, 
this enormous suction pipe — unprecedented, so far as we know, for size and length — was made to work very satisfac 
torily in its temporary use. Mr. Flinn is entitled to credit for 
his clever management of this pipe in his daily pumping. 
The new engine, erected at the new station on Cow Island, 
began pumping into the town reservoir on the sixteenth of 
February, forcing the water through the old engine until the 
afternoon of the twentieth, when the reservoir, which had low- 
ered during the four days required to connect the new engine, 
was sufficiently filled. The old engine was then disconnected 
and the new force main was laid by the old station and con- 
nected with the old force main. 
Pumping into the reservoir through the completed force 
main was begun on the first of March. 
The old engine and boiler are in process of removal from the 
old station to the new. 
The difficult and dangerous work, including the new gallery, 
screen-chamber, pump-well, force-main and connections, and 
engine house with foundations, is completed. 
It remains to remove and place the old engine and.boiler in 
position at the new station, and connect them with the other 
work ; to finish the engine house ; and build a dwelling house 
for the engineer. 
The work on the ground at Cow Island was begun on July i, 
1S79, by a few men who cleared the ground and opened a tem- 
porary road The "tegular gang of laborers for the work of 
construction was organized on July 9 ; and after that time the 
work went regularly forward. When the excavation 1. he 
pump-well was started, July 21, the gang numbered forty men. 
The original surface of the ground above the pump-well was 
at about elevation 87.00 above mean high water of Boston 
Harbor. The first four feet of depth was through loam and a 
mixture of sand and loam. The next three feet in depth was fine, dry sand. At this depth sharp wet gravel was struck, and 
pumps were needed to keep down the water. The excavation 
was continued through the sharp gravel to elevation 70.00. At 
this depth two steam pumps were required, and they discharged 
by estimate 700 gallons of water per minute. 
The brick-work was begun July 28, and the pumps were run 
day and night until the brick-work was completed and firmly 
set. 
The pump-well has an egg-shaped section, large end down, 
and is 6 feet wide and 7 feet high in the clear, with 12 inch 
thickness of walls. It is 26 feet long inside. Its axis is 7 
feet inside the inner face of the front wall of the engine house. 
Two elliptic brick shafts, 6 feet by 4 feet across, rise from 
the well to accommodate the suction pipes for the two engines. 
A sump, to facilitate clearing the well of water, has a shaft over 
it for access to the pipes used for feeding the boilers and charg- 
ing the engines. The shafts rise to the level of the engine 
house floor or 89.92 ; the top of the floor being 90.17. 
The pump-well is fed through a 2-feet circular conduit con- 
necting with the screen chamber. The low water level in the 
pump-well is at elevation 73.75 ; the bottom of the well being 
71-35- 
Two 6-inch iron pipes are set vertically near the south-west 
corner of the pump-well to serve as gauge pipes. One is con- 
nected with the pump-well and the other with the river by 
small lead pipes. As the water rises or falls in the river or the 
pump-well, the water will follow in the gauge pipes, and floats 
with proper rods divided for the purpose, will indicate upon 
gauges in the engine room the heights at which the water 
stands. 
We have kept records of the height of Charles River during 
opr work and found that the surface fell below what has been called low water ; on October 27, -hen it reached 80.30, :»no 
on November 3, when it reached 80.20. On December I, it 
stood at 80.50 or just low-water level as heretofore assumed. 
The conduit is laid in gravel similar to 'hat found in the 
pump-well except through a pocket or vein of clay about 12 feet 
across and 4 feet deep. This clay was dug through, at ele- 
vation 71.00, and the brick-work laid on gravel. T he interim 
invert of the conduit is at elevation 72.05, and the interior 
crown 74.05. The length is 25,8 feet. 
The conduit is connected to the new gallery through a 
screen chamber, for which the excavation was carried to 71.00, 
through material about the same as at the pump-well. The 
chamber is built of brick, founded upon a plank platform four 
inches thick, in two layers laid across each other and resting 
upon 6x6 in. cross-timber at each end. The top of the plat- 
term is at elevation 71.38, The chamber is four feet, in the 
clear each way, with 20-inch brick walls rising to elevation 
87.74 and capped with dressed granite. The granite coping u 
twelve inches thick, making the top at elevation 88.74. The 
well is covered within the coping by a hard-pine cover in three 
pieces, held in place by brass bolts and nuts... Grooves for 
screens and stop planks are built in the masonry walls and an 
iron and composition valve, thirty inches in diameter, is set in 
position to cut off the connection with the conduit. On the 
opposite side of the chambei a granite weir is set at elevation 
73-30, over which ail water from -the gallery must pass This 
weir prevents drawing down iht water of the gallery 10 an 
extent which would endanger its stability. Above the weir is 
an arched opening into the gallery. 3 feet wide and 5 feet high, 
through which men may pass into ihe gallery when necessary. 
The screen chamber,, pump shafts, and man-holes to the 
gallery are provided with cast iron steps built into the masonry 
for convenience of access to the work The excavation for the gallery was begun July 30. The 
trench was opened 11 feet wide and excavated to elevation 
72.00. Water was reached at about 80.00 and was controlled 
by the steam pumps. The open bottom of the gallery for its 
whole length, with one or two exceptions, is in a natural bed of 
clean, sharp gravel. The exception is as follows : two or three 
springs of boiling sand were found about 80 feet west of the 
screen chamber, which were excavated to a depth of 3 feet 
below the bottom of the gallery, and filled with good gravel. 
This effectually holds the sand back while letting the water 
pass through freely. The centre line of the gallery is about 50 
to 52 feet from the centre line of the engine house, being 
nearest at the screen chamber. 
The bottom width, in the clear, is 6 feet and the height in 
the middle is 6 feet. 
The crown is a brick arch 8 inches thick, turned over stone 
walls 2 feet thick and 2 feet high., forming side walls. Both 
stonework and brickwork are laid in cement mortar. 
Struts of 6 x 8 in. timber are laid in the bottom, at intervals 
of 6 feet, and being notched, to pass partly under and partly 
against the faces of the side walls, serve to aid the walls in 
resisting- a side pressure of the exterior earth. The tops of the 
struts are level with the finished bottom of the gallery, or at 
elevation 72.50. The bottom level of the stone side walls is 
72.00, or six inches below the bottom of the gallery. 
In July the old wooden box conduit leading across the 
swamp to the pumping station was opened near our work, and 
the water raised by one of our drainage pumps was turned into 
it. It was observed that this had the effect to materially 
increase the quantity and improve the quality of the water 
received at the old pumping station. The drainage pump was 
worked whenever the Worthington engine was run, and after the new pump-well was finished, a temporary well was estab- 
lished to keep the drainage pump supplied. On Sept. 7 a con- 
nection was made between the new gallery and the old box 
conduit, so that the conduit was supplied from the gallery by 
gravity, and the drainage pump was stopped. While in opera 
tion this pump supplied — as an average of several measure- 
ments-— 350 gallons of water per minute, or about half a 
million gallons per day. 
The junction of the new gallery with the old east gallery 
was made through an old man-hole. The level of the bottom of 
the old gallery is 74.50, or two feet higher than the new gal- 
lery, and a part, oi the fall necessary to connect the two could, 
conveniently be made in the man-hole. 
When the side of the man-hole was uncovered to make the 
connection, the brick-work was found to be misshapen, rather 
loose, and apparently insecure. Adding to this the statement 
of former employes to the effect that the wooden platform 
shown upon the plans as underlying the masonry had been left 
out, and that subsequent attempts had been made by a diver to 
place a floor in the man-hole, under, water, with indifferent suc- 
cess, we were led to doubt the security of the foundations 
against the flow of water from one gallery to the other, with a 
fall of two feet in so short a distance, if made according to. our 
original plan 'based upon the belief that a platform had been 
constructed, it war not a place where the town could afford 
risks, and. we therefore ;cut off the old gallery above the man- 
hole and sunk a puddle wall, faced with sheeting, 5 feet below 
and 14 feet wider than the old gallery. This, it.was believed, 
together with the bairiers at first designed, would secure the 
work against* the passage of sand along the f urinations, even 
in the absence of a . h.tforrn. As the work progressed, after 
the Cut-off had been made, and the foundation was, more com- 21 
pletely uncovered, we had reason to believe that a platform, not 
quite so large as shown on the plans, had been originally laid 
under the man-hole and it is possible that the work might have 
been secure if it had been made according to our first plans 
and without the cut-off, which cost about $320. However, the 
cut-off is an additional security, and perhaps worth making as 
such, especially as the old masonry was not as sound as antici- 
pated. 
The old man-hole had a brick'wall running across the gallery 
and rising half a foot above its bottom, on which stop-planks 
could be placed to hold back the water of the gallery in case 
the conduit needed to be emptied. Below this wall was a pit 
2 feet deep, 4 feet long and 3 feet wide, into which the water 
from the gallery fell after passing over the wall. 
The bottom of the pit was intended to be at elevation 73.00, 
and was found to be 5 or 6 inches lower. The bottom of the 
conduit connecting with the pit was at elevation 75.00. We 
removed the conduit and cut down the walls so as to make a 
weir with rounded surface faced with stoneware at elevation 
74.00. Below this weir we drove strut piling quite across the 
work, and about 6 feet deep. 
Beyond this a stone wall was laid across the work, 2 feet 
wide and 2 feet deep, having its surface at elevation 73.50. 
Beyond this a broken stone bottom for the new gallery was 
laid, beginning 2 feet thick and running to half a foot thick in 
8 feet distance ; the surface being at elevation 73.50 next the 
wall and falling to 72.50 where it joined the general gravel 
bottom of the new gallery. A stop-plank of any desired 
height can be maintained in the man-hole to hold back the 
water of the old gallery at a proper level to prevent injury to 
that work. 
By passing through the construction above described, the 
surface of the water can fall harmlessly to the level of the new gallery," and the underground passage is so checked that no in- 
jury can be done. 
Needed repairs were made to the old man-hole. T he plank 
bottom would neither keep out sand nor water, .and a 3-inch 
layer ot cement mortar was spread upon it, after spikes had 
been thickly driven to make a reliable’ attachment of the 
cement to the wood. This made a tight and apparently secure 
bottom, and as the spikes are entirely encased in wood or 
cement, fhey probably will not oxydize. The brick-work was 
repaired, pointed and plastered with cement to elevation 85.50. 
The granite coping was dressed into symmetrical form, and the 
wooden cover replaced by a North River flagging and circular 
iron cover taken from the old conduit. The whole being raised 
16 inches by building up the brick side walls, and set at eleva- 
tion 88.50. Iron steps were built into the interior walls of the 
naan-hoie to facilitate access. 
The man-hole at the east end of the west gallery was repaired, ( 
pointed and cemented ; the granite coping dressed and sup- 
plied with a stone and iron cover similar to that on the first 
man -hole ; iron steps set inside, and the whole put in good con- 
dition. The cost of the work on both these old man-holes was 
$1 »&3 7* 
West of the first man-hole, for a distance of id feet, the old 
gallery was found to be in bad condition, and it was rebuilt at 
a cost of $120.32. 
From ;he condition of the work where it bad been exposed, 
we were led to examine the condition of the interior of the old 
gallery throughout its length The earliest cor venient oppor- 
tunity for such examination, on account of the state of the 
work and consequent height of water in ihe gallery, was on the 
first day of November. The water was then held at elevation 
76.00 by the Worthington engine, and a workman was sent into 23 
the galleries. He reported for the east gallery : two holes in 
stone-work on the south side about 50 feet west from the first 
man-hole; one boiling spring of running sand about 100 feet 
from the man-hole ; two holes on the north side, near the boil- 
ing spring ; three old cement tubs partially decayed ; the arch 
in fair condition for the whole length ; more or less sand was 
found along the whole bottom. The cement tubs were removed 
but the defects have not been repaired, for the reason that the 
Worthington engine in its present location could not hold the 
water low enough. With the engines in position in the new 
station we think this can be readily done. 
The west gallery was found in fair condition for a distance 
of 30 feet from the man-holes. At this point the arch had 
fallen in and a complete barrier to passage existed. The water 
beyond was dammed up, and flowed over or trickled through 
the obstruction to a limited extent. 
On the third of November the gallery was opened at this 
point from the surface. It- was found that from a point about 
35 feet west of the man-hole to a point about 18 feet further 
west, the arch must have fallen in at the time of construc- 
t 
tion. Instead of rebuilding this fallen arch, the gap had been 
filled by laying eight or nine 2-feet lengths of 24-inch Akron 
stoneware pipe with such degree of continuity as was practic- 
able, and covering them. The sheeting had been left standing. 
As a protection to the pipes, cross-pieces of 2-inch planks, 8 
inches wide, were placed about 6 feet apart and resting on the 
rangers of the sheeting. On these cross-pieces a platform of 
sheeting plank 12 to 15 feet long had been laid, running length- 
wise of the gallery. Above this platform was a layer of brush 
about 1 foot deep. Above the brush was another platform 
made up of shorter pieces of sheeting plank thrown in without 
order. Upon the double platform thus constructed, the trench had been back-filled. The cross-pieces were all foetid broken 
ie the middle and resting on the ere lied pieces of stoneware 
pipe. These breaks in the cross-pieces were old, indicating 
that the piatform had sunk a long time ago, and probably so n 
after the trench was back-filled. Both ends of the brick arch 
where standing, were badly pressed out of shape. Ii was esti- 
mated that in the double platform, about 18 feet long and 8 fe< 
wide, there was found 800 feet c , lumber. 
The effect of this break was to fill the gallery for a length of 
about 18 feet with debris of brick, broken pipe, lumber and 
gravel, thus rendering nearly all of the west gallery practically 
useless as a source of water supply. 
The length of the east gallery was 271 feet, and of the west 
gallery 401 feet, or a total of 762 feet. By the obstruction 
about 460 feet of the west gallery was cut oft. 
The break was repaired by building 50 feet of new arch from 
a point io feet west of the man-hole to a point 60 feet west 
■of ii 
The remainder of the gallery was examined November 7. • 
Three breaks were found in the stonework, which was gener- 
ally in very bad condition. These breaks were repaired One 
boiling spring about midway of the gallery was found running 
black mud. Some 150 cubic feet of this mud was taken out 
and replaced with gravel. 
The bottom and sides of the gallery were found coated with 
a very light and red vegetable matter. This was stirred up and 
mixed with the water, and so pumped out. 11 feet from the 
westerly end of the gallery a new brick man-hole was built rhak 
ing it possible for a man to pass through the gallery without 
being obliged to return to the extreme easterly end to get out. 
It was covered at elevation 88.00 with a heavy iron man-hole 
cover without a frame. Steps were built into the inner wail a.- in the other man-holes. As the man-hole shaft rose above the 
natural surface, it was covered and banked about with earth. 
The cost of the repairs, etc., was paid by the Water Commis- 
sioners and amounted to $305.79. The w'ork was completed 
November 16, thirteen days after starting. 
THE ENGINE HOUSE. 
The work on foundations at the new engine house was begun 
August 13. The pits for the foundations of the engines were 
excavated to elevation 73.85, and the stonework begun at that 
level. The last five feet depth of excavation required pumping. 
One hundred perches of rough granite were laid in cement 
mortar in the two pits. Three hundred and nineteen perches 
were laid in the other foundations about the building. All the 
foundations rest on good, sharp sand and gravel. This work 
was completed October 16. 
The road leading through the station grounds to the building 
begins at the end of Grove street on N. M. Morrison’s land at 
elevation 126.31. It winds around the side of the hill on an 
easy curve falling 7.22 per 100 for a distance of 510.5 feet to 
elevation 89.44 northeasterly from the engine house. Thence 
by the east front of the building, falling 8 inches per 100 feet, a 
distance of 119 feet, to elevation 88.64. Thence continuing 
around the building, rising 8 inches per 100 feet, a distance of 
76 feet, to elevation 89.15 southwesterly from the boiler house- 
Thence parallel with the side of the boiler house, rising 7.22 
per 100 until it intersects the line, making a loop enclosing the 
building. The road is 20 feet wide except that in front of 
the engine house it is widened to 26 feet. The surface was 
gravelled when gravel was not found in place. The side slopes 
of 11 to 1 are well graded, soiled and seeded. The total length of road as built is 805.5 feet, A path 10 
feet wide leads to the engine house door, and one 8 feet wide 
leads to the boiler house door. 
The work was practically complete on the first of November. 
The'grounds about the building are well graded and covered 
with soil, but there remains some work to be done to give the 
finished effect desired. 
SHEDD & SAWYER, 
Civil Engineers DISBURSEMENTS 
FOR 
MOVING PUMPING STATION. Etc 
The following detailed statement exhibits all the payments 
-vhich have been made to the present time, from the appropria- 
ion of $35,000 which was made by the town :— 
July 7, W. H. Olmstead, Repairs, 16 50 
\ug. 11, T. T. Robinson, Sundries, 6 33 
G. VV. Twichell & Co. Belting, etc. 53 50 
Oliver Whyte, cash paid for sundries, 2 48 
C. D. Austin, Hardware, 14 42 
Boston Belting Co., Rubber Packing, 5 25 
James Rooney, Rubber Boots, 21 85 
M. C. Warren & Co., Hardware, . 10 12 
Fuller Iron Works, Castings, 7 98 
George Curtis, Lumber, 459 95 
E. M. Pratt, Stationery, 1 25 
Dodge, Gilbert & Co., Hardware, 40 35 
Boston & Providence Railroad Co., Freight, 1 22 
R. Woodward, Iron work, 1 48 
Thomas Nagle, “ 8 85 
P. Lucas, “ 1 50 
O. B. Delano, Carpentering, 65 68 
Kenrick Brothers,’Plumbing, 2 25 
M. Withington, Treasurer, Pay roll, laborers, 971 95 
Shedd & Sawyer, Civil Engineers, 500 00 Aug. 18, F. F. Forbes, Carfares, &c„ 4 io 
Aug. 15, Welch & McLaughlin, Stone, 100 00 
Sept. 1, Felix Johnson, Mason, 95 00 
Boston & Providence Railroad Co., Freight, 237 50 
Sept. 8, C. D. Austin, Hardware, 14 93 
M. Goodspeed, Carriage hire, 8 00 
George Curtis, Lumber, 574 81 
Brookline Water Works, Pipes, 61 26 
James Driscoll. Teaming, 56 00 
Boston Lead Co., Lead, 269 84 
John S. Lyons, Stone, 72 00 
Felix Johnson, Mason, 67 ;5 
R. D. Wood & Co., Iron Pipe, 2,500 00 
Sewall, Day & Co., jute, Packing. 32 47 
Fales & jenks Machine Co., Castings, 166 96 
Manchester & Hudson, Cement, 226 So 
j. Hayes, Teaming, 8 00 
M. Withington, Treasurer, Pay roll, laborers, 1,700 28 
Sept. 15, F F. Forbes, Sundries, 34 44 
E. M. Pratt. Stationery, 1 85 
Welch & McLaughlin, Stone, 57 50 
Felix Johnson, Mason. 100 00 
Sept. 22, Welch & McLaughlin, Stone, 50 00 
Boston & Providence Railroad Co., Freight, 126 90 
Sept. 29, Shedd & Sawyer* Civil Engineers, 125 00 
Andrew McKenna, Iron Work, 11 12 
John J. Kane, Iron Work, 9 64 
Manchester & Hudson, Cement, 151 20 
Felix Johnson, Mason, 15000 
Welch & McLaughlin, Stone, 300 00 
Oct. 6, Shedd & Sawyer, Civil Engineers, 400 00 
Howard, Snelling & Co., Coal, 278 75 29 
Oct. 13, R. Woodward, Iron Work, 4 54 
F. F. Forbes, Sundries, 9 20 
C. D. Allston, Hardware, 2 60 
Boston Lead Co., Lead, 10 15 
Brookline Water Works, 5 35 
S. E. Chubbuck & Sons, Machinists, 42 14 
Thomas Nagle, Blacksmith, 17 05 
John Lowell, Telegraph Poles, 22 50 
Samuel Beal, Carpenter, 19 18 
Felix Johnson, Jr , Mason, 40 [5 
Holmes & Blanchard, Machinists, 7 20 
James Rooney, Rubber Boots, 3 50 
Dodge, Gilbert & Co., Hardware, 6 32 
Oliver Whyte, Cash paid for Sundries,' 4 38 
Felix Johnson, Mason, 133 93 
Welch & McLaughlin, Stone, 100 00 
Charles Williams, Jr., Wire, 24 91 
Brookline Gas Co., Coke, 2 50 
George Curtis, Lumber, 56 26 
James Driscoll, Teaming, 216 00 
Boston Lead Co., Lead, 7 48 
M. R. Warren, Hardware, 5 50 
M. Withington, Treasurer, Pay Roll, 1,521 64 
27, Felix Johnson, Mason, 47 25 
M. N. Morrison, Grading, 67 17 
M. Withington. Treasurer, Pay Roll, 958 94 
Nov. 3, Boston & Providence Railroad Co., Freight, 240 78 
R. D. Wood & Co., Iron Pipe, 1,633 50 
Shedd & Sawyer, Civil Engineers, 400 00 
10, G. W. Twichell & Co.. Belting, 1 20 
J. Hayes, Teaming, 3 00 
Walworch Manufacturing Co., Machinists, 12 60 Nov. io, Thomas Nagle, Blacksmith, 9 iq 
Kenrick Brothers, Plumbing, 20 75 
C. D. Austin, Hardware, 3 05 
T. T. Robinson, Sundries, 3 57 
15, J. M. Russell, Mason, 2,200 00 
M. Withington, Treasurer, Pay Roll, 442 10 
N. M. Morrison, Grading, 33 65 
' Dec. 1, J. M. Russell, Mason, 1,000 00 
8, Fiske & Coleman, Clay Pipe, 48 92 
J. A. & W. Bird & Co., Oil, 36 61. 
George Curtis, Lumber. 22 40 
P\ F. Forbes, 3 10 
Thos. Cunningham & Sons, Water Pipes, 52 20 
C. D. Austin, Hardware, 2 20 
James Driscoll, Teaming, 48 76 
T. T. Robinson, Sundries, 39 
M. Goodspeed, Wagon hire, 36 00 
J. M. Russell, Mason, 700 00 
18 So 
Jan. 5, Shedd & Sawyer, Civil. Engineers, Plans for 
Engine’ House, 400 00 
John S. Lyons, Granite, 133 00 
Tan. 12, Thomas Nagle, Blacksmith, 1 82 
Kenrick Brothers, Plumbing, 1 35 
1'. T. Robinson, Sundries, 70 
Oliver Whyte, Cash paid for sundries, 1 75 
Charles Chase, Express, 3 50 
Fuller Iron Works, Castings, 34 85 
J. J. Kane, Blacksmith, 4 70 
Kendall & Roberts, Iron work, 16 92 
B. F. Sturtevant, Machinist, 1 r 1 j 
Fales & Jenks Machine Co., Castings, 775 Jan. 12, George Curtis, Lumber, 38 40 
Thos. Cunningham & Sons, Pipes, 70 99 
Ivl. Goodspeed, Wagon hire, 3 00 
M. Withington, Treasurer, Pay roll, 845 49 
Brookline Gas Co., Coke, 1 25 
J. M. Russell, Mason, 1,800 00 
Feb. 9, Coolidge & Brother, Sundries, 4 00 
M. Goodspeed, Wagon hire, 7 50 
Fuller Iron Works, Castings, 59 36 
Walworth Manufacturing Co., Sundries, 38 50 
Fiske & Coleman, Clay Pipe, 7 00 
Kendall & Roberts, Iron work, 9 25 
Thomas Nagle, Blacksmith, 11 51 
Kenrick Brothers, Plumbing, 2 97 
B. F. Baker, Painting, 3 83 
Thos. Cunningham & Sons, Pipe, 41 07 
M. Withington, Treasurer, Pay roll, 163 67 
O. B. Delano, Carpenter, 53 46 
March 1. H. R. Worthington, Engine, 2,000 00 
Fales & Jenks Machine Co., Castings, 171 93 
March 8. Manchester & Hudson, Cement, 151 20 
Boston & Providence Railroad Co., Freight, 30 74 
D. Kennedy & Co., Gates, 147 48 
Thomas Cunningham, Machinist, 1 32 
J. M. Russell, Mason, 683 32 
M. Withington, Treasurer, Pay roll, 337 79 
March 15. P. McCarthy, Teaming, 3 00 
$27,780 21 
Balance unexpended, 7>2I9 79 
Appropriation, $ 35>000 00