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feet 8 inches, contains in its first story, which is 14 feet high, a large engine and hose room; and in its second story, which is 13 feet high, sleeping-rooms, closets, parlor and bathroom. The part facing Cabot street has a front of 26 feet by a depth of 48 feet, and is used as a store-room, for a spare engine. Between these two buildings and connected with them is a stable 50 feet by 16 feet, which contains accommodations for ten horses. Over the stables is a large hay loft. A seven-foot passage-way gives access from Cabot street to a yard 50 feet by 11 feet 6 inches, from which light and air is admitted to the stable, and to the rear of the front building. There is a cellar under the whole structure. The contractors were S. J. and G. Tuttle, masons; E. B. Witherspoon, carpenter; architects, L. Weissbein and Wm. H. Jones.

Cost of land, $8,700; of building, $21,267.24; total, $29,967.24.

ENGINE HOUSE No. 15. - This house is located on the corner of Broadway and Dorchester avenue, South Boston, and was built from designs of Joseph R. Richards, architect. The building is of brick, being two finished stories in height, with a Mansard unfinished story over, and a basement story under, the entire building. One side of the basement story is open to the adjoining area and is built above ground, one portion of the same being a work and repair shop, and the balance a manure pit. It measures 25 feet on the front end, 30 feet on the rear end, and 65 feet 31 inches in length, the break of 5 feet being at a distance of 31 feet 6 inches from the front end, and extending to the rear line. The first story is 12 feet in clear height, and is occupied as an engine-house, having a hose-tower, repair shop, and harness-room, together with a dressing-room, and clothes-closets; and back of the same, a stable with a back stairway from it leading to the hay-loft and hose-tower, and

to the roof-story or hall. The front stairs are so arranged, as to make it unusually convenient for the men to reach the engine from their bedrooms in the second story, and also connect with the basement story. The second story is 111⁄2 feet in clear height, and contains three large sleeping rooms, with closets to each, a parlor extending the whole width of the front; a spacious bath-room, and has also a communication with the hose-tower and with the hay-loft and back stairway. The third story is 10 feet in clear height, and is one unobstructed room or hall, not yet assigned for special use, but convenient for other advantages than for storage. The hose-tower is 56 feet in clear height above the first story, and connects at the bottom in the cellar with a tank, and the hose wash trough extending the whole length of the cellar, the cellar has a concrete floor. The outer course of the brick walls is of hard pressed bricks, having Concord granite caps and sills to all openings, and Concord granite belts, extending around three sides, with entrance posts and arched caps to the doorways, of Concord granite also, all fine hammered and moulded. The building rests on piles, having heavy stone foundations, built from the capping stones of the piles to the surface of the ground, and is also heavily framed inside, adapted for the purpose, and neatly finished. Contractors: James P. Neal, for mason work, and French, Emerson, & Co., for carpenter and other work.

Cost for land $6,396.75; building $20,419.69; total, $26,816.44.

PUBLIC WORKS.

WATER WORKS. Chestnut Hill Reservoir. As stated in the last report, this reservoir was completed ready to receive the water, October 25th, 1870, and the water was first admitted to this basin on that day. Owing to the low state

of water at the lake, the work of filling did not fairly commence until the latter part of January, 1871, and from that time till June a surplus of water was run through the conduit from the lake sufficient to fill the Bradlee Basin to the level of the water in the Lawrence Basin and the Brookline Reservoir. The highest average level of the water in this reservoir in any month, since June, 1871, was in July following, being 1224 feet above "tide marsh level." The lowest average monthly level was in December,115,85 feet above "tide marsh level." On November 7th, the water in these reservoirs was level with the bottom of the conduit; on the 9th of November it was 6 inches below the bottom of the conduit, at Brookline Reservoir, being the lowest level ever reached, and the gates were closed to keep this reservoir as a reserve in case of accident, and the supply was furnished through the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, which, on the 16th of December, had been reduced to a level 2 ft. 4 in. below the bottom of the conduit. From this time the pumps at the lake began to gain on the current consumption, and the surplus has filled the reservoirs to a height of 5 ft. 9 in. above the bottom of the conduit. The water at the lake on the 11th of May, 1871, stood at the highest point reached during the year,— 10 ft. 9 in. above the bottom of the conduit, or about 3 feet below high water mark. On the 10th of November it had fallen to 3 feet 2 inches above the bottom of the conduit; December 31st, it stood at 4 feet 3 inches; March 29th, '72, the lowest point ever reached, was 9 inches. On the first day of May, 1872, it had risen to 5 feet 3 inches. The pumps which had been provided and placed in position in January, 1871, in the gate-house at the lake, were first started November 11th, 1871. Additional pumps were provided and placed on a platform outside the gate-house, and were in readiness to work when the water had fallen to a point so near the bottom of the conduit that those in the gatehouse could not operate. These latter pumps were started

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the 26th of January, 1872, and were in operation until the 13th of April, making the total pumping time about 41 months. Previous to the 13th of December, the pumping was not continuous; after that time, the pumps were run night and day, without intermission, and the amount pumped for the supply of the city was 1,936,654,000 gallons, and stored in the reservoirs 330,000,000 gallons, making the total amount pumped 2,266,654,000 gallons.

Total cost of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, $2,449,982.07. The Highland High Service Pumping Works. The pumping engines at these works have continued to work well, and have abundantly supplied the Beacon Hill and Highland high service, and a portion of Ward 16. To do this, the pumps have averaged only 106 revolutions per minute, while the maximum capacity of each is over 40, and the standard requirement 35, equal to 1,500 gallons per minute. A pipe is now being laid from Washington street, Ward 16, through Bowdoin and Church streets, to connect with the pipe already laid in Hancock street. When this connection is made, and the proper gates and branches put in at Upham's Corner, the high service line to South Boston will be complete, and the water from the stand-pipe, after traversing a distance of six miles, will be delivered on Telegraph Hill with a pressure sufficient to deliver the water twenty-five feet above the highest cistern. The number of houses to be supplied in the high district in South Boston is at present about 300, and the amount required to supply these houses will be about 100,000 gallons per day. The total running time of the engines for the year 1871 was 285 days, 20 hours, and 35 minutes. The total amount of water pumped was 205,083,297 gallons, being an average of 557,634 gallons per day for every day in the year. The average daily amount pumped in December, 1870, was 735,274 gallons, and the engine was kept in constant operation, day and night. In January, 1871, a leak

was discovered on the Beacon Hill line; this was stopped, and the pumping time reduced to an average of about 183 hours per day, thus reducing the amount pumped from 735,274 gallons per day, to an average of 557,634 gallons, equal to 24 per cent. ; and while this reduction has been made in the total amount pumped, the amount actually required for the Highland and Dorchester extensions has been doubled. The total amount of coal used in 1871 was 309-16 tons, of 2,000 pounds.

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The cost of pumping in 1870 was as follows, viz. :—

Salaries,

$3,612 50

Fuel,

2,319 70

Oil, Tallow, Packing, Waste, and small supplies,

170 02 $6,102 22

Cost per million gallons raised one foot high, 37 cents. It is found that, taking seven months of 1870, and the entire year of 1871, the average consumption on each day of the week follows an almost invariable law, as will appear from the following statement showing the days of the week arranged in the order of the greatest average consumption :

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New Main Pipe to East Boston. This work, which was being prosecuted at the date of the last report by Mr. George H. Norman, has been fully completed, and the old line repaired. Both lines were tested by the City Engineer and the Superintendent on the 14th of September last, and found to

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