Chapter 7 of The Water Works of the City of Philadelphia: The Story of their Development and Engineering Specifications
Compiled in 1931 by Walter A. Graf (Staff Engineer, The Budd Company, Philadelphia), with the assistance of Sidney H. Vought and Clarence E. Robson. This online version was created from an original volume at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Catalog No. WZ 23591 (4th Fl. Folio).
Walter Graf History Home Page
(With Notes on the Text, Preface, and Acknowledgements)
Reading the Preface will give a quick overview of the beginnings and expansion of the Philadelphia water system.
IN 1851, Messrs. Birkinbine, Marton and Trotter, hydraulic engineers, whose place of business was at 16 Arch Street, with Mr. Henry P. M. Birkinbine as constructing engineers, and David B. Morrel as Superintendent of Construction, started the erection of the Germantown Water Works. The building of these works was financed by private capital, and it was reported at one time that the Queen of Spain held the principal part of the stock of this company as an investment.
Several plans were formulated and discussed. The first was to install a hydraulic ram to supply Tulpehocken Street and its vicinity with water. Mr. John C. Fallen was the owner of the greater portion on the land fronting on Tulpehocken Street and extending northwest to Washington Lane on Adams Street, and from Tulpehocken Street southeast to Harvey Street, including Greene and Wayne Street, thence southeast to Wissahickon Avenue or Township Line. It was suggested that there be built a small dam at Paper Mill Run, (or Crab Creek, as it was commonly called) located a short distance southeast of Washington Lane, in order to supply the proposed eight-inch hydraulic ram; and also a tank at a suitable elevation to receive the water forced up by the ram, thereby creating a sufficient head to supply the area desired. Upon inspecting and prospecting the location, a number of springs were found adjacent to the run in the ravine between Washington and Walnut Lanes. After measuring the number of gallons which flowed in the creek in 24 hours and estimating the number of gallons that would be produced by rainfall the prospects appeared favorable, and it was determined to form a company to be known as the Germantown Water Company.
In anticipation of obtaining a charter from the legislature, John C. Fallen was elected President, and Christopher Fallen and a number of others became stockholders in the company. A charter was obtained from the legislature of Pennsylvania, and stock was sold at $50.00 per share. Dividends were to be $3.00 per share per year, payable in water rents.
The eight-inch hydraulic ram idea was in time rejected, in favor of steam driven pumps. In February 1851 actual work toward water supply was commenced by digging a well at the southwestern terminus of Tulpehocken Street. This well was 21 feet deep by 25 feet in diameter. A four-inch hole was drilled through the bottom of the well, 16 feet through gneiss rock, and this produced a considerable quantity of water. The well was walled with an outer wall and an inner dry wall. Each wall was 36 inches thick at the bottom and tapered to 27 inches thick at the top. On the southwest side of the well, opposite Tulpehocken Street, the water of Crab Creek (Paper Mill Run) was dammed to form a pool from the northwest side of Walnut Lane, extending northwest to the southeast side of Washington Lane. A four foot space between the outer and inner well walls was filled with coarse sand, and water from the pool was filtered through this sand into the well. The wells were finished with coping procured from a nearby quarry.
The depth of the pool at Walnut Lane was 21 feet and the breast of the dam measured 120 feet. The greatest breadth was 250 feet. The clay for puddling the breast of the dam was taken from the ground between Tulpehocken and Harvey Streets. The breast of the dam was walled with stone. The wall was four feet thick at the bottom, battening to two feet at the top.
Drains were laid to convey the water from the natural springs to the well. These drains were walled on both sides and covered with flat stone, then filled with nine inches of broken stone and nine inches of coarse sand, in order to filter any water passing from the dam into the drains.
These works produced an adequate supply of pure and limpid water for Germantown at this period, except at such times as dye water from the washings of a carpet factory at Mt. Airy was drained into the creek. The carpet manufacturers were eventually enjoined from polluting the water of the creek. FIGURE 30 pictures these works and their pumping station.
A two story pumping station was built at the southwestern terminus of Tulpehocken Street, the back wall of the pumping station facing the well. The second story of the pumping station was intended as a residence for the engineer, but owing to the heat from the boilers it was abandoned, and a dwelling was built for him on Tulpehocken Street, a short distance northeast of the pumping station. Two 15 horsepower high pressure, horizontal engines of 36 inches stroke and two six-inch horizontal pumps were installed, each engine driving one pump. Steam was generated by two cylindrical boilers, each 30 feet long by 30 inches in diameter. The pump suction pipes were six inches inside diameter and took water from four feet below the surface of the water in the well.
A 10-inch supply main was laid from the pumps at Tulpehocken, northeast to Main Street, now Germantown Avenue. A branch with a 12-inch outlet was put in on Tulpehocken Street, 250 feet northeast of the northeast property line of Wayne Street, to supply a standpipe five feet in diameter and 127 feet high. This standpipe was made of boiler plate and constructed in three sections of 40 feet each and one of seven feet. The top section was not intended to be water tight add was made bell-mouth to give the pipe a finished appearance. The sections were assembled together on the ground. On August 13, 1851 the completed pipe was hoisted and set up in place by means of derricks and capstans. (See FIGURE 31). It was then bolted fast to a bed-plate with sixteen 1½ inch bolts, four bolts at each corner of the bed-plate. The capacity of the standpipe filled to the 120 foot level was 17,568 gallons.
A meter was placed in the 10-inch supply main in the pumping station for the purpose of recording the number of gallons pumped into the standpipe each day. The arrangement proved unsatisfactory because 135 pounds of steam pressure were required to pump through the propelling blades of the meter whereas no more than 70 pounds of steam were required to do the pumping without the meter in place.
The 120 foot height of the standpipe was also the level of a reservoir which was proposed to be built in Mount Airy on Allens Lane, southwest of Main Street. This reservoir was built by the Germantown Water Company in 1853. It had a capacity of 520,000 gallons. A four-inch main was laid from Washington Lane on Main Street southwest side, northwest to Allens Lane, and a 10 inch main was laid on Allens Lane, southwest about 700 feet to the reservoir. In 1856 a second Mount Airy reservoir was built with a capacity of 3.87 million gallons. The distribution system of the Germantown Water Company was eventually purchased by the city of Philadelphia in May 1866[1] for the sum of $84,000, exclusive of the Mount Airy reservoirs which were sold to the city for $16,085 in 1869.[2]
On November 15, 1870 two 20 inch mains were completed to convey water from the Roxborough reservoir to the Mount Airy reservoir to supply the Germantown area. A four span aqueduct conveyed these mains over the Wissahickon Creek at an elevation of 167 feet above the creek level. Flanged pipe 20 inches in diameter was used, and the mains were set apart 14 feet center to center.[3]
On September 30, 1872, the old Germantown water works pumping station was abandoned, and the Mount Airy reservoirs which had been partly supplied from the Roxborough pumping station since the completion of the 20 inch main in 1870 were now entirely fed from these works. Beside the Germantown and Mount Airy districts, the Chestnut Hill district was also supplied from the reservoirs. On December 22, 1873, the original standpipe was sold. The purchasers took it down by upsetting it by means of hydraulic jacks.
On February 17, 1875 one of the mains of the Wissahickon aqueduct burst due to severe frost and a 20-inch siphon main was then laid on the bed of the Wissahickon Creek to take its place. This siphon pipe answered the purpose and worked satisfactorily.
By 1880, the population of these districts had increased to a considerable extent, especially in some of the higher portions where a very poor supply of water was obtained, and in some sections where it was impossible under existing conditions to obtain water service. To supply the citizens of these sections with city water, it was suggested that additional pumping engines be employed, and that an old school house which stood on the reservoir tract be remodeled to house them. In 1881, recommendations were also made to provide a larger reservoir, since the capacity of the existing reservoirs was but a little over 4 million gallons, too little to supply 32,000 people. At the then per capita rate of consumption, this permitted a subsidence period of only 2½ days, which at some seasons of the year was entirely too short, with the result that the quality of the water became very undesirable. An additional reason for wanting larger storage facilities was the rather precarious supply main which conveyed the water from Roxborough. This main was 3½ miles long and the inverted siphon by which it crossed the Wissahickon Creek and Valley was ever and anon under a maximum hydrostatic pressure of 115 pounds. There was constant fear that a serious accident would occur to this main and thereby create a water famine in the Germantown, Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy districts.
On January 5, 1882, Councils passed the necessary ordinance and a $25,000 appropriation to permit changing the schoolhouse into an auxiliary pumping station. This became known as the Mount Airy pumping station. The contract for building the stack and the foundations of engines and boilers, and for remodeling the old schoolhouse was awarded to Charles W. Rufe on February 28, 1882, and approved by Councils on March 18, 1882. The work was finished on December 1, 1882. The contract for the boilers was awarded to Hilles & Jones, February 7, 1882 and approved by Councils April 5, 1882, and the boilers were finished on August 25, 1882. The contractor was to furnish and set three tubular boilers, each four feet in diameter and 10 feet long, and having 48 three-inch lap welded tubes; complete with an eight-inch steam pipe connecting the boilers, feed and blow pipes, valves, gauges, water columns, and automatic dampers. The boilers were to be tested and to stand a working steam pressure of 90 pounds per square inch. The total price for the three boilers was $4,313. 08. The contract for the engines was awarded to W. E. Worthen, civil engineer, on February 7, 1882 and was approved by Councils, March 22, 1882. The contract called for the furnishing and erection of two direct acting flywheel, piston pumps, each capable of pumping a million gallons every 24 hours into the distributing mains, or into a standpipe against a head of 125 feet. The steam cylinders were 20 inches in diameter, each connected to an independent jet condenser and air pump. The water cylinders were 10 inches in diameter and the stroke was 20 inches. The water valves were Worthen’s patent valves, having a lift of from 3/8 to ½ inch. The valve seat openings were rectangular, one inch by 15 inches, and 24 in number, 12 outlet and 12 inlet. The engines were known as the Davidson Rotary Engines. The inlet pipes were 12 inches and the outlet pipes 10 inches. At 60 revolutions, each pumped an average of over a million gallons per day. The total cost of construction of these pumping engines was $6,800.
This Mount Airy station was designed to supplement the supply to Germantown, Mount Airy and the low lying sections of Chestnut Hill and the vicinity, by drawing water from the mains through which water was conveyed from the Roxborough reservoir to the Mount Airy reservoir, and forcing it into the supply mains at an increased pressure. The station was built on a level below that of the water in the reservoir, the water being delivered to the pumps under a head of 15 feet. This proved a disadvantage and caused more or less trouble.
The two engines, on being tested in actual service, were found to require mechanical alterations to improve their operation before they were accepted by the Water Bureau. These engines pumped directly into the distributing mains and when conditions arose which suddenly drew large volumes of water from the mains, such as the opening up of a number of fire hydrants, the engines became unmanageable.
In 1883, special piping arrangements were made, whereby these works could perform the duty of the Chestnut Hill pumping station in case of serious accident to the latter. In 1891, a Knowles pump of 1 million gallons per day capacity was moved from the Roxborough high service or auxiliary pumping station and set up in the Mount Airy station. So equipped this station continued in active service until the completion of a second auxiliary station at the Lower Roxborough reservoir in 1895, after which date its activities began to decline, the new Roxborough high service station gradually taking over the service. The Mount Airy station continued to operate on an average of over 1 million gallons per day for several years although No. 3 engine practically went out of service in 1896, but by 1901 the station and its useable equipment was used very little. This condition continued for nearly 10 years, during which time No. 3 engine remained idle and Nos. 1 and 2 engines were in service only a few times a year, and each time for only a few days, until by 1910 operation was for only a few hours during the entire year. In 1911, the station was shut down entirely and notification given that such pumpage as had formerly been required from this station would thereafter be furnished from the Roxborough high service station.
[1] Date confirmed AR for 1866 (filed Jan. 31, 1867), p. 30
[2] This was actually 1868 – see Annual Report filed Feb. 1869 for 1868, p. 65, under Item 14. The full price was $16,085.33.
[3] Annual Report of the Chief Engineer of the Water Department of the City of Philadelphia, presented to Councils February 10, 1870. Philadelphia: E. C. Markley & Son, 1870, p. 11-12.