The wooden pipes used to distribute the water were fashioned from sections of tree trunks cut to about 12 feet long. White oak, yellow pine and spruce were commonly used for this so-called “pipe timber.” Each log was bored through its center with an auger either 3, 4.5, or 6 inches in diameter. The bored logs were joined into pipelines with iron couplings and straps. (Sources: 2004.057.0009 (1802 PWD report), p. 49, 76-81; 2004.059.0618 (Eng. Club 1884), p. 114-115.

Interestingly, the discovery of several wooden pipes in Washington Square East in 2017 might have given rise to the rumor that PWD still uses wooden pipes to transmit drinking water. The department stopped installing wooden pipes in 1832, and took the last wooden section out of service in 1859.

This photograph was used in the PWD annual report for 1901, with the caption: "Wooden water pipe, laid 1801, taken up 1901."