On this day in engineering history, the New York City Board
of Water Supply ordered the burning of buildings in the town of Gilboa. This final fire
destroyed the remaining structures on the old Richmyer Farm, dropping parts of the upstate
landscape below the water line for a new reservoir.
In 1918, New
York City had purchased the rights to Gilboa and the surrounding Schoharie Valley when the area around Prattsville
proved impracticable for a water supply. During the next seven years, 25 homes,
12 barns, a church, and a garage were burned; 1,330 graves were moved; and 200
residents of Gilboa were relocated. The result, a reservoir, is now part of a
water supply that some term "one of the engineering marvels of the modern
world".
The Schoharie
Reservoir
Designed to water The Big Apple, the Schoharie Reservoir is
fed by the Schoharie Creek, a tributary of the Mohawk
River. In 1923, work began on the Gilboa
Dam, a 120-foot tall structure that holds back the river's waters. Made of
concrete and reinforced with stone bricks, the Gilboa Dam was completed in 1926
and put into service that same year. The resulting reservoir consists of a
single 6-mile basin that holds 17.6 billion gallons of water at full capacity.
Although the Schoharie Reservoir is one of the smallest of New York City's 19 reservoirs, it now provides
9 million people with 15% of their annual water supply needs.
The Path Downstream
Water from the Schoharie Reservoir flows south to New York City via the
Shandaken Tunnel, an 18-mile long aqueduct that slopes at rate of 4.4 feet per
mile. Measuring 11.5 ft. high and 10.2 ft. wide, this tunnel features
seven shafts that serve as air vents, introducing oxygen into the water. After
flowing into a manmade lake at Allaben, waters from the Schoharie Reservoir
empty into Espous Creek. From there, the water supply travels 11 miles to the Ashokan,
New York City's
deepest reservoir. After leaving the Ashokan Reservoir, the waters enter the
92-mile Catskill Aqueduct and then travel to the Kensico Reservoir. From
there, water flows into New York City.
Resources:
http://www.catskillcenter.org/programs/edu/csp/H20/Lesson4/lesson4.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoharie_Reservoir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandaken_Tunnel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilboa,_New_York
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Re: December 4, 1925 - Burning a Farm to Finish a Reservoir
