history of the pittsburgh public water supply
DESCRIPTION
HISTORY OF THE PITTSBURGH PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY. (1802 to present). A Very Brief History of Water Supply. 2000 B.C. - Crete Wooden pipe/stone sewers. 300 B.C. – Roman Empire Aqueducts and lead plumbing. 1200 A.D. - United Kingdom - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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HISTORY OF THE PITTSBURGH PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY(1802 to present)
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A Very Brief History of Water Supply300 B.C. Roman EmpireAqueducts and lead plumbing2000 B.C. - CreteWooden pipe/stone sewers1200 A.D. - United Kingdom 5.5 km lead pipeline delivered water from Tyburne Brook to London1664 A.D. - France25 km Iron pipe from Marly-on-Seine to the Palace of Versailles
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A Very Brief History of Water Supply1817 - Philadelphia, PACast iron pipe1754 - Bethlehem, PABored logs with lead joints 1842-1893 - New York City Croton Water Supply (upland)Tunnels and iron pipe1913 - Los AngelesOwens Valley AqueductInfamous interbasin transfer1829 London,England1st Sand Filter (Chelsea Waterworks)
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PITTSBURGH
1794 organized as a Borough
1816 incorporated as a City
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Sources of WaterBack in the DayRiver and Pond Water- frozen in winter very warm in summer When Pittsburghers drink river water they stir up the mud from the bottom of the bucket before they take a drink
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Sources of WaterBack in the DayNatural Springs-flowing out of the hills Springs at foot of Grants Hill utilized from 1780s till 1840
People complained of sulfur smell
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Sources of WaterBack in the DayWells
Difficult to rent out a property w/o a well
Difficult to dig wells
Private well owners reluctant to allow public use
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Sources of WaterBack in the Day
Rain water gathered in cisterns
Undependable supply
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FIRST CENTURY (emphasis on water quantity)
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First Public Water System1802 Burgesses authorized construction of 4 public wells
47 ft deep & lined with stone
Located on Market St & equipped with hand pumps
Burgesses also authorized compensation for private well owners who allowed public use of their wells
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First Public Water SystemCost to Borough
Paid by tax on residents
total cost-$525
Difficult to collect tax
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Upgrade of Original System
Early debate over upgrades to system focused on private vs public provision of water
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Upgrade of Original SystemBy 1820-city outgrew original system
Lines of people at public wells
People utilized river for water
Many residents kept tanks in backyard filled by Water Carters
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First Pumped Water System
1822 - Citizens petitioned council to build a pumped system utilizing river water
Petition specified public ownership
Greatest opposition - Water Carters
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First Pumped Water System1828 First pumped system constructed
Supervisory committee Messers. Fairman, Magee, Denny, Carson, Hayes
PS located at foot of Cecil Alley
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First Pumped Water SystemPumped to 1 million gal reservoir on Grants Hill
System included: 1 pump, 1 steam boiler, 1 reservoir, & 1.5 miles of pipe
Cost - $111,000
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First Pumped Water SystemFirst 3 yr of operation-
Daily pumpage only 40,000 gal/day
pumping engine operated only 21 hr/wk
Households strictly limited in water use
Frequent pipe breaks due to weak mains
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PITTSBURGH IN THE YEAR 1840. A LITHOGRAPH PRINTED IN NUREMBURG, GERMANY BY C. BERG.
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1844 UpgradeCecil Alley Pump Station and Grant Hill Reservoir abandoned
Larger pump station built at 11th St & Etna St
7.5 million gallon reservoir built at Prospect St & Elm St
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1844 Upgrade New pump station contained 2 steam-driven pumps (Samson & Hercules)
Combined pump capacity = 9 mgd
Pumped almost continuously for 40 yr
Water bills: $3-$10 per year per household $20-$40 per year per hotel $15-$150 per year per factory
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1848 UpgradeRequired by continued expansion of city to eastern hill section & Great Fire of 1845
Additional reservoir built at Erin St & Bedford Ave (2.7 mil gal capacity)
Additional pump station built to feed new reservoir
System delivered water to 6,600 locations thru 21 miles of pipe
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1870 Upgrade1867 14 wards annexed to city (additional 35,000 people)
Additional pumps added to existing stations
Temporary pump station built at 45th & Allegheny River (pumped
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1879 UpgradeBy 1878: population = 106,000 daily pumpage = 15 mgd
1879 Highland Res. #1 built (125 mil gal)
Brilliant Pump Station constructed
Brilliant Hill Res. built (never used)
1880 - Herron Hill Res & Pump Station built (replaced by larger pump station in 1897)
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Brilliant Pumping Station (late 1800s)
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Carnegie Lake
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Construction of Herron Hill Reservoir
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Herron Hill Reservoir
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1880s-1890s Upgrades1880s Meters installed
Early 1880s - small tanks & pump stations built for Garfield & Lincoln neighborhoods
1903 Highland #2 Res built (125 mil gal)
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HAIGHLAND #2 RESERVIOR
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CONSTRUCTION OF HIGHLAND #2 RESERVIOR
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HIGHLAND RESERVIOR #2 INFLUENT
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CONSTRUCTION OF HIGHLAND #2
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RISING MAIN LEADING TO HIGHLAND #2
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PIPE LEADING TO HIGHLAND #2 RESERVIOR
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Consolidation of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, & Monongahela Water Systems
1907 Pittsburgh & Allegheny Cities combined
1908 Pittsburgh purchased Monongahela Water Company
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Northside Water System1849 Allegheny constructed pump station on River Ave & reservoir on Troy Hill
1882 - Allegheny built Howard Pump Station (supplied tanks on Spring Hill and Nunnerey Hill from River Ave PS)
1896 Allegheny built Montrose PS (cost = $2 mil, capacity = 36mgd) (operated until 1914)
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Southside Water SystemMonongahela Water Company served Southside prior to its annexation to Pgh
1865 PS built at Mon River at 29th St Birmingham Res built on 30th St
1875 Small PS built at Birmingham Res to service hill section
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Southside Water System 1895-1904 3 Allentown Tanks built
1908 Pgh purchased Mon Water Company
By 1930 Little of Mon Water System still in service (other than Allentown tanks and distribution mains)
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Fire ProtectionA critical mission for public water supply is fire protection
Earliest houses in Pittsburgh were of log construction and built 30 to 60 ft apart
Later houses were frame and built closer
Initial firefighting method Bucket Brigade
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Fire Protection1794 Eagle Fire Company formed (First elected engineer = John Johnson)
City population = 1000
Fire station located on 1st Ave near Chancery Lane
Utilized hand-operated pumper called the Eagle
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Fire ProtectionAdditional Fire companies organized-
1802 Allegheny Fire Company 1811 Vigilant Fire Company 1815 Neptune Fire Company
1816 Ordinance requiring leather buckets
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Fire Protection1859 First steam-driven firepumper (nicknamed the Steam Boat by other fire companies) 1870 Pittsburghs first paid fire company (end of volunteer fire companies)
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The Steamer of the Pittsburgh Fire Department with the Eagle Companys horse-drawn engines.
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Great Fire of 1845City population 22,000
April 10, 1845 Noon Sparks from washerwomans wash pot ignite stable at Ferry St & 2nd Ave 6pm Fire was finally burning itself out
Smithfield St Bridge blown up by residents
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Great Fire of 1845Losses
2 deaths 12,000 people homeless approx 1/3 of city destroyed (56 acres) 982 buildings destroyed $6 to $8 million damage
Contributing factor Lack of water When the firefighters attached their hoses, they found only a weak sickly stream of muddy water
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Great Fire of 1845In all this vast space, the very heart of the city, including most of the warehouses of our manu- facturers, and our principal wholesale grocers and commission merchants, there is not one house standing that we know of
Gazette April 11, 1845
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BEFORE THE FIRE. A PAINTING MADE IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF 1845 BY GEORGE BREED.
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THE BURNING OF PITTSBURGH as painted by William Coventry Wall two days after the devastation.
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THE BURNT OUT CITY A Contemporary painting by William C. Wall
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First 50 yr of Public Water SupplyConstruction of the water system was the largest expenditure made by city (40% of all municipal spending)
Water services not evenly distributed (working class neighborhoods served less than affluent areas) (1872 Water Commission ruling relating pipe size to potential revenue)
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SECOND CENTURY (emphasis on water quality)
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Need for Water TreatmentThroughout 19th century no treatment
1855 John Snow demonstrated relationship between drinking water quality and cholera
Disease in Pittsburgh indicated need for water treatment
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CholeraLike London Pittsburgh experienced cholera outbreaks (1832,1833,1834,1849,1850,1854,1855)
1832 outbreak appeared first in other cities
Religious leaders urged a day for fasting, humiliation, and prayer, that God would avert the danger threatening the country from Asiatic cholera
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Cholera1833 Outbreak returned with even greater virulence
Newspapers suppressed info on epidemic
100 cases treated & 75 deaths
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Cholera1849 Southside was hardest hit
Birmingham almost depopulated by residents fleeing to countryside
Outbreak almost halted river travel
Coal fire or pitch pot on every street
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CHOLERA EPIDEMICSCholera Epidemics kept Pittsburgh in fear. Coal fires and pitch pots were lit in the streets, expecting that the flames would kill the cause of the disease. Hundreds perished in 1832, 1833, 1834, 1849, 1850, 1854 and 1855. As stated in the book PITTSBURGH the Story of an American City, by Stefan Lorant.
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Cholera1854 worst outbreak of all
400 deaths in two weeks
Howard Association formed to deal with epidemic
Recently opened Mercy Hospital treated victims
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Typhoid FeverTyphoid indicated the need for water treatment in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh 1907: city population 535,330 typhoid cases 5,652 typhoid deaths 648 typhoid = 7% of all city deaths
Typhoid death rate for Pittsburgh - (121 deaths/100,000 population)
Typhoid death rate for 56 US cities - (31 deaths/100,000 population)
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Typhoid Deaths per 100,000
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Typhoid FeverResidents urged to boil water
Bottled water usage among highest in US
Immigrants ignored boil water advisory You cannot make the foreigner believe that Pittsburgh water is unwholesome
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Typhoid Fever
By 1900 More than 350,000 inhabitants in 75 communities upstream of Pittsburgh were discharging untreated sanitary and industrial wastes into Allegheny River
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Drinking Water Treatment
Typhoid statistics and obvious contamination of river water prompted calls for water treatment
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Drinking Water TreatmentThree Options -
1) Accept status quo
2) Obtain water from uncontaminated upstream source
3) Filtration
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Drinking Water Treatment1847Water filtration first suggested
1894Joint Commission of Chamber of Commerce, Allegheny Medical Society, Engineers Society of Western PA, and Iron City Microscopical Society, recommended filtration & constructed pilot filter
Pittsburgh and Allegheny City water supplies are not only not up to standard but are pernicious
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Drinking Water Treatment1896 Council appointed Filtration Comm. (published report recommending slow sand filtration)
1899 & 1904voters approve bond issues
1904 construction of filter plant begins
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Slow Sand Filtration PlantOriginal plant consisted of
Ross Pump Station Sedimentation basins 46 then 56 Slow sand filters Clearwell
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ALLEGHENY RIVER INTAKE
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Ross Pumping Station (early 1900s)
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Ross original steam pumps
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Ross original steam pumps
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Filtration Plant Sedimentation Basins (Early 1900s)
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Construction of Slow Sand Filters (Circa 1905)
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Construction of Slow Sand Filters (Circa 1905)
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Completed Slow Sand Filters
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Maintenance of Slow Sand Filters
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Isometric view from Highland Park of three pumping stations and filtration plant of the City Water Supply.
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In 1923, the treatment plant had the distinction of being the largest sand filtration plant in the world.
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Heinz Sauerkraut Factory
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Heinz Cabbage Field
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Additional Improvements1911 chlorine disinfection initiated
1912 Southside served by Highland Res. #2 Mission Pump Station built (South 29th St PS abandoned)
1914 Cabbage Hill Res & Aspinwall Pump Station built (Montrose PS, Troy Hill PS,& Troy Hill Res abandoned)
1920s McNaugher & Brashear Reservoirs built (Montgomery, Lafeyette, & Greentree Tanks abandoned)
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Effects on Public Health
1907 3800 typhoid cases & 373 deaths
1915 146 typhoid cases & 21 deaths
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Typhoid Deaths per 100,000
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St Patricks Day Flood - 1936Worst flood in Pittsburgh history
By March 1 53 in. of snow vs 28 in.
March 16/17 450F & 2 in. rain
March 18 Rivers crested at 46 ft. (normal pool = 16 ft.)
15 feet of river water on Golden Triangle streets
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St Patricks Day Flood - 1936Deaths 153 throughout Ohio Valley 69 in Pittsburgh region 45 in City of Pittsburgh
$250 million damage
No electricity for 1 week
Numerous fires
Widespread loss of gas, telephone, & transportatio
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St Patricks Day Flood - 1936March 18 Flood waters inundated Ross, Aspinwall, & Brilliant Pump Stations
March 20 stored drinking water began to run out
Higher altitude neighborhoods lost water pressure & supply
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St Patricks Day Flood - 1936March 20 Brilliant Pump Station resumed operation
March 21 Ross Pump resumed operation
March 23 Aspinwall Pump Station resumed operation Much of distribution system never lost water service due to extensive storage capacity
Backup water provided to 30 hospitals
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St Patricks Day Flood - 1936Mitigation steps following flood-
Series of 9 flood control dams & reservoirs constructed on Allegheny
Pump controls elevated
Future plant additions built above flood plane
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More Recent Improvements1950s Chemical treatment initiated
1962 Clarifier constructed
1969 Rapid sand filter plant built
1990s Reservoirs covered
2002 Membrane filtration plant built
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Highland Reservoir #2
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Membrane Filtration Plant
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Highland Reservoir #1
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THIRD CENTURY (emphasis on water quality, sustainability,& green technology)
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1984 PWSA formed purpose = oversee $200 million capital improvement program
1995 Pgh Water Dept became part of PWSA purpose = manage day to day operations & maintain extensive infrastructure
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Regionalization
Major goal sell water regionally
Current customers: Fox Chapel Blawnox Reserve Township Aspinwall Millvale Hampton Township (partial)
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Major Challenges
Increasingly stringent water quality regulations
Maintain aging infrastructure
Source water protection
Energy optimization (e.g., hydroelectric energy generation)
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Pittsburgh Water Treatment Plant
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