The filters and filtered‑water reservoir are built entirely of concrete masonry. The floors are of inverted groined arches on which rest the piers for supporting the groined arch vaulting. All this concrete work is similar to that in the Albany, Philadelphia, and Pittsburg filters.
The filters contain, on an average, 40 in. of filter sand and 12 in. of filter gravel. The gravel is graded from coarse to fine; the lower and coarser part acts as part of the under‑drain system, and the upper and finest layer supports the filter sand. The raw water from the pumps is carried to the filters through riveted steel rising mains which have 20‑in. cast‑iron branches for supplying the individual filters. The filtered water is collected in the under‑drainage system of the several filter beds, and is carried through 20‑in., cast‑iron pipes to the regulator‑houses. These regulator‑houses contain the necessary valves, registering apparatus, etc., for regulating the rate of filtration, showing the loss of head, shutting down a filter, filling a filter with filtered water from the under‑drains, and for turning the water back into the raw‑water reservoir, or wasting it into the sewer. From the regulator‑houses, the filtered water flows directly to thefiltered‑water reservoir. Generally, five filters are controlled from one house, but there are two cases where the regulator‑houses are smaller, and only two filters are controlled from each.
The dirty sand removed from the filters is carried by a portable ejector through one or more lengths of 3‑in. hose and a fixed line of 4‑in. pipe, to the sand washers. From the sand washers, the washed sand is carried to the reinforced concrete storage bins, each of which has a capacity of 250 cu. yd., and is at such an elevation that carts may be driven under it and loaded through a gate.
Until April, 1909, the sand was replaced in the filters by carts which were filled through the gates in the sand bins. It was then hauled to the top of the filter beds and dumped through the manholes on the chutes, which could be revolved in any direction. These chutes were used to prevent the sand from being unduly compacted in the vicinity of the manholes, and to facilitate spreading it in the filters. Since April, 1909, all the sand has been replaced by the hydraulic method. An ejector is placed under the gate in the sand bin, and the sand is carried in a reverse direction from the bin through the 4‑in. piping and one or more lengths of hose to the filter bed. This process has lowered the cost of re‑sanding considerably, and present indications are that it will prove entirely satisfactory in every way.
The average effective size and uniformity coefficient of the filters are shown in [Table 1].
Description of Washington Aqueduct.—The water supply of Washington is taken from the Potomac River, at Great Falls, about 16 miles above the city. At that place, a dam has been built across the river, which holds the water at an elevation of 150.5 ft. above mean tide at Washington. From Great Falls the water flows by gravity for a distance of 16 miles through a 9‑ft. conduit, three reservoirs, and a tunnel. From McMillan Park Reservoir, the last of the three, the water is lifted by centrifugal pumps about 21 ft. to the filters. After passing through the filters, it flows to the filtered‑water reservoir, and later to the city mains. In its passage from Great Falls to the filters, the water flows through three settling reservoirs, which have already been referred to. These reservoirs are known as the Dalecarlia, the Georgetown, and the McMillan Park Reservoirs, and have available capacities of 141,000,000, 140,000,000, and 180,000,000 gal., respectively.
Turbidity.—The Potomac River water is rather turbid, the turbidity being caused by very fine particles of clay. The river is subject to sudden fluctuations, it being no uncommon thing to have a turbidity of 100 one day, and 1,000 the next. The high turbidity usually disappears about as rapidly as it comes, and is seldom higher than 500 for more than 5 days at a time. It is frequently the case, however, that a succession of waves of high turbidity will appear so close together that the effect of one has not disappeared before that of another is felt.
The clarification of the water supply begins at the dam at Great Falls. Here it is a clarification by exclusion, for when an excessive quantity of mud appears in the river water, the gates are closed, and the muddy water is allowed to flow over the dam and form mud‑bars in the Lower Potomac, while the city is supplied from the water stored in the three settling reservoirs. Until a comparatively recent date, the excessively muddy water was never excluded, having been taken, like other decrees of Providence, as it came.
During the summer of 1907, the practice of shutting out water with a turbidity of 500 or more was established for the warm months. This practice was discontinued during the cold months, as it was feared that a very high consumption of water might occur at the time of low water in the reservoirs, and so cause a partial famine. During the winter of 1909‑10, however, the gates were closed, as was the practice throughout the summer months.